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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Hepatitis / June 2007Got Procrit
Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a box of (I think) 4 vials, 40,000 units. Oh, and 4x1cc insulin syringes, as well. My favourite pharmacist didn't blink an eye about insurance...I paid $6, and the rest was covered by Medicaid, thankfully. Haven't had the chance to read the complete package insert yet, but I'd like some advice from you guys who have experience with the drug. As I've mentioned, my Hg had gone from 13 in Week 2 to 11.2 in Week 4; after that, my doctor made the decision to put me on Procrit. I had shot #5 last Friday, and have only started feeling it--really feeling it--in the past few days. Sometimes woozy and dizzy, more and more difficult to walk up the staircase. I'm almost 30, normal weight, no major health complaints, and had never felt like this. Just wondering, should I take the Procrit now, or put it off until it gets worse? I mean, if I pace myself, I can function, no problem. Any opinions? Also, if I do start taking it...when should I take the shots--I take my Peg-Intron shot on Friday night. Should I take Procrit a few days later, or on the same day, or day before/after? Morning, afternoon, evening? Any practical info? Thank you.  SignatureSick Boy P.S. Medicaid--what would I do without them? Actually, I know...just like the many people I personally know who can't afford insurance and don't get one at their jobs, even working FT and overtime--I'd only see a doctor when things got unbearable--and then, if I could afford necessary tests (a big "if"), I'd be faced with the cost of procedures and/or meds. That's why almost everyone of them don't even bother with seeing to a doctor--getting diagnosed with something will only add to anxiety. This one guy I know, has had HepC for years...his liver is swollen so much it's scary--very possibly cirrhotic. His employer refuses to insure any workers, paying them under the table; it's a car service, so there's no shortage of volunteers, and the boss gets away with it...just one of many who take advantage of large numbers of people with few skills who have families to feed and rent to pay. And yet, I'm amazed at how many people are against universal health care--at least as an option for those just above that pitiful level which cuts you off to be eligible for state Medicaid. I heard Michael Moore's new film, "Sicko", is now available for downloading on some web site--legally, as long as you don't try to sell it. I don't think he's the most unbiased source of info out there, but at least he turns over rocks that others dare not come close to--and for having the balls to do that today, I respect Moore, despite his shortcomings. > Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, > so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Procrit a few days later, or on the same day, or day before/after? > Morning, afternoon, evening? Any practical info? Thank you. Where's Elmo when we need him? He's had a bit of experience with Procrit along with his rather interesting treatment regime. I think he said that the Procrit caused huge purple spots all over his body combined with an uncontrollable urge to shout obscentities at police officers. Or was that something else? Can't remember... > Where's Elmo when we need him? He's had a bit of experience with Procrit > along with his rather interesting treatment regime. > I think he said that the Procrit caused huge purple spots all over his > body combined with an uncontrollable urge to shout obscentities at police > officers. Or was that something else? > Can't remember... .......................................................... Hi CJ! Feel free to post this, I feel bad I haven't visited the group lately. Welcome to the group, Sickboy...and to anyone else who's joined since I fell off the apple cart. As for the purple spots all over, it must have been something else. ahahahahahhaha!! As far as hurling insults at the police, it only occurred BEFORE the Procrit took effect. To answer Sickboy's questions....now would be the time to start the Procrit, before he gets so wiped out he can't function. It usually takes a couple or few weeks for the stuff to kick in well enough that that you feel better. But when it does, Sickboy will think he's Superman (relatively speaking, of course). The shot should be taken about midway between doses of interferon. What have I been up to? Saw Allison Krauss and Union Station with Jerry Douglas in Branson the other night. Ana Popovich this Friday. Got myself a new 10.2 meg digital SLR Saturday. It's a Sony A100 and I got it with two zoom lenses from 17mm to 300mm. Fantastic camera and I'm having alot of fun playing with it. Ana will be my first photo opp with it. Yeeeeeeeeeeee hawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! Elmo -----Original Message----- From: Cactus Jammies Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 9:31 PM To: [elmo] Subject: ash sea topic Procrit doage and regimen hey guy, they's lookin for advice on when to take procrit... you can send the answer to me here if you want. also Elmo informed me later that you can take the Procrit any time of day it doesn't matter. cj ''''''''''''''''''' >> Where's Elmo when we need him? He's had a bit of experience with Procrit >> along with his rather interesting treatment regime. [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > hey guy, they's lookin for advice on when to take procrit... you can send > the answer to me here if you want. Cactus Jammies >also Elmo informed me later that you can take the Procrit any time of day it >doesn't matter. [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] >> between >> doses of interferon. Thanks, Elmo and CJ--much appreciated. SignatureSick Boy >> Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, >> so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > officers. Or was that something else? > Can't remember... Hey spidy, Yeah, you still got that hepper humor. My doctor was on the verge of ending my tx over my blood count. When