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- Voxelotor (Oxbryta) was voluntarily withdrawn from the drug company on 9/26/2024.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.
| HydroxyureaHydroxyurea | L-GlutamineL-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 | |