Day +290

I'm still doing great. My allergies are in check and I have no symptoms to speak of.

I had the growth hormone testing a few weeks ago and saw my endocrinologist last week. The results were fine, and he was content with the latest set of labs for now, so I won't need to supplement growth hormone. I'll still follow up with him twice a year for the time being because it's hard to know exactly what the transplant might affect. I'm hoping to get my 1 year follow up scheduled soon for sometime in July.

Day +259

I'm still doing well. My seasonal allergies got a bit worse, to about where they normally were in the past, so I've started using Nasonex again in addition to Claritin. That seems to be enough for now.

I found out that the third cord blood patient didn't end up with any donor immune cells, either. Dr. Burt now thinks that there isn't enough blood from cord blood transplants, even using two, for the chimerism to happen. Not sure why it happened with the first patient, though, with HIPAA and all. As far as I know, the focus will be sibling donors now, and cord blood as a fall back if there is no eligible sibling donor. Needless to say, this gives me more questions to ask Dr. Burt when I see him sometime this summer.

Day +236

The Erythema Nodosum was pretty much gone in about a week like my doctor guessed it would. It cropped up slightly again a few days later but it was short-lived.

I did get the chimerism results from the final test a few weeks ago and, as expected, no donor cells are present in my immune system. You can refer to the Day +174 entry for the implications of that.

I'm still feeling great overall. Started going back to the gym again this week. Hopefully now I can stay healthy for more than a few weeks at a time.

Day +221

The Z-pak took care of the sinus infection. However, either due to the medication or sinus infection, I developed Erythema Nodosum over the weekend, so I have annoying red bumps on my arms, legs, and feet that feel like bruises. There really isn't much to do to treat it. Eventually it will just go away on its own. My PCP said he could prescribe Prednisone but I'll gladly avoid  that and tolerate things until they get better. I tried Ibuprofen but that didn't help. I'll be referred to a dermatologist if things aren't getting better by Monday.

I still feel great otherwise. No GI symptoms, my appetite is better than ever, and my energy level is good.

Day +212

I managed to get sick again with another sinus infection. It may have been partly leftover from last time or I got another one while on vacation. I was just getting back from a trip to Florida for spring break so Dr. Burt went ahead and prescribed a Z-pak. If I'm not feeling better after the 5 days, I'll do another round of it.

Day +204

I'm feeling much better now. The Amoxicillin took care of the ear/sinus infection by the end of the course early this week, and I still feel great otherwise. There's not much going on as long as I stay healthy so I probably won't be posting updates too often unless something comes up. No news is good news.

Day +190

On Sunday, I started getting a cold. I never felt that bad from it but eventually the congestion was a lot of yellow/green mucus so I saw my PCP on Thursday. Turned out I have an ear infection and likely a sinus infection. She prescribed Amoxicillin which will deal with both. I wasn't around anyone who was sick to my knowledge so I'm not sure where I got it from. Aside from that, I'm still feeling great. I had started going to the gym again the week after getting back from Chicago. I'm waiting until I get better to work out again, though.

I saw my endocrinologist this week, as well. Most of the hormone testing came back normal. A couple were borderline so he's having me repeat those. I asked about getting a bone density scan done given everything and he agreed it would be a good idea. I'm also scheduled for growth hormone testing in May.