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Avatar universal

Procrit - what to expect after taking it?

Just thought I'd add to scuba's question below this thread. I took my first shot of procrit yesterday (1 ml 40,000IU), and was wondering what to expect in terms of possible side effects? I notice that it has a warning about increasing your blood pressure to possibly hypertensive/unsafe levels (possibly resulting in stroke or heart attack). I've seen my blood pressure read as high as 142/80 during this trial, which as far as I know is technically in the range of hypertension already. Does anyone think the Procrit will really jack up my BP? Anything else to look out for? Don't want to stroke out or experience any undue ch-ch-chest pains.

Also, for some reason I had a hard time sticking the Procrit needle into my skin. The needle appeared to be about as small as my normal peg syringe needle, which usually slips in pretty easily and doesn't hurt. But I tried to jab myself with the procrit needle, and it was offering quite a bit of resistance while at the same time it hurt. It felt like I was trying to stick a sewing needle into my skin instead of the relatively gentle ***** of the peg needle. Not sure why that happened, are some needles less sharp than others? Because they're cheap or something? Weird.
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Avatar universal
LOL. Hey, I'd beg you to come back, just so I could kid you some more :) Just don't come back with a funny name, intentionally broken English, or a story about as plausible as Britney Spears becoming a role model.  
Helpful - 0
148987 tn?1287805926
Are you saying I'm overexposed in the medhelp community ? Could be. I've kinda been on a posting binge lately. Perhaps I should take a break or....wait a minute. I just need a few more nics then I could have conversations with myself. Others seem to enjoy this modus operandi. I could have one say, 'I'm tired of L-horn. He is a bad person.' and I could leave with much guilt ridden apologies, then have another that says, 'Bring L-horn back, he was the 5th element of medhelp.' After all, I feel you're not really 'one of the family' without at least one dramatic, never to return, teeth gnashing gut wrenching exit. I'm starting to 'feel it', man. I feel an exit coming on ....

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Personally, I think you should start opening more threads, just to prove out the theory.

-- Jim

PS with bp like that, I wouldn't use any salt-laden detergents when washing your sweatshirt.  
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148987 tn?1287805926
mrmeet: yeah the nurse at my hep doc puts the cuff on over my shirt. The last time she checked it over a sweatshirt and I thought the machine was gonna break my arm off. She says my bp is high, 170/95 and I'm like, "yeah whatever....idiot". I'll say this about my doctors. I like them, but both of their staffs, office AND medical, leave something to be desired.

jmjm: LOL <----  Trust me, we're on the same page.  
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146021 tn?1237204887
The most reliable way to check b/p is with a stethoscope and an old-fashioned inflatable cuff. Nothing else is as reliable.
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Avatar universal
You will need an interchangeable barrel/needle setup to switch the needles unless you plan to draw up the Procrit with one barrel/syringe and then someone transfer it to the other. I found the BD Luer Locks the easiest needles to switch on the fly, just make sure of course the barrel is pointed skyward when you unscrew the needle or I guarantee that you will have no sfx from that particular shot :)

-- Jim
Helpful - 0
146021 tn?1237204887
I have a 31 guage needle, does the higher number mean bigger width needle or smaller?
Jim, You're right. That rubber stopper that I have to push the needle through 3 or 4 times definitely dulls the needle. And the optic illusion is that the needle is bent when it's in the liguid. At least I hope it's an illusion! The longer needle makes it more difficult to get the procrit into the syringe. I will never be good a this injecting myself routine, wonder how I ever got hep C? :)
Bug
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148987 tn?1287805926
Ladybug: The lower the gauge the larger the needle diameter.

Jimjim: Just can't let it go, can ya'? ;) This may come as a shocker but I'm on my best behavior here so don't expect it to improve.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks everyone for the great advice. The weird thing about my blood pressure is that when a nurse checks it using an old fashioned cuff and stethescope, it's always normal (like 117/70 or thereabouts). But when it's checked on one of those automated machines, it always reads in that 130 to 140ish over 80ish range. Oh well guess I'll just have to keep monitoring it as I go along.

And jim thanks for the tip about the needle getting dulled. I remember now reading about that a long time ago, but had forgotten about it. Seems a bit unlikely that the needle could be dulled just by passing through that rubber stopper, but I guess they're more fragile than I thought. I'll keep that in mind next time and make sure only the big needle is used to draw out the Procrit.

