Two months ago, I started to feel very fatigued. Then I started to feel weak (I work on a farm) and my body started to randomly ache, muscle soreness, my lower back was bothering me, my joints are popping (or I'm noticing it more), wrists occasionally burn, pressure in the back of my head, and now my collarbone seems to hurt.
I've been in and out of the doctor's office. I had an x-ray last week - when I called today, the nurse said it looked like some narrowing, but that was it, no fractures, and that I would talk about it on Friday during my follow up appointment.
My SED rate was 9 and the nurse said my CRP was normal. I noticed some foam in my urine and I have repeatedly requested a urinalysis and that too was normal, but I don't think they did the Bence-Jones test. I'm also having night sweats.
Here are my CBC results:
WBC 6.4
RBC 3.76 (reference range 4 - 5.5)
HGB 12.2 (reference 12 - 16)
HCT 34.4 (35 - 51)
Platelet 289 (15 - 453)
BMP
Calcium 9.6 (8.4 - 10.2)
Creatinine 0.59 (0.6 - 1.2)
*The nurse said everything looked OK and that while RBC are on the low end of normal.
I don't know what to do or what to ask for at this point. I'm incredibly scared, frustrated and don't know where to go from here. I've mentioned cancer and myeloma and they seem to brush it off.
Any advice? I'm doing this all without health insurance, too.
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Re: Confused and worried - only 25
I'm no doctor, but the normal calcium level would seem to indicate that myeloma is unlikely.
Best wishes going forward.
Best wishes going forward.
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Mike F - Name: Mike F
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: May 18, 2012
- Age at diagnosis: 53
Re: Confused and worried - only 25
I was diagnosed with an M-spike of 4.1 and 80% bone marrow involvement AND calcium and creatinine within the normal ranges. I had no bone or kidney damage at diagnosis.
So not everyone who is diagnosed with multiple myeloma will have abnormal calcium levels.
So not everyone who is diagnosed with multiple myeloma will have abnormal calcium levels.
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DallasGG - Name: Kent
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 6/20/2013
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: Confused and worried - only 25
Why are you concerned about a diagnosis of multiple myeloma? The tests that would possibly indicate a further work up would be elevated protein? Was your protein elevated? Did you have an M spike?
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blair77 - Who do you know with myeloma?: My husband
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 43
Re: Confused and worried - only 25
Keglaser,
I tend to agree with Blair.
Look at your total protein and globulin levels. You will likely find these on the same test that you got your calcium level from (the BMP). If either of these values are high, then there might be a reason for doing more testing for multiple myeloma.
Regarding the foam in your urine, are you sure you that simply isn't a side effect of peeing a bit forcefully? The dipstick test they ran would have looked for protein in your urine (proteinuria), which would be something to be concerned about if it tested positive.
I'm not sure what to suggest other than to follow up with another doctor (and bring your previous test results with you so you don't have to pay for those tests again).
Good luck with all this.
I tend to agree with Blair.
Look at your total protein and globulin levels. You will likely find these on the same test that you got your calcium level from (the BMP). If either of these values are high, then there might be a reason for doing more testing for multiple myeloma.
Regarding the foam in your urine, are you sure you that simply isn't a side effect of peeing a bit forcefully? The dipstick test they ran would have looked for protein in your urine (proteinuria), which would be something to be concerned about if it tested positive.
I'm not sure what to suggest other than to follow up with another doctor (and bring your previous test results with you so you don't have to pay for those tests again).
Good luck with all this.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Confused and worried - only 25
I've just been going by what the doctor thinks to test for and he doesn't seem to know what's going on. I haven't had my M spike tested or my proteins...at least that I'm aware of. Is protein something they look for on a basic test like a CBC, blood culture or BMP?
The dipstick test did test for protein, but I don't think it's the Bence Jones test. I hope the foam is due to force, but it seems to be more consistent than I've never noticed it before.
I guess I'm worried about myeloma because of the bone pain I've been having - in several places, most notably my back, along with the fatigue, weakness, night sweats, small amounts of foam in my urine. I read that a few people had some narrowing in their back and that's how it was discovered and I've also read about the importance of getting a diagnosis as soon as possible, so I'm confused as to what to do.
I've been tested for lupus, my thyroid, and several other things, but nothing has come up.
The dipstick test did test for protein, but I don't think it's the Bence Jones test. I hope the foam is due to force, but it seems to be more consistent than I've never noticed it before.
I guess I'm worried about myeloma because of the bone pain I've been having - in several places, most notably my back, along with the fatigue, weakness, night sweats, small amounts of foam in my urine. I read that a few people had some narrowing in their back and that's how it was discovered and I've also read about the importance of getting a diagnosis as soon as possible, so I'm confused as to what to do.
I've been tested for lupus, my thyroid, and several other things, but nothing has come up.
Re: Confused and worried - only 25
First off, we're not doctors and we're not substitutes for doctors.
It sounded liked you already had a metabolic panel done. Depending on the specific lab and type of metabolic panel, you should find your total protein and globulin levels there. My protein and globulin levels are listed under my "comprehensive" metabolic panel test (I mispoke when I said they would be on a "basic" metabolic panel). I just mentioned this as a simple and quick way to get a clue since you are paying for all this without insurance.
If your doc doesn't know what's going on, I wouldn't be bashful about seeking out a different one.
For these symptoms, I'm also not sure what type of doc might be best for you to seek out if your general physician doesn't have any idea. Perhaps others on the forum could suggest the appropriate specialty. If it were something like multiple myeloma, you would seek out a hematologist that specializes in blood cancers. But I don't think there is enough information here to point you to a specialist like that quite yet.
In any case, I'd hate for you to try to come up with new ideas on your own on various web forums and to keep going back to a doc that doesn't know what's going on with you.
It sounded liked you already had a metabolic panel done. Depending on the specific lab and type of metabolic panel, you should find your total protein and globulin levels there. My protein and globulin levels are listed under my "comprehensive" metabolic panel test (I mispoke when I said they would be on a "basic" metabolic panel). I just mentioned this as a simple and quick way to get a clue since you are paying for all this without insurance.
If your doc doesn't know what's going on, I wouldn't be bashful about seeking out a different one.
For these symptoms, I'm also not sure what type of doc might be best for you to seek out if your general physician doesn't have any idea. Perhaps others on the forum could suggest the appropriate specialty. If it were something like multiple myeloma, you would seek out a hematologist that specializes in blood cancers. But I don't think there is enough information here to point you to a specialist like that quite yet.
In any case, I'd hate for you to try to come up with new ideas on your own on various web forums and to keep going back to a doc that doesn't know what's going on with you.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
7 posts
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