epo shots

[MiSSis]

Gosh, I've never really thought about it but now that it's been mentioned, I do have trouble sleeping on those nights after I get my Aranesp shot in the evening.  (I'm a chicken and my hubby gives me the shot.)  Luckily I've only been on a single monthly dose of 200 mcg so it hasn't been a huge problem for me but I'll ask him to give me the shot earlier in the day next time.  I've also had pain in the past when receiving the injection and plan to talk to my PD nurse tomorrow about using the smaller insulin needle.  What great ideas you all given.  Thanks!!

[Razman]

When I did my first EPO shot I also thought it was going to hurt but I learned that our minds make up most of the problem.  I found that there was no big deal at all.  Take a big breath , do it once and you'll wonder why you waited so long.

[carson]

Let me just say that I am the biggest scaredy cat when it comes to needles. Now having said that, my husband gives me my epo shots every week. He does a fabulous job - throws it like a dart and I don't feel a thing. I was switched to Aranesp but it came in prefilled syringes with giant needles (comparatively) and it really stung. I complained to my neph and she switched me back to epo. I don't complain too much any more.

[MyssAnne]

Goofy and Anja, I am the same with the epo. It HAS to be early in the day or forget it, I ain't taking it!
I get to do another set of iron transfusions, my iron is so low. Darn it. It is sooo boring.  Oh well.

[angela515]

Goofy and Anja, I am the same with the epo. It HAS to be early in the day or forget it, I ain't taking it!
I get to do another set of iron transfusions, my iron is so low. Darn it. It is sooo boring.  Oh well.

I agree, boring. 

[goofynina]

Why do you say its boring?  how long does it take?  how often do you have to do it?  just asking cuz i may have to be doing them soon too 

[jbeany]

Depends on what dose they give you.  Now that I'm on dialysis, they just give me a series of 8 doses that run while I'm on the machine.  Before I started dialysis, they would give me the full dose in one sitting - that's nine hours in the infusion clinic straight.  Boring doesn't begin to cover it!

[MyssAnne]

As jbeany says boring does not begin to cover it!!! It's basically sitting there, with an IV in you while the iron drips sloooooowly and I mean slooooowly! I am doing the 3 visit 1.5 hours version, hey, I can't afford to take that much time off!  What I'll do is go in next week at 3, be there til 5, then when I do my draw, I'll do the drip then, and the last one on clinic. My nurse works with me and
my schedule. Which I appreciate!  It doesn't hurt, it's just tedious! Bring entertainment!  And drinks!! (non alcoholic, unfortunately!)

[goofynina]

Went in for labs today and my PD nurse just gave my Iron through my needle.  It was a big fat vial full and it took like 5 minutes, so i guess that is not the same thing you all are talking about huh?  I fear the worst is yet to come though, tsk, maaaan 

[MyssAnne]

Sorry GoofyNina. I sure hope you don't have to go through it. It really
isn't painful, just boring!  I don't know what you got, I'll ask my nurse
next time I see her. She's good about explaining things to me.

[Jaybird]

I finally got around talkin to my doc about My Epo shots and how they made me feel crappy. He looked at my blood scores and told me I should probably stop taking it because my blood was starting to become too thick. Once your blood is thick enough the Epo shots will still expand it more and that happens in your bone marrow. He told me that the bone ache because there is too much pressure from the inside.

I used to do dialysis at night time before bed and take my epo shot then so i could sleep the effects off, but My wife is due to have our second child in May, and I have been busy giving my 2 yr old a bath and putting him to sleep so she doesnt have too. So I switched to morning dialysis and now instead of sleeping through the effects, I feel like crap all day afterwards.

-Jaybird

[anja]

Hey Jaybird, good to see you again!  Congrats on the upcoming addition to your family!    You are such a good hubby and daddy, but sorry the EPo has been bothering you.  Hopefully that will turn around for you now!   Best of luck!   

[MyssAnne]

Well. I had my first installment. It didn't go too well. It took my nurse 3 tries to get the iv in me, and I had a reaction, sort of a comobination hypoglycemic/panic attack. Ugh.  Then the IV hurt. you guys know how IVs hurt anyway. That was in for 2 hours. She had to slow the drip so my blood pressure wouldn't go down any further. That's why the slow drip, by the way. Now I feel horrible. Exhausted, shaky, and cranky.  I have 2 more to do. In two week increments.  We don't know why this time it went so badly.

[angela515]

I never noticed any side effects from epo shots... i still take epo and still dont notice side effects, but im gonna start looking to see if I get these or notice anything wierd.

[luckaholic]

I was scared at first, but you just have to do it. Dont think about it, just stick it in! The more you think about it the worse it is. That is one of the joys of hemodialysis, no need to give yourself aranesp.

