Thursday, November 19, 2009

Waiting Again


Waiting to see Dr. Forman.

The next logical step to shut down the ITP and get my platelets to a safe range to prevent bleeding is to add steroids, a lot of steroids, about 80 mg of prednisone (1 mg/k/d) for about 14-30 days then a slow treacherous taper.

Good chance it will work, keep me out of the reach of the gators, but it sure doesn't drain the swamp. And it comes at a pretty high cost.

And like any magic bullet, the first taste is free, but the second is pricey, and the third, well the third may cost me more than I can ever repay, and quitting may be tougher than dodging those gators.

And that is only the first relatively simple standard way of shutting down the ITP, not to put to fine a point on it, stopping the hemorrhaging before it begins.

That is just a bridge, actually more like a leaky pontoon, over troubled waters.

The real fun begins on the other side of the Rio Grande when I have to face THE BIG DECIDE.

Transplant or heavy duty therapy?

More on that quandary later. Today my head aches noodling the possibilities. The multifarious permutations and combinations makes simultaneous chess matches against a dozen grand masters feel like a tic-tac-toe match against a first grader with a learning problem.

In the end, it will be my call. Or the CLL will decide for me.

I have a week or two to decide. That'll work.

I hope.

Tomorrow's platelet count will determine how fast I have to move and how high I must jump.

I am confident, and ready to enter the arena again, but I didn't know it would be the circus high wire, without a net.

Being on a tightrope is living; everything else is waiting. - Karl Wallenda

Yea, right.

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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anabolic Steroids said...

Anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones that can boost the body's ability to produce muscle and prevent muscle breakdown. Some athletes take steroids in the hopes that they will improve their ability to run faster

November 20, 2009 at 12:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for writing such a wonderful blog and sharing yourself so freely with others.

We are praying for you!!


Very Sincerely,
Dave and Ronda Rhodes

November 20, 2009 at 1:19 AM  
Blogger Alison said...

Ah well, you're back in the dance - thinking of you, Brian.

November 20, 2009 at 7:21 AM  
Blogger Judy Cleri said...

Dear Dr. K,

Well.......we sure had hopped that this would be way down stream if it had to happen.........Know you are prayed for.

Watch out for those steroids..... You might eat something you will be sorry about later! :-)

Blessings,
Judy

November 20, 2009 at 9:37 AM  
Anonymous Helene said...

There is nothing like a wrestling match with CLL to hone one's intellectual abilities. No need for chess, or sodoku, or Go.

Maybe being forced to make a decision will, in hindsight, have been a blessing.

Other than this little ITP thingee...you are well, healthy, smart....so whichever choice you make, you are likely to live a long productive life.

It is scary to have to find the answer within oneself...no one else can do it, even the experts. But at least the experts have lots of info and experience to guide you.

I'll continue to be a very concerned follower of your progress; with all my best wishes. I sincerely wish I had more in my power to offer.

Helene

November 20, 2009 at 11:04 AM  
Blogger Brian Koffman said...

Thank you to everyone for their kind words and prayers.

November 20, 2009 at 5:06 PM  

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