Anyone out there know anything about Myeloma?
Posted , 2 users are following.
Hi Folks,
I was recently rushed into hospital with pains in the back (under my right shoulder blade) and difficulty breathing. I’d had a low level nagging back ache for a week or so then it got a lot worse to the point that if I took a deep breath my back would spasm and thus I could only take shallow breaths.
It turned out to be a chest infection coupled with my pre-existing AF not being adequately controlled (resting heart rate too high). The hospital did a whole range of test on me and after suitable medication I was very soon back to normal. However, as a result of the tests they think I have a fractured vertebra (T5) near a pre-existing hemangioma which I've had for years.
Now I’ve not been in a situation to cause a fractured vertebra, I’ve only just recently had a major heart op so I’ve been taking it very easy. So they’ve sent off some blood samples for myeloma screening. I’m not sure why they thought that was a good idea, the back pain and the "fracture" I guess.
I’ve still got a bit of back pain but it depends on the time of day (worse as the day goes by) and what I’m doing physically (lots of bending is not good). It’s not major but it’s enough to warrant co-codomol.
I’ve not had the results of the myeloma screening yet so I don’t know if I have myeloma or not. Obviously I’ve started to do a bit of research and I find it’s a terminal disease in most cases.
This is freaking me out somewhat!
If there’s anyone out there who has any experience of this I would be very glad to hear of your thoughts/experience.
Regards,
Phil.
0 likes, 4 replies
george16226 phil17356
Posted
Helllo!
waiting for biopsy results is very stressful.I advice you not to read articles,mainly because most of them are wrong.Anemia,elevated creatinine and hypercalcaemia are often found in blood tests in myeloma patients.Protein electrophoresis also shows abnormal peak for the M protein too.Also blood smear and xray show abnormalities.Did they tell you which tests were performed?
phil17356 george16226
Posted
Hi George16226,
Thanks for your reply.
I find I need to study all things as deeply as time and my intellect allows and as you say one has to be careful about the source of any data gleaned, including that from doctors, after all we are all human. So thanks for your advice, however I usually advise that all data is crosschecked with reliable sources. The trick is to know what constitutes a reliable source.
As for which tests were performed, I don't know that at this stage. I am seeing my GP this afternoon so maybe I'll learn more then.
Regards,
Phil.
george16226 phil17356
Posted
Hi Phil,
have you got any updates from the GP?
phil17356 george16226
Posted
Hi George,
The results from the myeloma screen show that no paraproteins where detected but there were slight changes to IgM and IgA antibodies, they were just above the maximum average range - I think the IgM was 2.1 c.f. 0.5-2.0g/L and IgA was 4.6 c.f. 0.9–4.5g/L to be frank I can't remember the exact values. The doc said that the latter was probably nothing to get concerned about and depends what my normal level is anyway.
The doctor is arranging for a bone density scan (DEXA) and maybe re-do the myeloma screen in 6 months.
So all looking good at this point.
Regards,
Phil.