checkup time

I stopped in at LabCorp yesterday to get a platelet count. Whoo-Hoo..... 14k ...... !!

Not a big drop from 15k to 14k, and it has remained consistent (9k-20k range) over the past year. No big deal.
I'm working on year 13 of the ITP Adventure Ride...so I guess I am a little jaded (acclimated?).
My hematologist just called me to see how I felt. I am scheduled to see him on Monday for 6-month check anyway.
Not that there is much to discuss then; I have ITP and manage it inexpensively with generic Cellcept.
Life continues...I just roll along with it.
Rats! Now I have the vision in my head of The Blues Brothers singing the 'Rawhide Theme'; ..... Rollin' rollin' rollin'...


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Hi weirdjack,

Good to hear you are doing fine with a count that would make most (non-hemo) doctors freak out.

Cheers
Joerg

Move 'em on
(Head em' up!)
Head em' up
(Move 'em on!)
Move 'em on
(Head em' up!)
Rawhide!


Rollin' rollin',rollin'
Rollin' rollin' rollin' Yah!
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
Rawhide

I like acclimated it is a good word!

Okay, got the platelet count last week...then yesterday (Monday) I did my twice a year trek to The James to visit my hematologist. No need for a new count, it wouldn't have changed much.
Had a great time talking with the nurses (known many of them for 12 years now) and generally hanging-out. Then the Doc checked me out, talked over the numbers, and as Led Zep put it, 'the song remains the same'.

I'm fine with a 14k count, symptoms are tolerable, no oddball side-stuff, I tolerate Cellcept well, Cellcept is inexpensive, the Labcorp I use is reliable and quick...in short, there was no reason to change anything.

And it had been a few years since the last time I asked him these questions. With all the speculation I read, I figured I'd ask him again;
(1) Is drinking beer (a couple snifters with dinner) adversely affecting anything for me?
(2) Is there any reason I should not travel/fly?
His answer for both questions was simply; "NO" .
At least both pose no issues for me, but everyone is different.

Then we talked about beer and music for awhile.



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Thanks for the update, Jack!

You are quite welcome Sandi.

My apologies that there is nothing earth-shattering to report. I'm pretty boring I guess.

Oops...I did forget to mention that my hematologist is into 'Lagers', I am into IPAs mostly. Especially from the extremely good breweries in and around Columbus Ohio. My choices over the weekend were:
Hoof-Hearted - South of Eleven (local)
Seventh Son - Golden Ratio (even more local)
Elevator brewing - Big Vic's (4 blocks from Seventh Son local)
Oscar Blues - G'Knight (not local, but delicious!)

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You are anything but boring, Jack!

Jack a few of us ITPers here would get together and there was this man who kept a count at about 5k - at one time he was in the Enbrel study but it did nothing for his platelets - also had a lady who went to London for the test and found the point of destruction wasn't her spleen so she came back here and had it removed, not sure when but after the splenectomy her count hit the gutter again. She also had a stroke sometime before the splenectomy. Unfortunately our get-togethers went by the wayside some years back. So as you said, everybody is different.

Glad you are doing well!

I had a beer the other night and it tasted so good! It was a Loose Leaf Session Ale from Odell Brewing in Fort Collins CO.

Not a beer or a lager type person that said once a year I have an OV and if I out for chines maybe I'll order a tsingtoa. Truthfully I drink vodka and orange juice (screw driver) or Strawberry White zinfandel cheap wine lol.

What's your opinion on ACDC, Iron Maiden? I like Led Zeppelin just not my favorite!

It's really funny to me that I still love those bands at the age of 52. Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Rush, Moody Blues, Genesis, Blue Oyster Cult, Alan Parsons, etc. Those bands were never for older people, only young ones like I think I still am! I hear those songs and get skyrocketed back to my teenage years and that fleeting feeling of being carefree. After that I always feel very sad that that part of my life is long gone. Did I appreciate it enough? I don't know, but I had one heck of a good time!

Probably not asking me but I'll chime in:

I drank Tsingtao beer when we lived in Hong Kong, like it - also like Guinness. Sapporo & Asahi when lived in Japan. But I don't drink that much now.

My favorite is Metallica
Also like some of Nine Inch Nails - Bare Naked Ladies - Red Hot Chili Peppers - usually can find something by any group that I like, even Country/Western - not that crazy about most jazz. Was once told by someone that I'm the only mother this person knew who could whistle to Metallica.

Too funny Melinda - you seem to like the 80's rock bands and I go for the 70's. I was not into those bands much in the 80's, tended to go for Flock of Seagulls, Depeche Mode, Howard Jones, Level 42, Tears for Fears, U2. I never figured you for a Metallica girl! I want to hear that whistle!

I'm going to see Justin Hayward in three weeks. There's a man with a voice!

You know, I've been wondering about the beer thing. I've stayed away from beer since my ITP journey started 10 weeks ago, really more out of how I thought it might affect the treatments I was doing, not so much my counts themselves (I'm in single digits, what's a beer or two going to do? Drop them from 7 to 3? Meh). I haven't read anything or have been told anything by a hematologist that makes me believe having a beer or two once a week or so will affect any treatments I had or will have (starting NPlate soon).

