Procrit 40,000 units...yes!!!

So happy to have you, my sweets

Salaam ya'll! I'm a happy happy mama today. I finally got my Procrit injections started. Yay me! It is cray-craz expensive (over $4000 for what you see here) and it has to be shipped overnight in a cooler with an ice pack. Subhanallah. I am so grateful I have the opportunity to start these injections again.

This is a synthetic form of epoeitin alpha which is the hormone that tells your body to make more red blood cells. We have to constantly replenish our RBCs as they get damaged and die off; they typically have a "shelf life" of 100+ days so our bodies are always in the process of making more. When you have kidney failure your epo production slows down drastically and you can no longer make enough red blood cells to get the oxygen to all your parts and pieces.

This type of anemia can't be treated with iron or B12; I have all the components just not the catalyst. So iA now, within a couple of weeks, my blood count should rise and I am looking forward to feeling much stronger again. Right now, I get a lot of headaches and feel "fuzzy-headed"; not cause I need to brush my hair ;) but due to the lack of oxygen. Also in kidney failure toxins build up so there are a lot of factors.

Anyway, headaches and confusion, memory loss, cold especially extremeties, shortness of breath (panting) and extreme lethargy and exhaustion. I have nothing wrong with my breathing just that even though I breath, I can't get enough oxygen simply because my body cannot transport it to my cells. So my body tries breathing deeper and faster which normally works but not with anemia of course. I also have a condition called acidosis where my blood is acidic due to yes, again, the kidney failure, so with each breath my body tries to right the base/acid balance by breathing out more CO2 except it's a temporary fix and keeps me panting subhanallah. I take a different med for that but together they make my life difficult, to say the least.

Mimzy keeps walking on my keyboard and interrupting me. :) She's the black and white kitty, not our bobtail kitten. Anyway...

So here is how it was packaged:

They asked if I wanted signature required for delivery; uh yes please!

And inside it has 2 big ice packs:

I actually saved them and the cooler. :)

I also had some paperwork, syringes, alcohol preps, and a used sharps container. Sweet, all set up now just waiting on Li'l Miss to come home and help out; she loves all this stuff. :)

Oh Cap'n's visa appointment is on THIS Friday, please please please please please make dua for us that Allah swt brings him here and unites our family soon. Amin!