Stopping treatment after 3 weeks???

[cjsam]

My Doctor says that there is a possibility of stopping treatment because my wbc's and neutrophils took a quick dive.  He also says that because they took such a quick dive he does not believe that neupogen would work for me.  I have a blood test friday (the initial blood test I had done right after giving myself my injection...yeah apparently you are not supposed to do that) and pending those results I may get a half dose instead of a full dose of interfuron the following friday (my usual day is monday however I want to switch to fridays anyway because school starts up soon).  This would mean (pending the results of friday's blood test) that I would have a week and a half between shots and at that may only get half my dose.  I am concerned about the reduction of my dose (or potentially stopping treatment altogether) so early in treatment and the effect it may have on the efficacy of treatment.  I have already made an appointment for a second opinion with a hepatologist however the first available appointment isn't for another two weeks. If it helps I will list my concerning bloodwork.

Tests         Result          Flag                     Units        Reference Interval
WBC           3.1                  Low                    X10E3/uL      4.0~10.5
RBC               4.23                                    X10E6/uL      3.80~5.10
Hemoglobin 12.7                                          g/dL              11.5~15.0
Hematocrit 37.5                                           %               34.0~44.0
MCV                  89                                           fL               80-98
MCH                 30.0                                           Pg               27.0~34.0
MCHC         33.9                                       g/dL               32.0~36.0
RDW         13.6                                                  %              11.7~15.0
Platelets           172                                            X10E3/uL      140~415
Neutrophils 23                         Low                   %                40~74
Lymphs         60                     High                   %                  14~46
Monocytes 16                     High                       %                 4~13
EOS                  1                                                   %                 1~7
Basos          0                                                   %                   0~3
Netrophils
  (Absolute) 0.7                     Alert                 X10E3/uL        1.8~7.8
Lymphs
(Absolute) 1.9                                         X10E3/uL         0.7~4.5
Monocytes
(Absolute) 0.5                                         X10E3/uL         0.1~1.0
Eos
  (Absolute) 0.0                                         X10E3/uL          0.0~0.4
Baso
(Absolute) 0.0                                         X10E3/uL          0.0~0.2

[IAmTheWalrus]

The numbers thenselves don't look that bad, though if it happened suddenly, it might be a concern I could think. I always got my blood drawn in the AM after fasting and I did not take any of my meds until after the test.

Brent

[Alek07]

In that case I wouldn't be too concerned. The doc should be aware that the blood test should be done before the shot not after.

Alex

[cjsam]

The blood test results were from about an hour or two following my shot, the test will be redone friday.  I am going to try to get a second opinion in the meantime (I will keep calling a hepatologist until I get a slot via a cancellation).

Thank you for the advice.

I really don't want to slow down on the shot, especially only three weeks into treatment, from what I understand, adjusting the shots this early in treatment can hinder the rate of potential success.

[Alek07]

Hi

Are those results from the blood test you took after the shot? If so then they should be disregarded and re-checked on the day of your shot before you take the shot.

It might be a bit early to panic just yet. I'm into week 24 and my week 3 bloods showed:

WBC              2.9
Hemoglobin     10.0
Neutrophils      0.88
Platelets         130

In Australia they don't give us resuce drugs at all. The worst drops usually occur in the first weeks of tx then they level off. I would avoid delaying the next shot if at all possible.

Alex

[Isobella]

Bumping this back up...hopefully someone will chime in with advice