Hi Iontheball - and you do sound like you're Ontheball,
I hope that some of the more learned on the forums will pitch in but here's my 2 cents worth.
It is important to keep your Mom's counts up. If you read all the drug warnings with all these meds you wouldn't have her take any of them. My husband has MDS and the Campath warnings said it could cause death - but it saved his life. He is in a clinical trial for Promacta (I have posted in detail if you're interested). The pharma warnings specifically say that no one with MDS should take it as it
might make the patient's MDS transform to AML. But the drug has performed a miracle - no transfusions in 13 months after over 100 transfusions in a 2 year period. We have said that we have to pick our poisons with these drugs and hope for the best.
It sounds like your Mom needs support for her counts and the only way to get that is through drugs like Aranesp. Just as an aside, my husband took Aranesp for a year or so and tolerated it very well.
Most of dealing with MDS is using drugs to help the marrow. Most if not all of the drugs have a long list of warnings. If you trust your doctor then try to turn it over him or her - and pray if you are so inclined.
I hope this helps. Keep us posted.
God Bless,
Sally