You are providing such a wonderful resource for people! I wish you all the best for smooth sailing through this.
Feel good and be patient with yourself for the times that you might not!
Joy
Forums
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Wow Andy!
You are providing such a wonderful resource for people! I wish you all the best for smooth sailing through this.
Feel good and be patient with yourself for the times that you might not!
Joy
You are providing such a wonderful resource for people! I wish you all the best for smooth sailing through this.
Feel good and be patient with yourself for the times that you might not!
Joy
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Joy - Name: Joy
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 52
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Good on ya! Truly an amazing service you are providing to the multiple myeloma community!
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Thanks, Andy, for sharing your experience with all of us here at the Beacon. Your videos provide a really human perspective on the whole experience. Good luck!
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Andy,
What a wonderful idea by you and The Beacon to share your experiences via audiovisual means.
You are a better man than me - I do not have the technical know how to do the videos, and I can't imagine doing a transplant on an outpatient basis!
Australia has a special place in my heart as I lived there for 5 years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. My parents were missionaries in New Guinea and I attended boarding school in Adelaide for grades 8-12.
I read the Aussie multiple myeloma website regularly. I can't remember its name, but it is very good.
Good luck as you move through this process and I look forward to following it on The Beacon.
Steve Mohr
What a wonderful idea by you and The Beacon to share your experiences via audiovisual means.
You are a better man than me - I do not have the technical know how to do the videos, and I can't imagine doing a transplant on an outpatient basis!
Australia has a special place in my heart as I lived there for 5 years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. My parents were missionaries in New Guinea and I attended boarding school in Adelaide for grades 8-12.
I read the Aussie multiple myeloma website regularly. I can't remember its name, but it is very good.
Good luck as you move through this process and I look forward to following it on The Beacon.
Steve Mohr
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Steve Mohr - Name: Steve Mohr
- Who do you know with myeloma?: No one
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 20 12
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Thanks to all you well wishers. I really appreciate your support, and especially thanks to you Steve -- I know you have been having a rough trot with side issues, and I haven't got a clue what lies ahead for me. Hang in there mate. There will be light at the end of the tunnel soon, I'm sure, now that you're numbers are coming back. Have you lost your hair yet?
Boris has been a huge help with the embedding of the videos, so I can't take too much of the credit.
The senior nurse who came out to assess whether or not my house was clean enough and suitable for home care said that, in all her years, she had only known 1 patient who made it through without being whisked off to hospital for something or other. So there may well be gaps, and I will try to keep you updated via Jenny. There may well be other gaps if there is just nothing to report -- 'new day, same situation' type periods -- especially if I'm feeling really low.
Andy
Boris has been a huge help with the embedding of the videos, so I can't take too much of the credit.
The senior nurse who came out to assess whether or not my house was clean enough and suitable for home care said that, in all her years, she had only known 1 patient who made it through without being whisked off to hospital for something or other. So there may well be gaps, and I will try to keep you updated via Jenny. There may well be other gaps if there is just nothing to report -- 'new day, same situation' type periods -- especially if I'm feeling really low.
Andy
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MattSchtick - Name: Andy
- Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb27 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 61
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Gday Andy,
I note in your video all the drugs they have given you are in tablet form.
Me, personally, when I got to about day 5, I couldn't swallow. And when I had to, it was like razor blades.
Do you have a back up IV set up if that happens to you? Also what hospital is treating you?
yours Vic
P.S. - When I couldn't swallow so well, I was having protein drinks to keep up energy. Solid food wasn't an option for me. To help the drinks go down, I had them icy cold. So a glass of ice, then the protein drink tipped into it. The first swallow was hard. But once the iciness hit my throat, it gave some relief and I was able to finish the drink. It would take me about half an hour to have 200 ml (7 oz). I'm not trying to scare you. It may not happen to you. But if it does, the colder your drinks are, the more relief for you throat.
I note in your video all the drugs they have given you are in tablet form.
Me, personally, when I got to about day 5, I couldn't swallow. And when I had to, it was like razor blades.
Do you have a back up IV set up if that happens to you? Also what hospital is treating you?
yours Vic
P.S. - When I couldn't swallow so well, I was having protein drinks to keep up energy. Solid food wasn't an option for me. To help the drinks go down, I had them icy cold. So a glass of ice, then the protein drink tipped into it. The first swallow was hard. But once the iciness hit my throat, it gave some relief and I was able to finish the drink. It would take me about half an hour to have 200 ml (7 oz). I'm not trying to scare you. It may not happen to you. But if it does, the colder your drinks are, the more relief for you throat.
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vicstir - Name: Vic
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: October 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 39
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Video update recorded on Day 1
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MattSchtick - Name: Andy
- Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb27 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 61
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Hi Andy,
God bless you! So glad to hear all is going well so far. I have always believed a positive attitude has a lot to do with your body's ability to heal itself. Remain positive. You are doing great!
Thoughts and prayers are with you (and with Jenny as well).
Kim
God bless you! So glad to hear all is going well so far. I have always believed a positive attitude has a lot to do with your body's ability to heal itself. Remain positive. You are doing great!
Thoughts and prayers are with you (and with Jenny as well).
Kim
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Jerseygyrl - Name: Kim
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My Loved One
- When were you/they diagnosed?: February 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 58
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Good going so far. Things don' start to be problematic, if at all, until about 1 week after the melphalan. If you find that you need to drink the Ensure and have problems with it, you might try Boost. Ensure is soy based and I didn't tolerate it at all. I didn't know about Boost at the time, which is whey based (whey is a milk byproduct), and might have tolerated Boost better since soy products in any form are problematic for me.
Yahoo, you're on you way,
Nancy in Phila
Yahoo, you're on you way,
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
Re: MattSchtick's Stem Cell Transplant
Thanks again to all for the support and suggestions.
I have seen the hospital nutritionist a couple of times and she has suggested chilling the supplement drinks, as Vicstir suggested, or blending them into a smoothie with some of my favourite (well washed) fruits and ice or ice cream.
I have been drinking my way through cartons of Ensure during my induction to try and pack on a few extra kilos -- 8 kilos [17.5 pounds] so far -- knowing that the period ahead of me would likely be stripping weight off me, and so far I have tolerated it well. I also have a carton of Resource2.0+ if I get fed up with banana or vanilla Ensure, so I might have sidestepped the soy problem (thanks Nancy).
Any more tips you good folk can provide for me, or if you spot something in my videos or text which is counterproductive, please post -- the more I know, the less I suffer.
Andy
I have seen the hospital nutritionist a couple of times and she has suggested chilling the supplement drinks, as Vicstir suggested, or blending them into a smoothie with some of my favourite (well washed) fruits and ice or ice cream.
I have been drinking my way through cartons of Ensure during my induction to try and pack on a few extra kilos -- 8 kilos [17.5 pounds] so far -- knowing that the period ahead of me would likely be stripping weight off me, and so far I have tolerated it well. I also have a carton of Resource2.0+ if I get fed up with banana or vanilla Ensure, so I might have sidestepped the soy problem (thanks Nancy).
Any more tips you good folk can provide for me, or if you spot something in my videos or text which is counterproductive, please post -- the more I know, the less I suffer.
Andy
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MattSchtick - Name: Andy
- Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb27 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 61
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