Hi,
My 75-year-old father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 8 days ago. The oncologist has already finished 4 days on dexamethasone treatment. Planning on starting Velcade today.
Although he was fine and was discharged after his dexamethasone treatment, he suddenly lost control of his bladder and limbs and was back in hospital the night if his discharge. Since then he has developed fever and is complaining of pain in his back and shoulders, is extremely weak, cannot walk or even sit up.
The doctors are struggling to find the cause of his sudden collapse. Suspect infection but his lungs, urine and blood cultures have come negative. His platelets stand at 22000 and haemoglobin is 8.1.
I live in Hyderabad, India and am completely lost. Dunno what to do, whom to consult, what is the right way of dealing with it.
Kavitha
Forums
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Re: Loss of bladder control, fever, soon after diagnosis
Hello Kavitha,
I'm sorry to hear about your father's diagnosis and the recent problems he's had.
I'm not an expert on the subject, but the symptoms you describe -- loss of bladder control, loss of limb control, fever, etc. -- match many of those expected with a condition known as "cauda equina syndrome", or compression of the nerve bundle in the lower spine. In your father's case, this probably occurred because vertebrae in his lower spine collapsed or even fractured.
I suspect that your father's doctors already are investigating this as a potential source of your father's problems. However, if they have not, you should urge them to do so, as this is a serious condition requiring immediate attention and, most likely, surgery.
You can find a lot on the Internet about cauda equina syndrome. Here for quick reference is the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauda_equina_syndrome
As I said before, I'm not an expert on this subject, so there certainly could be other explanations for what your father has been experiencing lately. I'm just going on the symptoms you've described and what seems to be a very good match with them and the fact that your father has multiple myeloma.
I hope your father's doctors are able to come up with a correct diagnosis for, and solution to, the symptoms you described. Please let us know what they find and how they take care of it.
Good luck!
I'm sorry to hear about your father's diagnosis and the recent problems he's had.
I'm not an expert on the subject, but the symptoms you describe -- loss of bladder control, loss of limb control, fever, etc. -- match many of those expected with a condition known as "cauda equina syndrome", or compression of the nerve bundle in the lower spine. In your father's case, this probably occurred because vertebrae in his lower spine collapsed or even fractured.
I suspect that your father's doctors already are investigating this as a potential source of your father's problems. However, if they have not, you should urge them to do so, as this is a serious condition requiring immediate attention and, most likely, surgery.
You can find a lot on the Internet about cauda equina syndrome. Here for quick reference is the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauda_equina_syndrome
As I said before, I'm not an expert on this subject, so there certainly could be other explanations for what your father has been experiencing lately. I'm just going on the symptoms you've described and what seems to be a very good match with them and the fact that your father has multiple myeloma.
I hope your father's doctors are able to come up with a correct diagnosis for, and solution to, the symptoms you described. Please let us know what they find and how they take care of it.
Good luck!
Re: Loss of bladder control, fever, soon after diagnosis
I second TerryH on the concern about cauda equina syndrome. Has your father had an MRI of his lower spine?
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Little Monkey - Name: Little Monkey
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Father-stage 1 multiple myeloma
- When were you/they diagnosed?: March/April of 2015
Re: Loss of bladder control, fever, soon after diagnosis
In addition your father's hemoglobin is quite low. Normal levels for males is above 13.0.
Nancy in Phila
Nancy in Phila
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NStewart - Name: Nancy Stewart
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 3/08
- Age at diagnosis: 60
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1