How effective is Neupogen (filgrastim)? How often or long is it taken?

@jeis68, as you already know, filgrastim injection is used to treat neutropenia (low white blood cells) that is caused by cancer medicines. This medicine is also used to help the bone marrow recover after a bone marrow transplantation, for a process called peripheral blood progenitor cell collection in cancer patients, and to improve survival in cancer patients who have been exposed to radiation.

The length of your treatment depends on the condition that you have and how well your body responds to the medication.

You can learn more here:
- Filgrastim Injection https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a692033.html

I'm also tagging fellow members like @loribmt @rrivory @jackiez who can share their experiences with filgrastim (Neupogen).

@jeis68, has filgrastim been recommended for you? Are you currently receiving cancer treatments?

Hello @jeis68. As @colleenyoung mentioned, filgrastim (Neupogen) is a medication which can help treat neutropenia which is a condition of low white blood cells, especially after chemotherapy. Chemo can compromise a patient’s immune system as it lowers blood counts of red/white cells as well as platelets a week or so after the treatment. This leaves the patients vulnerable to infections. Neupogen can help push the production of white blood cells, helping patients recover their WB cell count faster.

It’s most commonly given the day after a chemo round has been completed.
Your question is whether this is an ongoing treatment or if it’s a one and done. That will depend on your medical condition and the cause for the low white blood cell count. If you’re having ongoing chemo sessions then this may be a monthly treatment for you.

Are you currently having chemo or another medical condition which is lowering your white blood count? Have you had a fligrastim injection?

No, I’m not a cancer patient.
I just have a low neutrophil
Count. Was in the hospital with influenza A. The suggestion was to give me a shot to bump up my count.
I. Order to get rid of the flu.

Hi @jeis68 A low neutrophil count after any illness, whether viral or bacterial, isn’t uncommon. Unless you have an underlying condition that is compromising your immune system your neutrophil count should naturally begin to regenerate.

It’s my understanding, Neupogen isn’t typically used to treat something like flu symptoms. However, to answer your question, Neupogen is very effective in increasing the white blood cell production in the bone marrow. (IF your doctor does prescribe this injection, the side effects can be very painful. A suggestion from personal experience is to take a Claritin antihistamine capsule daily (not Claritin D) for a good week or more after the injection. (With your doctor’s ok). This is standard in the world of blood cancer patients to help mitigate the discomfort caused by the rapid increase of cells)

How long have you had the low blood count? Do you have any prior diagnosed medical conditions?

I’m the individual who has
CCUS.

Ah, now I’m getting a clearer picture of what’s going on. You’ve been diagnosed with Clonal Cytopenia of Undetermined Significance or CCUS. I didn’t see that in any of your previous replies. This is an underlying medical condition that is compromising your immune system in making healthy blood cells. It makes more sense that your doctor may consider doing the Neupogen injection to jumpstart your WBC recovery after an illness. (Again, make sure, if it’s not contraindicated from your doctor, to take a Claritin capsule daily after the injection)

When were you diagnosed with CCUS? Are you currently in treatment or is this an active surveillance period for you?

I’m still waiting on lab results from the NGS done through the Mayo Clinic.

I’ve had up and down numbers for close to 30 years.
All of my counts were normal in February of this year. Then when I injured my leg, as far as I can tell my numbers dropped.

The next generation sequencing results will be helpful for your doctor to gather more genetic information about your CCUS status and what’s contributing to your low blood counts. Some of these blood conditions can develop very slowly over many years before anything significantly changes.

Since you’ve had up and down numbers for close to 30 years it may be possible there are some changes taking place now.

You may have had progression for some time but it wasn’t until you injured your leg that it became apparent. If you had an infection or injury that didn’t heal quickly that could have been an indicator that your immune system wasn’t at 100%. That same deficiency can be the reason your body reacted the way it did with the Influenza A, having to be hospitalized and now, not recovering very quickly.

Are you working with a hematologist?

I have a Hematologist.
I actually recovered rather quickly from the Flu. About 3 days. They put me on Tamiflu and an antibiotic. I was out of the hospital in 2 1/2 days. Strange as it may seem.