Richard and Mary Jean,

I had an enormous spleen at diagnosis.  My G.P. measured it 
horizontally across the chest, it was 7".  Vertically it was down to 
about my belly button.  Fortunately the spleen responded well, 
initially to Hydrea and then later with Gleevec.  I did notice 
fleeting pain for a few months after diagnosis though even though the 
Spleen had gone back to it's normal size.  This was especially true 
when I would sleep on one side and then roll over to the other side.  
Eventually the pain went away completely.

I assume the residual pain was because my Spleen had been traumatized 
by so much stretching.  Does anyone know what the Spleen looks like 
after such an event?  Does it lose elasticity and become "droopy"? (I 
have nasty visions of the mother of all stretch marks...).  Or does 
the Spleen regain it's elasticity and go back to being pretty much 
normal? 

Is it anything like what happens with Gall Bladders that become 
swollen due to Gallstones? I've heard that repeated stones can make 
the Gall Bladder covered in adhesions that can even make it almost 
unrecognizable to a surgeon.  A swollen Spleen is hopefully a one 
time event so maybe adhesions are not as much of an issue.

Regards,
Mark



--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], rrockef1 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >    Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 10:54:11 EST
> >    From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: spleen pain  cross posted
> > 
> > I've been having some spleen pain.  Is that kind of normal?  
Sometimes it's
> > sharp, but sometimes just a dull throbbbing ache.  I had spleen 
pain at the
> > beginning of this disease.  Should I get it checked out?  It's a 
bit scary.
> > Could it be one of those things like diverticulosis or 
diverticulities.  I
> > always get those confused.  Excuse my ignorance but ay ideas are 
welcome.
> 
> Dear Mary Jean,
> 
> Unless your spleen is enlarged, which it's not likely to be if 
you're still
> in HR, I wouldn't assume that it's from the spleen (our internal 
organs
> aren't good at localizing pain, and there's plenty else in that 
vicinity) -
> but I would get it checked out just the same. Other sources of left 
upper
> quadrant pain include diaphragm irritation, stained muscles of the 
upper
> abdomen, rib pathology, intercostal muscle (between the ribs) 
strain,
> peritoneal (lining of the internal organs) inflammation, something 
in the
> left kidney or small bowel (not the large bowel, such as 
diverticulitis
> would cause as long as the pain is above the umbilicus; large bowel 
pain is
> always in the lower abdomen), pancreatic pathology, or referred 
pain from
> somewhere else entirely - like the spine.  Early shingles is also 
something
> to consider if it's an odd pain and has a skin component of any 
sort (which
> might not develop initially).  This isn't all that likely, but since
> treating shingles early can make all the difference, it's always 
worth
> thinking about. 
> 
> Love,
> Richard





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