April 26, 2010

These 3 month intervals go pretty quickly. I've always measured how quickly months go by, because it always seems like our visiting teaching is due again so soon. Now I have a new way to masure time!

So here is the latest on my CLL. My labs were drawn last week and they showed a few things. First of all, my white count is hanging steady. That is a good thing. My lymphocytes were a little bit higher than they've ever been, which means my neutrophil count went down as well. Normally your body makes lymphocytes to fight disease and infection. When they do their job right, they fight and do their thing, then die off and new ones are formed to take over. With CLL, they lymphocytes are mutated and don't function as they should. The lymphocyte numbers build up because these bad lymphocytes don't die off and move on out. So they start to accumulate in the nodes and bone marrow and push out the good cells. As there are more lymphocytes, there are less neutrophils. You need neutrophils to fight infection. That's a pretty simplified version of what happens, but you get the point.

My platelets dropped a little too, but are still within the normal range. I do bruise a lot easier than I used to and this is why. Platelets are what clot the blood. My Red blood count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit all have fallen a little bit more. They had been holding on to the low end of the normal range, but the RBC and hemoglobin have dropped below. This is the reason I can get more fatigued and tired. I have been having some dizziness lately too, and the doctor says this is why. There is still nothing that needs to be done. If the numbers continue to drop, they can treat these issues. But for now, I really do very well, so we are happy to do nothing.

As far as the nodes go, I now have two on my neck, one on my clavicle, and now one in my armpit. These are nothing we worry about right now either. He says I can just expect to get lumpy. They don't bother me at all. I am grateful that this is a very slow moving thing. I am living life to the fullest,, and have big plans all summer. Life is good, and I am blessed.