Yesterday was round one of my Rituxan infusion.
Things didn't go quite as smoothly during the appointment as they did my first 2 rounds (back in December '15), however post appointment was much better.
My appointment was at 9:00 and we got started right on time.
About 9:45 I stared having intense, sharp pain from the elbow down to my fingertips on the arm with the IV. After trying a few tricks and one more vein, the IV was moved to my inner elbow.
At about 10:30, I started having an allergic reaction to the medication. My legs started itching, I felt a tightness in my chest and my throat felt a little swollen.
The infusion was stopped and got an IV dose of Benedryl which almost made me pass out. It was intense. I was even slurring.
My Rheumatologist is not in on Mondays, but the on-call Doctor stopped in to check my heart and lungs and look for any signs of a rash on my legs. I was good, so we waited about 40 minutes and then fired the infusion back up.
In that wait time, I wolfed down a huge bowl of cantaloupe, a bag of trail mix, an electrolyte drink and a protein cookie. I think that it helped!
I was done at about 1:30 and out by 1:45. When I got home, I made some muffins, tidied up the kitchen a little then tried to get a little nap in, but I was having the worst leg "twitches" from sitting for so long.
It was driving me crazy, so I ended up walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, which I think really helped.
I did start to get a little itchy again around 5:00, but taking another Benedryl took care of it.
The rest of the night was pretty normal. I just hung out in bed watching the Olympics. I was feeling a little tired and have had a headache, but have been a million times better than back in December.
I did have a little trouble sleeping last night, because my fibromyalgia (which hasn't been giving me much trouble lately, thanks to eating clean and getting more exercise) was making my heart do the "flip flop", so of course I was convinced I was having more of an allergic reaction and freaking out. This morning I have just have a headache and a hot, blotchy rash on my cheeks and around my eyes. Hopefully that will go away soon, as I get a little closer to the 24 hour mark.
The fact that I haven't been sleeping and in pain since I got home yesterday (like last time) is really a testament to what this drug has done for me, and how far I've come since then. I'm praying that if this is the drug that is meant for me, that I'll be able to tolerate the 2nd round in two weeks.
I really have felt my friends and family with me through this and that meant the world to me. Thank you so much for the love and support!
Maren
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