I'm more a stout and porter guy. I happen to live in a city that has fantastic local brewers - and I've been missing out on those brews as of late.

And I do love me some classic rock - a lot of that comes from my ten years of working for a rock radio station (including on-air). Zeppelin ranks high, The Stones, The Who. My problem is working in radio ruined a lot of songs for me - heard tunes so often I got sick of them. I'm thankful my musical tastes vary so much - have discovered a lot of great music that way!

I wasn't really wondering. I only asked my hematologist about beer again because I see folks here asking that same question now and then. I've asked him several times over the past 12+ years, I always get the same response; It isn't affecting me anymore than it would anyone else. I usually have 1-2 good beers with dinner. If it's really good beer, I may have 3. Granted, each of those is the 'alcohol content' equivalent of 3 Budweisers. Oh crap...I suppose I'd have to say that Budweiser is a 'local' beer also. There is a Busch mass-production brewery 1/2 a mile from my house. Anyway....beer is much ado about nothing in my case. But everyone is different.
Note: for reference, my hematologist specializes in ITP research at The James Cancer Hospital. He is pretty current on what is what. Which is why he has NEVER freaked out on me...nor freaked me out, regardless of counts.

Bands? I grew up listening to all sorts of music; folk, show tunes, rock, do-wop, classical, real country, pretty much everything. Grew up in a musical family. I watched American Bandstand when it was still in Philadelphia (my sister was even on the show once).
Started playing in bands professionally in the 1970's. My first paid gig was at a boutique in Devonport, Tasmania back in 1971. Lack of food overcomes shyness every time.
I don't really have a favorite musician or band. My influences have been people like Woody Guthrie, Steve Goodman, Pete Seeger, John Sebastian, Howlin' Wolf, Kingston Trio, Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Chad Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Link Wray and the Wraymen, Yardbirds, Alvin Lee...etc etc etc.
I currently listen to all sorts of music.
In my car deck at this moment are compilation CDs of Lyle Lovett, Ten Years after, Moody Blues, Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits, Grateful dead, and Girls Generation/TTS (yes... K-Pop!).

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I won't tell you Jack what my father said about Bud and my father in law said about Coors. Local breweries, they are so good - and Guinness of course. Another I like is Shiner Bock out of Texas.

I grew up with opera, my Dad used to sing in the Muny Opera Chorus before kids started to come - then there were the 45s we would buy of the current hits. I started playing the violin young, played in orchestra & quartet etc. I love all music, not every song/piece ever written but all styles. On my iPod the music ranges from my grandchild singing the Eensy Weensy Spider to Metallica to the Beatles to Patsy Cline to Bare Naked Ladies to Tom Petty to Midnight Train to the Kingston Trio to Flogging Molly to the Royal Hong Kong Police Band to Queen and on and on.

My very favorite song is Money sung by The Beatles.

Sandi I'm a dang good whistler - I whistle and don't even know I'm doing it, I just do it. I've had people stop me in stores and tell me how much they like listening to me! And believe me, I can whistle a mean Metallica

Didn't realize those groups I mentioned were from the 80s, just heard them at some point and liked a few of their songs. Can't believe I forgot to mention Flogging Molly - love Flogging Molly.

Bet Justin Hayward will put on a good show - what fun you are going to see him!

I saw Moody Blues about 3 years ago and they blew me away. Still have it in their 70's!

I never could whistle. I practice, but nothing comes out. I do sing though.

Your father and F-I-L probably said the same thing that I say about Bud and Coors.
Although...Coors saved my life decades ago. On one of my hitch-hiking runs across the USA, I had not eaten in a couple of days. Got a ride in a VW Microbus in Kansas....driver offered me a nutritious warm 16oz can of Coors. At the time, it was heavenly. But these days I am not starving and can afford to choose the beer I drink.

Tonight's brew of choice is 'CBC Creeper', at a pub a couple of blocks from my house.
'CBC' is 'Columbus Brewing Company', not to be confused with the blood test we all know and love.
Tomorrow I will choose 'Actual Conductor', from Actual Brewing here in Columbus.
We have a lot of really great breweries here (if you ignore the giant Busch complex).

Didn't see many national/international bands this past summer. But I did catch 'The Gin Blossoms'. They impressed me as being one of the few not-current (older) bands which performs songs in their original key. Most bands lower the key as their vocal range ages.

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Ahhh Weirdjack you are showing your age! You said car deck hehehe


As for drinking I never asked and I never gave the information over. I know alcohol can effect platelet aggregation so when I'm low I avoid but when I'm up I have a drink when I want it.


Saturday night (probably one too many) 80's dance which they played 80's and 90's that part was not nice of them. Halloween theme and we had a great time. They even had a bbq set up outside.

Weirdjack you are showing your age! You said car deck

At least I didn't say 8-track!
Actually....the fact that I listen to CDs (rather than satellite radio or mp3 files) in the car shows my age....or that I don't spend very much time in my 'drive to work' vehicle.....or both.
If it makes things better...our other car has an entertainment center with Sirius, Bose sound system, blue tooth connection, etc.

