Day 79

I saw Dr. Oran yesterday.  She is concerned because my GVH has still not completely resolved.  She said once you start treating GVHD, symptoms should completely disappear.  Even after almost a month of treatment, however, I am still peeling and red on my hands, face, and feet.  Although the symptoms seem to be minor, the fact that they're still present indicates to Dr. O that further suppression may indeed be necessary.  She's hesitant to do so because the symptoms are so stable and don't cause me any discomfort.  She says we can't just let it persist indefinitely, but she decided to wait some more before taking the next step.  We're soon approaching the tipping point, however.

My biggest concern is the edema I still have in my legs.  The swelling has also caused neuropathy in my feet.  Basically it's sharp, shooting pain every time I put weight on either of my feet, and a dull ache while I'm sitting without weight on them.  The pain has been so bad the past few days I've had trouble walking.  Dr. Oran still thinks this is all caused by the GVH and complications from my medications.  She prescribed something to help with the neuropathy, unfortunately it takes about a week to build up in my system before I'll notice a difference (assuming it will make a difference).  Standard painkillers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, narcotics, etc) don't relieve pain caused by neuropathy, so I have little relief, short of staying off my feet.

In addition to the neuropathy medication Dr. Oran increased my diuretic from 80 mg/day to a total of 120 mg/day.  My next appointment is tomorrow.  Dr. O is going to be gone for the next three weeks (d'oh), so I'll be seeing a different doctor during that time.  I just hope it's not a different doc each time.