Procrit Injections

[Caroline]

Lynne.

Typo…Dad is not 70. He is 79 years old.

Caroline

[Jerry]

Lynne,
You are getting some very conflicting information her and I am sorry if I have contributed to that. I am 61 and have received my Procrit shots for over a year. ALL of the nurses that we have talked to have told us 1) insert the needle quickly and 2) let it warm to room temperature (about 20 minutes and/or you can roll the syringe between your hands for a minute) since it is a thick medicine and flows more smoothly at warmer temps. The advice to let the fluid go in more slowly is good advice but not for the needle. Our pharmacy provides us with pre-filled syringes with extremely short needles and alcohol swabs. We have never put the shots in my stomach or thigh because the arm is very tolerable for me. I hope this helps you, but if your are confused, speak to the nurse at your Dr’s office. By the way, my wife learned to give me my shots. (I always kid her about dulling the needle before she injects me… LOL) Good luck.

[Neil]

Hi Lynne,
not sure what normal EPO level is. A good question for your doc.
I get my shot in the belly.
No pain at all regardless of how rapidly injected.
I picked the belly since it is closer to the kidneys where EPO is produced and closer to hips/thighs where the largest mass of bone marrow is located. Maybe less chance for dilution on the trip to the marrow.
I may be all wet on this theory, but thought it made some sense. Looking for any advantage possible.
Not sure about the temperature question. Think my injections are room temp.

[paml]

Having been a Neupogen and Procrit user the injection site is based on choice and convenience. Giving myself shots, I used the top of my thighs and belly since I can hardly reach, pinch and inject the back of my arm all at the same time. I also found that allowing the Procrit to warm made it sting less. Procrit is however temperature sensitive – thus the storage requirements.

On an interesting note, after 8 months of Procrit use all my counts have stabilized and I’m off all drugs. For whatever reason, my sluggish marrow has kicked in and is producing again. Last month my hgb was 12.2 and wbc was 3.5, I’ll take it!

Best Regards,
Pam L.

[lynne]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my e-mail about procrit. I’ll know tomorow whether or not I’m starting on it or not. I wish I could get over the physiological part of this. It seems that I feel that “I’m going down hill” if I have to start procrit. I need to be more appreciateive that I have that choice….Lynne

[Sandy L]

Lynne

You feel any way you want. Just look at it as a dip in the road, and keep on moving.

[Caroline]

Lynne,

As I mentioned last week, I would let you know what the new Home Care Nurse had to say about Eprex. Her views completely contradicted the nurse who came to my parents’ house last week. She agrees with all of the people on this forum who said that the shot burns more if used straight out of the fridge. We need to either let the needle sit out for 20 minutes or so or roll it in our hands for a few minutes to heat the Eprex up a bit. I gave Dad his shot unassisted today and it didn’t hurt him a bit.

Also, after blood tests yesterday, my Dad’s hemoglobin has risen from 99 to 107 in 3 weeks. They are very pleased that the Eprex seems to be doing its job.

The bad part of those tests showed that his Creatinine levels are very high and his Coagulation Factors are not working properly. Now he has to start seeing a Nephrologist, a second Hemotologist and his Oncologist to get these things in order before the Urologist can remove his kidney stones. Dad has one huge stone at the opening of each of his ureters. 3 weeks ago they did an emergency operation and inserted stents in his ureters to allow urine to flow freely around the stones. They assured us that the Eprex did not cause any of these problems and that they existed long before the onset of the Eprex shots 3 weeks ago.

Thank goodness that there are methods of helping people with blood disorders nowadays. My Father-in-law found out that he had Leukemia in 1966 and he died 9 months later because there was just no treatment for the disease at that time. Look how far they have come? My Mother-in-law keeps telling my Dad how happy she is for him that he has the chance to help himself with the aid of treatments like Eprex/Procrit.

I hope that you are feeling better about everything Lynne.

Caroline

[lynne]

I have had a weird thing happen,and want to see if it is just me. I had my first procrit injection (40,000) 48 hours ago(in my left arm),and guess what hurts? The exact spot on my hip where I had my bone marrow biopsy done 4 years ago. Weird,huh? It’s aching like I had it done yesterday> Any comments?…………..Lynne

[patti]

Lynne,

Take that as a good sign! If procrit is working it will usually cause some mild bone pain. That means its actually stimulating the marrow. My MIL has been getting these shots for awhile and she never has any pain and guess what, the shots don’t work. So we stopped the procrit. So, although it might be weird since its been 4yrs since your BMB, just take it to mean it’s working! That my dear, is a blessing.

best wishes,

patti

[dmiller]

My dad is 76 and was diagnosed with MDS in June of 05.He has had Vidaza shots for 2 series, and also uses Procrit. The doctor he sees isn’t very positive about trying medicines. They just tell him he’s doing o.k. They don’t seem to be experienced with MDS at all. We live outside of Cleveland, Ohio and would like to talk to other people in our area who have MDS

[Caroline]

Lynne,

My Dad has had 6 Procrit injections so far. I give them to him so I get the chance to monitor any side effects. I give him the shot on Thursday mornings. By evening, he is sore in his joints. By Friday morning, he can barely move. It lasts the entire day. He has alot of arthritis and complains that it is ‘acting up’. I mentioned this to the Oncologist on Tuesday and he said that joint pain after the injection means that the Procrit is stirring things inside the bones up and causing them to work at making new red blood cells. It will usually affect joints which are already weak or sore. It will irritate them more. That was his simplified way of explaining the pain. I appreciated that. Now it makes more sense to Dad and I. He said that it is not unusual and that Dad can take as much as Tylenol #2 for the pain. I asked if we could divide the 40 000 Units over 2 injections per week. Doctor advised against it saying that Dad would still react to the shots by feeling very sore the next day so why put him out of commission for 2 days every week when he is already sore for 1 day per week?

Caroline

[lynne]

Caroline………..Thanks for the info,and by the way have your Dad’s blood counts improved after 6 Procrit injections?…..Lynne

[lynne]

Patti….Thanks for responding to my message about the Procrit. If the discomfort means “good news”, I’ll take it….Lynne

[lynne]

Pam L. So happy for you that the Procrit has worked…………Lynne

[Caroline]

Lynne,

Procrit is helping Dad. 6 weeks ago his hemoglobin was at 99. Then we began shots and it went as high as 107. The other day it was at 102. This does not seem very heartening, does it? I will tell you why. Dad has Kidney Disease now and he is bleeding in his urine. The good red blood cells are being bled away. The Oncologist told us that if it weren’t for the Procrit helping as much as it is, Dad’s hemoglobin would be down around 70 by now. Once we can get those kidneys fixed up, Dr. thinks that the Procrit will bring Dad’s hemoglobin up to 120. We are praying that he is right.

Caroline

[Author]

Posts