my mother has multiple myeloma. I want thank everyone who answered my first question...It was very helpful.
2006-11-04 09:56:56 · 4 answers · asked by Mercius 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
Well,
Sorry for the answers so far - but MM is a rare cancer so a lot of people don't know much about it.
Coumadin is given to MM patients for a couple of reasons :
1) A rare side effect of MM is thickening of the blood - she MAY have this which is counter acted by Coumadin. Need to ask doc if that is the case.
2) Most of the chemo therapy's have a tendency to cause blood clots (esp Thalidomide) if she is on this or others, need a blood thinner some hospitals use Hep, others ASA, and some Coumadin.
3) Could be something completely different; you need to find out the "why"; it is not a drug you want to be on for a long time due to some nasty side effects. If your mom has a hard time with medical information, you might want to discuss getting her to let you help with her medical decisions (that is a family discussion and then a legal one).
Shortness of breadth - first thought: what is her HGB? Most MM'ers are anemic and a side effect is shortness of breadth. If she is anemic, then iron or procrit shots could help. Need to look at the blood work for HGB - should be over 11, if not that could be a reason.
If you need more information; please contact:
www.myeloma.org
they have a lot of good books and information and even a hotline (number on website).
Good luck
Jewells
32 months and still here
2006-11-07 01:34:07 · answer #1 · answered by jewells_40 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your mom is on coumadin then she probably is taking it for a different reason(heart,stroke,blood clots,) then the myeloma. Her shortness of breath is more then likely due to her cancer or other treatment and not the med. They did NOT start her on coumadin for shortness of breath in the first place.
2006-11-04 11:47:26 · answer #2 · answered by twildman22 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
it's not normal fo our mother to be short of breath. However, I don't think it is related to the coumadin. The coumadin is a blood thinner and should not make your mother short of breath.
2006-11-04 10:01:33 · answer #3 · answered by shaggindeb 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many things can cause your mother to be short of breath. If she is weak, a smoker, suffers from congestive heart failure, or if she is over weight, many things can cause her to be short of breath.
Peace and love to your mother. I hope she gets to feeling better.
RN
2006-11-04 10:08:04 · answer #4 · answered by happydawg 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