Procrit

Hemey got my lab work back and concurred with what Rheumy suspected -- anemia of chronic disease.  He said that my hemoglobin levels increased slightly but that my white blood cell count was still low.  The low hemoglobin is probably what is causing me to feel weak and tired all the time.  He said that I could take Procrit shots if I feel like I am dragging, and that it would stimulate my bone marrow to create more red blood cells.

I'm sad to say this, but I am not too impressed with Hemey.  He does not explain things well.  He asked me if I had heard of Procrit and when I said no, he just told me what I said above (oh, and that it was a highly abused drug by athletes) and then wanted me to decide whether or not I wanted to take it.  I had to prod him to tell me more about it and when I asked about side effects, he said "at your levels, there are none."  I don't know, I find that kind of hard to believe, especially because he mentioned that this medication fell under FDA's "black box warning" and I'd need to sign a consent form to take it.  I wasn't sure what this meant, so when I Googled it when I got home, and I saw that this label indicates that the drug carries significant risk of serious of life-threatening adverse effects.  Scary!  And Hemey made it sound like it was nothing!  When I asked him how long I would need to take the shots, he said it would be weekly forever.  To me, this sounds not only inconvenient, but pretty serious if it is something I'd need to do for the rest of my life.  To Hemey, he just saw it as "but it would only take 5 min, and you wouldn't have to see me every time...just come in to get the shot and leave."  He said they wouldn't aim to bring my hemoglobin levels back up to normal, but just high enough to make me feel better.  When I asked if there were any other options, he said no.  It was too hard for me to make a decision based off of the information he told me, so I said I'd need to think about it (meaning I'd have to go do my own internet research -- and I wanted to talk to Rheumy to see what he thinks too). 

In the mean time, Hemey printed out an information sheet for me to read and is going to find out what the insurance guidelines say to see if they would even cover me.  Normal hemoglobin levels for adult women are between 12-16 gm/dl.  My last blood test was around 10, and prior to that I was around 8-9.  I guess at a level of 10 some insurance companies don't think it is necessary, so they won't cover the cost of it (it is expensive).  If insurance won't cover me, I probably wouldn't do it.  If it would be fully covered, I'm not sure what I would do.  On one hand, the weakness and tiredness I feel is becoming my "normal" and just something I deal with every day.  It is the thought of the possibility of having more energy and being able to do things that makes me wonder if I should give it a try.  Anyone have any experience or thoughts to share?

- a little lupie -