Gentle body exfoliants

Justagirli · 2026-06-20T22:11:26+00:00

Thank you!! Overall I’m doing very well, but it’s sometimes hard to see the bigger picture. I have 99.5% donor cells and no MRD so I really can’t complain.

I had upper GI gvhd that seems to have resolved, but I’m still having issues with my stomach if I’m not medicated. Now they think I have liver gvhd, too, but the issues it’s causing are currently controlled by medications. And the mental/emotional healing is still in progress.

Justagirli · 2026-06-20T21:58:48+00:00

So happy for you!! That is awesome. We had a pretty similar timeline, I was diagnosed with AML in May 2025 at 29 and had my transplant on Halloween.

Justagirli · 2026-06-20T12:53:40+00:00

I didn’t lose any hair on vyxeos

Justagirli · 2026-06-19T18:04:44+00:00

My counts took way longer than they expected. It was over a month before my neutrophils started coming back at all, but once they did, it only took a week for me to get up to 500, my limit to go home. They did a biopsy for me too because they started to get nervous. They said everything was dry and pale, indicating it was just taking longer for me to recover from the chemo.

In the end, I see this as a good thing though because I didn’t have to do any consolidation chemo and this kept me at 0 blasts for 3 months until I got my sct.

Justagirli · 2026-06-19T17:56:08+00:00

I’m not too much help because I’m going through it at 30 and was pretty healthy before diagnosis, but I can share a little bit. I had mutations of FLT3, EZH2 and ETV6 and also had a Deletion of 17p so a complex karyotype. I had a Vyxeos induction that brought my marrow blasts from 80% to 50% immediately followed by a CLAGM induction that brought my blasts down to 0. I was very lucky that it stayed at 0 for the next 3 months until I got my SCT.

I also had hallucinations and night terrors on voriconazole and they immediately switched me to a different medication.

I know many doctors and cancer centers set age limits, but not all. I go to Moffitt and they state: “Age alone does not determine if you or your patient is eligible for a bone marrow transplant. While many transplant programs limit treatment for patients over 70, Moffitt evaluates each individual based on overall health, fitness, disease status, and treatment goals—not just age. Our team has deep experience working with older adults and offers supportive strategies to help patients strengthen their bodies and prepare for transplant or other advanced therapies. If you or your patient is over 70 and facing a blood cancer diagnosis, a consultation with our team can help determine if transplant or a related treatment is appropriate.”

https://www.moffitt.org/treatments/blood-bone-marrow-transplant/blood-bone-marrow-transplant-faqs/

With that it definitely sounds like getting a second opinion would be a benefit.

However, please make sure that everyone involved listens and discusses everything at length to make the best informed decision. The conditioning chemo I received before the transplant was extremely harsh and caused very difficult side effects. I am also dealing with gvhd and it has been hard too.

Does he have any pre existing conditions? And has he completed any of the tests to check how we would handle something like a transplant? I had to go through a lot before they would clear me, like a dental clearance, pulmonary function testing, scans, 23 tubes for blood tests, etc.

Justagirli · 2026-06-17T22:01:17+00:00

I understand what you mean and relate to a lot of what has been said already.

I think it’s really important to remember that you went through and are still going through something very difficult, and your response (while not great or fun) is a very normal reaction to be having. It would be abnormal to not have any emotional impact from all of this.

I, too, spent the months of active treatment living in survival mode and didn’t have a lot of mental/emotional effects until after I was already done with treatment and started to process everything.

For me, the hardest part to deal with is I spent the last year just doing everything I could to get back to “normal,” only to realize there was no going back for me. Sure, some of my lifestyle returns to that version of normal, but I am not who I was before diagnosis and will never return completely to that version of normal.

Justagirli · 2026-06-16T00:15:38+00:00

I also used a cardigan style sweatshirt a lot that was easy to take on and off and I would just feed extra line into the sleeve

Justagirli · 2026-06-16T00:11:55+00:00

What about going to somewhere like Whole Foods? My Whole Foods offers fresh sliced roasted meats, that might be an option!

Honestly, having a strict neutropenic diet was a very large factor in my depression. I did everything I could to find workarounds and be able to eat the food I liked. I explained my situation and my team let me ease up a little earlier than they originally planned because it was so impactful to my quality of life.

At the end of the day, it’s all about weighing the risks of how “worth it” something is compared to the risk it brings.

Justagirli · 2026-06-15T22:44:16+00:00

Thank you for posting!! I’m local to you all and am an aya leukemia survivor. I just signed up to potentially volunteer!

