[Jkhoury]

Anemia as multiple myeloma treatment side effect

by Jkhoury on Sun Oct 06, 2013 5:43 pm

Hello,

My dad is a multiple myeloma patient and has been taking Revlimid 10 mg for almost 1 year and a half. For the past 3 months he stopped taking Revlimid, as the red blood cells and platelets were very low.

Do you have any idea how much time his body needs to recover from this side effect? Do you have any clue if Revlimid could damage the bone marrow? Is it possible that the anemia for a multiple myeloma patient is due to a different problem?

Thanks a lot.

James

[LadyLib]

Re: Anemia as multiple myeloma treatment side effect

by LadyLib on Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:19 pm

The way I understand it. multiple myeloma causes the good plasma to be squeezed out, which causes the anemia. In addition, if he has kidney problems, this could be a part of it. Has he been approved for EPO shots, these help build cells. It is a great boost. My husband was a 6.5 HgB at diagnosis, now he is at 10.0 just 10 weeks after diagnosis. A blood transfusion could be an option.

[Wayne K]

Re: Anemia as multiple myeloma treatment side effect

by Wayne K on Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:25 am

Anemia is one of the side effects. I'm still anemic, although just slightly now, after 4+ years. I came up very slowly as I slipped more and more into remission. You really don't say at what stage your dad is in his fight and I suspect that with all that is going on only your doctor can truly answer your question.

[darnold]

Re: Anemia as multiple myeloma treatment side effect

by darnold on Fri Oct 11, 2013 1:26 pm

I'm anemic, too. My original "anemia" was only from low total red blood cells. Once I was in complete remission and on Revlimid as a maintenance drug, I had a lot of trouble with anemia -- low total counts, low hematocrit, low hemoglobin. I've been off of Revlimid -- and all drugs -- since January. It took several months for my system to stabilize, but I'm now back to low total red blood cells, with the other two counts fluctuating between the low side of normal and just below the low side. This month, the two counts are in the normal range. Hope this helps.

[Dr. Peter Voorhees]

Re: Anemia as multiple myeloma treatment side effect

by Dr. Peter Voorhees on Sun Oct 13, 2013 3:22 pm

Dear Jkhoury,

After being off treatment for 3 months, you should see some improvement. If you haven't, further work-up is in order. A repeat bone marrow biopsy can help determine if there is residual myeloma in the marrow that is causing the counts to be low. It can also determine if there are any other signs of bone marrow damage from chemotherapy. It would be worthwhile to check vitamin B12 and folate levels, as deficiencies in either of these can cause anemia and low platelets. Abnormal kidney function can also lead to anemia, as someone else mentioned.

Let us know how things go.

Thanks!

Pete V.