Working?

Hey Guys and good morning!  Was just wondering if they were many of you out there that were able to work while on tx?  Being coinfected with HIV I have just had my Dr's visit to get my results back from my blood work, and everything is in ordered.  My red blood count, which is labled if I am not mistaken, HGB (?) on the paper is 16. My Dr wants to begin tx on the 28th of Nov.  Does this number usually drop fast and then stablize?  What were some of your experiences?  I don't want to overly work myself by forcing myself to report to work, when I should have taken a little time off to acclamate to this?  Were your drops gradually?  Thank you in advance for your responses!!!  

[bobbyullc]

do not worry about sides that may never happen,,,just stay informed,,,many like me never had severe hgb problems and hope you do not either...ps 16 is pretty high,
bobby

[jordie47]

Good luck with your treatment.
I still work when I can. I have a HGB of 10.3 and that's with a rescue drug. I find working helps keep my mind off of the sx's
Jordie47

[GrandOak]

BTW, I forgot to mention that I'm still working full time 38 wks into tx.  But I have a desk job which helps greatly as I'm one of those few who get hit hard by anemia and neutropenia side effects.

My Hgb has hovered up and down between 9 - 10.5 since July and was down to 9.4 one week ago.  The fatigue can be real tough at times but I seem to manage to push through.

[GrandOak]

It seems that RBC, WBC, Hgb and ANC usually will drop at onset of treatment and for the most part stabilize within a few weeks ofr many.  Some, myself included, do see more of a drop than others which sometimes require the use of rescue meds to help stabilize them at more tolorable levels.

I wouldn't put to much worry in on it until you know how tx will affect you and if it is an issue for you.  The thing to watch for is how fast these numbers drop, particularily the Hgb since Epoetin-Alfa rescue med takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks to work.

I would recommend that it might be a good idea to discuss having weekly CBC w/diff labs with your doctor to watch them closely during the start of tx and then backing off on labs once it seems you've stablized.

[Pauly Boy]

Before I started tx I made sure that if I needed time off I could take it. I was fine the first 3-4 weeks but then my HMGB dumped and fatigue got bad. I'm a builder and active so I've taken some time off and it was a good thing. Everybodies sx are different. My worse sx was the fatigue, I could sleep around the clock, but had few other problems that amounted too much. My doc said be grateful, a lot of people can't sleep on tx, you go right out!!! Good fortune and success to you...   Pauly