Procrit and gout

[l-horn]

I have been taking 40,000 units/wk of procrit for 27 weeks and I've noticed the past month or so that after I take my shot, I have really bad flareups of gout a couple of days later lasting for 2 or 3 days.

I have had bouts of gout in the past, especially when my diet included to much protrein foods and excessive alcohol but I have been eating VERY little red meat or protein foods and haven't drank alcohol in over a year.  I was taking a diuretic, which can cause gout flareups, but my doc took me off of them when I started treatment so I don't have any of the previous triggers for gout.

I did some checking on the web and it seems hemotocrit levels and red blood cell production can effect gout AND itching. ( I've always thought the skin rashes and itching were due to low hgb levels. )

Here is an article I found if someone more knowledgable could interpret this: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec14/ch178/ch178b.html
and tell me if this is related and/or if anyone else has had problems with gout that they associate with taking procrit.

I talked to my doc about it a few months back but he seems to think taking procrit has NO side effects. I disagree with that. It gives me a headache for a few hours and I believe it is the cause of my gout flareups.

[cruelworld]

i dont see anything new in your reference to EPO. when i first looked it up
a while back, i was clearly informed of its power and danger. the warnings
are at the top of google list, ambulance chasers for wrongful death lawsuits.
beleive me i started reading really closely after i saw that.
of course its not even FDA approved to be used the way we use it. (im pretty sure this is true, correct me if im wrong) this is a pretty mportant fact ive never seen mentioned here. my take on all of this is, this stuff is stronger than interferon. i would expect all types of
little weird things to go wrong that arent listed in the warnings. case by case basis, some tolerate well and others not. as to your situation, it would certainly
seem to be connected (gout and hematocrit level and procrit level), but ive never seen that warning. look deeper for examples and maybe youll find an answer somewhere. the good news of course that it is widely used to great success, but it, like interferon, will bite a few of us in the process.



you sure are letting us down on the philospher/jester posts.
we need more. i cant even stand my own lame jokes anymore!

[ladybug52]

You had me with you on the gout/procrit link, but lost me when you referenced polycythemia.  I did have pain in my big toe for a short while on tx, and it might have been the short while I was on procrit. Who knows? My memory isn't that great to determine if the two coincided.
However, Wyntre's dr is testing her blood work again, because her levels were unusual last time he tested.
Check this out:http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Hepatitis/messages/46948.html
Bug

[l-horn]

I just wondered if artifically raising ones red blood cell production with procrit produces the same symptoms as polycythemia. I've NEVER had gout flareups like this. It's almost crippling.

[FlGuy]

You might talk to your doc about the use of Aranesp (aranesp.com). It's similar to Procrit (procrit.com) and serves the same purpose.  Maybe a switch could relieve some of the effects of Procrit.  I've being using Aranesp since about week 8 or so and don't notice any sx's, except for the increased hgb and the corresponding energy level.

[ladybug52]

I understand what you mean, but another thing about the tx is it gave me hip pain adn joint pain that were not common sites for gout. Can you take the gout meds while on tx? Can you take anything for the pain? What's the chance of stopping the procrit? I know you're looking for a connection, and I'm trying to solve the problem. We're at crossroads, but that's the little caretaker in me, can't help how I am.
Bug