Severe migraines and stomach upset from Cyclosporine?

[Christinag]

Hi all,

My mom was just recently diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia at 59 years old. She was in the hospital for just under a week and was able to go home mid last week. She is undergoing Immunosuppressive drug therapy and I'm just wondering if its the Cyclosporine that is causing her to be so ill, since they have just upped her dosage to I believe 200mg twice a day? Or the Prednisone? All I know is that she had really upset stomach for several days now thats okay and shes had a migraine for 3 days, can't see, hasn't slept and is now throwing up and is too weak to stand. The nurse just told her to take some Tylenol but its not working. I can't understand if her vision is blurry because of the headache or a side effect of the prednisone? The doctor said her blood count but going up but I'm so worried. She's back in day care this morning and I won't know anything until later. I'm just wondering If anyone else has experienced this side effect?

[Ryan Jay]

The first month after ATG was HORRIBLE for me, just as you described. Try to get her to take some Maylox for the upset stomach.

You've got a bunch of meds likely causing these side effects, not just the Cyclosporine. Wait until she starts to taper some of the other meds down before you blame the Cyclosporine.

I'm in remission now and still have to take Cyclosporine. I get a little queasy sometimes but nothing like that month after ATG.

That's my advice, but talk to your doctor before you try the Maylox.

[Ruth Cuadra]

Ryan is right that your mother has a bunch of meds that could be causing problems. An upset stomach is a common side effect of prednisone so Maalox may help. But given that she is so debilitated by headaches and other symptoms, you should let the doctor know right away. Waiting for a taper or to have a medicine removed is not the way to go and the doctor should be able to make adjustments to improve your mother's quality of life without jeopardizing her recovery. Patients should never put up with pain or think side effects just have to be tolerated.

Good luck! Let us know how she does.

Ruth

[mscrzy1]

I don't really remember a lot from the post-ATG time (could be selective forgetting ), but I asked my mom how things were for me and she said that I had migraines and was very nausiated afterwards, too. Hope that helps.

[Christinag]

Thank you for all your replies, I feel a bit better now especially since her counts are still going up. She ended up having to get some sort of laser surgery on one of her eyes to open up a new canal for draining. The migraine actually caused so much pressure in her head that make her one eye all swollen and red. At least that is being resolved now, but that is definately one side effect that I don't think is too normal. As long as she is feeling better and her body can focus on making blood, thats what is important.