procrit

Sorry for so many question, but I had 1 more, Anyone taking procrit.  After your 1st injection how long before you start to feel better?  I am so exhausted I cant stand it.  I just want to feel some relief.  

[jdwithhcv]

Procrit can take a few weeks before you feel the effect, but eventually your hgb will improve.  Hang in there, it takes a while.
jd

[ladybuglola]

Well thats a bummer, but as long as I feel better.  A few weeks is better than nothing.  thanks for your response.  

[FloridaMouse]

I take Aranesp which is basically the same as Procrit only it gets injected every other week.  It took 2 weeks before I felt better and was breathing better and 8 weeks for my hgb to go back up to 12.   I just dropped my Aranesp dose from twice a month to once a month and am hoping to maintain my hgb between 11 - 12 with that.

Mouse

[jdwithhcv]

You got your hgb to 12?  I am green with envy!!!  I take 40,000 iu procrit once a week (since October) just to keep mine above 10.  If I ever get to 12 it should make me feel like Superman!

[geterdone]

Morning lola,

It takes Procrit anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks to dose up depending on your system but you will start to feel less fatigued during that time. The bad news some may feel it where others don’t in that it has its own sx that mimic those of Interferon and Riba which intensifies sx’s of all three meds being taken. I had started taking Procrit in the fifth week of TX and it hit me pretty hard for a couple of weeks then started lessening after that and then I did not notice the sx of Procrit because they a blended together but did not feel as fatigued. Take a look at all the sx’s associated with each of the meds and you will see a similarity of each sx. With a hemoglobin drop such as your I am sure you will feel much better when the Procrit kicks in. You’re getting past the first stage of TX so hang in there and just keep moving forward one tippy toe at a time.

jasper

[booocooo]

Hello - I just had my fourth Procrit shot yesterday.  It took two weeks to feel better and on my third week I actually felt REALLY good (first time on Tx feeling that way).  My hemo was at 9.1 when I started and got up to 12 :)  Then I was off of it for 13 days (insurance won't cover when hemo is up), but it only took my 13 days to drop back down to the 10s again, so I got another yesterday.  I still feel like **** today, but hopefully within a week it will kick in.  

I hope you feel better soon!

[FloridaMouse]

Yeah, cool ain't it?  I responded VERY well to the Aranesp.  I did have some diarreah (diarrhea) and bone pain after the injections but it was worth it to be able to breath again.  I haven't had any Aranesp since 6/5 and I am starting to "feel" it again.   I get labs done the end of this month before I take my next injection on 7/5.  It should be interesting to see how far I dropped since being off it.

Mouse

[nygirl7]

It does take a couple of weeks (between 2 and 6) for it to get the red blood cells growign in your bone marrow. See it's not a quick fix instant energy shot or anything like that.

I took one shot a week and while I didn't drop any further down I did not go up at all. So I had to start over taking two shots a week. Then I went to high. so we settled on every five days.

It's not an exact science is what I'm trying to say....but it WILL work.

Just don't let them talk you into stopping it once you get up over ten again. I was about 10.5 the entire length of treatment and THAT becomes quite doable as your body gets used to running on less oxygen.

[ladybuglola]

Thanks everyone, I dont like that sx will compound and hit me worse, but like they say, somethings get worse b4 they get better.  
I'll stock up on movies and snacks tonight just in case.