My doctor indicated both Neupogen and Interferon could be taken at the same time. Of course he never prescribed it for me like that but I think in a pinch you can do both injectiions at the same time. Sometimes he gives me instructions in case a number of events occur and I remember
discussing if something happened...
Hep C doctor is considered one an expert in my community; He heads a university program, and I know he'll try almost anything reasonable to keep a patient on treatment. He has pateints flying in to see him.
Additionally,I have noticed that the next morning after Neupogen I have back pain, but it deminishes later in the evening after I take the Pegasys.
I take Neupogen on Thurs. and Pegasys on Friday (1/2 dose) and I take
another dose (1/2 does on Monday.
Reva
Thanks. Did neupogen shot Wednesday nite and interferon shot Friday . Now it's Saturday morning and I feel off, but nothing like the neupogen side effects. So on with treatment and clearing this virus!!!!! Thank you all for posts.....
Agree with fl and oh - take the shots at least 24 hours after or before the interferon. They do counteract each other
I always made sure there was at least a 24 hr separation (before or after) between administering neupogen and interferon.
http://www.drugs.com/uk/neupogen-singleject-48-mu-0-96-mg-ml-spc-10049.html
I was told to take nuepogen the day before my interferon shot.
I'd take neupogen Wednesday evening, and interferon on Thursday evening.
I'd like to repeat that by lowering my dosage of neupogen by half, the side effects were diminished. This could help with your headaches.
I'm fortunate to have a flexible, experienced hepatologist who is willing to bend the rules to keep his patients on tx.
The only other advice I have is medicinal cannabis works well for many to relieve both nausea and headaches, as well as muscle pain.
I had my labs faxed to my office yesterday, and being in bed all day sick, I did not get to look at lab numbers. Last week my WBC was 1.5 this week it was 2.5 . Up. Will get ANC #s tomorrow. I am finding more info about neupogen and agree with others who have posted, that it might be over prescribed. The link as told to Me is, take nepogen ( keep WBC ANC. Numbers up) to be able to continue interferon. I have no choice but continue . Can only hope side effects subside. I felt so much nausea. The headache was as bad as I can remember. Has any one taken any migraine meds to help with nepogen side effects. Does anyone have any thought on taking nepogen and interferon shots on same day, different days? Thank you all so much, what a great bunch of people to share so much unselfishly.
The side effects of the neupogen were more pronounced when I did them after my first tx, just like you said. I think that all the various side effects of the treatment drugs masked the sx of the neup. Seems like I took 3 or 4 shots after I was done, just to boost the WBC. We do what we have to do, don't we.
bean
I was doing 2 neupogen shots per week starting at week 8 of a 48 week (SOC) tx. My ANC was consistantly 0.2-0.3 on a Monday and about 0.5-0.7 on Thursday each week - Inf on Friday night. I finally reduced it to one shot/week the final 8 weeks of tx and continued for about 3 weeks after tx until the ANC raised above 1.0.
While beginning the neupogen at week 8, I didn't notice much of the bone pain or achy feeling - no nausea or headaches. After tx was done and continuing the neupogen for an additional 3 weeks, the side effects became more obvious. I believe the Inf/Riba masked the sx making it difficult to separate. As much as I appreciate that neupogen allowed me to not require a dose reduction of interferon, I began to not look forward to the shots, shoving another drug into my body with unknown effects.
As mentioned above, it would be interesting to know your ANC, since I believe that neupogen is overprescribed by some doctors, including mine. In my opinion, use it sparingly to avoid a dose reduction, especially if the ANC drops below 0.5 at the beginning of tx. This is something you'll need to discuss with your doctor since the ANC usually doesn't rebound on it's own. Good luck to you.
First of all, how low was your anc when they prescribe neupogen ? There is no reason to do it until they are below .5
Secondly, my first neupogen shot left me in so much pain, I emailed my doctor the next week, in tears telling him how much I dreaded doing the next shot.
He suggested doing half a dose. Problem solved and ironically, my anc were better with the lower dosage than the higher one.
It's nasty stuff. Be sure you're taking calcium and vitamin D for your bones.
I suggest taking tylenol before the shot. Sometimes Neup does that to me and sometimes it doesn't. I used to take tylenol all the next day after the shot because of the body aches. When do you take your shot? Would it help to take it before bed and sleep through the worst? I really hate taking that stuff. What has your ANC been running?
frijole
Sorry you are having trouble. I didn't get headaches but did get the bone pain. Tylenol made it bearable. It does get better with time.