I was doing so well. Happy, excited, thrilled to be on Mounjaro. Weight dropping off. (Endocrinology) Diabetes labs doing better.
And then my other labs started trickling in.
⦁ Primary Care
Good News First
My HbA1c went from a 6.8 to a 5.1 in three months. Woo hoo!
My liver labs are happy. My liver has had a hard time, so it is great news to see it doing better.
My Lipid Panel is, for the first time in decades, normal. Cholesterol and Triglycerides well within the normal range.
Still Work to Do
BUN/Creatinine Ratio, Albumin, Globulin, and their Ratio shows I am eating way too little protein. Looking back over my previous labs for 8 years, not once have they been within range. I’ve been a vegan or vegetarian for decades, but still surprised. Even as I have upped plant-based protein, when I tasted chicken, it was Nirvana, so have added chicken to my diet. And yes, I know the BUN/Creatinine Ratio can be because of my kidneys, too. (See below)
Crap Lab Results
Chronic Kidney Disease has gotten worse. Again. I am in CKD Stage 3b (eGFR is 40 and Creatinine quite high). I am doing every single thing I can to help my kidneys, but they keep getting worse. It makes me cry because I am trying so hard.
The DEXA Scan showed osteoporosis in my left hip and spine. Sooooo excited about that. I am waiting for the appointment with my Primary Care and Endocrinologist to figure out a strategy for dealing with this. (I am walking! I know that much.)
The worst of these not good labs is my Iron. I have Iron Deficiency Anemia off and on because of the Gastric Bypass (watch for a separate post), but right now, it is really bad. I was offered a blood transfusion or 3 iron infusions within one week. Stupidly, I chose the iron infusions. I say that because I am a hard stick. The first one, it took one poke. The one yesterday took 4 pokes, 3 infiltrations. Then the infusion hurt, but I didn’t want to do another IV try, so just cried the 2 hours it took and the 45 minute flush afterwards.
And these IVs are done in the Chemo room! These nurses are amazingly good at getting IVs in.
I know I am being a baby, but things have been so good! And I can finally see veins in my arm and hand, yet they were still inadequate to save me from several pokes. I was very frustrated.
Just a note: I am not a hard patient to deal with. I can tolerate pain very well and getting poked doesn’t usually bug me, but having them infiltrate and that pain and having to do it again and again. I met my limit, so just cried.
I do want to say it annoys the crap out of me they don’t have an ultrasound to find veins like the PICC team has. The PICC team comes to do my IVs anytime I am in the ER or getting a procedure done.
Hallucinations
Hallucinations are picking up. This makes me cranky, too. I do not want to fall into depression. (And this has zero to do with Mounjaro. This is a normal part of my life.)
Onward, Ho!
I just keep plugging along. What else is there to do?