Two Shots of Filgrastim (Neupogen) and I Feel Human Again

After waiting for 4 hours!

Fortunately, Joe had a long weekend and was able to take my cousin to the Fly Away very, very early the next morning. I know that she will hate me saying this, but I feel so horrible that I was such a mess while she was here. It was so good to see her despite my own miserable self! I think I drug myself out of bed around 11:00 am that morning.

I had another appointment at City of Hope that afternoon for my third injection. I was very lucky that I had a chauffeur to drive me, as it is 37 miles one way. Once we got there we checked in at the main registration desk and were corralled to the blood draw waiting area.  My blood was drawn pretty much on time, so we had about 45 minutes to wait before seeing the doctor; or so I thought. After waiting about an hour and a half, I went and checked with the reception desk for that area. She told me that my “one” o’clock appointment was a “three” o’clock appointment. I told her no, it was not; there was a mistake. I had a voicemail, still on my phone confirming such, so I made her listen to it. She rolled her eyes and said that she would let the doctor know. Another 45 minutes and we were finally called back to an examination room. Ugh, try and be nice when you are worried and irritated!

My doctor finally came in, all smiles and told me that my white blood cells were back up in normal range and that I didn’t need another injection of Neupogen. Once again, a little goes a long way in my body; doesn’t anyone ever listen! While I was grateful that my blood work was mostly back in the normal range, I was annoyed that we had to waste the entire day to find out. I could’ve had blood work drawn five minutes from the house and saved us the trip. I am learning the ropes and I won’t be forgetting this lesson any time soon.

This doctor wants me to start taking the 100 mg of Dasatinib (Sprycel) as soon as I get them and to continue to get weekly blood draws. Today my white cell count is 6,200; the highest that it has been since I have begun taking Sprycel. My reds and platelets are still low. Maybe all I needed was this boost to get me back on track; time will tell. I still  want an answer as to why I should start taking 100 mg of Sprycel when 70 mg sent me into a ditch; especially since it seems as though my body is not able to maintain a healthy blood level on its’ own on the 70 mg dosage. I suppose that we shall just have to wait and see.

We went home and spent some time in the garden. It was really nice to be home and feeling better. I am starting to feel as though Palm Springs is cursed; it will be awhile before I visit again!