Tongue tale, cont.

I made out well at Dana-Farber yesterday, starting with my appointment with Dr. Goguen, the one that had made me most concerned.

She said the spot on my tongue was much smaller. She said these words which are welcome to any patient with a problem: "I am not impressed." At our previous appointment, she had said she might have to biopsy my tongue, and I was relieved that that didn't happen.

Next it was on to the Kraft Blood Donor Center for therapeutic phlebotomy to reduce the amount of ferritin in my system. I passed the time talking to the phlebotomist, who liked my Spanish leather boots so much that she bent down under my feet to see if she could find the maker's name. I sat next to a woman who has been donating platelets on and off for 15 years. Very admirable.

Then I ate lunch with my friend Wendy, who had driven me to Boston. It was fun having her company, and also important for me to not drive back after getting a pint of blood taken out.

My regular checkup was fine. I have a normal white blood count and hematocrit. Platelets were 127. The normal range is 155-410, but being over 100 is good for me.

My ferritin – the protein that stores iron in your body so it can use it later – is still outrageously high at 4582; normal is 10-170. Ferritin is stored in many types of cells, including liver cells, where an excess amount can cause serious damage.

I am going to have to go back on Exjade, five pills dissolved in water on an empty stomach, and no food for 30 minutes after.

I have been off Exjade for quite a while because it makes me feel so sick. A friend who also had multiple bone marrow transplants, and countless transfusions, said she plowed through with taking eight months of Exjade and now her levels are normal.

I tricked my senses this morning after taking Exjade by making strong coffee and deeply inhaling the smell. I guess that will be my morning routine for a while.