Week 30-31 – A little dentistry

First, a little (very dark) humour:


Ok, on to a little more interferon experience...

I went into a clinic for a couple of hours to have a wisdom tooth removed. Although it had not developed into a serious abscess, it had been worrying me for a couple of weeks, and my dentist said it was time-bomb waiting to go off. I could have waited a while longer, but if it had developed further it would have been more serious. So we went ahead with the next available slot.

As I have described previously, one problem with interferon treatment is that some of the blood counts get depressed. The white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and this process is interfered with. The effect is to reduce the body’s ability to respond to infections. Also, the platelet count drops, and this affects the ability of the blood to clot, and may make bruising more likely. The red blood cells are also affected – I think this is why one feels weak and light-headed / dizzy at times.

The bottom line of all the above is that surgery is best avoided while on interferon. There is an increased risk of bleeding, and one has to be careful that infections are not introduced.

It is interesting that each doctor has a different view – presumably informed by their specific experience. For example, I was told that it was possible to provide platelets in a transfusion. However, the dentist and his anaesthetist did not like the idea of introducing any blood products while my white cell count was depressed.
Also, I was told that surgery was inadvisable with a platelet count below 100. But these guys were quite happy with my count of 84.

So we went ahead, and I was in and out of the clinic before lunch.

Although I felt quite good after the surgery, the next week was not so good. I suppose it would have been OK if I did not have to continue with the interferon injections. And the antibiotics they gave me may have also contributed. I felt pretty lousy after each injection, and took longer than before to get back to ‘normal’ again each time. I took a whole day off and read two detective stories on Thursday last week!

Today I am almost back to normal, whatever that might be.

I also realized today that I have been neglecting my regular exercise. For the last couple of weeks I have been working hard on a consulting job, and it is so easy to carry on at my desk rather than get up and walk the dogs. I have to change this – My priority should be my health, and everything else should take second place.