Thankful in 2014

[BarbW]

I have started my meds---20 mg Prednisone and my first bag of Rituxan on Thursday. I am feeling so much better than I have been. First, of course, all the stress of teaching and grading papers and negotiating a contract are off my plate. Less stress helps! The steroid had an immediate impact. It took a while to orchestrate the Rituxan between Cedars Sinai, my local physician, and local hospital. Everyone came through and the first dose went really well. It took about five and a half hours and I didn't experience any real side effects except a bit of fever on and off, but I have that all the time anyhow. I found it ironic looking over all the side effects because all the side effects look like a GPA checklist of ailments. How can you tell the difference? Oh, well. As I was doing my searches online, I found that just this last fall my insurance company stipulated that Rituxan was medically necessary for GPA. Awesome. If you have to be plagued with a terrible disease, it's better to get the diagnosis after the wonder drug has been invented and the insurance companies cover it. I'm even lucky that my son just graduated with a degree in microbiology with an emphasis in immunology, and he can explain some things to me about immuno.
During my downhill health slide, the pain was debilitating. I had a hard time seeing myself reach retirement and living another decade. I have suddenly become very hopeful that my lifespan will be relatively normal. All I can say is getting a diagnosis and the right meds is just terrific. It's time to live like I'm alive again.

[chris.wg]

That is great to hear Barb. I am going tomorrow for my 3rd bag of the initial Rixtuxan treatment. I spent around 2 years on Cytoxan. Fairly high dose at that. From everything I read and heard. But from what I am reading on here and what my new as well as old doctor has told me Rituxan is the way to go. I will be able to give you a better opinion from personal experience in a week or 2. My doctor told me I wont really notice any big changes till some time after week 3 from the rituxan. But both my old doctor as well as current have me doing something different from a lot of peoples experience here. While I was controlled on the Cytoxan it was reaching max toxicity. So he took me off it and put me back on pred. And started a immediate 5mg per week taper which should have me off it completely 10 after my last dose of the initial rituxan treatment. I guess that's what is different. Neither of my doctors felt I needed to stay on pred. But a lot of what I read on here plus my old doc gave me a article about WG in a rheumatology periodical and even that said a lot of people stay on a low dose of pred. to help control.

Any rate yes I ramble sorry about that :P Im glad to hear you are starting the wonder drug already GL.

[Alysia]

Thanks for sharing Barb and Chris :thumbsup: good news are so good to hear.
yes, we are lucky with the rtx. I don't think that I could have stand the ctx, if Imuran made me a horrible vomitting, I would have prob being dead with the ctx....
I think that having wg made me, and prob others, being more grateful then before, for the little things in life and for that fact that after all, we are living. Thanks God for that.
please continue to share.