08/02/08 – Round 2 has been completed!

Last Monday (July 28^th), we went down to La Jolla for my second round of Rituxan treatment. If you don't remember, the treatment is a weeklong and is given for 3 consecutive months. So far it looks like the treatment is doing what it is supposed to be doing. Before they start the treatment they run a battery of blood tests to make sure that your numbers are all going in the right direction. It turns out that my numbers are all looking good. It also appears that the after effects are less this time than after the last treatment. (End of the short report)

The more detailed report -- My white count is down to 23,000, which is the lowest it has been since 2003. (Normal is between 5 and 11,000, and mine has been as high as 787,000). My hemoglobin is at 12.9 which means that my AIHA (autoimmune hemolytic anemia) looks like it is under control. My platelets are over 300, which is another good sign. Other than sitting in chair for 6 -7 hours a day it was a pretty uneventful week. I had no real side effects, and the treatments went according to plan. Every day I got
Cimitedine (for upset stomachs, which is really Tagamet, except much stronger), and HDMP high dose steroid, Solumedrol. On days 1, 3 and 5 I got my dose of Rituxan (790mg). On day two I got the nebulizer infusion of Pentamidine, which is an antibiotic to protect me against pneumonia. On day 4 I got my monthly dose of IVIG (immunoglobulin). So as you can see, there wasn't much down time on any day.

This time we decided to just stay in La Jolla for the week (I know, a tough decision). Even though it is not a bad drive down and back, it is still about 1 ½ hours each way and when you have to be there at 8am, it means you have to get up pretty early to get down there. It turned out to be a very good decision because it was just so much more relaxing to not have to worry about the travel (also saved a lot on gas). We wound up staying in a condo, with a full kitchen, so we had two meals in, made all of our breakfasts and lunches, so that saved us some money as well. So when we got done each day around 3:30 we could just drive around La Jolla, or go back to the condo and relax. We also had some time to visit on different nights; dinner with Lisette and Angelo, dinner with Sue and Duane, who also spent the night, and dinner with Rick and Cindy, who were in Carlsbad for their annual stay. All of those visits made the time go much quicker.

I seem to be feeling a little better after this round of treatment. It took me about 3 days to start feeling a little normal last time, and even though I am not 100%, I think I notice a difference for the better after this treatment. So I am hoping the recovery time will be even quicker this time.

In two weeks I will have my monthly visit with Dr. Kipps and then two weeks after that I will have my last round of treatment. So far, this looks like it is having pretty positive results. Thanks to everyone for the text messages, emails, phone calls, visits, and prayers. They are all very helpful and uplifting.

Terry