Is it fine giving pegInterferon injection and erythropoitin 40,000 IU on same day?

[arunbansal504]

My mother got anemia during HCV treatment with PegInterferon alfa 2b 100 mg and ribavarin 1000 mg/day

[Ph1ldad]

Hi A run, when I was treated I was on the same treatment but the interferon was only every other day. I was, however, in the trial programme. my blood count was regularly below 60 and has only recently begun to rise to mid-seventies. This is eighteen years after the treatment. My clotting got so bad that just a shaving nick could take 12 hours to stop and the bruising was spectacular. From what I can gather this is quite normal but it does taken some nerve on the patients' and doctors behalf. Don't want internal bleeding complicating matters! All I can say is stick with it as long as you can. I've had eighteen years of reasonable health which wouldn't have happened if I'd not gone through with it.

[mrsmerlin]

Hi, nobody on here can answer your question i'm afraid, not without I knowing a full background and medical notes. I say this because sometimes doctors will authorise treatments that do carry some risk - they have to compare that to the risk of not giving the treatment. It can be a very fine line and it would be easy to say on paper what is right and wrong but personally I would have more faith in a doctor who was prepared to take chances on my behalf if that was to improve things.

I suspect more doctors would do this and improvements would be made but for patients reading the contra-indications on the med info sheet and suing without understanding what they're doing.

X

[Bolly]

How often is she injecting the interferon? Its a strong drug and makes you feel quite unwell, so I would ask her doctor whether she can take the EPO on a different day. Presume she only takes this once a week?

[arunbansal504 in reply to Bolly]

She is getting PegInterferon injection weekly every Saturday. First EPO 40,000 IU was started as well on this Saturday only. Today it's Wednesday, still she is feeling very low and still she is having fever. Doctor saying it shouldn't be because of EPO, it can be because of PegInt injection only but I doubt. It was her 5th PegInt injection but she never felt such lower ever. Do you also think it should be because of PegInt only or there are chances of EPO side effects? She is Genotype 4 aged 58 weight 93 KG,Hypertension from last 15 years

[Bolly]

Both the medications will have side effects. The interferon will make your mother feel unwell for much of the time I'm afraid, it's a strong drug and as you have seen already will affect her blood readings. If she takes paracetamol (acetaminophen) particularly on the day of her interferon injection, it should help with the fever. Treatment for Hep C is not an easy one to undergo, much like chemotherapy for cancer, but its the only known way at the moment to clear the virus. She is lucky to have you looking out for her, anything you are worried about you should get in touch with her medical team. Good luck