Low haemoglobin on Niraparib

Alf0d 6 months ago

4 replies
57 subscribers
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Hi all

I was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer in September 2022. Two operations and two cycles of chemo later (the first was only 4 out of the proposed 6 due to a infection that led to hospitalisation) I began on the maintenance treatment Niraparib.

Increased blood pressure (never had any issues with my blood pressure previously) led to me begin on Amlodipine and my dose of Niraparib went down from 300mg to 200mg.

All seemed to have settled down but then a blood test showed that my haemoglobin level had dropped to 61g/L. I had a call from the chemo unit to go to A&E immediately for 2 units of blood via transfusion.

I have since had 2 further units of blood and my haemoglobin level has reached 96g/L (120 - 150 g/L is the normal haemoglobin range for women).

I am recommencing the Niraparib from Friday at a 100mg dose. Has anyone else on here experienced fatigue due to chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA)? I was working from home and then working for 16 hours over 4 days prior to the CIA diagnosis.

If so, how long did it take for energy levels to build back up? I am able to do stuff as long as I take rests in between but don't seem to yet be feeling as if I'm progressing to the higher sustained levels of energy that would allow me to go back to work.

Any advice/accounts of how others have coped would be gratefully received.

latchbrook 6 months ago

Hi Alf0d

I'm sorry to read about the side effects you're experiencing and it sounds very debilitating.

Although I'm not a member of this group, I noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. Responding to you will 'bump' it back to the top of the discussion list again.

"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"

MrBurns 9 days ago

Hi my wife is in the same situation have you found anything more out

Charbecca 9 days ago in reply to latchbrook

Hi Mr Burns

I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer last February. Although I wasn’t prescribed Niraparib, the chemotherapy drugs I received over the course of a year caused similar issues with my blood. I ended up needing four transfusions due to various blood-related problems. It wasn’t always the same issue—it could be low magnesium, hemoglobin, potassium… the list goes on. I was even rushed to hospital once with dangerously low magnesium and potassium levels.

There were weeks when I couldn’t have my treatment, which was incredibly worrying. Despite all that, I managed to complete my chemotherapy in December. My cancer markers dropped from 3,000 at diagnosis to just 8, and at this stage, there is no detectable cancer.

I’m now on a targeted therapy called Bevacizumab, which blocks a protein called VEGF that helps cancer cells form new blood vessels. I’ll be on this treatment for a year.

I wanted to respond because I truly understand how frightening it is when treatment gets delayed or interrupted. I had many sleepless nights worrying about what that might mean. But your wife will get through this. You just have to take it one day at a time—it really is a journey of one step forward and two (sometimes more) steps back.

I feel really well at the moment—my bloods have fully recovered and I’m living life to the full, despite still being in treatment.

I hope this offers you some comfort, and I send you and your wife my very best wishes for a full recovery.

MrBurns 8 days ago in reply to Charbecca

Thank you so much for your reply, my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer with extensive spread throughout the abdomen but after 10 chemotherapy treatments and a full hysterectomy she has been told there had been a complete response and is cancer free, she has just had more blood tests and hemaglobin has dropped below 80 again so is having 2 units again today, I will mention that drug to see what they say

I know what you mean about sleepless nights she was diagnosed on the 27th of may last year and I have probably averaged 4 hours a night

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