I know the doctors before treatment want you to take nothing other than the basic Hep C treatment, but think it is wise anyone due for treatment to discuss the fact of Bone Density loss during the course of treatment you are expecting and ask advice to take Calcium & Vitamin D to reduce the Severity of the damage the treatment will create!
Neupogen is hard on our bones as well.
The fact that tx is indeed hard on bones underscores how important it is to be proactive during tx. Take Vitamin D and Calcium and keep walking as much as you are able.
Cirrhosis can also deplete our bones.
After falling numerous times, being thrown from horses, and never ever breaking anything, I was sure I had flexible bones.
Then I did tx in 2007 which included lots of neupogen. At that time, I took no calcium or vitamin D. A few months after finishing tx, I jumped into bed one night, missed the bed, hit the floor and broke my arm.
This time around I took calcium, vitamin D and made sure to keep moving whenever I was up to it.
Going in to tx a healthy person is good but we can't just lie around and not take care of ourselves for months while doing these difficult drugs. We must be mindful to care for our entire being as much as we are able.
Hi
ManyThanks for your thoughts towards my Fiancee' spoke to her just now and it is Osteopenia she has which is not quite so Sever as Osteoporosis.
Other than the Ribavirin one thing that has entered my head today is that does the "Procrit" shots do much damage.
As when all your blood cells drop some have a blood transfusion and continue with Procrit and some just goes directly to "Procrit"
Where as the "Procrit" creates all the blood cells from the Bone Marrowin your bones and that is why some have severe pain as a side affect, so it is curious all the googness that is drawn out of the bones with the "Procrit" shots may not help neither.
But anyone who finishes treatment should go in and get a Bone Density scan and try and get some treatment to help restore the Decreased Density before too much damage kicks in.
Hi,
I am sorry to hear about your fiancee's bones issue. I completed my treatment in December (24 weeks) peg+riba+incivek. I had a bone density test in January (because I am post-menopause and never had one). The results are that my bones are great and I don't even need to take calcium! So your fiancee's results may not be typical. One thing we definitely learn from all this is that we all are a little bit different in some ways and this may be another example of that. Thanks for letting us know what is happening with her though. I wish you and your fiancee the best and hope she will be feeling better soon.
G
Hi Aaron,
I have done a little research on patients who has undergone treatment and suffered with Osteoporosis making the bones become more porous like honeycomb. It is strange no one tells you this prior to treatment and doctors do not give you anything during the treatment to prevent so much damage. Below is a link about Osteoporosis and different treatments available.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis-treatment/WO00127
Cliff sorry to hear about your fiancee's troubles .. sounds very painful ..
I herniated a disk in my lower back years ago & it still comes back to haunt me sometimes ..
I'm pretty sure we would all agree there is some impact to bone marrow production for some during Tx .. thats why our blood levels are reduced .
To say the bones themselves are affected by Tx ... that sounds like something else is going on in my very unprofessional opinion .. 10's of thousands of folks have undergone Tx and not had that happen ..
I'm 14 weeks post Tx from a 60 week P/R Tx .. play golf regularly , lift heavy stuff & luckily seem to have nothing other than old manitist aches and pains ..
Best to you & yours