Pegasys effect on labs

[Snook37]

Hello! I was wondering what effect the Pegasys (peginterferon) has on labs when first started. I’ve taken 2 45mcg doses over two weeks and my WBC count is up, platelets are up, and AST and ALT have risen to borderline high (liver function). What have others’ experienced been with Pegasys and its effects on labs, and should I be concerned? I’d like to stay on but not at the cost of liver function/damage.

[MistyBlue2]

Hi SnookI’m interested in this too.

I’m about 16 doses of Pegasys in now, and only in my last set of labs @ dose 14 (and after hiking my dose to 90mcg) did I start seeing my numbers heading slightly in the right direction.

How long did it take others to see a drop, I wonder?

[wiskie in reply to MistyBlue2]

Hello, I was started on Pegasus 90mcg, after 2 weeks made no difference at all, so was increased to 135mcg. Pleased to say that has worked for me, but taken 18 months to get platelets within range. Have always had Flu like feeling couple of days after injection & continue to suffer fatigue. Take care.

[Otterfield]

When I was first on Pegasys, my consultant told me it would take a few weeks start working. It did have the right effect about six weeks in.

[Alexbits]

Hi, I had the same with ALT/AST when injecting every 7 days. It's manageable. Check this thread for the details healthunlocked.com/mpnvoice...

Regarding your WBC/Platelets, when I started Pegasys, probably after 2-3 injections I had an unusual spike in WBC. I believe it's a bone marrow reaction to the medicine. With Pegasys, you have to be patient, it takes time to stabilize your blood counts, especially when dose is low.

Don't freak out, proceed with injections, consult with your doctor. It will take time but it's worth it. Good luck.

[Tmg59]

Hi SnookI'm 6 weeks in, started off on 45 weekly and after 3 weeks am now on alternate 45/90 dose. My haematocrit has usually been 43-47 with occasional venesection and platelets 600-700. Had consultation on Tuesday and pleased to say haematocrit 40 and platelets 438. Just hope they continue this way. I had been told I may have to increase to 135 dose but consultant pleased with readings so staying on 45/90 for now. Stick with it and fingers crossed your readings will start to come down. I have read that Peg can take a while to kick in. Good luck

Best wishes

Tina

[Tylerdog1]

It’s been very slow to work- I started injecting in January, increasing dosage monthly and am now injecting 135mcg each week. Took 8 months for blood counts to start coming down.

I also suffer with the fatigue the day after taking, but other than that, no other side effects

[Mymble]

Hi Snook37Really just to echo the other replies you have had - Pegasys can take a while to work. I’ve been taking Pegasys for about 18 months now. I started on 45mcg to lower my platelets and gradually increased this to 90mcg which I inject weekly. Initially my platelets rose but after about 6 months they fell to within normal range and after a year my platelets were below 200 and that’s where they are now. I don’t recall my WBC being raised but my ALT did go quite high - I think 144 at its highest - but again this is now back to normal. My haematologist was keeping an eye on the ALT but was not too worried and

seemed confident that it would normalise in time.

Good luck!

All the best.

Emma

[JT_Marlin]

I’ve been on weekly 45mcg pegasys for about 9 months - its done a fantastic job bringing my platelets down.I do like to drink wine and that has risen my alt/ast over the limits. I tend to not drink for a minimum of 4 days prior to a blood test now and that keeps my liver numbers in line.

[Vicki_02]

I took about 3-4 months to get the right effect and my dose went up to a 220mg weekly injection. I didn’t stay on this for long and once it got going the dosage was dropped (180mg weekly, then 90mg weekly and now 45mg every two weeks). I had my liver function check at the highest doses but not since. I think it does just take time to find your balance, as long as you are being monitored and not causing by longer term damage I would stick with it for a little longer. However I am not a doctor so trust your specialist and ask lots of questions to make sure you are happy. 🙂

[Snook37]

Just in case this may help someone in the future. Just an update, WBC have come back down after about 5 weeks of being high after starting Pegasys. Started at 9-9.5 rose to 14 within about 2-3 weeks of starting interferon, then slowly came back down to where they started over a couple months. Not sure why the spike happened but others seem to have experienced it when starting Pegasys also. ALT and AST did go quite high (over 2x upper limit of normal) and have remained high but seem to have settled less than twice the upper limit of normal at almost 4 months in to using Pegasys. My platelets have been the main issue and started high end of normal, but after an initial round of 15 or so weekly phlebotomies, they have slowly risen to just over a million. I have had a three week reprieve from phlebotomies but have to go back in as my hct has hit 46. Hoping the platelets respond soon.