I told him would continue tx even if I had to buy it over the internet illleagaly he put me on Procrit. The stuff raseed my levels and kept in TX. 48 weeks and nearly three years later the dragon is STILL dead, Rachel >>> Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, >>> so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > 48 weeks and nearly three years later the dragon is STILL dead, > Rachel With three weeks left to go, my doc told me to discontinue tx because my blood counts were dangerously low. I asked for Procrit but was told it wasn't available. Three weeks left? All that time of blood, sweat and sides? Discontinue? No f.cking way, I wasn't going to risk a failure after all that. Man, gotta tell you though, I couldn't walk from one room to the next without a lie-down. Yeah, the dragon is STILL dead! <high five to Rachel> >Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, >so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >Procrit a few days later, or on the same day, or day before/after? >Morning, afternoon, evening? Any practical info? Thank you. 35 shots worth of experience, all but two of those at 60K IU... And I think self-administering Procrit (or Epogen, etc) is not necessarily a wise idea. Here's why: First, the best place to inject this is almost unreachable by you. It's that flap of skin that connects the outer most edge of your armpit to your arm. If you follow the flap about 4 or 5 inches from your armpit, that's the spot. You need to relax the arm muscles in that area, then spike the spot, and it's going to be awkward (it certainly was for me - the one time I did it myself). Second, even forgetting the fabulously expensive price for this juice, it should be administered wisely - and using blood tests. You should have a blood test done before you kick off the first shot, and weekly tests thereafter until both your shot volume and hemoglobin have stabilized. Meaning: the doc should be starting you off with 20K IU - half a vial - for the first two weeks. It takes about that long for the bone marrow to respond. Then a blood test to see if you need to boost the shot to 40K IU - and another two weeks - then another blood test to see if you need to use the maximum recommended dose - 60K IU. And so on. The idea is to find the right dose to keep your HGB close to 11 g/DL, and then stick with that for the rest of your therapy. If you do the shots yourself, that's a weekly opportunity lost to get your blood work done and have one of the NPs or NAs do your shot. Bottom line: you really should speak with your doctor or at least an experienced NP at the office about all this. It's non-trivial... Cheers /greyhackles > >Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, > >so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a [quoted text clipped - 54 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Grey, You must be joking about the best place to take Procrit. Right? I take mine right in my lower abdomen. I'm nearing 18 weeks left of treatment since starting in August of 06 and have been taking the Procrit since week 20 or so, but limitations on the amount for me (40K) must be considered because of my kidney, but it keeps me upright even if not in the normal range. It's nice to see you still posting. eileen >Grey, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >eileen Not kidding, really, I was told by three different RNs that was the best place. That said, it wouldn't take a thesis paper to convince me they were just parroting some medical folklore that *they* were all told (like, did you ever notice ob/gyn's all pronounce "cent-i-meter" as "sont-a-meter" - and then look puzzled when you ask them why? ;-) Or perhaps they just enjoyed my weekly visits and would have missed me terribly (ahahahahahahaha!). I do think adding weekly Procrit injections to the typical four shot zone strategy (left/right thigh, left right belly) could be problematic over an extended period. That'd mean no area gets more than two weeks of "rest" before it gets another load of Peg (you probably knew Procrit is pegylated just like the interferon) and eventually the body may rebel and develop a nasty injection site reaction (bt/dt, have the bulls eye scar to prove it)... Anyway.... Upright is a very good thing :-) If you noticed the plot of my "Anemic Adventure" my hgb never made it up to 10 g/dl while maxxed out on the Epogen - but even so I did some fairly amazing things once the bone marrow got revved up above 9 - things that would make me feel exhausted just *thinking* about doing when I was down near 8. Hope all your other labs have been good as you're heading for the home stretch. It won't be long before the whole therapy thing is distant history! Cheers /greyhackles > >Grey, > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > /greyhackles Grey, It was probably your charm that they enjoyed weekly.;) I wasn't considering the Procrit was pegulated though, my NP saw what my thighs looked like after I started using them and told me to stick to the little baby pouch must mothers were blessed with! Thanks for the encouragement! eileen [...] >Just wondering, should I take the Procrit now, or put it off until it >gets worse? I mean, if I pace myself, I can function, no problem. Any >opinions? Also, if I do start taking it...when should I take the >shots--I take my Peg-Intron shot on Friday night. Should I take >Procrit a few days later, or on the same day, or day before/after? >Morning, afternoon, evening? Any practical info? Thank you. Whoops - I totally spaced out on that paragraph. Sorry. I always did my Peg-Intron shot on Friday night and my Epogen shot Tuesday afternoon. I'm not sure it makes any real difference when you do the Procrit, I couldn't get anyone to tell me otherwise, Tuesday afternoons at the lab were usually pretty quiet and by Tuesday the Peg hangover usually lightened up to where I could handle the whole getting-there-and-back deal. It takes a while for the body to respond to these HGF-based medicines - up to a couple of weeks, even - so don't expect to feel a rush or anything ;-) But once you get the