Todd's Journey

The story of my cancer journey

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Small set back today - Creatinine

- Posted in Medical Update by with comments

I had my weekly creatinine level check today. Unfortunately it did go up (instead of down) but only by 12 points. So while the increase was not terribly significant, it has gone in the wrong direction this week.

It is quite possible (because it is not an exact science) that my current lower dose of steroids might not be sufficiently suppressing my immune system, which would allow the immunotherapy to continue to damage my kidneys a bit. It is also possible the increase in creatinine is being caused by something else (medication, dehyrdration, etc.)

However, the Oncologists believe it's likely the tapering off of the steroids has made the current dose too low to continue to shut down the immunotherapy. They will move me back up a bit on steroids, and retest in a week. If my creatinine goes down, it was likely a dosing issue with the steroids.

So, not a terrible creatinine report, but we need to get back on track now.

Significant Sciatica (Leg) pain

- Posted in Medical Update by with comments

We are in to the 2nd day of significant sciatica of my left leg. It is so bad at times, I am unable to put any pressure on my leg at all, and if I do, my leg will buckle and tumble me to the floor.

This leg issue as been around for about 4 weeks, but in the last two days has gotten progressively worse.

I have a progress CT scan on Tuesday for my cancer check, so the Doctors are going to take a look to see if anything is going on down there.

One theory they are currently looking at is related to the steroids. If my sciatica issue occurred during my stent replacement surgery (4 weeks ago) the start of the steroids (high dose) may have been masking the pain. As they continue to lower my steroid dose, it is possible the pain is much more noticeable now. It does seem like a workable theory as the pain has been increasing slowly as the steroids have been reduced.

Hopefully the sciatica issue will get better with some more time (can take up to 6 to 8 weeks) otherwise they will have to look at other options like surgical intervention to heal my sciatica.

For now they want me to use my Dilaudid (pain killer) as often as I need just so I can try and be somewhat able to move around a bit and help the sciatica.

Unfortunately for me, it's another one of the two steps forward, one step back.

Update on Creatinine levels

- Posted in The Journey by with comments

When I began the steroid treatment to help my kidneys out, my creatinine level was 298. The normal range for creatinine is between 62 and 102. With age it sometimes can be a bit higher. Clearly a reading of 298 is high, and indicates kidney impairment. After starting the steroid treatment, my first creatinine check (after 10 days) had dropped to 222. A drop of 76 points. Today, my creatinine level is at 177. Another drop of 45 points. They have reduced my steroid dose for the last 3 weeks, each going down by about 50 mg. In reality, with the lower steroid dose, it would probably result in a bit of a lower drop in creatinine. BUT the reality is, the trend shows my creatinine clearly trying to return to close to normal level. All good news. I suspect we will keep up with the Steroid treatment for now.