NOTE: My beers of choice this past weekend were local and semi-local.
Friday's brew was; 'Bells Two-Hearted' (Michigan)
Saturday's was; 'Actual Electron' (Columbus OH)
Sunday's was; 'Great Lakes Nosferatu' (Cleveland OH)


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Nothing wrong with listening to CD's the car that is normal and means your young! hehehe

Really ?
We're talking about Beer & Rock ?
Oh well I may as well chime in .

Was given (by Drs.) the old "moderation" speech and way I figure,after 3 flirts with the
reaper (last 1 being revived) I'm goin with it ! BTW one of my BFF was on dialysis for 17
Years !!! and he insisted on 3/day BUT stuck to the other dietery factors & NEVER
drank on dialysis days .he may have set record -17 yrs.
Lupus,Hemo,Kidney,& Heart all reccomended same., only Neurologist pushes total abstinence.
I currently consume 1-3 beers twice a week (FOOTBALL/FISHING).

As for my tunes , late 60's early 70's are my choices as i've seen most of them from that
era . Grew up in North Jersey !!!LUCKY ME !! Wasn't quite old enough for Woodstock
so I compensated by seeing as many of the bands as possible as they rolled into
THE CAPITOL THEATRE in Passaic ,NJ . Mountain, TenYearsAfter,Who,Santana,Dead,Zepplin,Stones,
Springstein
AND Hot F'n Toonaaa) , and many other genres -progressive Yes,Nektar,Genesis & the Jazz Fusion
was hot @ that time Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orch.Pat metheny ...Blues-Johny Winter many more!
it was all there for me being only 15-miles from Manhattan NY
Thanks WeirdJack...... You brought me out of my funk today !
SuperDave
trying to stay posetive!

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pyramids-apricot-ale-takes-gold-again-at-2014-great-american-beer-festival-280636102.html
Had a Pyramid Apricot Ale - boy was it good!

I'm going to throw in some County because I like Country too. "I'm Not Lisa" - "Islands in the Stream" - "I Love This Bar" - and lots more. I just love music!

[SuperDave - yes, stay positive!]

Dave - are you on any meds? I don't drink because of that...too many warnings of liver failure. Although....I did go to see Justin Hayward two nights ago and had one beer then. First one in the last year and a half! After hearing him sing, I didn't care if I died that night.

Sandi, yes. (becuse of Lupus clotting antogen) blood thinner (coumadin) ,
blood pressure(Toprol),(Zoloft),(Simvistatin)&(Plaquenil) for lupus.
Love Moody Blues.......U know what tomorrow PM is !! ?
Dave

Quote: "Nothing wrong with listening to CD's the car that is normal and means your young"

Young? It was 1974 before I even had an 8-track. My first 7 vehicles only had an AM radio. I'm old.
I think these days, normal in a car is either: Sirius radio or a blu-tooth connection from your phone.
Heck, my wife has never even used her CD changer in four years now....only Sirius radio.
My ride to work this morning was listening to a CD I burned of Ylvis tunes downloaded from YouTube; 'Stonehenge', 'The Fox', 'Jan Egeland', 'Massachusetts', 'Pressure', 'Work It', and of course, the Barry White-esque 'The Cabin'.

But mostly, I just listen to the voices in my head.

Last night's dinner brew was 'Seventh Son Humulus Nimbus' (another great local brewery).
Sunday's brunch brew was 'Lagunitas Imperial Red' (not so local).
Saturday's dinner brew was 'Hoof Hearted South of Eleven' (another great local brewery).
Tonight I am looking forward to 'Fat Head's Bonehead Red Rye Ale' (Cleveland brewery).

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Well my first car didn't even have a radio, was a used Ford Fairlane I bought for a couple hundred - my Dad installed an AM radio under the dash for me. I never even knew what an 8-track was until I met my husband to be - he had one in his GTO and it was super, had a reverberator.

It's colder than a well diggers fanny here so it was hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.

My second to last car had a cassette in it and the owner gave me an adapter you put in so you could attach your Ipod. We had a good chuckle over that one since it was so called out dated. My new car has a USB so I can attach my Ipod directly and my options are cd, radio or digital.

I am young to many old to many more. I remember 8 track tapes my favorite was finding here comes the sun by the Beatles. I have close to 300 songs on my Ipod ranging from everything from moody blue, pink floyd to boyd tinsley dueling bango (spelling probably wrong).

Now I never follow doctors well yes I am considered non-compliant patient. Wine my drink of choice right now Wild Vines Strawberry White Zinfandel. Unlike everyone else I do not know my counts most of the time (hangs head in shame) actually need to get count see doctor next week. Which reminds me must remember to ask her for a note to avoid the flu shot. Ugh I really do hate doctors!

In all reality for me type of music does not matter all that matters is there is music. I play music to sleep (religious chanting) and in the car anything that keeps me awake! Shamefully I must add I do not play (piano, guitar) as much as I should. That said got a ticket for a concert called Lunch at Allen's Musical Revue (local concert association) waited almost 4 years to get these tickets and already missed one concert. Hoping I do not miss this one!