I completed exactly one year on Olaparib today. I had high grade serous OC stg4, brca1, and started in op after chemo and surgery was very effective. My HB count dropped to 5.5 and platelets to 80, wbc 2400 (all are at their lowest, even lower than during chemo). I took the blood work today as I have been breathless after my regular morning walk for the past 2 weeks. My doc just messaged me advising transfusion and to temporarily stop OP. Just wanted to check if any prep is needed for the transfusion and if this is common even after 1 year of taking the meds. I am on 450 mg since haem had dropped to 6 during the initial 4 months but have been around 8-9 since then. Also any inputs if transfusion can be avoided or is it better to go through with it ?
blood transfusion prep: I completed exactly one... - My Ovacome
blood transfusion prep
Hi Goodgirl98
If they are saying you need it then I would have it if I were you.
You will feel the better for it and low haemoglobin of the type that makes you breathless can be dangerous.
My experience suggests that there’s always a balance between the drugs that work for you and the side effects which work against you.
Maybe talk to your oncologist about why this has happened and whether the transfusion is likely to be a one off?
Best of luck with it xx
thank you so much, Lyndy! I have an appointment today and will ask these questions.
Hi Good girl , I have already msged you from an different id ....have closed tat and this is my new one .
ok, noted. Hope your revised treatment is starting soon
Yes....had my chemo yesterday
please take lots of rest and water. I am just a ping away for any support.
Thankyou Good girl ....pls keep me in your prayers.
I was thinking of you today and you are in my prayers as well. Take care.
My Hb went down to 6 during my first chemo line. I was advised transfusion as I was breathless and so that chemo could continue. I went in the very next day to have the tranfusion. They check your bloods and then i had 3 hours of relaxation reading my book as the blood went in. I began to feel better in a day or two and gradually my HB came up over the next few weeks. I have not had to have another since as now my HB is fine even while I am on my 2nd chemo line. It is well worth having it done and there will be checks beforehand and the blood is given slowly. xxxxx
Thank you! I got lucky and got a small private room so I actually dozed off on the bed during the transfusion. Hubby waited sitting on a chair and he had a book for company. Yes, overall the procedure took longer than anticipated but the actual transfusion was not bad.
Brilliant, I'm glad you got through it and actually managed a nice nap along the way. I hope you will be feeling better soon. Much love and best wishes. xxxxx
thank you. Honestly, I am not bouncing off the walls as I had hoped!! Feeling slightly sluggish and tired still (after 36 hours). Awaiting my cbc results today. Maybe the magic will happen after the next transfusion tomorrow, based on the cbc counts.
You had really low Hb and you will get another transfusion tomorrow. Give it time and you will soon feel the benefit as your Hb rises. Thinking of you as I get my next chemo cycle tomorrow. xxxxx
thank you so much. I did not get the blood test results back on time and hence did not have the second transfusion today. I wish you well for your chemo tomorrow 👍🏻💪
Oh, no. Have you had another appointment for the transfusion? Hope you get it soon. Thank you for the well wishes for my chemo tomorrow. Much love, xxxx
The tests came back with HB increased from 5.5 to 7.4. Have messaged my doc to see if another transfusion is needed. Let's see. Wishing you a stress free and effective chemo tomorrow. You are in my prayers.
Good news. I'm very pleased that your Hb has risen so well. Thank you for the well wishes. you are also in my prayers. xxxx
Hi. You should definitely have the transfusion. You will feel better pretty quickly. As to Olaparib causing such problems after a year, yes it can. I don’t want to scare you but it can cause serious problems with your bone marrow. Hopefully a two week break from Olaparib will allow your bone marrow to recover but they may need to do more testing or lower the dose further. I went down to 300 mg/day after the first year and remained ned.
thank you, Delia. I am already at 450mg due to an earlier drop in HB; let's see where this takes me! So happy to see you are NED and may it continue to be so.
I did it several years ago as gemsar infusions dropped blood count. No prep necessary. I felt great afterwards. Another time we chose to go without transfusion but iron infusion which greatly helped
thank you, Ruebacelle. Is iron infusion same as the iron injection?
Yes
Hi, my hemoglobin has dropped twice during niraparib. The first was 6.5 , which I needed 2 units of blood. The second time was 7.7 and I had 1 unit of blood. I was very breathless the first time and I had the transfusion the next day. Dropped hemoglobin can be very dangerous, so definitely you are at a very low number. You don’t have to prepare for this, as they can give it to you at the infusion clinic into your port if you probably have one. You will definitely feel so much better. Best wishes, Donna
Thanks everyone. I went ahead with it and got 1 unit in yesterday. After cbc testing today, I might get 1 more unit tomorrow. The doc felt he did not want to overload the system, so broke it up into 2 days. My BP was at the lower end at 110/60 yesterday and I felt a little light headed this morning; not sure because of the HB or the BP. Will give it some more time to feel better.
Niraparib 
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