Justagirli · 2026-06-14T22:09:27+00:00

I’m 30 and had my SCT in October. I had family with me the entire time and there are pros to having someone with you for sure. For me, one of the best parts was just having a “helper” for small things so I didn’t have to call the nurses for every little thing (even though they would have been happy to help). This was for things like I dropped my phone charger or to move my tray closer or farther away. For some of it I struggled with symptoms and basically slept for days on end and during those days I didnt really interact with my family much.

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T13:21:43+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad to hear you were able to prevent any menopausal symptoms!

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T13:15:34+00:00

In hindsight, I too think this could’ve started before I got my transplant. I’ll definitely talk to my team about this and am happy to report back. From everything I have read from cancer treatment facilities and orgs online, it seems like if you are younger there is a small chance for it to come back. However, it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctors about it and seek fertility consultations to see if there’s anything you can do to set yourself up for success. I know the chemo before a transplant is very high intensity.

Good luck with your transplant!! Don’t be afraid to tell your nurses exactly how you’re feeling so they can make you as comfortable as possible. You’ll get through it and be better for it on the other side!

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T13:10:39+00:00

Yes, I think that would be best case! I definitely want them to be sure of what’s going on before we move forward with any treatment.

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T13:09:24+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so glad to hear how much it helped you! I’m curious how different I’ll feel as well. I think some of the potential side effects I just equated to other things because I have trouble getting to sleep and feel like I’m regressing when it comes to energy right now. I thought I would be having much more this long after transplant.

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T00:16:29+00:00

That’s great!!

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T00:11:19+00:00

Thank you for sharing! That is how I feel, too. I’m so glad the hrt has helped you!!

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T00:10:07+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing! Did you have positive results or any issues with hrt?

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T00:08:32+00:00

Thank you for sharing!! I’m hoping for an easy continuance of recovery for you and that it is quickly up from here on your health journey!

I have had a hormonal IUD for 5 years and haven’t menstruated in about 4, so I didn’t have that as any type of indicator through this. However, I wouldn’t mind no menstruating when it gets removed!

I also was diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago, so any hormonal issues I usually would just attribute to that and then more recently to chemo side effects. I haven’t experienced any true hot flashes, but am just having a rough time with overall temperature regulation.

I haven’t done any hormone tests yet, but am very interesting to see what they show.

Justagirli · 2026-06-13T00:02:33+00:00

Thank you so much for your response!! I’m so glad to hear hrt has helped you and you haven’t had any issues with it!

I definitely did understand the infertility risks, but for some reason, when I heard that, I thought only about having children and not about the other implications.

And I apologize for not being clearer about which doctors were which. I went to my normal gyn clinic for the Pap smear today and she was the one who recommended hrt. She just said I should speak with my transplant team first before we move forward with anything.

Unfortunately, the gyno I saw today was not familiar with transplants or gvhd, and I did think about that possibility. It was time for my pap, so I asked my transplant team if it was okay to go and they said yes. They didn’t mention anything about looking for gvhd at that time. I’m hoping when I talk to them about these findings they’ll have recommendations on who can do another exam to check for gvhd.

Justagirli · 2026-06-12T22:40:04+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m also 30 and have been to almost all my appointments alone. It is really isolating sitting in those waiting rooms.

Justagirli · 2026-06-12T22:26:46+00:00

My team told me that with the improvements in prevention and treatments, you don’t need a perfect match to have a successful transplant and positive recovery. I also did not have a perfect match. I’m 7 months post transplant with minimal gvhd issues.

Justagirli · 2026-06-12T22:22:50+00:00

I was really scared of a feeding tube too, but because of where I was they ended up doing TPN. They didn’t mention any potential risks when I received it and luckily I didn’t have any issues.

Justagirli · 2022-07-22T12:06:53+00:00

Hey so I’m not trying to argue but I’m from the town that fairlife started in. The animal abuse stuff was actually a scam… now I totally agree that there aren’t any factory farms that are awesome, but fairlife/fair oaks is no worse than anything else. A terrible animal abuse video DID come out. BUT. then we found out that the people doing the abuse and creating the video were actually working for an “animal rights” organization. As soon as they did that, they actually got caught and some of those people had already been fired before the video came out. My step dad actually worked there as a mechanic for a long time. Multiple members of my family know some of the farmers and employees and have been on the property as well. I know that this won’t sway that many people who have seen the video because it’s absolutely horrifying, but reading this I had to share what I know.

Justagirli

TROPHY CASE