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What is Neupogen and Why is it Injected?
I am GT1, about to be treated and very frightened. Biopsy 0/3, was infected by blood transfusion; I have accepted the Peg injection part in my head but having to give myself xtra is terrifying. Hep MD hasnt even mentioned rescue drugs or too many sx. I appreciate what I have been picking up as a lurker for the past month or so and I'll be happy to go forward to links or suggested searches. Thank you for sharing your faith, hope, and experiences.
I will begin INT and Riba in a few weeks for 4 weeks, then begin PI for 12-MD thinks 24 weeks will be good-at least at this point. I am fearful of the sx and I appreciate your encouragement and sharing of knowledge. My MD said he has never treated HCV w/a stage 0 before. I will be open to any suggestions to prep for tx. TIA.
Ok. I'm trying to understand your question. You are concerned about what are concerned about the medications used in the case of anemia or low white blood cell count while on treatment?
It is far more likely that you will use procrit on treatment than neupogen, but I will cover both medications.
First, I don't know what your treatment will entail, aside from the interferon, because you haven't specified. But people on treatment frequently encounter anemia, which is less than the normal amount of red blood cells or hemaglobin. They also frequently encounter lower white blood cell counts.
Procrit is an injection that can be self administered or given at a doctor's office in order to stimulate production of red blood cells. Some people say that they feel some flu like symptoms the first couple of times they take it and some people notice nothing at all. Even people who have symptoms intially generally don't continue to have symptoms (from what I've seen here). It seems like your body gets used to it.
People who do develop anemia seem pretty happy to be on it because it makes them feel so much better. I have been on it for about eight years now, back before I even had hcv, because I have chronic anemia, and I LOVE the stuff. It's been a veritable godsend. That said, although a lot of people treating use it, not everyone does. Some people don't reach the level of anemia where they need it. So you might be one of the people who doesn't need it. Nobody can predict these things.
Ok. Moving on to neupogen. Neupogen is used to stimulate the production of granulocytes in people who have developed neutropenia, or certain types of low white blood cell counts. It is a little more rare that people on treatment need shots of neupogen. Neupogen probably has some greater side effects in terms of flu type symptoms or bone pain, but, the odds of needing neupogen are far less than the odds of needing procrit.
When I was treating I lived on procrit - two shots a week (partially though because I had anemia going into treatment). I also had a history of low wbc counts going in and I only got maybe three shots of neupogen the entire treatment. I was a particularly severe, kind of worst case scenario patient.
I know you're really scared of the rescue drugs, and I know that treatment is scary. In my case, it was the reverse, I was terrified of the treatment drugs, the interferon (peg) shot specifically, and not the rescue drugs, because I was already ON one of the rescue drugs. I actually called the pharmacy and grilled the poor girl over the phone for thirty minutes about the side effects of a drug that she, of course, had never even taken. And what she said scared me more than the actual reality of it. And I know I am SO long winded (I am officially going to change my name to long winded) but I'm actually coming around to my point (finally). It's the fear of not knowing that's the really scary thing. Once you take your first shot and your first round of medicine, you'll be ok. And if the time comes that your blood count goes down and you need to take some type of rescue medication, that will be ok too. It will. A lot of us have done it here. And we're just... people.
It is far more likely that you will use procrit on treatment than neupogen, but I will cover both medications.
First, I don't know what your treatment will entail, aside from the interferon, because you haven't specified. But people on treatment frequently encounter anemia, which is less than the normal amount of red blood cells or hemaglobin. They also frequently encounter lower white blood cell counts.
Procrit is an injection that can be self administered or given at a doctor's office in order to stimulate production of red blood cells. Some people say that they feel some flu like symptoms the first couple of times they take it and some people notice nothing at all. Even people who have symptoms intially generally don't continue to have symptoms (from what I've seen here). It seems like your body gets used to it.
People who do develop anemia seem pretty happy to be on it because it makes them feel so much better. I have been on it for about eight years now, back before I even had hcv, because I have chronic anemia, and I LOVE the stuff. It's been a veritable godsend. That said, although a lot of people treating use it, not everyone does. Some people don't reach the level of anemia where they need it. So you might be one of the people who doesn't need it. Nobody can predict these things.
Ok. Moving on to neupogen. Neupogen is used to stimulate the production of granulocytes in people who have developed neutropenia, or certain types of low white blood cell counts. It is a little more rare that people on treatment need shots of neupogen. Neupogen probably has some greater side effects in terms of flu type symptoms or bone pain, but, the odds of needing neupogen are far less than the odds of needing procrit.
When I was treating I lived on procrit - two shots a week (partially though because I had anemia going into treatment). I also had a history of low wbc counts going in and I only got maybe three shots of neupogen the entire treatment. I was a particularly severe, kind of worst case scenario patient.
I know you're really scared of the rescue drugs, and I know that treatment is scary. In my case, it was the reverse, I was terrified of the treatment drugs, the interferon (peg) shot specifically, and not the rescue drugs, because I was already ON one of the rescue drugs. I actually called the pharmacy and grilled the poor girl over the phone for thirty minutes about the side effects of a drug that she, of course, had never even taken. And what she said scared me more than the actual reality of it. And I know I am SO long winded (I am officially going to change my name to long winded) but I'm actually coming around to my point (finally). It's the fear of not knowing that's the really scary thing. Once you take your first shot and your first round of medicine, you'll be ok. And if the time comes that your blood count goes down and you need to take some type of rescue medication, that will be ok too. It will. A lot of us have done it here. And we're just... people.
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