Survived another bone
marrow biopsy this afternoon. Glad it's over with and hopefully I will get a
break for a few months before I have to do another one at 6 months post
transplant. I saw one of the other docs at the clinic earlier this week and
mentioned to her that my teeth are shifting. She said that it can happen post
transplant because all of the chemo and radiation have likely put me into early
menopause and that there can be major issues with bone density like women have
much later in life. So, she ordered a DEXA scan to measure my bone density as
she was concerned that my teeth shifting might be due to bone density loss in
my jaw.
Having braces twice as a youngster and being the daughter and the niece of
dental assistants, having straight teeth is something very important to me...so
when I noticed that my teeth were shifting and it freaked me out a bit. The
oncologist referred me to my dentist for an urgent consult. We did panoramic
X-rays and the nice thing is that we had a baseline to compare with because I
had to have a dental clearance prior to transplant. Good news is that my
amazing dentist didn't see any change in the roots of my teeth or bone loss in
my jaw, so I won't have to take any immediate measures regarding more meds for
bone strength and instead I should be able to just supplement with extra
calcium and vitamin D. The oncologist had measured me vitamin D level last week
and it was super low, but we are fixing that with supplementation. In order to keep
my teeth from shifting anymore my dentist took impressions and is getting some
retainers/positioners made for me to wear while I sleep. :).
Tomorrow is my Day +100 appointment (even though day 100 is actually on
Sunday). I will meet with Dr. Nash and we will go over all of the recent tests
I have done and we will see what he thinks about me returning to my primary
oncologist at Kaiser with periodic follow ups with CBCI.
My mom leaves on Saturday to head down to their cabin in Pagosa for 2 weeks before
she heads back to California to start her school year. I am really going to
miss her. How often do you get to spend 2 1/2 months straight with your mom
when you are an adult. We have had so much fun hanging out this summer and she
has been SO incredibly helpful over the past several months. It's going to be
sad not to have her here to hang out with (since I can't really go out and do
much with friends). I have some "feelers" out to find some projects
and things to keep me busy. I am hoping to volunteer for the local mental
health agency in a capacity that I can stay connected but not have any client
contact until my docs say I am okay to do that. Additionally, I am hoping to do
some volunteer work for the local Leukemia & Lymphoma society. Lastly, I
will be studying for the EPPP (licensure exam for my doctoral level license).
My doc has told me several times that I really shouldn't return to work until I
am completely off my immunosuppressant medications and even then I need to
severely limit any exposure to patients due to my "baby immune
system". So, in the meantime I am going to try and fill up my days with
lots of volunteer work, studying, continued doctor appointments, and of course
just continuing to recover :)
-Chellie
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