TX Finally Over, but what about WBC

Well, I'm finally finished - did #48 last night!!! I'm so relieved that I will not have to do this again, hopefully for a long time or forever.  My WBC has been extremely low throughout this ordeal (even with biweekly Neupogen shots), but I made it through without any major probs. My Dr. told me to take last Neupogen shot this past Wed., (2 days before my last Peg dose which was last night).  Does anyone know how long it takes to get that white count back up after stopping? (Have 6 days of riba left).  Just curious, because the Neupogen was worse for me than the Pegasys, & I just hope it comes up on its own so I don't have to do another shot of Neup.  As I said over in the Community Forum, my deepest thanks to all of you who have helped & encouraged me these past 48 weeks.  You are all extremely special and courageous individuals.  I'm so happy we have each other to lean on, because those who don't have it will never know what it feels like, physically or even mentally, just dealing with the stigma which goes hand-in-hand with Hep C. But we do have it & deal with it, so it only makes us stronger individuals.  Thx again, and God bless everyone of you!

[MissMiss]

I don't know where your wbc count is.  When I finished, I had I believe one neupogen left which I injected.  The wbc will slowly climb without the Peg and Riba.  Mine finally hit 4.00 (low end of normal range) after about a month.  

EOT is a trip.  Like walking up a sandhill, two steps up and one back down.  Go easy and don't expect much overnight.  Congratulations on finishing!  Did you have a pcr eot?

You might check the archives for what some of us have posted about eot too.  It's a journey but much better than the one you were just on!  Good luck.

miss

[lackalustre]

i think my wbc took about a month to get to a low level after treatment.   just try to rest, eat well, take it easy and dont expect much of yourself if possible.  avoid places where you are exposed to germs and wash your hands often.  ask your dr. if you can try going off the neupogen completely.

[GrandOak]

All my counts took a month to two to rebound, the Hgb and platelets being the slowest which of course you don't want to fast a recovery and have them go high.

One can expect a slight recover within days of stopping meds as their level is no longer being maintained, but not an immediate jump since it takes some time to clear the remanants of the meds from your system.

[nobhillhepc]

Hi, you mention Neupogen being worse than inteferon, it really made me miserable, 2 1/2 days of bone pain, headache, etc., then felt okay for a couple of days, then have been sick in bed with fever, chills, unable to eat for four days, not sure I it was from Neupogen or if I got a flu?  In any event, only one more interferon shot to go, and my neutrophils returned to normal after one dose, how did Neupogen make you feel?

Marcus

[Alady1620]

I feel like my WBC may still be down and I am 12 weeks post treatment.  It would be nice if somebody would post on things we can do to get our WBC up.

[wyntre9]

Congrats on finishing tx.

[seabean]

Congratulations!  You should start feeling better soon.  The Neupogen was hard on me too.  I think I used it twice after stopping the meds.  Once you stop the toxins being put into your system, your wbc will slowly go back up on it's own.  

Good luck to you!

[Drarig]

Thx for all your comments.  To answer some of the questions, on my last labs, my wbc was 1.0.  I go again on Feb 2 which will also include a vl.  EOT hopefully will be ok.  I don't want to say I sailed thru tx, but it certainly didn't prohibit me from my normal life.  I guess it doesn't happen too often, but I had minimal sides, other than wbc, some hair loss & the infamous riba rash.  Took care of 3 kids, worked full-time & also part-time as fitness instructor.  I didn't have to take any ad's or anything.  The Peg didn't bother me, but the next day & half after Neupogen, I felt achey (achy), chills.  But I still worked, exercised, etc.  The Neupogen didn't bother me the first 6 or 7 months, but it did the last 4.  My doc told me the riba comes out of the system fast, but not the Peg.  He said it's gradual.   Thx for all the tips & comments, you guys are all great!

[ladybug52]

I posted a message to you in community. Hope you got a chance to see it. Running a little behind so I just sent it tonight.
Best wishes.
Bug

[APKhaos]

WBC of 1.0 is much lower than my lowest!

Baseline before TX was 8.9. During TX it dropped to 3.3. A month after ending TX it was 3.53, so its taking a while to recover. Looks like it might be more like three months before its fully recovered at this rate.

[friole]

It took my WBC quite awhile to get back to normal.  Not sure how this will format over - it was in excell - but I took 4 Neupogen shots after tx was over and my ANC started really rebounding at almost 3 months.  PRe treatment ANC was 2.8.

08/04/06 LAST INTERFERON
                ANC
8/7/2006 0.6 Neupogen 7 days
8/8/2006 Neupogen 1 days

08/11/06 LAST RIBAVIRIN
8/14/2006 0.7
8/15/2006 Neupogen 7 days

08//28/06 1.0
08/31/06 Neupogen 16 Days
9/5/2006 1.0
9/21/2006 1.0
10/23/2006 1.9
10/27/2006 2.09
11/3/2006 1.7