tell me about being rescued

In keeping with my practice of trying to cover all possible bases, I'd like to know more from those of you who've taken procrit. My wbc(3.10) and platlets are already low. When did you know you needed to be rescued?  How often do you take them and when do you know to stop? Any other info. or links or???   thanks      Hawk

[painterlady13]

the need for procrit is determined by your HGB which for a person not on treatment can be anywhere between 13.0 and 16.5 or so.  Ribavirin can cause anemia or a drop in the HGB.  Doctors will usually prescribe Porcrit if the HGB drops below 10.  OR has a full 2 point drop in a week.  Mine went fron 13.9 to 11.0 in a week so he didn't wait for it to get below 10. but it depends on your doctor and his personal guidelines for prescribing rescue drugs.  I am not sure when they start prescribing Neupogen for the ANC but that is determined by WBC and neutrophyls.

[l-horn]

I mean hematocrit. I don't know what happened there. Fingers must have been on the wrong keys or sumthin' so don't go wondering what matocrit is.

LOL !!!

[orphanedhawk]

Why'd your doc put you on procrit? And if it isn't for low wbs, then what is it for?

[l-horn]

Low Red Blood Cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin and hematocrit.  

Here is a good thread about WBC.

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Hepatitis/messages/35375.html

[l-horn]

I don't believe procrit will help your WBC. I believe Neupogen is the SOC for low WBC. I'm not the expert here by any stretch but I'm pretty sure that's right. If not I'm sure I will be corrected. My last test was a week ago and my wbc was 3.2 and I'm not taking anything for that. My doc just put me on procrit.

Latest results:

wbc 3.2
rbc 3.37
hemoglobin 10.9
matrocrit 31.4

[sfbaygirl]

My dr prescribes Neulasta, peg version of Neupogen, if my ANC goes below 1.0 or 1000. Usually it isn't necessary to get it until your ANC goes to .5. I don't feel any different when my count goes down, so you need to watch this closely for a while. ANC (abs. neutrofil count) is the measure for this. My WBC has been as low as 1.4, I go to a hemotologist for this. It is good to get this set up with your doc ahead of time and know the numbers he will give you the rescue drugs before you get low. My Hgb went down from 16 to 11 in 2 weeks right at the beginning of tx and I was a sick puppy. I was given Aranesp (peg procrit) and it worked in a few weeks. Check those CBC's weekly at first if possible.

[Sally01]

Giving rescue drugs like procrit for red blood and/or neupogen for low white count can really make a difference in sticking to the treatment. They are both expensive and injections ( as far as I know) and although the doctor may want you on them, the insurance companies many times have their own criteria for wether or not to allow.  Might check with them also.  For example , my company I was told had particular numbers in mind and were not mindful of what the starting numbers were.  They wanted the wbc< 1.5 and HBG < 8.0  Remeber too, if you are prescribed those meds and if yours is one of those insurance companies,, to time your blood draws so that they fall just before your rescue medicine is due. This will help to keep the number low so that they don't dimiss them too soon.  It will also let you know how your body is doing with out them so you don't take them any longer than needed.  Neupongen for me worked right away.  Like the others have said, the procrit takes 2-4 weeks and for me just kept me from falling downward, didn't really bring it up.  Wishing you well

[GrandOak]

Procrit is for reduce RBC and more importantly Hgb.  Since Procrit can take 2-6 weeks, per their product insert but it seemed to be 3 weeks for me, it also is not so much the Hgb number which really matters, but the rate at which it is dropping.  Ideally you want to stop the drop and level it out before reaching 8, which is the threshold for being considered severely anemic.

From personal experience, I would advise watching this closely at start of tx and avoid at all costs reducing the Riba in the first 12 wks of tx unless reduction is the only means to stop the drop.  By catching a dropping Hgb early enough you can introduce the Procrit, stop the drop, and maintain you ideal Riba dosage during the initial phases of tx when most physical effects and virus reduction really occurs.

[NYgirl]

Make sure you get frequent CBCs to monitor your hemoglobin.  It's CRUCIAL.

I was going every other week and in between in only one week my hemo went from 15+ to only 9. I had a sex point drop in just over a week and it was DEVASTATING. I almost had to stop treatment.  And I was being VERY proactive...but it was just a bad case of timing.

Most doctors will NOT put you on procrit no matter what unless you go under ten.

However - it's not JUST the number you have but how FAST it goes down that is important.

It takes from 2 - 6 for the Procrit to kick in...so you really do want to make sure you get copies of all of the bloodwork so you can keep an eye on it YOURSELF and not WAIT until the doctor reviews it when he gets it. I ALWAYS have them fax me the minute the results come back.

It's been a real life saver.

[crsrph]

only 1 approved platelet stimulating growth factor I looked at it in some detail due to my low platelet count drug is neumega (oprelevekin) the sx of this drug mimic that of the SOC sx thus increasing your chances of problems but the real kicker is that anemia is about 100% 3 days after tretment decided not to take this never heard of anyone else using it for hep c related platelet drops . there is a new one in trials but still a few years away best of luck