Sunday PTD 374 9/7/08 September 7, 2008
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Hi all,
Well, we have been having the excitement of all those hurricaines and tropical storms brewing up off the coast. Hannah dumped alot of rain, 3″ and gusty winds. No damage here. More to come with the season just beginning.
I had a great trip back to NYS. I was able to drive it all in one day. Left NC at 0630 and arrived at my aunt and uncles’ abit before 2200. Saw relatives and friends. Just wasn’t time enough to do everything I wanted. The weather was great, cool at night and upper 70’s days. I enjoyed the yellow and silver queen corn from my uncle’s garden…and lots of cukes and tomatoes and lettuce.
I returned to Duke on the 3rd…a full year post transplant (plus a couple days) and got a good checkup. They have decreased the prednisone again..(YEAH!!!), down to 5mg daily. Blood work is good, except the IGG is low again, so I have to go Tuesday this week for the IVIG infusion. Still on the lovenox and have a PET scan scheduled the first week in October. That will tell them about the clot in the liver. If things are stabilized and clot is no bigger and/or it has shrunk, they would like to take me off the shots and go back on coumadin. I would like that also.
I took call at work for the first time this weekend in over a year. I still can’t work micro or draw patients, but it felt good to be back. I still am not working fulltime.
The doctor said that as soon as they get me off the prednisone all together, they will start some vaccinations and start taking me off some of the drugs…like the cellcept that is used to prevent rejection of the transplant.
Hepatitis, tetanus and flu shot will be the first ones I get. NO chicken pox vaccine…I don’t want to get shingles now!! 
It still is pretty hot down here yet. 90 today. I will look forward to some cooler weather this fall. I went to NY too early, the trees hadn’t started to turn yet.
Will write again after Tuesday to let you know how the infusion went. Have a great week!
Thursday 8/21/08 PTD 357 August 21, 2008
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Hello all. I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer. It has been very hot and humid. I can’t wait for some nice cool fall weather. We need rain, but are not in the bad drought position we were in last year this time.
I am getting ready for my trip. I am looking forward to seeing some old friends and relatives. I am not thrilled about the almost 600 mile drive, but I will take it slow and stay over probably. I figure if I go half way one day stop early and then finish up the next day, it won’t be as tiring for me. I’d like to stop in PA, I love that drive through Bushkill Falls, etc.
Hopefully I can take alot of pictures as I’m sure a lot has changed in the past few years. I just bought a new 2GB memory card, so it should hold quite a few.
Things have been going well. I have been working more hours at work, and hope to get the okay for 30-32 hrs next time at the drs,so I can get some more of my benefits back. I am sleeping much better and that makes a big difference.
Not much other news here. Hope you all have a safe and pleasant Labor Day weekend. Take care.
Susan
Monday 8/11/08 PTD 347 August 11, 2008
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Hey. Hope you all had a good weekend. I had a great weekend. Got the lawn mowed, laundry and cleaning out of the way, and grocery shopping done. Sleeping much, much better. I am actually tired and yawning!!
Eyesight has been pretty good since I haven’t been on the computer as much during the week. I was able to do some homework this weekend for the English course I’m taking.
Appetite is okay. I cooked on the grill the weekend. So much bother for one person, but the hamburgs and hotdogs just taste so much better! 
Things seem to be going along smoothly now, so hopefully after almost a year post transplant, things will calm down for good. I’m looking forward to the fall..my favorite time of year. I hope to take a couple day trips this fall out west in NC. I’d like to go back to Biltmore Estate and maybe a mining town.
Have a good week.
Saturday August 2,2008 PTD 338 August 2, 2008
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Happy weekend. I had a full day at Duke yesterday and got good news. My blood work was good. HH and chemistries normal. Liver tests ok. My coag tests were at the range they wanted. My penicillin was discontinued..wahoo!! The antibiotic upsets my stomach.
I am still on the lovenox 2 x’s a day. My next appointment is 9/3 to see the Coag Dr. and to see my transplant doctor. I’ll have more blood work and a chest xray that day also.
It has been very hot and humid here the past week. This week the temperature is suppose to be back up in the mid to upper 90’s. I guess I’ll try and do a little mowing today. The bugs are so bad at night you can’even sit outside on the porch. Have a good weekend.
PTD 334 Tuesday July 29,2008 July 29, 2008
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It has been very hot and humid here the past week. Possible showers later in the week and a promise of a nice weekend.
