What GVHD did to me / Update
GVHD is short for Graft Versus Host Disease. It literally is just that. Where the graft cells, the donor cells, attack the host, AKA me. I'm very much simplifying it haha. It's where the T-cells in the from the donor cells become activated and attack the body. It works like this because it's not my original cells to being with but someone else's cells in me instead. So them being in a new and foreign environment start to attack because they know it's not their body that they're in. So in my case the donor cells started to attack my gut, or gastrointestinal system. There are different kinds of GVHD but this is just one kind.
I was fine for a few months (from August to November), but something I ate, or something I did triggered the donor cells to lose recognition of their host's body and started to attack. Causing me to have constant belly pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. What I ate would either: 1) I would have diarrhea with the food unprocessed (so they'll be chunks of the meal I ate), or 2) I would just vomit it out later. That's one reason why I'm in the hospital because my body can't absorb the nutrients it needs so I would need nutrients through IV (total parenteral nutrition, or TPN). Another reason why I'm in the hospital is that the T-cells in the donor cells are active so I would need medication to suppress my immune system, or those specific T-cells that are attacking my gut. And then the third reason is that the gut takes a long time to heal, so really that's why it's been half a year since I've been in the hospital...
I'm an adult of 22 years so technically I'm an adult, but since I'm in pediatrics, the doctors here consulted with the adult bone marrow transplant doctors on the adult side. And well from what they discussed, it's not unusual for it to be taking this long to heal. And to be clear, I've healed quite a lot over the six months. Now I can finally take in foods without my stomach hurting too much. I'm not having that much diarrhea anymore. No more vomiting at all. I'm only connected to the IV pumps for only 12 hours. A lot has changed from the first time I was here to now. Though day by day and week by week, nothing seems to be changing, if we look at this from the whole view, I am getting better. Not as fast as I would like, but I'm definitely getting better.
I was fine for a few months (from August to November), but something I ate, or something I did triggered the donor cells to lose recognition of their host's body and started to attack. Causing me to have constant belly pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. What I ate would either: 1) I would have diarrhea with the food unprocessed (so they'll be chunks of the meal I ate), or 2) I would just vomit it out later. That's one reason why I'm in the hospital because my body can't absorb the nutrients it needs so I would need nutrients through IV (total parenteral nutrition, or TPN). Another reason why I'm in the hospital is that the T-cells in the donor cells are active so I would need medication to suppress my immune system, or those specific T-cells that are attacking my gut. And then the third reason is that the gut takes a long time to heal, so really that's why it's been half a year since I've been in the hospital...
I'm an adult of 22 years so technically I'm an adult, but since I'm in pediatrics, the doctors here consulted with the adult bone marrow transplant doctors on the adult side. And well from what they discussed, it's not unusual for it to be taking this long to heal. And to be clear, I've healed quite a lot over the six months. Now I can finally take in foods without my stomach hurting too much. I'm not having that much diarrhea anymore. No more vomiting at all. I'm only connected to the IV pumps for only 12 hours. A lot has changed from the first time I was here to now. Though day by day and week by week, nothing seems to be changing, if we look at this from the whole view, I am getting better. Not as fast as I would like, but I'm definitely getting better.
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