Donor transplant age 70

Michevans

My father in law had his stem cell transplant last Wednesday , this is due to him having non Hopkins lymphoma, he is in a hospital that is about an hour away from us , he has been extremely tired , depressed , very sick (they have now given him a driver for this) diarrhoea (he is been given Imodium for this ) , we are now on day 7 and is still isn't great , just wondering due to his age , do people think it will take longer for him to start to feel better, or have a bit more energy to even want to see people

Dieseldrinker62

Hi there, on day 7 your father in law is still probably only in the early days, and I seem to remember it being another few days after that before I started to feel a little better. It really is a tough process to go through but hopefully your father in law and those around him can get through this rough period and progress towards recovery.

It does take a while (I was 46 when I had my transplant) and everyone will be different. Fingers crossed he will start to feel better when the sickness and diarrhoea subside, which does make you feel very low.

Keep an eye out for those first signs of his counts rising which indicate that the graft is taking and that will hopefully give him a boost in confidence.

It is a slow path but try to stay positive and help him along the way. I also remember not wanting to see people at that stage because I felt so unwell, but fingers crossed he will pick up soon and start to feel better.

Please keep us updated and don't hesitate to call on us for support.

All the best,

Steve

petervee

Hi
Unfortunately it is very early days and from what you describe it sound exactly like what I experienced.

I was 63 when I had my transplant, 3 years ago now. I was in isolation for 4 weeks, the first week was conditioning with chemotherapy. It was the affects of that which made me feel just like your father in law. I too wondered if my age made it harder to recover, I'm not sure it was, I think most people have similar after affects. It sounds that his problems are being addressed which is good.

Things will improve you just have to be patient and take one day at a time. Whilst your father in law will feel depressed and down he will take comfort from your visits.

It's going to be a long and slow recovery but things will get better. It's a great feeling when things start to improve and you start to get good blood counts.

Good luck and let us know when things improve, you can keep in touch anytime, we are here to support to each other.

Best wishes, Peter

Michevans

Thank you both for responding , this is all very reassuring to us , hopefully he will start to feel better over the next couple of days , it is very helpful to know that this is all normal , I will keep you all up dated and when he feels up to it , I will get him to come on here , I think it will really help his recovery xx

Tillby

Hi, yes it is still very early days. My daughter was exactly the same and she is only 20! She also had a driver etc. She had her transplant on the 6th August and her energy levels are only just starting to improve. Things will get better for him I am sure.
Regards, Louise

Michevans

What are the first signs of the blood count going up , I know it's early days , we are on day 9 today , ard we looking at more towards the 14 days for the blood count to go up ?????

Gwyndaff

I'm Michelle's husband. Mich can't post write now because she is in work but we have had some great news this morning that we felt we needed to pass on. My dad phoned my mother this morning with this message.

Nutripenic level is 0.1 and white blood count is 0.6, these are the results from yesterday which was day 9.

We are all so relieved that things are starting to move in the right direction. Thank you so much for your support in this community.

Carl

Gwyndaff

... And this mornings results, nutriphiles 1.8 and white cell blood count 7.2!!

Dieseldrinker62

That's great news. Keep watching the counts climb and fingers crossed his recovery continues smoothly. There may be little dips along the way but he'll get there eventually.

All the best,

Steve

Michevans

Thank you for responding Steve , this site and talking to people on here has really helped us get through the first part of his recovering , my mother in law is very worried about him coming home , it's the not knowing what to expect I suppose x

Billie_AnthonyNolan

Hi Michelle,

I'm so glad you've found using the forum useful and your father in law's results are moving in a positive direction.

If you need anything from the patient team do get in touch - in the meantime I hope he continues to improve.

Billie

petervee

Hi

This is really good news for you all, I'm very pleased. I hope things improve day by day.

Try not to worry too much about going home at this stage, everything will be okay trust me I have been there. Keep up with the TLC, lots of cakes and goodies, so be prepared. There will be off days but there will be good days too.

Best wishes to you all.

Peter

Gwyndaff

More good news, yesterdays white count was 18.6 and they are saying he could be coming home before the end of the week. His spirits have now lifted massively but he is still very fatigued.

Gwyndaff

My Dad has been allowed to leave hospital, he was brought home yesterday. Still very fatigued but in the best place to recover his energy, with family all around him. We are so thankful for this forum, it has and continues to, help us through this difficult time.

petervee

Hi

Really good news that your dad is home, thanks for letting us know. Hope he continues to make progress and and gets stronger each day.

Anthony Nolan has lots of information on fatigue and have just this last week published a book on the subject. You can download a copy or give the Patient Information Team a ring and they will send you a copy. I have just received a copy and it has lots of useful information, I would recommend getting a copy.

Best wishes to you all.

Peter