Things going okay. Still taking the shots twice a day. I go to Duke this FRiday to see the coag specialist and the transplant doctor. I have to have blood work for both appointments and a chest xray. The first appointment is at 9 and the second one at 1130am. Hopefully everyone will be on time and I can get out of there and go back to work for a couple hours.
Will update after Friday.
PTD 331 Saturday 7/26/08 July 26, 2008
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Hi. I had my appointment yesterday with the coag specialist. I am on 40mg of lovenox twice a day at 8am and 8pm. I have to go back next Friday and have blood work. I have 2 choices. I can stay on the lovenox and have blood tested once a week or go back on the warfarin and go 2 times a week to have blood checked. I have enough syringes for a week and a half, so will stay on the shots and see how things go. The co-pay is $50 for the lovenox, but then I only have to go once a week for testing. Warfarin co-pay is $10, but would have to go to Duke twice a week for testing.
Have had a busy week at work. Worked 5 days in a row. I have actually been tired and have been sleeping better. Must be the walking.
It has been hot and humid here. No outside work this weekend.
Tonya my PA is going to schedule my appointment with them for Friday so I don’t have to make another trip to Duke. I need a chest xray and blood work to check my immune status. That will probably turn into an all day affair with both appointments.
My fingers are dry and cracking again. Just what I need when I’m on the blood thinner. Otherwise, I feel pretty good.
Will post later in the week. Have a good weekend.
PTD 328 Wednesday 7/23/08 July 23, 2008
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My appointment to see the coagulation specialist is scheduled for this Friday, 7/23/08 at 9am. I have to be at Duke at 8am for blood work. Hopefully the testing will tell them something. I started the lovenox shots again today. I’ll fill you in after the appointment.
PTD 327 7/22/08 Tuesday July 22, 2008
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Well, I heard back from my PA today. The INR from yesterday was 1.6. They want me to see the coagulation specialist on Friday. I am to stop the vitamin K and start the lovenox shots again twice a day. I can’t start the shots until tomorrow afternoon as they have to order the correct dosage. The doctors office hasn’t called yet with the appointment time. They are going to squeeze me in, so I’m sure it will be last minute. I just hope I don’t have to wait hours once I get there. Also, they won’t accept results from other labs, so I hope I don’t have to run there everyday for blood work. Anyway, it is supposed to be a consult, so I have no idea what they will do.
I’ll post again after I go to the drs Friday. Have a good week.
PTD 323 July 18,2008 July 18, 2008
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Hi all. Well, I’ve been terrible sick the past 3 days with that terrible stomach bug that is everywhere. I have not been so sick in I don’t know when. I just am starting to feel human today, although still a little weak. When I wasn’t in the bathroom I was sleeping. This is a really bad bug. I hope you all don’t catch it.
The INR value is still high, so still off the warfarin and continue taking the vitamin K. I talked to Tonya yesterday and they have decided I need to see a coagulation specialist. There seems to be no reason for the uncontrollable INR. I have an appointment at Duke next Thursday, so she is trying to get an appointment with the specialist the same day.
We are finally moving patients next week into the new hospital, so I am really considering putting back my appointment until the following week. Too much to do. I’ll be transporting specimens from the new hospital to the lab. We will not move for another month or two here in the lab.
Tomorrow would have been my Mothers’ 82nd birthday. I still miss her so much. This may sound crazy, but I think she was with me when I was sick through the cat, as she never left my side.
Today would have been Pauls’ birthday. He was a friend from school who was killed in a house fire trying to save his pets. Miss him too. A wonderful pianist.
Humid weather is coming back our way. Have a safe and pleasant weekend. I know I’ll be resting up the weekend and not doing much. Just the must do chores.
Monday 7/14/08 PTD 319 July 14, 2008
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Well, I just got off the phone with my PA. I had my INR checked this morning. Last Thursday the INR was 2.9 and today it is 4.1. So , I’m off the warfarin again for a few days and doubling the vitamin K dose. I had to take another 2.5mgs of Vitamin K today. Tomorrow I’ll take no warfarin and 5mg of vitamin K. I’ll be retested Wednesday morning and then wait for Tonya to call me with the INR. She said there are a few people that are very sensitive to the warfarin. So, guess we’ll see what happens.
The good news is that I was able to mow my lawn on Saturday with no back pain!! It was a mess as it hadn’t been mowed since the middle of May.
Not much other news here. It has been very humid for me. We have gotten some rain. Today we had a morning shower and got 0.4″ of rain.
Hope you all have a good week. I’ll update later in the week.