New year, new blood

Lego minifigure in wheelchair posing in front of box with the word "Mircera" in bold and "meythoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta" below it.
50mcg Mircera

Time for another monthly dose of 50mcg epoetin. My kidneys can no longer produce erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells. I was severely aneamic because of that.

Epoetin is a man-made hormone that has the same effect as EPO. My red blood cells have gone back to normal levels since I started on this therapy. From 8.7g/dL in April 2018, it has gradually increased to 13.8g/dL in October 2018.

Each dose comes in a syringe that can be self-administered. Wuan has been injecting me on the abdomen since last year. Each 50mcg dose costs RM111. It is a painless procedure where she pinches the skin and injects the solution. All is done in 5 seconds.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.