Thanks again everyone, the helpful advice is greatly 'presheated.
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Avatar universal
LOL. You do understand that I wouldn't be kidding about all this if I thought there was really anything wrong with your behavior, now or in the past.

Be well,

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
I: The only side I've had on procrit that I'm 95% certain that's where it came from is vertigo
----------------------
How about inciting a thread to riot? Or do you think that's from the
peg or riba :)
Helpful - 0
148987 tn?1287805926
Yeah I had the 'big giant needle' scare when I got my procrit. They first time they gave me 23 gauge ( .6mm ) and I wanted no part of that. I couldn't get it in so I put it back in the vial and used one of my syringes for the intron. ( Only problem was it takes the WHOLE syringe. ) I went back to the pharmacy and got 26 gauge 5/8 (.45mm) and it goes in much easier.

Also, the serum for procrit seems thicker than that of intron and I found when I used the syringe I got for my interferon to inject the procrit, I had to really push hard on the plunger to get it to go in. I asked for insulin syringes from my
pharmacist but she said it wasn't the right syringe for procrit.

The only side I've had on procrit that I'm 95% certain that's where it came from is vertigo. It has only really affected me once but it was so bad I could not lay down because the room would spin, so I had to sleep in a recliner chair till it went away, which was just a matter of 3-4 hours. Also the procrit injections have a little sting to them. Nothing too harsh and they don't leave site reactions like interferon can.

The best side effect is you start feeling better.
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Avatar universal
I consider 140/80 "good" so everything is relative. My NP told me that "bone pain" is a sfx but never had it. That said, I'm pretty sure I had sides from the Procrit but since I was taking peg and riba at the same time, hard to tell one from the other. One thing to be careful of is going off the Procrit completely too soon. This has happened to a lot of us and we ended up with anemia big time. Best thing is once you get to a target hgb is to gradually titer down, as in taking one shot every 8 days instead of every five. I decided to do a shot every week when my hgb hit 14 and it dropped like a lead balloon. Also keep in mind that there's a 2-3 week lead and lag time with Procrit going both ways which makes it that much more difficult finding the right dose once your hgb is normal. Best to err on too much than too little, as you can always keep titering down gradually.

Regarding the dulled needles, yes, it's not in your imagination, and here's the reason. What's happening is that you're dulling the needle as soon as you pierce the rubber stopper on the Procrit vial. Best solution is to get some BD Lure Lock syringes with extra needles -- two needles for each syringe barrel to be exact.

What you do is use one needle to draw the Procrit into the vial. Then you unscrew the needle and insert a nice fresh, sharp one. Now you do your injection and it should penetrate just like your Peg needle does. You can also play around with needle size, but if you like the Pegasys needle, then use that size for the actual injection although you can use a bigger needle to pierce the rubber stopper and draw in the Procrit.

All the best,

-- Jim
Helpful - 0
146021 tn?1237204887
The needles come in different gauges and different lengths. The thinner needle and shorter is easier for me. I got two different needles since I refilled at a different pharmacy each time. Both were insulin syringes. Where did you do your injection? The thigh does not have the comfortable layer of fat that my stomach has, so it is a littler harder to inject. The shorter needle makes it easier to draw the procrit out of the vial. I had to have people walk me thru my first shot. The best tip was to inject slowly, wait till the burn stops then inject slowly again. I have no sides except can move at a more normal speed again.
Good luck, your b/p isn't that bad, the good outweighs the bad.
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Avatar universal
hi,
gratefully they gave me the setup and drugs before i was to use it. several weeks later just after xmas i crashed. i did not get proper instructions for injecting procrit. but noticed they had provided two needles, one came on the syringe, the other smaller. i switched to small needle only to find could not draw out fluid so put larger needle back on drew up fluid, its like gold, and after drawnup i switched to smaller needle to inject. on one occassion the pharmacy sent me home with the meds, and forgot to include the smaller needle. couldn't inject till got the right one.  high bloodpresser only side i am aware of. i don't think it affects me.
rose
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Avatar universal
I don't know how Procrit comes packaged but if you get vials of it go to Wal-Mart and get their needles. I believe they are insulin needles and go in very smoothly.  
Helpful - 0
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