Bye bye Velcade...!

Hi All,
Went to RSCH yesterday for 3rd dose of Velcade in cycle 5. Had felt really ropey all weekend - really bad cramps in my legs, kind of weepy and just utterly wiped out. Could have happily just pulled the duvet over my head and stayed in bed all day. Not good, to say the least. Managed to cadge a lift to the hospital (three cheers for Teddy-boy), so that really helped. I spoke (and cried a little bit!) to the lovely nurse who came to canulate me and she went off to speak to the doc. He said that he wanted me to have this dose, but he'd like to see me afterwards in the clinic.
The upshot is that he's taken me off the Velcade, but is leaving me on all the oral drugs, so still on the lovely Dex, in the hope that they'll work as a maintenance treatment to keep light chains/paraproteins down to an acceptable level until my donor kebab in the New Year. Keep 'em crossed! If levels do start to rise, then he'll move on to Revlimid. Really hope not, as I was hoping to keep that one up my sleeve for later on - don't know if it can be repeated, from a clinical or funding point of view. I'm not really a pessimist or an optimist, but I am a realist and with the speed of my relapse after the first transplant, I can't help thinking that I will relapse quickly after any treatment, even though there's not really any reason to believe this, since the treatments all work in different ways. Fuck it - worry about this one later! I'll just try to enjoy the fact that I'll be spending less time traipsing down to Brighton! I'll be seeing the doc again on the 19th, to review and in the meantime he's referred me for another MRI on my spine, just to be sure that the symptoms I've had aren't related to spinal damage (pretty sure that's not the case, but doesn't hurt to check - consultant has a quite a belt-and-braces approach and that's just fine by me)
Feeling better today, mainly due to a half-decent night's sleep - doc also prescribed me Amytriptyline (works on nerve pain), which has a sedative effect, so I think that helped.
Think that covers everything for now - will keep you posted on all developments, you lucky people!
Big hugs 'n' wet kisses,
A xxx