Anyone else had ATG for MDS?

[Hopeful]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum. I received ATG/CsA therapy in December for evolving MDS Int-I. Has anyone else gone through this procedure for MDS? If so, how long was it before you saw counts improve? Did you achieve remission? Did you eventually relapse?

Thanks for any insight!

[Birgitta-A]

Hi Hopeful,
As you can see in this abstract 20 (48%) of 42 patients responded to ATG plus CsA. Younger age (you are very young) was the most significant factor favoring response to therapy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

Continue to be hopeful!
Kind regards
Birgitta-A

[Ruth Cuadra]

Welcome to Marrowforums, Hopeful. I hope your member name really does reflects your outlook.

Like everything else with bone marrow diseases, people's responses to ATG vary widely. Some will recover their blood counts in just a couple of months, but for others it can take up to a year or more. Some will even require a second round of ATG. It's difficult to be patient when you're feeling poorly and are anxious to get back to your "regular" life, but patience is what it takes. You noted in your signature that your red cells are at 9, which seems pretty good for just a month after ATG. What were your counts like before the treatment?

Regards,
Ruth Cuadra

[Hopeful]

Hi Ruth,

I was requiring weekly RBC transfusions before the treatment. I get a transfusion when my hemoglobin falls below 8. Now it's been 4 weeks since my last RBC transfusion, and my hemoglobin is sub-8 again... but that's progress!