[MyssAnne]

Hey, guys. The next morning. I still do not feel well after my iron infusion. I just looked at my arm, it is bruised and sore. My feet were swollen, but I think that's from sitting in the chair for over 2 hours. I have called in sick today, and have my feet propped up now.

[nextnoel]

MyssAnne, I'm thinking of you and hoping things are getting better fast!

[Duane]

I'm  to chicken (scared)  for home dialysis. I want the experts there everytime.

As my life style changes and My Father blesses me with another day and i have insurance for dialysis then part of my life that changes is where i live.

I live within 10 miles from my center. It takes 45 min. by the local bus and 10 min by car.

Some people live an hour away from a center and prefer home dialysis but that's not my cup of tea.

They get paid to do it for me. For now.

I'm not ready to stick myself, and I'm not looking forward to ever doing it.

I ask for blessings and answered prayer to come everyones way at this moment.

My Father Loves you and so do I

[MyssAnne]

Hi guys. It's Monday now. I'm back to work, and have managed to fall down the steps outside, and bang up my knee!!
It's comical. You just gotta laugh. I was off work Wed-Fri, just unable to get up and go. And this happens. I'm back at
work, I'd left the building to do an exchange (cycler), and figured since I just hurt, and am banged up, I may as well
go in.

[goofynina]

Aye yi yi, girlfriend, you better be careful, thank goodness you didnt break anything.  I am sure you will be a bit sore for a couple of days.  Much love to ya my friend... 

[luckaholic]

Different hospitals have different protocols for giving iron. When I was on PD they would give it through a drip over 4 hours, checking BP etc. Now Im on hemo I give it as a bolus over 10 minutes made up into 20mls with saline. The first time you have iron it is important to give it slowly and monitoring BP and temp just in case you have a reaction to it.

[tweetykiss]

Ok now I am having a major problem of having to inject my husband although it is blood thinners and not epo.......I am not a medical person and my major and training never involved anything medical......but they now force me to give him shots instead of letting me drive him all the way to the hospital and let a nurse do it.....I would even pay them extra if need be.......I just cannot give shots to anyone.......now I know why my parents didn't let me go to med school....this stuff is not for me......I have already hurt my husband and both his legs have purple spots where I gave him the injections......I think this is grossly unfair that they let me hurt him like this....we are going to the hospital tomorrow........

[tubes]

I received 2 shots of epo, 17 thousand units on friday after i was taken off dialysis.  All becuz, sometimes I get headaches on dialysis but now i get them on off days too.  My nurses and docs think i get the headaches becuz of the epo i was getting while on dialysis.  So now they want to try giving me the shots in the arm to see if the headaches go away.  They didn't go away.  About 2 in the afternoon friday i started to get a headache so i called my unit to tell them their experiment failed and i want my damn cat scan or mri, which ever.  I forgot how much epo burned. i thought being on hemo i was getting away from the shots.

Is 17 thousand units 3 x's a week alot?

[BigSky]

I received 2 shots of epo, 17 thousand units on friday after i was taken off dialysis.  All becuz, sometimes I get headaches on dialysis but now i get them on off days too.  My nurses and docs think i get the headaches becuz of the epo i was getting while on dialysis.  So now they want to try giving me the shots in the arm to see if the headaches go away.  They didn't go away.  About 2 in the afternoon friday i started to get a headache so i called my unit to tell them their experiment failed and i want my damn cat scan or mri, which ever.  I forgot how much epo burned. i thought being on hemo i was getting away from the shots.

Is 17 thousand units 3 x's a week alot?

It's hard to say if 17,000 is a lot.  I have taken far more and seen others take far more.  Kinda a individual thing.  While epo can cause sudden headaches, it might be more to the affect of sudden shifts of toxins from being removed and they building back up.

Also when Epo or Aranesp are given sub-q they work far better and you usually need far less per shot.

You might push to be switched to Aranesp.  With Aranesp the dose is far less as it is more potent and once they get the dose adjusted you usually only need to take on shot every two weeks.  However it can burn far more than epo IMO.

[jbeany]

I find Aranesp has fewer side effects than the Procrit I was originally on.  The Procrit was horrid - full body muscle aches like the flu, headaches, nausea.  I used to call it my "baseball bat in a bottle" because it felt like I had been beaten by one the day after I took it.  I generally spent the day after a dose out cold in bed, doped up on Darvocet.  The Aranesp still gives me a few side effects, but it's mostly a couple of hours of feeling shaky and headachy.  I had to fight my center like crazy to keep taking it sub-q, though.  I find if I take it just before bed, along with a good dose of extra strength Tylenol, I can usually sleep through the side effects.