Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Rituxan, Round 2

Two weeks ago, I had my first infusion of Rituxan. It took more than six hours. I had some nausea and general flu-like malaise for a few days afterwards, but luckily I didn't have any major side effects.

Those of you who follow me on Facebook or Twitter will know that I had my second Rituxan infusion yesterday. Since I didn't have any major reactions the first time, they were able to do this infusion a little bit more quickly. This time it only took four hours. But afterwards I still felt like a total zombie. Thank goodness my mom came over to help me with the kids until APL got home!

And now? We wait. It will be another couple of weeks until we can know whether the Rituxan will work. My goal is to have my other treatments work well enough to get off the prednisone completely, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If it does, I won't need another infusion for at least six months. If it doesn't....well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

3 comments:

allgrownupwithJRA said...

Good Luck! I hope it works.

Libby2002 said...

Hey did you rituxanab end up working? My doctor gave me a choice of that one,but I chose actemra instead.

I am now thinking of embarking on a pregnancy, which has led me to your blog . . .cause I am so scared and my doc wants me to come off all my lovely meds.

~Mariah~ said...

Hi Libby2002!

I think things are going pretty well with the Rituxan. I am still struggling to get completely off the prednisone, and I still end up needing to take extra anti-inflammatories/pain meds most days, but I do think I am doing better than I was on the Enbrel or Orencia. I actually have an appointment with my rheumatologist next week to discuss this very thing!

The issue of pregnancy and RA is obviously one that is very near and dear to my heart! And it can be so difficult to navigate on your own. I am happy to chat more about it privately if you want! mariah@fromthispointforward.com. I also run a Facebook group for mamas (and mamas-to-be!) living with chronic illnesses. The group is called Mamas Facing Forward and you would be welcome to join! That would give you access to a group of women who understand these concerns! There are several ladies looking to get pregnant or adopt in the group. ~;o)

Best of luck!