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Too soon to tell
Hi clairekim,
From reading others' posts and my own experience, the time is takes for a response varies from person to person. There are cases where response occurs well after 6 months post-ATG. In my own case, my need for transfusions was reduced in less than a month, but I was taking Neupogen shots every day to "reconstitute" my bone marrow (that is not a recommended practice any more, but I think it should be an option given to the patient).
Right after the ATG and before my response, my need for transfusions actually increased, especially the platelets. I think part of this is the ATG (it is notorious for this effect on platelets), and I think the other part is simply the AA - our stem cell population is vastly reduced as a result of the disease and it takes REAL time for it to recover. So even though the ATG wipes out the bad T-cells, it does NOTHING to help the bone marrow directly.
I think the general idea is that the whites will recover first, followed by the reds, then the platelets. One should not expect the counts to recover to full normal, although it does happen. My HGB count is still slightly below normal, as are my platelets.
DO keep a count of the number of transfusions. This is important later in case of iron overload.
DO make sure the blood products are irradiated.
HTH
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Male, 56, dx Nov2006 VSAA (BMA:0%). Responded to ATG/CsA/Prednisone/Neupogen Dec 2006, but relapsed in June 2007. Counts are responding to using CsA 200mg bid alone since Jun 2008. Last PRBC tx: Jul 2008.
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