Reaction to Procrit?

[nancym]

Hi everybody.

Mom Had her first injection of procrit 3-25-09. She said she was comfortable with the injection, but it burned afterward for about 3 minutes.

Here is what she is concerned about: She was extra tired 2 days following the injection and went back to normal on the 3rd. Was this related to the procrit? Has anyone else had the same experience and if so do you know why? BTW, her hemoglobin is 9.5.

Thanks, I will give her your responses.

Nancy (writing for Alice)

[Laural]

Fatigue is understandable. The Procrit is trying to kick the red blood cell production into over drive. It takes energy from the body to make this happen. Mild bone pain is also common. Try to eat well and give yourself extra rest while your body and the Procrit work.
Laura

[infoseeker]

NancyM,
By coincidence, I also had my first Procrit injection on 3-25 and another a week later. The following Monday I started my first 5 day course of Dacogen. My hemo had been as low as 8.3 in December, not sure of most recent level. I noticed no adverse effect after the Procrit either time. If anything, I felt a slight improvement. A bit less tired. This is all new to me having been diagnosed in March, so I’m interested in how folks are doing on these drugs.

[Mary4Mike]

Welcome Infoseeker!

You have come to the right place for information and support. Please give us more personal info ie classification of MDS, % of blasts, age, sex (if you care to). This enables those that have similar experiences to share with you.

How did you handle the Dacogen? Did your counts take a nose dive, any fever, mouth sores??? That was my husband’s experience, but not everyone is the same. That is one common thread you will find on this forum, there is no one size fits all with this disease. Every chemo affects everyone differently.

Keep writing and asking questions!

Mary

[nancym]

Hi. After 3 weeks of Procrit, Mom is doing well and responding. Her labs came back: NBC 5.9, Hemo 10.6 (from 9), HCT 3.7, Peas(?) 296. I know hemoglobin, but what are the other numbers? (I got this info over the phone and don’t know if I heard correctly. NBC poss RBC?).

One question Mom has…Now she notices after her treatment, she has energy for about 3 days, then she is very tired. She wants to know if this is normal.

Thanks for your support.

Nancy

[infoseeker]

Hi Nancy,
I took my 5th Procrit on Monday (20th) and for the rest of that day felt fine. I seem very wakeful for a time after each shot, no desire to sleep, and I stayed up late. That didn’t last long, and Tuesday and today I would have gladly napped all day. Of course, I didn’t which made me pretty poor company. That’s the shortest "up" time so far. Three days would have been great. I expect we will experience such variations throughout our treatment.

FOR EVERYONE: Since Nancy’s Mom and I are both new patients, which "numbers" should we absolutely keep track of? This may be too broad a question given the various forms of MDS and the fact that we’re all different.

Seeker

[lindajo]

I recommend getting a copy of all blood counts. You will learn more over time and being able to refer back to your counts while learning will help it make sense.

Keep a copy of all other test results, ask for transcribed results and doctors notes. Doctors retire die and move it will help you figure out what tests you have and haven’t had.

[Author]

Posts