Rescue Meds For Low WBC and Neutrophils

[ActingBrandNew]

My Dr is threatening to stop TX if my WBC and Neutrophils don't go up by next labs. I asked him if there were any rescue meds for this and he said no and the only way to raise my WBC is with nutrition. So, my question is, are there any rescue meds out there that my doctor may not be aware of or any information as to how I can get my WBC count raised. Ive come to far to stop TX. My next labs will be in 4 weeks.

week 13 TX Riba/Peg
Genotype 3a
Baseline 12million
UND 5 weeks
UND 12 weeks
Neutophils (Absolute)  0.8
WBC 1.9

[ActingBrandNew]

"Whoever is treating you, obviously doesn't know what they're doing".

Yeah, I'm getting that now...

[orphanedhawk]

I was told to do my neupogen shot a day before my interferon.
I'd did interferon on Thursday evenings.If I need Nuepogen, I did it Wed evening, and did labs either Tuesday or Wednesday mornings.

My nurse said ideally you do labs 6 days after your interferon shot. For the ease of the nurse getting results to me back in time for me to know whether I needed to do the neupogen or not, I often did them 5 days after the interferon shot.

You never do your labs the day after. Whoever is treating you, obviously doesn't know what they're doing.

[ActingBrandNew]

"The key is to have labs at the right time. Neupogen immediately kicks in and boosts your ANC immediately after your shot. Interferon lowers ANC so in my case I had to administer the Neupogen two days later. It was the best way to gauge the actual boost in my ANC. In other words: the timing can be tricky."

On the other end of that, is it better to have labs 6 days after the Interferon shot. Meaning, does interferon immediately affect the ANC and would be in my best interest to say, have labs done on the day before my injection...not the day after?

[Idyllic]

I appreciate your loyalty to your doctor even though he does not know how to treat Hepatitis C. Do not let this impair your judgement or jeopardize your chance to clear the virus.  Yanking you off treatment without being  intellectually curious about how to manage your side effects is rather alarming since what is happening to you right now is not that uncommon.

I hope you two can learn to manage your side effects together.  

Your drop in ANC is not all that uncommon and your doctor may concerned about your ability to fight infection since Interferon can lower this. It is not unusual for ANC (Absolute Neutrophil Count) to drop and so far yours is not really that low. The others are right in that there is off label use of a med called Neupogen. I only ended up needing three shots in a 48 period and my ANC rebounded enough to make it through treatment.

The key is to have labs at the right time. Neupogen immediately kicks in and boosts your ANC immediately after your shot. Interferon lowers ANC so in my case I had to administer the Neupogen two days later. It was the best way to gauge the actual boost in my ANC. In other words: the timing can be tricky.

[ActingBrandNew]

I appreciate your information and input. You have given me some valuable information to consider, thanks again.

[flcyclist]

At around week 8 of 48 week trt my absolute neutrophil count (ANC) went down to 0.35.  I was referred to a hematologist and began neupogen 2x per week which raised the ANC and kept it in the 0.7-1.0 range for the remainder of trt.   It is very concerning that you are being told there are no options.  Most people going through trt are guided by a gastroenterologist, or ideally, a hepatologist.  Should you switch doctors??  I suppose that could depend on the response to your questions and concerns.  You have to do what's best for you since you don't want to have to repeat this trt.

You have the option of neupogen or a dose reduction of interferon (which would make me nervous seeing you're on only Inf/Riba).    Did your doctor discuss this with you?  Also, since your ANC is currently 0.8, and most experienced doctors are ok with it going down to 0.5 before rescue drugs or dose reductions, your doc may be premature in threatening to stop trt.  Considering these facts, I'd be doing some looking at qualified hepatologists just in case your discussion with your doctor doesn't put you at ease.  Good luck moving forward.