[evansmom]

Hi Paul,

Find out from your doctors what protocol they are following as first line treatment for your aplastic anemia. Usually doctors will choose horse ATG over rabbit ATG for the first go but perhaps your doctor is following another protocol. Also, the use of cyclosporin or another immunosuppressing medication in it's place should definitely be part of the treatment. ATG is a strong immunosuppressant that takes your immune system right down in an effort to stop the immune system's attack on the stem cells (assuming the AA is an immune-driven disease) and that effect is then maintained by cyclosporin.

If the ATG's work is not maintained by the cyclosporin, then I'm not sure how your doctors are going to guage your response to therapy. If cyclosprin gave you tremors, perhaps the doctors should have lowered the dose as perhaps your blood level of this medication was too high.

Furthermore, there are many who are on cyclosporin who have had to learn to live for a while with tremors as the benefit of the cyclosporin FAR outweighs the inconvenience of the tremors.

Aplastic anemia is a very serious disease that requires a clear, concise and definitive plan of care to get you well again. There are protocols for treating doctors (ideally hematologists/oncologists) to follow and experts for them to refer to if they are unsure about something.

I fear your treatment plan may have some holes in it and it will have to be up to you to advocate for the best care for your disease.

Inform yourself and read, read, read. Using this forum the way you are is also very wise.

Best wishes,