Sunday, October 31, 2021

Doing Well

Still doing pretty well. I'm currently taking Darzalex monthly, Pomalyst 2 mg daily (28 days of 28), and dexamethasone (Dex) 8 mg weekly. Monthly blood tests don't normally show any cause for concern, and I feel pretty good. Except lately calcium has been a bit high, and the doctors and I are paying some attention to that. Maybe a PET scan is due, or even a bone marrow biopsy, since my myeloma seems to have become "nonsecretory" (it may not secrete detectable immunoglobulin fragments). Ugh.

I like a beer in the evening, but I skip that on Dex days and on the two days afterward. On infusion day I don't exercise a lot, but every other day we three go for a nice, fast walk, at least 2 miles and often 4 miles. As winter approaches we're planning to make a trip to the Mall of America at least one day per week and a nearer mall another day each week. Both malls allow walkers in the mornings before the stores open, so it's warm and safe. Otherwise we do have local options including our own treadmill.

In addition, my computer is programmed to remind me to walk some stairs every hour, and I usually do that. Three flights down and back up is enough to get the heart pumping. Four is better.

Life is filled with medical appointments right now. Monday is a CT scan in preparation for a dental implant; Tuesday is the Darzalex infusion; and Wednesday I meet with a favorite doctor for the Medicare annual wellness visit. Thursday I had an eye refraction, but I've cancelled that because I had one recently enough.