3rd month update on Hydrea

Hi everyone

This is the third month Ahmad is taking hydrea, find below his results compared to last month,

                       July CBC ----------------------------------------------------August CBC



HB                         6.4                                                          7.2

MCV                      63.4                                                         62.5
 
RBCs count            N/A                                                          3.39
 
Platlets                287,000                                                     263,000
 
WBCs count          6,900                                                        7,200
 
Bilirubin                 1.6                                                           1.8
 
SGPT                     normal                                                     26 (up to 44)
 
SGOT                    normal                                                     41 (up to 34)

Creatinine             0.5                                                          0.7 (0.3- 0.7)
 
Urea                     normal                                                     28 (10- 45)
 
Uric acid              normal                                                     7.5 (2-5.5)

Retic count         5.3%                                                        3.9%


My comment, is that this is the highest HB reading i have seen since he was diagnoised, but i am worried about those red abnormal readings.
By the way, the two CBCs were done in two different labs, does this affect the comparison???

Manal


 

Hi Manal,

All of the elevated levels can be side effects of hydroxyurea.

http://www.drugs.com/ppa/hydroxyurea.html

Renal Function

May temporarily impair renal tubular function accompanied by elevated serum uric acid, BUN, and creatinine levels.

Perhaps your doctor can tell you more about what temporary means.

The increase in Hb is very encouraging and should warrant continuation for the time being. Hopefully, the elevated renal readings will soon lower.

I think even two readings in the same labs will have some differences. Blood cells counts are not perfectly exact so there will be some differences from test to test.

Thanks a lot Andy for your reply, your feedback is always informative and helpful. I will see what the doctor will say and let you know

Take care
Manal

Hi Manal,
The results are definately encouraging. Ahmad's Hb level has improved and his WBCs and platelets level are in the desirable range.
His uric acid is little bit on a higher side. You should check with the Dr if it'll be a good time to start him on allopurinol.
Good luck with the treatment!
As far as my update goes, it's been 1.5 months now on hydroxy and so far I have not seen a improvement in my Hb. My WBCs have fallen from 6900 to 4000 and plateletes are at 130. I'll try  another month or so and will then decide whether to continue or not.

Again, I would like to mention/emphasize that please have Ahmad drink lots of water as it'll help him get the medicine out of his body. I'm not good in following the recommendations but i'm good at advicing others 

--Hallu

Hi Hallu

Thank you for your feedback and for the advice, i too agree about what you said concerning water, but it is really hard to make him drink, but i will keep on trying.

Hallu, i think you should give hydrea more time (as long as there is no side effects) than 2.5 month because in Ahmad's case it took him 3 months until his HB showed some increase. The doctor said we will give it up to 9 months trail provided that his other counts are normal, so i guess you should give it more time. Best of luck

Manal

 

Manal,

Thanks for the suggestions. Lets see if it makes any difference in the coming 2 months. Will keep you posted on same.

In the meantime, best of luck to you too!

--Hallu

Manal,
     That is good news about Ahmad's hemoglobin. I hope the other levels get back in the appropriate range. Thinking of you always, Jean