A Manchester women whose Sickle Cell condition was so painful she once thought it might end her life – has told of a new revolutionary NHS treatment which has left her ‘feeling as if she has wings’.
Sanah Shaikh is one of the first patients in the UK to receive a new drug called Crizanlizumab, which will be available to around 5,000 people with Sickle Cell over the next three years.
Sanah, 33, from Old Trafford, a freelance in marketing and communications, who is treated at Manchester Royal Infirmary, told of how the periods of pain which Sickle Cell can cause, called a ‘crisis’, had left her in despair before starting taking the new medication.
Sanah said: “When I have a crisis, it feels as if my body is on fire – I’ve had a crisis in my head, back, arms and legs – it’s truly debilitating.
“Other times it feels as though someone’s got a hammer and hammering it into you – they’re smashing it into your body. Or it feels as though bricks are being thrown onto you. It’s pulsating and at times it feels as though you’d rather it all ended because you can’t endure the pain.”
A crisis will often require hospital admission so that patients can be given morphine to control the pain and other treatment to prevent potentially fatal organ failure.
Sanah added: “Once I heard about Crizanlizumab being approved for NHS use, I spoke to my Haematology Consultant and requested to be included in the first round of potential patients taking it at Manchester Royal Infirmary. I would do anything to increase my chances of being cured or improving my health and illness.
“I was fortunate enough to be suitable for the drug. Since starting the treatment, I feel a lot safer and braver. I don’t feel as fearful about having a hospital admission if I push myself a little more, whether that be with work, or working out.
“The fact that I’ve not been admitted into hospital during 2022 and have managed my crises at home is proof that my illness is better managed with Crizanlizumab. As a by-product it has given me much more confidence – I feel like I’ve been given a set of wings.”
