Procrit or epoetin alfa is known to be a protein that is man-made and is made to help in producing more red blood cells. It is given that whenever you have kidney failure or other medications the amount of protein within your body is in the risk of reducing. Once the red blood cells are reduced, you may develop anemia in the long run.
Through the use of this medication, anemic people can get the assistance that they need when it comes to the lack of the supply of red blood cells especially for patients who are suffering from CKD or chronic kidney disease. Aside from the regular anemia cause of lacking the amount of RBC in the body, the medication is also given to people whose anemia is caused by the zidovudine that is usually found in patients that are infected with HIV and also to patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Procrit Side Effects
- Headache and Body Aches – This is a problem that many people suffer from because of the changes that are happening within their body. The ache may come in tolerable and intolerable pain that would make you think about taking pain killers. When these side effects occur, it is best that they can call for their doctor and be able to ask for an advice on what they should do or take to manage the pain.
- Diarrhea – This is a common problem that may occur to those who are not used with getting exposed with the medication.
- Irritation Around Injection- There are times when the allergic reaction would start with the area where the medication was injected occurs. Once the irritation starts, your doctor will be providing the necessary things to do to prevent it from worsening.
- High Blood Pressure Increase – This is the worst thing that may happen to a patient especially when the patient has a record of having hypertension and kidney problems. Since the count for red blood cell is increasing, it may start increasing too fast from the very moment you have started taking the medication until about on the 3rd month of taking it.
- Seizures – The worst or most severe side effect that you may experience with taking procrit is seizures. Since your body is undergoing a major change in the normal count of the RBCs, there is a great chance that you may suffer from seizures after long time of use.
Being wary of the abovementioned procrit side effects, you will have enough awareness about the dangers of taking the medication especially when you are already suffering from certain diseases. Though it may have a positive effect for those who have decreased amount of red blood cells due to anemia, taking it consistently requires a lot of knowledge on whether you may suffer from any of its side effects of not.
