It was only 4 weeks since my last round of transfusions when I got 3 units yesterday. I would have had them at 5 weeks, but I will be out of the country for two weeks, so we went early rather than late. hematocrit had dropped only to 28, so the three units should bring me up to 37, higher than I have been for a couple years. I'm looking forward to increased energy.

Other good news is that total protein has remained unchanged, in fact all my labs are pretty stable, with the exception of ferritin. Rising iron levels are a side effect of transfusions. Too high can damage the heart and kidneys. So there is a drug called Exjade developed by Novartis which will bring those levels down. Apparently the drug is quite expensive, and the manufacturer has a program to help with the costs. I'm not sure how that is going to work out.

My other issue right now is blood pressure. I have controlled my blood pressure for over 20 years with various medications. Recently we have had to adjust dosage upwards due to higher pressure. I have had a sinus infection, on Amoxicillin, I don't know if that has any effect. But today my pressure was astronomical. I woke up with a headache, couldn't get my monitor to give me a reading. Thought maybe it was low batteries, so changed them, but no difference. I decided to inflate the cuff higher, and finally got a reading; 202/125. You kidding me? I laid down, to ease any stress and give my meds a chance to get into the system. An hour later reading was 211/121. Gradually it started coming down, and by 11:00 AM I was in the high-normal range at 137/96. It pretty much hung there the rest of the day until 6:30 tonight when I'm back up to 166/100, with a little headache.

So off I go, wishing I had a little longer to get this under control before I go to Mexico, but I did talk to my doctor, and we can adjust the med further. So I'm taking plenty to add a dose here and there to keep this down. The thought is that the transfusion yesterday added bulk to the fluids in the system, and therefor more pressure. And it should adapt and get back under control soon. I hope.