Hello everyone!!!
I was directed here by The Highlander from my original post in another group. I was kind of spinning in a swirl of anxiety last night and didn't think to look for this group.(Thanks for pointing me in a better direction).
I am here because I am having tons of anxiety about my mom so I will give a little back story and see if anyone else has/is experiencing similarities. My mom had an aggressive form of Lymphoma. Eariler this year was when it returned from being in remission about a year. So then she started on her journey of high powered chemo and followed up with an auto stem cell transplant. We are about 4-5 months post transplant at this point. She of course has battled some infections including pneumonia which she was given antibiotics and Prednisone for. Her numbers were looking good but was having some dizziness. Then suddenly about a week and a half ago she passed out. She contacted her team and of course they wanted to check her out. They did her blood work and her wbc had dropped dramatically to 0.8. (she was checked 10 days prior and her numbers were holding steady). They gave her a shot and done type of prescription to help boost her wbc. They told her they were concerned and wanted to do a pet scan. So yesterday she went over to do her pet scan and they checked her blood again before the scan. Her wbc count came up some to 2.8 I believe but they also mentioned her hemoglobin and platelets was down slightly. I don't know if those numbers were down on the previous test or if that was new. We won't get the results from her pet scan until about another week.
So I just wanted to get some input from others if you have had your numbers drop like that or does the numbers dropping like that mean that the stem cell transplant has failed? I suffer from panic attacks and this situation is not helping at all. I am in a constant ball of anxiety and automatically assume worst case. Any help is welcome!!!
Hi again Pit in my stomach and well done navigating across to this little corner of the community.
For context, this is part of the reply I gave to you in your first post in the DLBCL group.
I have a different type of NHL but did have two Allo (donor) SCTs back in June 2014 then Oct 2015.
Post SCT is a rather nervous journey and blood results can go all over the place. 10 months post my second SCT my bone marrow unexpectedly went on strike and my counts were dangerously low so I was having weekly blood transfusions for 3-4 months then out of the blue everything came ok.
You can also check out some of the members stories by hitting their Community names and I am sure you will find the Life after a SCT - A Survivor's Guide thread helpful, although it has went down rabbit trails over the years.
The post SCT journey is full of twists and turns but its is all about keeping the nerve and looking at the great good in all this ((hugs))
This is good news indeed. The bone marrow takes a rather brutal beating during SCT so it’s no surprise when it has a pity me party at times.
It can’t be overestimated as to the importance of aiming for 2 litres of water every day. I am 6 years on and still drink 2 litres every day.
You may find it helpful to make a cuppa and have a look at this great paper After Treatment Finishes - Then What? by Dr Peter Harvey as it highlights the post treatment milestones in recovery and helps put you in your mums shoes.
Always around to chat ((hugs))
