Thursday, August 1, 2013

My first Tysabri Infusion








My first Tysabri Infusion...dum dum dummmm (epic drama sound)  

This is just a note to show  everyone a view into my recent infusion. For any unaware - an infusion is an IV given to a patient under a nurse's supervision while a doctor remains present.  I saw 2 doctors in the same building today :-D.  

My sweetheart of a doctor came by to check on me during my first infusion. <Singing> Love her! 

I had about a 30 min wait on my infusion - my bp went up.



After that I sat down and tried to chill.  I was super nervous.  I also had 1.5 cups of coffee .....I wasn't supposed to do that according to the nurse WHOOPS no one gave me paperwork about what not to eat or drink prior to a Tysabri infusion..... Heads up Doctors and Nurses I'm talking to you.  Inform your patients ahead of time of the No coffee rule AHEAD    OF   TIME   .....phbbtttt!

My BP was up..157 / 92 WOW  Yeah - I was stressszzzzed.  Having thoughts  of PML - progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy OR as normal people say the possibility of contracting a brain virus by allowing Tysabri to be injected into my veins.

The sweet nurse made me at ease aware by being told (after my big mouth/ no brain self asked) they should know within the first 15 min if I were to have any type of reaction...my eyes or arms or trunk would start itching.  Funny thing was I was 1 ahead of them, I had taken a benadryl prior to.  HAH!  Actually I thought it might calm me - but, evidently not with that high of a BP reading.  FAIL!!! 

The IV insertion was good and she pushed some saline through which did its job. The nurse then allowed me another cup of coffee and then hooked the Tysabri into my IV.  It was rather boring normal...no fireworks, no hives, no massive headache.  I just sat there and talked and talked and talked to the other girls in the infusion center (exchanging life stories and had interesting discussion about the best drugs hair products).  While my infusion nurse checked my BP every 10 min. It went down slowly   149 / 92 and finally at the end 114 / 72.  

The only bad thing that happened was the chemical taste that showed up (blech).  At first I wondered if it was from cheap free coffee but soon realized it was from the I.V.  

On another totally unrelated note I am reminding myself to not evah evah evah buy this medium dark roast coffee.   I couldn't put enough creamer or sugar to make it potable (yes, my nerdy girl word of the day- meaning drinkable) .
Colombia K-Cup Coffee 
    

 And I've had some great dark roasts
 ^ Is what S drinks prior to a night without sleep and a job he must go to.

Anyhooo - my Tysabri went fine - had a wonderful lunch with my mom and got home to a cleaner house from my hubby. :-D 

While I was being pumped full of this wonderful drug S sent me this picture of Y, after I told him we were going to Brio.  And yes, I enjoyed the mess out of  my Salmon and pasta from Brio ;-D
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 17, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    I'm on infusion #3- your lucky that it was so uneventful - i have had such terrible migraines afterwards that i have ended up throwing up that night. AWESOME POSSUM!!! but anything is better then poking myself everyday :)

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    1. UnknownAugust 17, 2013 at 2:24 PM

      Fantastic! No kidding I have friends that would rather poke themselves weekly or daily rather than the 28 day drug that really seems to work (as far as studies go). BUT I understand their fear especially if they are PML positive. I have had migraines since the seizures so I cannot truly say it was Tysabri related. Although I have had more lately (stress of 2 kids? hmm dunno). I'm looking forward to my 2nd infusion :-D Keep me updated on your ongoing Tysabri Trek - I wonder about others that are on the drug and love to hear about their journey.

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