[brooklyn1130]

Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by brooklyn1130 on Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:00 pm

Hi Everyone!

Back in August, I got sick (sinus infection / bronchitis), then felt better. About a month later, I felt worse – body aches, cough, coughing up yellow mucus. So I went to the doctor, who ordered an x-ray and said I had pneumonia.

I was put on Ceftin (cefuroxime) for 27 days straight (pretty much all of October!) He did a bunch of blood work on me and said my IgG level was a bit high and referred me to a immunologist. That same week, I followed up with a chest CT that confirmed the pneumonia and he sent me to a pulmonologist who in the beginning of November told me, yes, I had pneumonia, but apparently I had it since August just no one realized. He said I have holes and cysts in my lungs and I was susceptible to getting sick again because of it. He also said if I start coughing or feel a bit off, to call him ASAP.

I saw the immunologist as well who did more blood work on me and he has now referred me to a hematologist. What he failed to tell me was WHY I was being referred to one. I got the phone call yesterday from the center which tests for multiple myeloma. I was so confused because I never heard of it and I didn't know why she was even calling me. After talking for a bit, I told her I had pneumonia when all the blood work was taken and she thanked me for letting her know because they weren't aware. She said she would let the doctors know and get back to me.

I got the phone call this morning from her saying they do not think it's urgent at all but would still like to rule it out.. I go Monday to start the 24-hour urine, Tuesday for bloodwork and Wednesday for the skeletal screening.

Below are my lab results from the end of October that initiated the referral to the hematologist. I guess I'm a bit confused because I thought all of my doctors were in agreement that it was due to the pneumonia..

Immunoglobulin G - 1777
Immunoglobulin A - 252
Immunoglobulin M - 118
Immunoglobulin E - 209

*An apparent polyclonal gammopathy: IgG kappa and lambda typing appear increased.

M-Spike - Not observed.

SPE Split Beta - Status: OK
Albumin - 4.3
Alpha 1 - 0.2
Alpha 2- 0.6
Beta - 1.1
Gamma - 1.6

I know my IgG level is elevated but thought it was caused by the pneumonia. I was fine all of November, then the body aches and cough started up again when my toddler got sick. I'm so scared of all of this because I have been sick on and off since August with the lung infection and now I'm being tested for multiple myeloma. I am 28 years old and pretty much going out of my mind googling

Would love anyone's input on their thoughts and my blood work! Thank you so much!!

[Ellen Harris]

Re: Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by Ellen Harris on Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:40 pm

Try not to freak out too much! There are two very good things in your bloodwork so far. No M-spike, and polyclonal gammopathy. Polyclonal is always good – it is normal. Your IgG may be elevated due to infection. Your age is also in your favor. Sounds like your docs are being thorough in ruling out myeloma.

Please let us know the results of your tests. Do you have CBC results? An important factor is whether or not you are anemic. See if you can find your hemoglobin number.

I hope others on the forum will offer their perspectives as well.

[Multibilly]

Re: Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by Multibilly on Thu Dec 24, 2015 12:08 am

Brooklyn,

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not a doc, but I think the key takeaways from your prelim test results are:

An apparent polyclonal gammopathy: IgG kappa and lambda typing appear increased.

M-Spike - Not observed

The above suggests that the rise in your IgG is probably due to your pneumonia or an infection of sorts.

But it's good that the doc is being thorough and is ordering more tests. The lab tests should in­clude doing a serum free light chain assay and the 24-hour urine test. But I might question doing a skeletal survey if all the standard lab tests for multiple myeloma come out fine (unless you are experiencing bone pain).

In any case, I would assume based on the above lab comments that this is NOT multiple myeloma going into these tests and to relax over Christmas.

[brooklyn1130]

Re: Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by brooklyn1130 on Thu Dec 24, 2015 12:46 am

Thank you guys. Eased my anxiety a bit!! I have been stressed to the max over this.

I will post all of my CBCs in the morning. Everything was in normal range.

I do not have bone pain, but have been complaining of muscle aches in my joints for about two months. It comes and goes. No pain at all in November, but have had it randomly for the past two weeks. I did have a high CRP (14.3), which is inflammation, and they figured it was due to the infection. Back in October, I tested negative for Lyme and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and also had a negative ANA for lupus. My doctor just ordered for repeat tests on the RA and lupus because I can't stand the muscle aches (elbows, knees, shoulders, and neck)

I will ask them about the skeletal survey and see if it's necessary. If bloodwork and urine come back fine, I would rather not have to do all the X-rays. Totally makes sense, so thank you for bringing that up!!!

[brooklyn1130]

Re: Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by brooklyn1130 on Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:14 pm

Hi all!

I never got around to post the rest of my blood work because the holidays were so crazy (sorry!), so I will post below. I still haven't done the 24-hour urine or blood work as I am seeing a new immunologist on Monday to go over the current blood work that was done at the end of October.

WBC 6.5 (3.4-10.8)
RBC 4.65 (3.77-5.28)
Hemoglobin 12.8 (11.1-15.9)
Hematocrit 40.7 (34.0-46.6)
MCV 88 (79-97)
MCH 27.5 (26.6-33.0)
MCHC 31.4 L (31.5-35.7)
RDW 13.1 (12.3-15.4)
Platelets 220 (150-379)
Neutrophils 61
Lymphs 28
Monocytes 5
Eos 5
Basos 1
Neutrophils (Absolute) 4.0 (1.4-7.0)
Lymphs (Absolute) 1.8 (0.7-3.1)
Monocytes (Absolute) 0.3 (0.1-0.9)
Eos (Absolute) 0.3 (0.0-0.4)
Baso (Absolute) 0.1 (0.0-0.2)

My serum protein is listed above, as well as my immunoglobulin numbers. I did, however, notice that they tested my T-cell activation & CD8 subsets ... the only thing that is listed as HIGH is:

% CD8+CD38+ Lymphs 22.2 (0.0-17.7)
Abs. CD8+CD38+ Lymphs 400 (0-381)

Then I googled ... then I panicked (of course).

As far as Monday goes, I am going to get his opinion on what he thinks, see if he wants to check anything again, and then see if he wants me to get the myeloma testing done or not. I've pretty much drove myself crazy the past 2 weeks. Google is NOT my friend. lol

[finn]

Re: Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by finn on Fri Jan 08, 2016 12:45 pm

Hi,

When you wrote the list about your different immunoglobulin (igG, IgA, ...) levels, were they all in the same scale, mg/dl? If they were, your IgE levels are high. IgE level in blood should be under 0.2 mg/dl, so much less than the other immunoglobulins, and much less than your 209.

If they were in a different scale, though, there is probably nothing wrong with it, and you can ignore this message.

Anyhow, if they were in mg/dl and you do have high levels of IgE, it is nothing to do with myeloma. It just implies that you have an allergic reaction to something, or, less likely, a parasitic infection.

I hope you have recovered from your symptoms by now. All the best.

[brooklyn1130]

Re: Multiple myeloma testing after having pneumonia

by brooklyn1130 on Sat Jan 09, 2016 11:26 am

Hi Finn!

Thanks!

Everything was the same scale. I have a ton of allergies, so my IgE is always higher than it should be! The doctor is just worried about my IgG at this point.