Trend Setting

I once had a writer friend who was a frequent contributor to Parade Magazine, the fluff-filled tabloid that's inserted into millions of small-town and big-city newspapers every Sunday. She specialized in spotting "trends," a task that's much easier than it sounds. Her editor told her if she could come up with three examples, she had a trend on her hands.

Of course, in medical parlance, "trend" has a different meaning - "general direction in which something seems to move."

Since I tapered off the steroid Prednisone in November, we've been watching my blood counts for changes in the Eosinophils (EOS)*. I started off with zero EOS, but then a trend started to develop. Every month, the EOS count would increase by 40 to 50%. If this trend continued, I figured I could be in deep doo doo by July (thought I'd throw in a little more medical speak).

I went in on Monday for lab work, and discovered that the trend wasn't continuing at the same pace. Those pesky little EOS decided to be fruitful and multiply exponentially. The percentage of EOS in my blood jumped up from 5% to 30% in one month (a 500% increase).

To be honest, I wasn't surprised. My hacking cough returned about two weeks ago. I've noticed that I'm short of breath after delivering a long-winded monologue or walking up two flights of stairs. Mild fatigue has set in, and I frequently join the cats in afternoon naps. At this point, the symptoms aren't impairing my ability to get things done or to enjoy life.

My doctor has asked me to reschedule my next appointment in two weeks instead of four. Let's just hope that this latest trend doesn't continue.

*EOS refresher course: The EOS are a component of the white blood cells designed to fight allergies or parasites. A few of them sit around twiddling their thumbs until they're called into action. When they're needed, they multiply and fight off the parasite with toxins. Normal range of EOS in the blood is 0 to 5%, with an optimal count of 2.5%

Sometimes, the EOS go haywire for no known reason. This is called idiopathic hypereosinophillic syndrome (HES), a rare condition that I was hoping I didn't have. If left untreated, it can cause severe damage to organs, especially the heart and lungs.

Eos is also the goddess of the dawn. I'm channeling her now, hoping that she'll lead me to the light.