[genk]

Why is my M spike lower without dexamethasone?

by genk on Wed Apr 09, 2014 8:32 pm

I have been on maintenance therapy with Revlimid and dexamethasone for a year and 7 months and have had a really hard time tolerating the side effects of dex. My oncologist had been steadily dropping the dose till I was on a mere 4 mg per week of dex, and still could not take the dex.

So I was taken off dex, and my M spike was 0.32 last month and this month it was 0.4. Before, when I was on both Revlimid and dex, my M-spike ran 0.6 and 0.7.

Anybody have any idea why the Revlimid is working better without dex?

[coachhoke]

Re: Why is my M spike lower without dexamethasone?

by coachhoke on Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:32 pm

I don't have the answer to your question; but do have a similar experience.

My m-spike went from 0.8 on Velcade and dex to 0.2 on just Revlimid, and now 0.12 on lowest possible dose of Revlimid -- 2.5 mg. No dex, no transplant, nothing else.

coach hoke

[Newday]

Re: Why is my M spike lower without dexamethasone?

by Newday on Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:37 pm

My friend has had a stable but quite high m-spike (around 5.0) for the past year and a half while on Revlimid/dex. He went off treatment for about 4 months due to recurrent infections and low blood counts and, strangely enough, his number then dropped to 4.5 - 4.8.

He now began Pomalyst/dex and after a couple weeks his m-spike shot up to 5.7.

What is going on? Why would his m-spike be so much lower on NO chemo?