As many of us find, our HGB levels drop with the use of chemo drugs. In my case, Zytiga, Xtandi, and now Lynparza all seemed to contribute to my low HGB count (while continuing Lupron throughout). My HGB has been between 9.6 and 10.7 over the last 18 months, last reading 10.1. When my HGB dipped below 10.0 (9.6) my dosage on Lynparza was reduced to 450mg/day
My MO/Hematologist suggests that I consider Aranesp if my HGB count goes below 10 again.
Any thoughts or experiences on the use of this drug and/or other strategies on improving HGB counts?
Gary
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GDeG
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I would like to share my experience about raising Hemoglobin. Since my diagnosis almost 3 years ago, my Hb was fluctuating between 12.5 to 13.5. 2 months ago, I made a dietary change...I started eating 100 grams a day of DRY Dark Red big Grapes with seeds (called Munakka Grapes) along with 2 oranges daily with peel. Last week, to my pleasant surprise, my Hb level came 14.4 %.
In the beginning, eating orange with peel tasted bitterish but after several days, I got used to eating entire orange with peel. I prefer Tangelos or tangerines as they are not as bitter. I say eat orange like monkeys do.
That is impressive fast raise of Hb. You did add oranges with peals and dark grapes with seeds simultaneously. Dark Munakka Grapes and oranges and even juice (too much sugar in juice) known to raise Hb, why do you think orange peel played role also?
Also 100gr per day it is a lot of sugar and on ADT with slowed down metabolism don't you think 100gr of Munakka is too much per day?
Oranges with peels have a lot of Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) and Munakka Grapes have good amount of Iron. Its well known that Vit C is required for absorption of Iron in intestines.Munakka Grapes provides iron and other minerals whereas` Ornanges provide enough VIt C to increase absorption of Iron.
You are right that 100 gm of Munakka Grapes is little too much..I have reduced the dose to 50 grams a day. Not having Diabetes helps as my HbA1C remains below 5.8.
Aranesp is a man-made form of the protein human erythropoietin that is given to reduce or avoid the need for red
blood cell transfusions. Aranesp stimulates your bone marrow to make more red blood cells.
The potential side effects look to put it unscientifically... scary.
Maybe look into them and if you move forward with this make sure his Dr. is closely monitoring his condition.
Some of the SE's are blood clots, stroke, cardio problems.
I am often looking for what we can do about our bone marrow. This is the first I heard of this drug. Many of the treatments we need affect the marrow and then eventually we cant get a treatment because our marrow is too compromised.
I have wished for awhile now that we could do something to boost our bone marrow health both because of damage from mets and treatment and to prepare for marrow compromising treatment.
GM-CSF has wide-ranging effects on diverse myeloid cells, including monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. It stimulates innate immune responses by activating macrophages and dendritic cells that prompt development of antigen-specific T cells and regulatory T cells, thereby linking innate and adaptive immune systems.
I live in Turkey. So I don't know where it is on overseas sites. Below is the link of the website where I bought the product. You can search by brand name.
Androgen suppression often causes mild anaemia as testosterone is one of the agents among others which drives erythropoesis in the bone marrow. Darbepoetin alfa pushes the bone marrow to produce more red cells and hence correct the anaemia. Darbopoetin is a safe drug. It may be also worthwhile to check Serum Iron and Iron binding capacity to exclude any Iron deficiency in the body which may contribute to anaemia. Eat more proteins and sources of iron like green leafy vegetables and animal liver in your diet
I believe ishitasen's comments accurately reflect Aranest's profile. However, the comment about being safe needs to be in the context of understanding the patient's complete medical profile as there can be serious side effects. Thanks for you comments.Concerning grapes and oranges they really don't have anything to do with darbopoetin alfa (Aranest) but my studies indicate that a one-off positive shift in hgb level from eating grapes and orange peels doesn't constitute a solution since it could of been a result of something else.
The bottom line on Aranest from this group is that it appears that no one has any experience using it?
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