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How long to take Kevzara and how to taper off Kevzara?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Jan 28 1:14pm | Replies (17)Comment receiving replies
@tweetypie13 Hi. My first Kevzara injection was 8 days ago. The following day I had a follow-up (first time visit) with a hematologist from a blood clot, which I believe was triggered by Prednisone. She did bloodwork and notified me that my WBC dropped drastically after the Kevzara injection and recommended that I notify my rheumatologist, which I did. My rheumatologist said not to take the next Kevzara injection at two weeks and instead to wait one month (my follow-up appointment with her) to reassess my WBC and perhaps stop the Kevzara.
I say all that because you said your WBC was down after Kevzara. I was wondering how low it went, and for how long.
I want to continue with Kevzara and get off of Prednisone as soon as possible,
Your journey is inspirational to me.
Replies to "@tweetypie13 Hi. My first Kevzara injection was 8 days ago. The following day I had a..."
@stonewheel
Like Mike below, my neutrophils dropped too.
I’m not sure my case is relevant for you.
I was 7 months on Kevzara when low numbers appeared. And, I had/have no other health issues. The Dr. was it alarmed by my numbers.
I bounced back within 6 weeks of reduced dose.
Sorry not to be of more help.
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@stonewheel
Decreased WBC counts are observed with IL-6 inhibitors like Kevzara and Actemra. I know how disconcerting it can be. However, it is the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) that is the most important.
The following excerpt from the link gelow might ease some of your concern.
"Decreased absolute neutrophil count (ANC) is observed within hours following administration of interleukin‐6 receptor (IL‐6R) inhibitors sarilumab and tocilizumab. This decrease is not associated with increased risk of infection. Emerging evidence suggests the effects of IL‐6R inhibitors on ANC are due to margination of circulating neutrophils into a rapidly mobilizable noncirculating pool without loss of function, rather than a decreased overall number of neutrophils in the body."
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7376291/
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Sometimes the decrease is transient. Holding a dose or two is usually done.