Day +593 : Follow-up

My Blood Count Today: - Readings in square bracket [] are result from previous test.
Red Blood Count (HB) = 148[150] (Normal 130-180)
Platelet = 171[208] (Normal 150-450)
White Blood Count (WBC) = 6.0[7.5] (Normal 4 - 11)
Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) = 3.18[4.05] (Normal 1.5 - 8.0)
ALT = 44[38] (Normal 30 – 65)
AST = 29[19] (Normal 15-37)
GGT = 48[70] (Normal 15-85)

I am fine today.

The blood test today showed excellent result, so the doctor decided to cut down my daily Prednisolon (steroid) dosage from 10mg(2 tablets) to 5mg(1 tablet).

The liver function reading maintains within the normal range, and doctor also said that my mouth and throat show no trace of GVHD now. Apart from this, my mouth and throat is no longer as dry as before.

The main problem now is the eyes; they are getting drier than before. Doctor said the artificial tears (Refresh Tears) that I used to apply might not be good enough to ease the situation. Some form of eyes ointment could have a more lasting effect. With this comment, I replaced the Refresh Tears with Vidisic Gel.

The Gel

In order to make sure that my eyes are properly taken care of, the doctor referred me to the eyes clinic for further examination. But the earliest appointment that the clinic could accommodate is two months later :-(

Doctor also alerted me on my lipids studies result – almost all readings were beyond the normal range :-(

Total Cholesterol : 5.8 (< 5.2)
Triglycerides : 2.1 (< 1.7)
HDL Cholesterol (good): 1.36 (> 1.0)
LDL Cholesterol (bad) : 3.49 (< 2.6)

I have to control my diet and work hard to bring the reading back to normal for the next few months.

My next appointment was scheduled two months later. This is the longest follow-up interval that doctor gives after bone marrow transplant, so I consider it a breakthrough :-) Hopefully, the Prednisolon dosage can be reduced further during the follow-up.

See you next post :-)