I just reviewed my blog post of September 13. I wrote about a Free Lambda reading of 2752
being a new record. Well a reading of
4879 on 9/24 sure put that to shame.
Luckily, the next reading on 10/1 was 2076 lower at 2803. That gave an indication that the Elotuzumab
was finally kicking in and having an effect.
But the latest on 10/15 was 2970, an increase of 167 and going in the
wrong direction. I wonder if the
Elotuzumab has lost its effectiveness.
Here is the latest graph of the last year:
Whereas in the spring 2 doses of Elotuzumab brought the Free
Lambda right down, the latest behavior is not so promising. The big spike to 4879 happened after 3 doses
of Elotuzumab. Then it came back down dramatically,
but it has just gone up to what would once have been a record. I wonder if the 5 doses of Elotuzumab in the
spring gave my Multiple Myeloma enough exposure to Elotuzumab to figure out a
way around it.
Two and a half weeks ago, in spite of the high numbers I was
feeling very good. I took a brisk walk
in the neighborhood using my walker, and I actually felt as if I was
power-walking. So I went out back and
attacked some vines that overgrow the cedar trees in our pasture. Well I overdid it trying to uproot the vines,
and I think I broke a high rib or bruised my sternum. At any rate, ever since my chest has been
hurting. I have been taking pain
killers, but coughing or sneezing really exacerbates the pain. My upper back is very bent so I can no longer
do exercises on a mat on the floor, as my upper back hurts and does not
straighten out. A certain wife points
out that I have nobody to blame except myself for this. Sigh.
I did ask Dr. Nahas recently if 4800 is an unusually high
reading. She said she has seen readings
of 30 – 40,000, but by that time you are in the hospital on dialysis because
otherwise the Free Lambda would overwhelm your kidneys. So where I am now is concerning, but not an
emergency. My next appointment is this
coming Tuesday, and I wonder what the tactical response will be. More to come soon, but I thought I’d keep you
up to date on what has just happened.
