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Procrit side effects
My husband has been on procrit for three weekly treatments now. He is having chills and especially bad headaches. He also says he is having black runny stools. Actually he feels awful after he gets this shot. Yes we are spacing the procrit shot on Tues and the peg on Thurs. Do other people have this problem with this Rx? The good news is he finally as of the last CBC has a hgb of 9.0. YEAH!!! Remember folks we had a 4.3 the first of July and had received 11 units of blood for the month of July. I keep encouraging him that the procrit might be kicking his *** but it is working.
He is no longer taking rib after being on it for 7 weeks but is still on the peg injection. He was UND after 4 weeks. Should we be worried about the dr taking him off the rib?
He is no longer taking rib after being on it for 7 weeks but is still on the peg injection. He was UND after 4 weeks. Should we be worried about the dr taking him off the rib?
I guess I may be lucky in this respect. I have been on Procrit since wk 7 (I am now in wk 23), I do my Interferon shot on Wed and do the Procrit on Thur. I did experience dark runny stools the day after (usually Fri) and would last for 1-2 days).. Since wk 16 I have not experienced many runny stools the day after. My sx were mainly from the Int/Rib and a clinical drug I was on (the clinical trial was recently stopped by the mfg. due to new data which showed adverse liver effects). Hang in there.
Gee..... Looks like Dr. Becky (me) had it wrong again! I thought I had the stool problem all figured out for you :-) !
It bugs me the way your doctor just seems to dismiss his concerns without any explanation. I think you said he was a hepatologist and not just a gastro, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I just wish these doctors would spend more time listening to their patients and explaining their reasoning - then it would be easier to follow the treatment plan.
I still think he has a good chance at SVR having been a rapid responder, genotype 2. There are several geno 2's on this board who were able to stop treatment early and they haven't relapsed.
The fact that your husband had such a severe reaction to the ribavirin could mean that it was REALLY working well for him. There has been speculation on this board that the people who have the worst anemia from the riba also get the best results from it. Of course, there are no studies to prove it and it's all from anecdotal evidence, so take it with a grain of salt.
Good luck and I hope he's feeling better every day.
It bugs me the way your doctor just seems to dismiss his concerns without any explanation. I think you said he was a hepatologist and not just a gastro, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I just wish these doctors would spend more time listening to their patients and explaining their reasoning - then it would be easier to follow the treatment plan.
I still think he has a good chance at SVR having been a rapid responder, genotype 2. There are several geno 2's on this board who were able to stop treatment early and they haven't relapsed.
The fact that your husband had such a severe reaction to the ribavirin could mean that it was REALLY working well for him. There has been speculation on this board that the people who have the worst anemia from the riba also get the best results from it. Of course, there are no studies to prove it and it's all from anecdotal evidence, so take it with a grain of salt.
Good luck and I hope he's feeling better every day.
He is not on any iron meds. He thinks he is bleeding from his stomach. He did mention this problem to the dr but the dr did not seem to be concerned. Also the dr thinks he is too sensitive to ribs and that was why the hgb dropped so low. I hope he will restart him again on the ribs because I sure want him to be cured of this demon. The doctor did say he felt like just doing the pegs shot will be alright. I just want to make the 24 weeks. We just finished 10 weeks.
By the way, I just googled "black tarry stools" and it said it could be the result of taking iron supplements. Didn't the doctor give your husband iron supplements because of the anemia? I'll bet that's what's happening.
Congratulations on the big rise in HGB! I'll never forget when you said he had a 4.3. That was the lowest I'd ever heard of. Sounds like the Procrit is doing its job.
My husband was on Procrit for most of his treatment and it was hard to tell what was causing all his sides. I think chills and headache are par for the course with interferon, so it could be the interferon causing most of his problems.
I've heard that it's most important that you get the full dose of ribavirin in the first 8 weeks. It's cumulative and that's when it does the most good. You said he did 7 weeks, so that's close. He probably still has some ribavirin floating around in there! Of course, I still think he'll need the ribavirin reintroduced. I'm hoping that his doctor is planning on starting him back on, perhaps at a reduced dose, as soon as he feels his HGB has risen enough.
I've also read that it's the interferon that's killing the virus. The ribavirin keeps the virus from replicating and mutating.
UND at 4 weeks is a really good sign. My husband was UND at 4 weeks and his doctor lowered his ribavirin from 1200 (6 a day) to 1000 (5 a day) at 8 weeks and he stayed that way for the rest of his 48 week treatment. I worried that it was hurting his chances of SVR but he just couldn't tolerate the higher dose. But in the end he was SVR and it all worked out for the best.
I'd ask my doctor what he's planning. None of us are doctors, although we like to think we are :-).
My husband was on Procrit for most of his treatment and it was hard to tell what was causing all his sides. I think chills and headache are par for the course with interferon, so it could be the interferon causing most of his problems.
I've heard that it's most important that you get the full dose of ribavirin in the first 8 weeks. It's cumulative and that's when it does the most good. You said he did 7 weeks, so that's close. He probably still has some ribavirin floating around in there! Of course, I still think he'll need the ribavirin reintroduced. I'm hoping that his doctor is planning on starting him back on, perhaps at a reduced dose, as soon as he feels his HGB has risen enough.
I've also read that it's the interferon that's killing the virus. The ribavirin keeps the virus from replicating and mutating.
UND at 4 weeks is a really good sign. My husband was UND at 4 weeks and his doctor lowered his ribavirin from 1200 (6 a day) to 1000 (5 a day) at 8 weeks and he stayed that way for the rest of his 48 week treatment. I worried that it was hurting his chances of SVR but he just couldn't tolerate the higher dose. But in the end he was SVR and it all worked out for the best.
I'd ask my doctor what he's planning. None of us are doctors, although we like to think we are :-).
I 've been on 2 week of Procrit (once a week), I have headache and stomach upset really bad, lost appetite, want to throw up when smell food, feel like morning sickness. I don't like it.
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