dosage dialed in you'll feel a whole lot better than you would if your HGB keeps falling. Bt/Dt, it sucks. Given that response time and your already plummeting HGB, I wouldn't wait to get started on the Procrit. As I said in the earlier reply, get an HGB baseline test, do a 20K IU shot, wait a week, do another 20K IU shot, then get another HGB test. If you're still falling, up the Procrit to 40K IU and go two more weeks. If you're *still* falling, go to 60K IU per week and pray to whatever diety you hold dear so you don't have to cut your therapy meds... Cheers /greyhackles The doc had me self administering the procrit -- started out with one pre-measured vial a week (don't remember how much it was) and once my hemoglobin came up to a decent level, he had me take it only every 10 days for the rest of treatment time. I think I started on it in my third month of tx, again, not sure exactly when. I did the shots the same as the inf shots, alternating thighs and belly sides.... I'd pick a spot I didn't do the interferon in that week :) I tried to rotate them them same way just, so the shots were basically 'equal' in all the spots after all was said and done. and seems to me I did the procrit on sat nites, the peg on sun nites. anyway, worked for me. (last week's bloodwork results came in today -- still negative after 3 months post tx :) ) Sara > [...] >> [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > /greyhackles > The doc had me self administering the procrit -- started out with > one pre-measured vial a week (don't remember how much it was) and [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > (last week's bloodwork results came in today -- still negative > after 3 months post tx :) ) Congratulations Sara, you've been a real trooper! eileen Geeze, Eileen! YOU have been the trooper, not me! TX was a piece of cake for me considering what you've gone through. You are the real hero here, still fighting that dragon even though many people would have given up by now in your shoes, with all the problems you have encountered. Sara pulling for you big time! >> The doc had me self administering the procrit -- started out >> with [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > eileen > Geeze, Eileen! YOU have been the trooper, not me! TX was a > piece of cake for me considering what you've gone through. You [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Thanks Sara, There have been times where I just wanted to give up. I miss my life. Anyhow, I'm glad to see your out riding again. eileen >The doc had me self administering the procrit -- started out with >one pre-measured vial a week (don't remember how much it was) and [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > >Sara Wow, that's *EXCELLENT* news, Sara! You done kilt that virus off for good! Huge congrats! /greyhackles >>The doc had me self administering the procrit -- started out >>with [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > /greyhackles thanks Grey :)) I was kinda holding out for my 6 months results before I really celebrated.... you think 3 months is long enough to feel like it's gone for good? Sara >>>The doc had me self administering the procrit -- started out >>>with [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > >Sara Yes, I absolutely do, especially if the test used was any one of those that are sensitive below 50 IU or better. Three months is plenty of time for any residual virus suppressive effects from the combo drugs to have fully worn off, and any low level of viral survivors lurking within would be flourishing once again. One of my many beliefs ;-) is that the qualitative VL tests of yore were simply not sensitive enough to ever be able to determine "clear" with any confidence. Thus there have been many folks with sub-500 IU loads at End Of Therapy that appeared "clear" to the tests that had 1000 IU or higher cut-off points, and then they subsequently "relapsed". Now we have tests that are reliable down in the 10 or even 5 IU/ml range. And once we get to wide-spread use (meaning, once the premium price comes down a bit and the insurance companies boost their allowances) I believe there will be fewer "relapses" - and a more definitive account of ETR vs SVR. This won't change the SVR rates - on its own - of course (and unfortunately). It'll just shift the head counts away from the "relapse" bin and into the "never cleared" bin... Anyway.....I just got in from driving 150 in under two hours and I'm wired - and wordy ;-) You got this thing kicked. It's time to celebrate! Cheers! /greyhackles >> Wow, that's *EXCELLENT* news, Sara! >> You done kilt that virus off for good! [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Sara This study from Digestive Week 2007 says A follow-up week 12 viral count is useful in predicting attainment of SVR and is 100% accurate in patients without cirrhosis. " See http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/2007icr/ddw/docs/060107_a.html It would seem you qualify for membership in the Dragon Slayer's Club now unless you have cirrhosis so then you would have to wait. One thing in this study that I found interesting was "One patient positive at follow-up week 12 (HCV RNA 9000 IU/mL) later achieved an SVR." How did that happen? Don It worked for me. I would have had to stop treatment without it. the dragon is dead, Rachel SignatureWe recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects, and in our common strivings to overcome them. AS BILL SEES IT, p.167 > Picked up the from Dr's secretary yesterday. He'd already gone home, > so I had no chance to speak with him. At the pharmacy, today I got a [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Procrit a few days later, or on the same day, or day before/after? > Morning, afternoon, evening? Any practical info? Thank you. If you do not have insurance or medi whatever I highley recommend using the low price search tool www.DrugPriceSeeker.com. It provides the the lowest prices from established reputable Canadian pharmacies. Same drugs, same manufacturers, just lower prices. |
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