I have been researching drug options like a madwoman the past weeks, trying to figure out which is the least evil. Seems there is a bit of debate amongst the experts, with conflicting studies galore and a lot of usage of the phrase "large-scale studies recommended." UGH!
Here are the two front-runners:
Hydroxyurea: The mainstay of PV treatment, HU (as it is called amongst the online community of PVers) has been linked to the development of cancers, plus has a bunch of nasty side effects. It's cheap and commonly used, so many docs are comfortable with it. I'm not so sure I am.
Pegylated Interferon alpha-2a: Once-a-week injections of a protein that occurs naturally in the body (well, we have interferon in our bodies, not entirely sure how similar this is to that, but at least it's in the same zipcode). Anecdotatal reports of the side-effects range wildly, but that may be because the dosage can range wildly as well. This drug has been used for years to treat Hep-C and has recently enjoyed a renaissance as a med for younger patients with PV. Why younger patients? Because it has shown the ability to cause complete remissions and even REVERSE the mutated gene. Side effects are mainly flu-like, but it was reported that it was well tolerated at low doses by a test done in Texas.
I printed out a bunch of studies to take to my doctor's appointment today. Stay tuned!
Hugs to all!
Mo
p.s. Got labs done yesterday. RBCs were down (despite not having any phlebotomy, which is kinda weird), platelets are still on the climb. Darn platelets. Need to talk to doc about why RBCs are down though...that is odd and is hopefully not a sign of ominous things. Think happy thoughts!
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