Aa
Transfusionville
Well... I am having severe hemolytic anemia. Today, my hgb got down somewhere in the 7's and I was having a good deal of chest pain and dizziness and nausea so I went into the ER. (I began taking the increased 40k units per week of epogen Friday before last - so I'm two shots into the increased dose). One thing to think about - need to make certain the pegasys isn't causing bone marrow issues before pinning everything on the ribarvirin.
At any rate, I got a call that I have to testify tomorrow in front of the grand jury about my case. I am, of course, terrified. So in the ER they are telling me they can't do anything but transfer me to Huntsville or wait until tomorrow because my hematologist and liver specialist are both in Huntsville and I don't have a local admitting doc and they don't do the transfusions in the ER.
I told them I had to get transfused tonight in order to testify tomorrow. I was really touched. The nurses, who remember me from doing my rape kit, and from being in twice with hemolytic anemia secondary to the hepc treatment as a result of the rape, told the doctor that they would transfuse me IN the ER. They told him they could use it as training and that they wanted me out in time to "testify against the sob." Kind of a small community hospital here and I didn't know that many there had remembered me, so I found it really touching. At any rate, I'm back at home, going to try to catch an hour or two of sleep. I received two units and I feel wonderful, however, after I deal with court I will call my hematologist.
Very concerned about my blood counts. I've had a transfusion once before. With hemolytic anemia, transfusions sometimes just confuse the issue and actually stalemate your production of additional blood even more. It gets really complicated, especially when you have a hemolytic agent, a possible marrow suppressing agent, a pre-existing normocytic anemia, and then a new hemolytic anemia. Plus 1 new blood transfusion. What a mess. I'll have to call and let them get some kind of plan worked out later today. Prob need a bone marrow biopsy to see what's up in there. This is difficult coming on such good news of a UND at 4 weeks because I sure don't want to blow it now!
At any rate, I got a call that I have to testify tomorrow in front of the grand jury about my case. I am, of course, terrified. So in the ER they are telling me they can't do anything but transfer me to Huntsville or wait until tomorrow because my hematologist and liver specialist are both in Huntsville and I don't have a local admitting doc and they don't do the transfusions in the ER.
I told them I had to get transfused tonight in order to testify tomorrow. I was really touched. The nurses, who remember me from doing my rape kit, and from being in twice with hemolytic anemia secondary to the hepc treatment as a result of the rape, told the doctor that they would transfuse me IN the ER. They told him they could use it as training and that they wanted me out in time to "testify against the sob." Kind of a small community hospital here and I didn't know that many there had remembered me, so I found it really touching. At any rate, I'm back at home, going to try to catch an hour or two of sleep. I received two units and I feel wonderful, however, after I deal with court I will call my hematologist.
Very concerned about my blood counts. I've had a transfusion once before. With hemolytic anemia, transfusions sometimes just confuse the issue and actually stalemate your production of additional blood even more. It gets really complicated, especially when you have a hemolytic agent, a possible marrow suppressing agent, a pre-existing normocytic anemia, and then a new hemolytic anemia. Plus 1 new blood transfusion. What a mess. I'll have to call and let them get some kind of plan worked out later today. Prob need a bone marrow biopsy to see what's up in there. This is difficult coming on such good news of a UND at 4 weeks because I sure don't want to blow it now!
I just wanted to say, Transfusionville and Magaritaville? Not even on the same map. I don't feel very good tonight. It's so weird, I have this vision (riba induced I'm sure) of all of these old blood cells of someone else's dying and decaying in my body.
That's right folks, one moment this gift from someone else was the elixir of life and now suddenly my mood shifts and I'm seeing it as the diseased leprous castoffs of a dying hobbit hemaphrodite monkey junkie rotting in my veins...
Yuck. I am SO nauseous tonight.
That's right folks, one moment this gift from someone else was the elixir of life and now suddenly my mood shifts and I'm seeing it as the diseased leprous castoffs of a dying hobbit hemaphrodite monkey junkie rotting in my veins...
Yuck. I am SO nauseous tonight.
God. That interferon never stops giving does it? Forget about having any immunity or wbc's...
Let me know how you're doing Deb,
Syd
Let me know how you're doing Deb,
Syd
Deb - was thinking about that. I'll call you about it later.
All - ok, so at least until we can get our heads wrapped around this, I spoke with my hematologist and he is ok'ing me on 40k 2x weekly on the epogen, as long as I don't let my blood become "too rich" - umm yeah. I'll try to reign that in, that richness of the blood thing. (snark)
He is very open to consulting with whomever we need in order to make the tx work and keep some blood in my body at the same time. Interestingly, he doesn't feel that the action of riba on blood is necessarily hemolytic in nature, although he wasn't able to do testing at the lowest point (if it happens again, I'm to go to him so they can test before treating so we can see what's really going on) - obviously, I'll come in a little earlier... You know, before ending up in a casket with a stake through my heart because someone mistook me for a vampire.
At any rate, he said that if at that point, it turned out to be true hemolytic anemia, there are other measures they can try to stop the destruction, even when the agent of hemolysis is a drug you are taking. But, we'd probably consult first before trying those because some of them involve steroids and other therapies not best tried without involving a hepC physician.
All - ok, so at least until we can get our heads wrapped around this, I spoke with my hematologist and he is ok'ing me on 40k 2x weekly on the epogen, as long as I don't let my blood become "too rich" - umm yeah. I'll try to reign that in, that richness of the blood thing. (snark)
He is very open to consulting with whomever we need in order to make the tx work and keep some blood in my body at the same time. Interestingly, he doesn't feel that the action of riba on blood is necessarily hemolytic in nature, although he wasn't able to do testing at the lowest point (if it happens again, I'm to go to him so they can test before treating so we can see what's really going on) - obviously, I'll come in a little earlier... You know, before ending up in a casket with a stake through my heart because someone mistook me for a vampire.
At any rate, he said that if at that point, it turned out to be true hemolytic anemia, there are other measures they can try to stop the destruction, even when the agent of hemolysis is a drug you are taking. But, we'd probably consult first before trying those because some of them involve steroids and other therapies not best tried without involving a hepC physician.
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