brettgrant99
03-02-2014, 01:43 AM
So I was able to have my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Rituxan infusions all without delay. My first one I did in January, then got pneumonia and had to wait almost a month before the 2nd. Fortunately the last three went without any troubles or reactions. Somewhere in there, they did an ANCA and PR3 test and they both show that my numbers are going down. Kidney doctor says the kidney function looks good.
At least with my infusions, they also gave 125 mg methylprednisone, which seems to keep me up for about 2 days and then I crash. So far the pattern has been:
Infusion on Friday - pretty tired from benydril
Saturday morning - up at 3 am, kind of grumpy, exhausted by noon, but don't really sleep
Sunday morning - up at 4 am, the rest is like Saturday
Monday - up around 6 am. Feel pretty bad, but not exhausted
Tuesday - up around 6 am. Feel worse then Monday. This is always the worst day for me
Wednesday - start feeling better, but tired
Thursday - start feeling a lot better
And then I would get another infusion and the process would repeat. I am hoping that I will continue feeling better.
So far I am really happy that I was able to finish the treatment and pleased that I feel better. Not sure of what is to happen next (I know the hope is to phase out the prednisone, just not sure of the rate), I meet with my doc on the 13th. Hopefully, I will be able to return to work soon.
On a side note, I noticed that the Cancer Center here billed the insurance for $40k per infusion, and that the insurance price is actually ~10k per. In the USA, is that about what people are paying? More of curiosity thing for me. Everyone told me it was expensive, but I have found that many doctors have no clue about what anything actually costs, although that seems to be getting a little bit better.
At least with my infusions, they also gave 125 mg methylprednisone, which seems to keep me up for about 2 days and then I crash. So far the pattern has been:
Infusion on Friday - pretty tired from benydril
Saturday morning - up at 3 am, kind of grumpy, exhausted by noon, but don't really sleep
Sunday morning - up at 4 am, the rest is like Saturday
Monday - up around 6 am. Feel pretty bad, but not exhausted
Tuesday - up around 6 am. Feel worse then Monday. This is always the worst day for me
Wednesday - start feeling better, but tired
Thursday - start feeling a lot better
And then I would get another infusion and the process would repeat. I am hoping that I will continue feeling better.
So far I am really happy that I was able to finish the treatment and pleased that I feel better. Not sure of what is to happen next (I know the hope is to phase out the prednisone, just not sure of the rate), I meet with my doc on the 13th. Hopefully, I will be able to return to work soon.
On a side note, I noticed that the Cancer Center here billed the insurance for $40k per infusion, and that the insurance price is actually ~10k per. In the USA, is that about what people are paying? More of curiosity thing for me. Everyone told me it was expensive, but I have found that many doctors have no clue about what anything actually costs, although that seems to be getting a little bit better.