Kidney failure after Vidazia

[bkwits22]

Hi everyone,

I posted previously about my husband’s MDS dx . He is 77, and has had two bmbs. The last one (9/05) was the definite CMML-1. He started Vidazia on 9/26/05. He was hospitalized with kidney failure 10/01 on the 6th day of injections. His potassium was very high. Before chemo, his cbc was monitored very carefully, but no one was watching his electrolytes. He is still in the hospital. He’s had dialysis but right now the kidneys are functioning. His platelets got down as low as 6 or 7. The platelet transfusions have never worked for him. Six Immunoglobulin IVs have raised his platelet count to 18 to 20. He’s had several rbc txs and his hgb is around 10. His wbc is a little high, but better than previously. After almost 2 weeks in the hospital, he is very discouraged.
Barb

[Fran]

Hi Barb:

So sorry to hear about your husband. Hope he comes home soon and feels better.
My husband Jim is starting Vidaza on the 10th of November. The Oncologist said that it might help but does have side effects, especially the liver. He is 73 and I worry about him and what he is going through. Right now he had a bone marrow biopsy and lots of blood test.
Fran

[Caroline]

Barb

I hope for a speedy recovery for your husband. It is so discouraging when you look forward to a method of treatment helping and then you end up getting sick.

Blessings.
Caroline

[diner]

Barb, I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s reaction to Vidaza. I’ve only had one round of it last month and haven’t started up again until my blood counts look better. I also have a low platelet problem, even before the treatments. I was in hosp. over the weekend to get more platelets and they went up to 65,000, by Wed. when I saw the doc again, they were only 6,000. My kidneys and liver checked out okay. How big of a dose is he getting. The doc’s going slow with me. Dee

[Sandy L]

Hi Barb,

I hope he is doing better today and will soon be able to come home. My prayers are with you.

[bkwits22]

Thank all of you for your kind words and prayers. I haven’t quite learned to post on this forum, so I my previous reply did not get posted. Joe is doing a little better. He is still in the hospital but will be released soon. His platelets are 39k today. They were at 6 or 7k last week. He is weak from being in bed so long and low hgb (about 8.5). Thankfully he has so far regained kidney function. It’s wait and see.
Barb

[eve]

barb

i hope they get him out of bed often, even if he is tired – otherwise there is a great risk for pneumonia

eve

[Sandy L]

Good news Barb
I hope Joe does even better tomorrow.

[diner]

Barb, I’m so glad your husband is starting to do better. We just take things day by day. I hope he gets on his feet soon. I also agree he needs to get up as soon as possible and walk around. Take care. Dee

[bkwits22]

Hi everyone,

Joe was transferred to rehab today. He is starting to get up more. But I would feel better if he were still in the hospital. His kidneys are functioning, but he is bleeding from his bladder. His hgb went down to 7.0 and hematocrit was 21. He had rbc transfusions yesterday and the hgb was above 8 this morning. The good news is that he is determined to get better.
By the way, he was getting 155 mg per day (5 days) of Vidaza before his hospitalization.Barb

[shirlsgirl]

Hi Barb,

Do you know if Joe has had urine cultures done to check for infection? How long has he been bleeding? Glad to hear Joe is determined to get better, that’s the spirit! Hope he’s feeling better soon.

Take care,

Jody

[bkwits22]

Hi Jody,

I don’t know if he had urine cultures done. Would the urologist order those? He has blood in his urine for at least 2 weeks. The only doctor who seems really concerned about that is his hematologist. I am not happy with the urologist. He didn’t see Joe prior to Joe’s release from the hospital. Joe will be seeing the urologist in his office soon. Thanks for your support.
Barb

[Sandy L]

Hi Barb,
Tell Joe we are so glad he is fighting.Way to go Joe………

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