Did anybody have any bad side effects from taking procrit?

Did anyone have any bad side effects from taking procrit?  My doctor want me to go on procrit for low hemoglobin.Also he said that I should take iron pills two a day.I read so were on here that someone said to stay away from iron that its really bad.Is that true that iron bad for your liver and that you shouldn't take it no matter what.

[Bill1954]

Shane, if your doc said to take supplemental iron, take it. HCV patients often develop iron storage issues; but not all of them do.

Procrit requires sufficient serum iron to work; if yours is low, you need to increase it with supplemental iron. Without any iron in your blood, your red cells are unable to transport oxygen to your organ and muscle tissue.

Your doctor is *always* the final word; this forum is only intended to inspire your own research, etc.

Bill

[jepperone]

It seems that your doc is right on top of things and ahead of the curve in getting you started on the procrit before the hemoglobin really tanks. The sides may or may not mimic that of the inf and riba as when you first started taking them, you’ll just have to wait and see. I also started procrit in week 5 of tx with some sides but after about 4 weeks it all just blended together over the months going forward.  

jep

[newleaf09]

Some patients with liver disease store iron in the liver, a bad thing.  Your doctor knows your case. No one else can tell you what's right or wrong but him.  I had no side effects from using Procrit at all.  

[jepperone]

This is strange, I had posted a link to Procrit twice, and it keeps disappearing. I wonder if this is violating MH policy and if so I’d like to know the reason for its removal. MH, please send me an email as to why the link was removed or is the games with the abuse starting all over again.

jepperone

[mikesimon]

I would want to see lab results that indicate you are iron deficient.
I don't immediately trust doctors and I have really good reasons for that.
Iron supplementation with HCV is not typical - from what little I know.
Maybe the approach should be "trust but verify". I would ask for a copy of your labs.
Mike

[GreatBird]

I agree with Mike. Plus, you should get copies of all your labs even if you don't question your doctor.

I took Procrit during my tx and it did make me feel bad. My bones ached and I would feel like I was coming down with something, although I never did. This would start about a day after each shot and usually last for two or three days. When they dropped me to half dose (20's) I felt much better. Still, the increased oxygen from having more RBC did make me feel better.

[SPOON1212]

shane,

my dr recommended iron due to my level being so low, 325mg 2xday. now my iron is 2x upper limit 2wks ago. now i am off of it. also i was on procrit, samples from dr's office, until there were two of us that needed samples. ins. denied procrit. i was w/out pro for about 1 mnth or longer, so that was my only option at that time, now back on it, due to assistance from co.  so, i guess what i am saying is do as your dr wants u to do. what is your hgb? mine went down to 7.8 w/o procrit during that time. take the iron and procrit and you will feel better!!!!!  i promise, but it will take a while, at least a couple of weeks or so.

[skersj]

I had the same symptoms as Great Bird but I couldn't have made it thru tx without it. At first I thought it was in my mind because no one else complained about Procrit. Procrit actually made me feel worse than Peg shot. But I would still do it.

[shane10]

To  mikesimon yes I have all my result thanks I have ever test result from ct scan to blood work that has been done in the pass 6 years or so. the peg The blood test say I have anemia now and my homoglobin was at 9.0 last blood test. I just got some more blood work today .I was given a shot at my last doctor visit. He said that the reason I was so weak was because it was like if I had lost two pints of blood.Now I waiting for my insurance he said that its going to take awhile for the insure to give the ok .I'm scared because on I was at 5< at my 4 week and I'm my geno type is 1a and I don't want to do anything that mite ruin my chances.Its really been hard I been going crazy over ever  little thing and my poor wife has had enough already and I scared that it mite make me  worst. Thanks everbody

[mikesimon]

If you're iron deficient then iron supplementation sounds right.
Do you have results for the following labs?

Serum iron
Serum ferritin
Total iron binding capacity

There may be another test but I think these would tell the story.


One bright side, if I read correctly, is that you were <5 IU/ml at 4 weeks. That is fantastic news!

I wish you luck Shane.
Mike

[jepperone]

I would think that there was something wrong with you if you weren’t scared. COD has stricken every one of us as we started the journey, although the cod didn’t hit me until 2 weeks in to it, lol. You are doing great! and will be doing better when the procrit kicks in. If you google procrit it will tell you what the sx might or might not be but looking at your good fortune so far, week 4 UND that is a big positive at this point.

jep

[simbar24]

Procrit worked for me with no additional side effects that I could identify.  I was so lethargic, fatigued, and unfocused before starting it that anything would have been an improvement.  It definitely raised my spirits and my hemoglobin.