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Questions and discussion about monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (i.e., diagnosis, risk of progression, living with the disease, etc.)

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by MrsM on Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:19 pm

I have the Mirena IUD now so i no longer have periods but when i did they were heavy. I had an upper GI and nothing was found. Apparently i had something called angioectasia's in my colon. I had 2 of them and the GI doctor fixed it.

MrsM
Name: Mrs M
Who do you know with myeloma?: I have MGUS
When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2015
Age at diagnosis: 39

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by Tracy J on Tue Sep 15, 2015 9:30 am

Hi MrsM,

I'm glad you found us, but I'm sorry you need to be here.

How long ago did you have the Mirena placed? If it's been longer than about 4 weeks, your hemoglobin should have had enough time to recover from the heavy menstrual bleeding.

8.5 is quite low for hemoglobin. No wonder you feel tired!

Keep us posted on what happens!

Tracy

Tracy J
Name: Tracy Jalbuena
Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
When were you/they diagnosed?: 2014
Age at diagnosis: 42

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by MrsM on Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:27 am

Hi Tracy,

I'm still confused by all of this but I feel like I'm slowly learning by coming here. I have had my Mirena since January and I haven't had a period since March. My periods stopped pretty quickly this time. I had a Mirena once before. I'm scheduled for an infusion on Thursday.

I just saw some of my lab results from my free light test and I don't know how to make sense of any of it. Still waiting on my SPE results.

MrsM
Name: Mrs M
Who do you know with myeloma?: I have MGUS
When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2015
Age at diagnosis: 39

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by MrsM on Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:28 am

Hi Everybody. I just received my FLC test results back and i dont understand how to read them. Can someone help me out? Im new to all of this.


IGG 1690 High mg/dL 610-1616


Free Kappa Light Chain 26.46 High mg/L 3.30-19.40
Free Lambda Light Chain 11.35 mg/L 5.71-26.30
K/L FLC Ratio 2.331 High 0.260-1.650

Undetected antigen excess is a rare event but cannot be excluded. If these free light chain results do not agree with other clinical or laboratory findings, please contact the laboratory.

IGM 40 mg/dL 35-242

MrsM
Name: Mrs M
Who do you know with myeloma?: I have MGUS
When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2015
Age at diagnosis: 39

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by Multibilly on Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:44 am

Hi MrsM,

These FLC values are only a bit out of whack and seem consistent with "typical" MGUS, and in particular IgG-Kappa MGUS.

Your IgG level is also not that high and is just over the upper limit, but I'm guessing you likely have at least a small M-spike (monoclonal IgG) that accounts for your IgG being a bit elevated. As mentioned before, you can find your M-spike value (might be called abnormal protein, paraprotein, M-protein, etc) on your serum protein electrophoresis test, which your doc should have ordered.

But your hemoglobin level continues to be worrisome to me. There are forms of multiple myeloma where the disease doesn't register or only registers slightly on one one's serum and urine tests. Given your low hemoglobin and the fact that you were diagnosed with MGUS, I'd still recommend seeking out a top multiple myeloma specialist to rule out whether some kind of monoclonal gammopathy is causing you to be so anemic.

Multibilly
Name: Multibilly
Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by MrsM on Thu Sep 17, 2015 11:13 am

Ok. Well that is a relief to know it's not so bad. Can I keep my oncologist and still have a myeloma specialist?

My husband is just as concerned as you are. He thinks I need a bone marrow biopsy and take a look at my bones.

Thanks again for your input.

MrsM
Name: Mrs M
Who do you know with myeloma?: I have MGUS
When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2015
Age at diagnosis: 39

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by Multibilly on Thu Sep 17, 2015 11:26 am

MrsM,

Absolutely, you can keep your local oncologist. This is in fact exactly what I do, as do some other folks on the forum.

Specifically, I have a local oncologist that routinely sees me, but he is not a multiple myeloma specialist. But I got a second opinion from an out-of-state specialist and will now pretty much only use that specialist to provide guidance to my local oncologist regarding any treatment and/or consult on any significant change in my markers that I might encounter in the future.

A bone marrow biopsy doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, but you might consider doing it under the guidance of the specialist (who can then best interpret the results and make sure all the right additional tests such as iFISH, etc are included).

Multibilly
Name: Multibilly
Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012

Re: Newly diagnosed with MGUS

by MrsM on Thu Sep 17, 2015 7:24 pm

Ok, Great! Thank you very much!

MrsM
Name: Mrs M
Who do you know with myeloma?: I have MGUS
When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2015
Age at diagnosis: 39

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