D+6 — Could Be Worse

I am now six days beyond the transplant. Everything is going as expected: blood counts extremely low, no appetite (probably because all food tastes bad), and mucositis.

Mucositis is the inflammation of the mucus membranes lining the digestive tract, from the mouth to the anus. These cells, like leukemic cells, divide rapidly, and busulfan (the key drug in my most recent chemo) attacks both with ferocity. Symptoms are mouth sores, painful swallowing, and diarrhea, which are all the result of the mucus membrane dying and shedding.

My mucositis started a couple of days ago, with a slightly sore throat. Since then, swallowing has been a little painful, but it has not reached the point that I can't bear to eat. It can get that bad, and that could still happen for me. But it might not. Currently, my appetite and the way food tastes are greater obstacles to eating than the pain of swallowing.

Mucositis usually lasts five or six days, and I am into my third day. Every day it's not horrible is one more day I'm avoiding the most severe symptoms. Or, as I tell myself many times every day, about many things, it could be worse. (And it's going to get better.)

= = =

The next big event to look forward to is the appearance of white blood cells in my daily blood tests. The white blood cell count has been negligible for a while now. Some time around D+10, give or take a day, there will be enough white blood cells to count. Their numbers then typically grow very rapidly, and they are the primary factor in being able to leave the hospital.

In my case, they could start showing up as early as D+8, because I am receiving neupogen shots. This is the same drug my sister Mara injected herself with before having her stem cells harvested. In my case, the idea is to speed up stem cell production so that I get my white counts up a little sooner than I would otherwise, because then I can help fight my current infection(s).