Rituxan Chick Check In

[Guest guest]

Hi Everybody...

Hope this quick note finds you feeling better than you did yesterday. I seem

to measure my days one at a time now...

Just wanted to take a moment and let you know that I got my first Rituxan IV

infusion yesterday and did pretty well. They let my husband Rick stay with me

for the infusion since it is so long. We were planning on 5 hours, but I

actually began to have an infusion reaction to the drug. The nurse was right

there and could hear me wheezing a bit so she called my Rheumatologist and he

was there at my side in less than five minutes. They checked my pulse ox and I

still had good levels of oxygen in my blood. It didn't really affect the heart

rate and blood pressure like my horrible reaction to Remicade a few years ago.

But they stopped the medicine and gave me a second dose of steroids (260mg

yesterday!) and Benadryl to counteract this common reaction. We resumed about

45 min later and my doc came back in once more to make sure I was ok. It took a

little over six hours total, and they said that they would probably take it slow

again next time to keep an eye on these

reactions. I go back again in 2 weeks for another one and then I don't have to

go again for six months! Well, if my symptoms get worse after four months, I

can get another treatment early.

Anyway, thanks for the well wishes, emails and calls. I'm feeling a little

achy and sleepy now, which is normal I guess. I'll just take it easy for a

couple of days and see what happens with the next infusion. I should be able to

tell if it is working sometime after the second infusion.

So, there is the update and now ya know! Have a great day!

Stay Healthy

Branson MO

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