The last few weeks have been a bit bumpy - first my prednisone adventure, then a shot in the toe to fight the dactylitis. And then my grandmother died on Thursday, which drenched the little spark that keeps me writing with a vat of tears.
Suddenly it's Monday, and I'm starting Remicade tomorrow. I've been too caught up in everything else to think much about the comfy chairs, the free candy, and the two hour IV drip that Remicade infusions promise. But I guess I should get my head in the game.
I'm going on Remicade because my fab rheumatologist wants me to be doing better. We've decided that Humira is only taking me 75% of the way to "well". Our goal is 100%.
So what is Remicade? Here's a nice little blurb on Remicade and Psoriatic Arthritis from the Remicade website. Infliximab was developed at NYU School of Medicine, and is produced by Centocor, which is now owned by Johnson and Johnson. It is a TNF-Alpha blocker, like Humira. According to my doc, it has as good of a chance of working on my arthritis as Humira, but possibly will do better things for my skin. (Poor Laser Lady, we'll be putting her out of a job). Here's the blurb from Wikipedia on this drug.
So, here's the deal. Tomorrow, if the rheumatologist's office has their wifi up, I'm going to live-blog my Remicade infusion. Sure, it's not the State of the Union or the Blazers' game, but I think it will be fun. If you've been wondering what it's like to have Remicade, tune in at about noon PST. I'll write every 20 minutes or so, just to tell y'all what's happening in that room of big vinyl chairs. Does the needle hurt? Does it burn when it goes in? Did I get dizzy and pass out?
Way more fun than a Blazers' game.
If they don't have their wifi up, I'll blog it all in Word and transfer it over to Blogger when I get back home, so look for it by 5pm PST (children permitting).
Wish me luck. It can't be as bad as a death in the family, right?
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Hi jenny. Good luck w/ your remicade treatments. I too have PsA.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteBy now you should have seen some results from your infusion. I have had three infusions and have had GREAT results with the psoriasis and good results with the arthritis. I'm hoing to get some better results through the summer. Good Luck!! M.P., Lynbrook, NY
Finally something that works for the pain as well as the skin. After my first treatment 4 days ago, I immediately felt no pain anywhere. Having been very anxious about starting this new treatment I was very pleasantly surprised. I hope you don't wait to have your first infusion. It works. Feel Better Soon.
ReplyDeleteI had my 4th infusion last Thursday. The first three did nothing so my doc up the dose. It seems to be helping but I still have lesions on my scalp that drive me crazy!!!!! Any suggestions?????
ReplyDelete