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Meredith
06-21-2011, 04:28 AM
Just got finished with Rituxan. Had my first blood tests and it showed no inflamation! Only problem - why iron count is low. Has anyone else had this with Weg?

Psyborg
06-21-2011, 05:46 AM
Mine does seem to run low now. Before it was never an issue, not sure if it is medication related or possibly not enough iron in my diet.

pwc51
06-21-2011, 07:37 AM
Mine has gone low on a couple of occasions - I have had Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab but it seems to me that it is the mtx that causes the decline. During the treatments it seems the iron recovers and then declines again as I go onto the maintenance medication.

pberggren1
06-21-2011, 08:29 AM
I am going to get my iron checked soon. I have a feeling that the rtx will knock it down a bit.

Sangye
06-21-2011, 09:33 AM
Phil, rtx shouldn't affect your iron. The B cells don't carry hemoglobin.

My hemoglobin levels always ran low until the rtx first started working. I believe my lungs were chronically inflamed and bleeding at a very low level all that time.

pberggren1
06-21-2011, 12:48 PM
Phil, rtx shouldn't affect your iron. The B cells don't carry hemoglobin.

My hemoglobin levels always ran low until the rtx first started working. I believe my lungs were chronically inflamed and bleeding at a very low level all that time.

That is what I thought as well. So the hemoglobin carries oxygen? I had just heard of a few people who have been on rtx and their iron was low. My hemo is about 130 right now.

Meredith
06-21-2011, 09:18 PM
Sangye were you able to tell that your lungs were bleeding? I show no signs anywhere. I am still on cytoxan. I hope he will back off of this now that the Rituxan has worked.

Sangye
06-22-2011, 12:57 AM
That is what I thought as well. So the hemoglobin carries oxygen? I had just heard of a few people who have been on rtx and their iron was low.
That's probably because they need to be on rtx--ie, active Wegs is causing bleeding/ blood loss somewhere.

Sangye
06-22-2011, 01:07 AM
Sangye were you able to tell that your lungs were bleeding? I show no signs anywhere. I am still on cytoxan. I hope he will back off of this now that the Rituxan has worked.
When I was dx'ed my lungs had been hemorrhaging for 3 months. I had a small, dry cough--nothing you'd ever be concerned about. A couple times a day I'd cough up a speck of blood (1/4 pea size). But I was profoundly anemic, pale, weak and extremely short of breath.

In 2009 my lungs hemorrhaged again. My hemoglobin had started dropping but was just barely below normal. I was only somewhat short of breath, and was very weak and fatigued. After a couple months like that I suddenly started coughing up a lot of blood-- about 1/4 cup at a time.

These were major hemorrhages. But the whole time from 2006 (dx) to late 2009 (1st rtx) my hemoglobin was never in normal range. Everyone chalked it up to chronic disease anemia which is a reasonable guess. But once I had rtx and it began working-- ba-da bing, normal hemoglobin. This is how I know my lungs were inflamed and at least slightly bleeding the whole time I was on Cellcept.

I've watched my labs and for me if the hemoglobin starts dropping below normal range I know my lungs are bleeding. It's not necessarily true for everyone-- there are a lot of factors that can cause that.

Meredith
06-22-2011, 01:30 AM
Thank you. Haven't had any blood in my cought yet.

Sangye
06-22-2011, 01:43 AM
You're welcome. I added some stuff to that post after you posted your reply. :wink1:

gurinbasra
06-22-2011, 04:05 AM
Hi,

I have had Rituxan twice now since 2009, however, I think it's because I take Methotrexate in conjunction that has caused me to become anemic - are you on Mtx as well? When I started Mtx 2 years ago, I became very anemic and had some more in depth red blood cell count - like storage count which can really tell if you need to take supplements, and so since then I've been taking 300mg/day and now I don't have an issue with feeling faint, tired or light headed and I still take them to date as they maintain a normal level of RBC count. But I really thought this had more do with the way Mtx works and not the Rtx. You can always try to increase your iron intake via diet, taking supplements if not needed can be dangerous if you can get your hands on them (they are behind the counter here in Canada). Hope the Rituxan works out for you, it's been my "miracle drug".

Meredith
06-22-2011, 04:11 AM
I believe that my blood was actually a little low when I had my blood checked in December while I was on cytoxan. Now since the rituxan in March/April I am still on the cytoxan. I told the doctor three weeks ago I was a little lightheaded when I first stood up from bed. This last blood test he said my blood count was even lower. I feel good. Guess I will call him today and schedule the new blood work he wants. Thanks for all your input.

drz
06-23-2011, 10:05 AM
My anemia seemed to get better slowly. Where Hemoglobin normal is 14 and up I was running in the 5's during worst bleeding in my lungs which required many blood transfusions. When you cough up a half cup of blood there is no doubt as to what is happening. When bleeding slowed there was no visible blood coming up but they could hear the congestion in my lungs. Then my HGB was running in the 8-10 range and transfusions were down to weekly. A dry cough was often present then along with fatigue. Increased fatigue usually meant my HGB had dropped and a transfusion was needed. As kidneys improved and CTX dosage decreased, my HGB got into double digits and stayed there. The plan then became to get an Epogen shot to boost HGB if needed since they didn't want me to have any more transfusions if they could be avoided. My lungs cleared up with no more evidence of bleeding and most blood work was either normal or approaching normal except for HGB which still runs around 12, my highest numbers in two years.