Hepatitis C Support Group

I am only about 1 1/2 weeks into tx...and not having your issues. But I know anemia can kick your ass and really diminish your quality of life. If your having this problem and medical professionals recommend the Procrit...well what's another shot if it makes you feel better and you can swing it financially and/or ins wise? I personally would inject monkey pee if I felt bad enough and that's what my witch doctors recommended. Why feel bad if you do not have too? The stonger you feel, the longer you can endure the tx. Why struggle?

Yeah, I'm winded walking a flight of stairs these days which is a far cry from before treatment. The sides from Procrit are nauseau and aches and pains, far cry from the PegInterferon huh? Thanks for sharing

sorry dude..if they tell procrit you need it..its not that bad..its more a mind thing..my g/f that went through tx had to add procrient..it gave her more energy. I luckily sailed through treatmet..best wishes

can this red blood cell really happen that early in tx? That kinda makes me worried, im 2 weeks into it and already feeling really winded, i hope thats not what it is. I go to doc on the 23rd so i dunno maybe they will test it to see. gosh.

I'm told it is common due to the Ribavirin but my nurse wants me to think it over before jumping into another weekly injection. It's tough for me because even though I was diagnosed HCV pos back in November, I've spent my whole life very active and healthy so to walk across the street and have to stop to catch my breath is all new to me. I also sleep like a log, I can't sleep enough. I wouldn't stress about it though until you go for a follow up, just mention it, they'll check anyway.

I'm going thru the same thing...I'm 8 wks into tx and I became anemic after about 5 weeks. The main thing for me was being winded, like you said. I've always been active and I would get out of breath just carrying a laundry basket upstairs.

I definitely wasn't happy about having to take another shot! But I've had 3 shots of aranesp (does the same thing as procrit) so far and I have to say, I'm not as winded & my hemoglobin has come up to 12.

It's really not that bad once you start & if it makes you feel better that's always a good thing...

It's something I'm definetly need to consider, I have a 5 year old that doesn't understand why dad can't keep up with her during soccer practice like before. My next appt is June 16th and if my RBC keeps decreasing, I think I may have to start. Thanks Katsca

Eric,

Like Kat I'm also on Aranesp and it does help. You may want to talke to your doc about using Aranesp instead of Procrit as it's an every other week shot instead of weekly. I know it seems silly but those 2 less shot a month does help.

Mouse
P.S. I'm glad I agreed to go on the Aranesp. I didn't realize how much the anemia was affecting me until I started feeling better.

by wk 4 of tx my husb's hemo was down to 9 (from 15.9 prior to tx). he has been on procrit since about wk 6 or 7 (it took a couple weeks to get the ins worked out) and will do shot 21 tonite. in all that time his hemo has only gone up to 11.3. he still gets winded easily but at least he can be up all day now. it's worth doing if it helps...

I just had the blood work done yesterday to check the rbc''s. 2 weeks into tx. Did you have any symptoms that indicated this problem? Or did it just show up in the test? Yea, i'd do the monkey pee too. Beth