Back to Work...

Sorry it's been awhile. I started back at work this week and haven't felt like updating the blog.

I got my CBC results back on Monday. The WBC count is up from .97 to 1.29 of which my neutrophils more than doubled from 190 to 450. My platelets are up to 105. That's all good.

I've been suffering from tinnitus (ringing/buzzing in my ear) in my right ear since mid-March, and it seems to have gotten louder and more annoying over the past month. Sometimes I awaken in the middle of the night to loud ringing in my ear. As I sit here typing, an annoying white noise is resonating in my head.

To make sure the tinnitus isn't due to anything more serious, I went to see a neurologist in early May and had an MRI done this past Thursday (5/14). I'll get the results next Thursday. The tinnitus is probably due to getting older and nerve damage I've incurred from prior ear infections (no thanks to the HCL), but I just want to be sure nothing else is going on.

Ever since the MRI, I've felt weak and achey in my bones. I still do now. At work, I had to shorten my gait to reduce the pain when I walk, and I had a mild fever all night last night and felt miserable -- kind of like a fever combined with growing pains. I usually read 96.5 to 97.1 on the thermometer, but popped up to 100.1 and stayed there until this morning. I completely lost my appetite. Up until Thursday, I was eating around the clock just to maintain my weight. I definitely think I'm burning a lot of calories keeping the marrow going. Dr. K. thinks my marrow may be working in overdrive right now and causing the bone pain. He didn't seem to think the fever was due to an infection but told me to watch it and call him if it goes over 101.

Aside from the leukemia, I've also noticed that in the 3 months since I've gone gluten/wheat and peanut free in my diet, I haven't had a single canker sore (mouth ulcer). Canker sores used to be a common occurence. I used to get one every 2 to 3 weeks prior to going gluten and peanut free. They were incredibly painful and made brushing my teeth a nightmare as the bristles would scrape over the ulcer and agitate it even more so it wouldn't heal. Here's an article which discusses the causes of canker sores, which includes peanuts and gluten sensitivity.

I go back to [the clinic] this Wednesday for a CBC, abdominal ultrasound, EKG, bone marrow biopsy and clinic appointment. It'll last the better part of the day.