Doc appt. update

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know how things went yesterday.

My new doc went over all of the bloodwork with me. I guess in the beginning

my bloodwork showed an extremely low immune system. Well, he wanted to

give me a couple vaccines and see how my body responded. What he concluded

from the tests, and he did show me the numbers... my immune system FUNCTIONS

properly. Unfortunately, my immune system is LOW. Well, the doc said that

given the fact that I'm on prednisone, he's not surprised, however, it seems

that the prednisone lowers my immune system much more than it does for an

average person. He said that it could be just " my body " or it could be

because I've been on steroids contiuously for 6 years. He also said it

could be a combination of both.

So that was good news #1. He said that when I start my Xolair treatments...

which he wants to begin next week, that he's going to wean me slowly off the

prednisone. But, in the meantime, I have to be exceptionally careful. He

said that my immune system is going to have to start recovering, that

something about prednisone almost " takes over " your body's natural immune

system and that when you go off of it after a prolonged time, your body has

to " remember " how to function without it. So I've just got to be extra

careful as far as when I get a cold or virus. He said that if I have the

slightest non-allergy/asthma related cough, fever or sniffle... he wants me

to call him or my PC doc IMMEDIATELY to have my blood drawn.

So, good news all around. I start Xolair hopefully next week, they just

have to wait for the company to ship them my personal supply, and he said he

ll go over everything with me before he gives me the injection. He did say

that my Ige level was one of the highest he'd ever seen, and said that he's

going to explain my dosage/timing of the injections that day.

Other good news, he said that my X-rays and pulmonary function tests showed

very little to no dangerous scarring, which he considered impressive since I

ve had 2 episodes of respiratory arrest, in addition to all of my other

major attacks.

So that's what's new with me, I'll let you know when they call to set up my

appointment for my first shot. I'm so excited and want to thank EVERYONE

for your patience and support, as well as answering all of the questions I

had months ago!

Breathe easy!