Hello, I am so happy to have found this site, my husband was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on September 17th and we had our first appointment with our oncologist September 24th with a BMB on October 1st. Our Dr. is also a hematologist . My husband was diagnosed from a routine blood work before he was having some minor throat surgery but it was delayed because of his kidneys. My husband has had kidney problems all his life, he is 69, when he was eight years old he had an illness that damaged his kidneys but not to the extent of every giving hinm major probems, he has also been in mild renal failure. Last summer when he was getting ready for another minor throat surgery it again happened for the first time, what happened is he was taking Ibuprofen for his knee and it worked against his kidneys, he got off the Iburprofen and kidnes again starting functionally correctly. In February of this year he had total knee replacement with no problems, on his return home he could not take the Loratab (he did not like the effects) so he started taking Ibuprofen which resulted in the problem this last month. He got off the Iburprofen and the first week his kidneys improved , second week no improvement but not getting worse so Dr. ordered a 24 urine test and this is where they found the myeloma. My husband has none of the symptons, his calcium is good, Renal is getting better (which I am praying was a result of Ibuprofen) he is not anemic . he does have some small lyptic on the bones between his wrist and elbow and he has no symptons. No bone pain, no fatigue, no loss of appetite .........I know I am rattling but this last month as been the most frightening month of my life, we should be getting the results of the biopsy this week and we will go from there. My husbands oncologist said that he could have had this in his system for decades...so much to try and understand.......
Hi Toni, I am sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. My boyfriend was diagnosed in February (2014). He was having some muscle cramps (basically Charlie horse cramps) and I told him to see the Dr. He had some blood work & x-rays done and it came back showing he has myeloma. We were both totally devastated. We immediately began doing our research. He started seeing a myeloma specialist. He took chemo from late February to early July (Velcade, Revlimid & Dex). On Aug 14, he had an autologous stem cell transplant. I am happy to report, he is recovering very well.
You are right, there is a lot to understand and wrap your head around. But, I promise you, it does get easier. The wonderful people asked me to be a moderator here a few months ago and it has been a real blessing to me. We are like a big family here. If there is anything I can help you with or if you just want to talk, please feel free to let me know. I don't have all the answers but, I do understand what you are going through. I will keep you & your husband in my prayers.
God Bless,
Kim (JerseyGyrl)
Thank you so much for your kind words.....I just feel as if my world has stopped, I guess I am super tired tonight, I try to stay busy so I do not think , guess one benefit is that I have the cleanest house and yard in our town !!!
I truly understand that feeling. I felt the same. What has helped me is researching and speaking to other's in the same situation. Believe me, you will quickly learn you are not alone! There were times I didn't know how I wouldn't just jump out of my skin...but...I wanted to be a strong example for my boyfriend. I knew he needed my encouragement. I know you feel helpless right now but, I promise you, it does get better.
God Bless,
Kim (JerseyGyrl)