I just had my second week of immunoglobulin treatment for the BK viral infection. The infusion is easy, just takes more time. This virus has felt like a full time job lately. I'm anxious to be done with that aspect of it.
Dr. Bellin, after discussing my situation with a Nephologist and ID doctor in Minnesota has decided to drastically decrease my immunosuppression. Before the virus was discovered, I was taking 50mg of Imuran twice a day, and 6mg of Prograf twice a day. Now, I'm not taking any Imuran at all and I'm only taking 1.5mg of Prograf twice a day. It was a little shocking when I was told this, but I understand and agree with this decision. My kidneys are in trouble. And they must be put ahead of my islets.
Its been almost a week since I started this reduction. The very interesting thing is that my blood sugars have been very good. Lower than they have been in a long time. And my insulin requirements are decreasing at the same time. I've dropped from about 18 units/day to 16 units/day. And my appetite has dramatically increased. I feel hungry much more often and am eating more at each meal. I'm probably gaining weight.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Its certainly not what I had expected. My theory is that without the immunsuppression, my body is under less stress. Less stress has always led to better blood sugars. I just have to hope that my islets are safe throughout all of this.
My last labs were good. I was very worried because I had a low hemoglobin level in the previous draw. I was down to 9.5. Normal is about 12-16, so this is not good. I was warned by the pharmacist that Imuran can lead to low hemoglobin and I was worried that I might have to deal with that again.
This last hemoglobin result was 11.2 which is much better and going in the right direction.
My lipid panel was all normal.
My creatinine was 1.8 which is still too high.
My A1c was 6.8 which is higher than I like, but understandable considering all that I have been through in these last few months. The next one WILL be lower.
My cold is about gone now. I'm feeling pretty good. We are experiencing some really cold weather at the moment, but as soon as it is past, I'm hoping to start walking again.
Dr. Bellin, after discussing my situation with a Nephologist and ID doctor in Minnesota has decided to drastically decrease my immunosuppression. Before the virus was discovered, I was taking 50mg of Imuran twice a day, and 6mg of Prograf twice a day. Now, I'm not taking any Imuran at all and I'm only taking 1.5mg of Prograf twice a day. It was a little shocking when I was told this, but I understand and agree with this decision. My kidneys are in trouble. And they must be put ahead of my islets.
Its been almost a week since I started this reduction. The very interesting thing is that my blood sugars have been very good. Lower than they have been in a long time. And my insulin requirements are decreasing at the same time. I've dropped from about 18 units/day to 16 units/day. And my appetite has dramatically increased. I feel hungry much more often and am eating more at each meal. I'm probably gaining weight.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Its certainly not what I had expected. My theory is that without the immunsuppression, my body is under less stress. Less stress has always led to better blood sugars. I just have to hope that my islets are safe throughout all of this.
My last labs were good. I was very worried because I had a low hemoglobin level in the previous draw. I was down to 9.5. Normal is about 12-16, so this is not good. I was warned by the pharmacist that Imuran can lead to low hemoglobin and I was worried that I might have to deal with that again.
This last hemoglobin result was 11.2 which is much better and going in the right direction.
My lipid panel was all normal.
My creatinine was 1.8 which is still too high.
My A1c was 6.8 which is higher than I like, but understandable considering all that I have been through in these last few months. The next one WILL be lower.
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| at the San Diego zoo |
1 comment:
Sounds like you're headed in the right direction! Yay!
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