LIVING WITH MCL

WOW! 3 posts in as many days, but if you feel inundated with too much information, don't worry. I doubt it will continue. This news just couldn't wait. The results of my colonography are in, and all is well. No polyps or other extraneous stuff. Thank goodness I'm not going to have to go through that again, for at least another couple of years. Hopefully by then I will have forgotten the misery I endured. But it gets even better. A retest of my blood counts showed the approximate same drop in lymphocyte count to 55 thou/mcL (which is within normal lab variation at this lymphocyte level), but my platelets were back up to 159 thou/mcL. Not sure why the increase in platelets, other than the fact I did do a pretty intense bike ride Tuesday morning (which I'm told will cause an increase in platelets), and I cut back [very] slightly on the green tea. Regardless of the reason, it is reassuring. I guess the best thing I can do for myself is try to increase the intensity of my b...

Well, I managed to survive my colonography. I'm just not sure it's a preferred alternative to a standard colonoscopy. I still had to go through the cleansing process, and to my surprise they still had to stick this instrument (for lack of the correct term) up my butt, in order to fill my colon with air, before starting the scan. (For some reason, I didn't think I was going to have to endure all that.) The hardest part was trying to relax enough to keep from pushing the "instrument" back out, which seemed like it could easily be done. Plus, the scan had to be performed while on my stomach and back. This required me to turn over half way through the procedure, which was made more problematic by that "instrument" sticking out my backside. I can only imagine how comical this must have all been to those in attendance. All I will add is, if you don't have a good reason for a colonography, e.g. an enlarged spleen, go with a colonoscopy. I think it takes les...

No, that isn't a mistake in the title. Because of my enlarged spleen (which can get in the way of the scope), and the potential problems as a result of that, my doctor has obliged my request for a colonography in lieu of the standard colonoscopy. The only advantage to a colonography being, I won't have to endure the torture of having someone stick a 10 foot probe up my butt.  I still have to go through the standard cleansing process (the second most difficult part of this entire ordeal), plus if anything is discovered during the colonography, I may still have to go through the torture of a standard colonoscopy anyways. The other problem with the colonography is I will be exposed to radiation from the CT scanning machine, which is how a colonography is performed, and all the problems associated with that. At least I've not been exposed to much artificial radiation in the past 8 years, having had only one CT scan, and I think one X-ray, during that time frame. So as I sit her...