[mitch]

From my personal experience, Vidaza worked well for me with minimal side effects. The problem was that it quit working after a little over a year. I was not on shots though - mine was delivered via IV (45 minute bag) for five days M-F, and then I had three weeks off. After two cycles it brought my Hgb, WBC, and platelet counts up into the normal range and kept them there for over a year. Was feeling good. I was on it for 19 cycles/months. But earlier this year my counts started dropping and in six months my Hgb fell from 15 into the 7's, and my platelets have fallen into the 40's. It was obvious that the Vidaza quit working. We are now looking into alternatives, including a BMT.

I only had two side effects to deal with, both minor: 1) I never really got nauseous because they gave me an anti-nausea medication called Aloxi in my IV before the Vidaza on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during chemo week. That eliminated any nausea but it did cause constipation, which was easily handled with over-the-counter Miralax. I would start the Miralax the day before chemo week and continue it daily until the day after, and I never had any more problems. 2) My platelet count would drop during chemo week and the week after. But they would recover nicely on their own in weeks three and four....just in time for the next round.

Good luck to you. Many people have good luck with Vidaza with little side effects. I was one of them, for awhile anyway.