Medication
Hydroxyurea can stop many sickle cell disease problems, but it is not a cure.
Hydroxyurea is the most common, but there are other medications
Hydroxyurea
Hydroxyurea gets your body to make fetal hemoglobin. It stops sickle cells from sickling.
- It is in pill or liquid form.
- You take it once a day.
L-Glutamine
L-Glutamine stops red blood cells from turning into sickle cells. It also stops sickle cells from being so hard and sticky.
- It is a powder that is mixed with a liquid or semi-solid food.
- You take it twice a day.
There are other medicines to know about:
- Voxelotor (Oxbryta) was voluntarily withdrawn from the drug company on 9/26/2024. If you previously took this medication and have questions about this, talk to you hematologist.
- Crizanlizumab (Adakveo) did not show significant improvements in reduction of pain events over placebo in the preliminary results from a Phase III trial (the STAND Trial). Many hematologists would not recommend it for a patient like the one in our story on this website.
If Hydroxyurea works:
- You will not have a pain crisis as often, but you can still have pain.
- You will not get acute chest syndrome as often, but you can still get it.
- You will not need as many blood transfusions.
- You will not need to go to the hospital as often.
- It may slow down new organ damage from sickle cell disease, but it will not fix any organ damage you already have.
- You should not have as many short-term or long-term medical problems from sickle cell disease.
Hydroxyurea has risks:
- It does not stop all problems from sickle cell disease.
- It does not fix any organ damage you already have.
- Your doctor needs to figure out how much Hydroxyurea is safe for you. If you take too much, it can cause big health problems.
- There are side effects, even with the correct amount of medicine.
Hydroxyurea vs. L-Glutamine
Each medicine works differently. Your doctor can talk to you about the benefits and risks of each medicine.
Hydroxyurea
Hydroxyurea
L-Glutamine
L-Glutamine
Benefits
Fewer episodes of acute chest syndrome
Yes
Fewer blood transfusions
Yes
You make fetal hemoglobin
Yes
Fewer hospital stays
Yes
Stops or slows new organ damage
Yes
Fewer pain crises
Yes
Yes
Fewer problems with thinking
Yes
Risks
Diarrhea
You can have watery poop.
Yes
Fingernails
Your nails can get discolored.
Yes
Hair loss
Yes
Male Infertility
For males, you may not be able to have biological children.
Yes
Myelosuppression
Your body can stop making enough blood cells.
Yes
Nausea
You can feel sick in your stomach, like you need to throw up.
Yes
Other risks
Long term risks we do not know about yet.
Maybe