Having a busy 'up and down' week in several senses of the phrase. The bowel problem has been pretty 'draining' and I haven't felt like doing much. My get up and go had got up and gone until Thursday when I woke up with much more energy - it's probably more accurate to say 'with much less tiredness'. I guess I've been a little anxious about the tests and what they might show. Monday was a Bone Marrow Aspirate test now that I'm three months post transplant.
On Wednesday I had a sigmoidoscopy. This looks inside the colon and enables them to take multiple biopsies for histology. It was a little uncomfortable but not really a problem. The worst aspect of it was taking the 'bowel prep' beforehand and spending hours running backwards and forwards. Not eating for 24 hours wasn't great either. It's a little odd to see your insides on a big TV monitor.
Thursday is haematology clinic day for us transplant patients. Karine and I saw a senior registrar this time. The bone marrow looked normal in the microscope so I'm still in remission. The Minimal Residual Disease test will be back in two to three weeks time - that's the acid test, it can spot trouble on the far distant horizon before anything is visible to the naked eye. I never got the definitive result of the MRD for my previous aspirate, apparently the juniors don't get to see it, but they reassured me that no news in good news. The blood tests continue to gradually improve.
We also discussed the appearance of the bowel as seen at sigmoidoscopy. It seems it would fit with both GvHD and also a late side effect of the chemotherapy and is unlikely to be something new which is a big relief. However the histology result, which will be back next week sometime, is the definitive test and should give a clearer answer.
Made it to rehab physiotherapy despite having had the sigmoidoscopy the afternoon before and enjoyed the exercise and the company.
We also saw the dietician whilst in clinic. My weight is still at an all time low. We're going to try four days dairy free to see if that might help. I'm already avoiding most fruit and have reduced my green vegetable intake so my diet is a little limited at the moment. It would be great if something worked!
The NHS is keeping us both busy and we are keeping the NHS busy!
* "The Complaints" - an Ian Rankin novel
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