Chemo Day

Every 4 weeks, I am scheduled for an infusion of Opdivo to counteract and prevent the melanoma inside my body from growing...   and, every 4 weeks, either the day before or the day after, I am scheduled for an infusion of IVIG to help boost my immune system back to normalacy...

The Opdivo infusions once started last 30 minutes whereas the IVIG infusions once started last almost 2 and 1/2 hours...  which still seems like a short period of time to me since my previous chemo infusions of Rituxan lasted 5-6 hours.

I am also taking 2 - 140mg tablets of Imbruvica to counteract and prevent my non-Hodgkin's lymphoma from growing as well...  those pills are usually taken in the mornings.

Chemo Day and IVIG Day, are both early morning days as I am up at 5:30 am and leave the house a little after 6:00 am, arriviug at UT Medical about 7:15 am depending upon traffic which can never be predicted, since there seems to be traffic accidents every day of the week, even though their times vary.

Instead of putting an IV into my arm, I have had a port inserted in my upper chest on the right side just below the colar bone...  it is a dual port, so each time it is used, the nurses try to use the other access point to make sure that both openings are constasting flushed and kept from clogging.

I call this chemo day but in reality it is immunotherapy day which has virtually no adverse side effects for me these days but at one point, I was experiencing fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, and general malaise.

I am in my 14th year so it would appear that something is working.

Downside of IVIG Infusions

According to the Clieveland Clinic, prior to infusions of IVIF patients are usually pre-medicated with acetaminophen 650 to 1000 mg, diphenhydramine 50 mg.  Acetaminophen is for headaches basically that this drug might cause and diphenhydramine is to prevent an allergic reaction or nausea.  However, at UT Medical, I have decadron instead of diphenhydramine which is a steroid and in my body is much more powerful because every once in a while, it prevents me from falling asleep even though I take 2 benadryl at 6:00 pm.

Last night was especially important for sleep as I have back-to-back early days (awake at 5:30) since my second early wake-up call is for my monthly OPDIVO infusion.

Idiot or "no brainer me," has forgotten to swap out these two days or have IVIG on Fridays instead of Wednesdays because of the use of steroids so I will not have any problems falling asleep.  Obviously, I have yet to make that swap because here it is 1:30 am and I am wide awake drinking coffee.

Once you start these monthly infusions, it is necessary for optimum affectiveness to have them every 4 weeks...  and while that can be played with once or twice (in case of vacations), it is not something that the Oncologist likes to do.  However, I have yet to exercise that option and once in a while my body makes me pay the price...

IVIG Day

WHAT IS IVIG?

Intravenous immune globulin ("IVIG") is a product made up of antibodies that can be given intravenously (through a vein).

Antibodies are proteins that your body makes to help you fight infections. Each antibody made by your body is slightly different, because it fits like a lock and key to every foreign substance (such as a piece of a virus or bacterium) that gets into your body. Over the course of your life your body makes thousands of different antibodies as you are exposed to different infectious organisms that your body considers to be "foreign."

IVIG is prepared from the blood donated by thousands of people, to make a super-concentrated and very diverse collection of antibodies against many possible infectious organisms your body might encounter.

WHY DO I NEED IVIG?

IVIG is used primarily in two situations.

One reason you might need IVIG is if your body does not make enough antibodies. This is called "humoral immunodeficiency." The IVIG simply provides extra antibodies that your body cannot make on its own. The antibodies usually last for several weeks to months and help your body fight off a large variety of infections. If you are getting IVIG for this reason, you will need to get it on a regular schedule.

A second reason you might need IVIG is if your immune system has started attacking your own body by producing antibodies directed against your own cells. Conditions in which this happens include:

●Destruction of your own blood platelets (known as immune thrombocytopenia [ITP])

●Destruction of your own red blood cells (known as autoimmune hemolytic anemia [AIHA])

●Attack on your nervous system, such as nerves that control your breathing (in Guillain-Barré syndrome) or nerves that control sensation (for example, in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy [CIDP])  SOURCE:  UpToDate Patient Education


I receive monthly infusions of IVIG because my Oncologist fears that my low immunity and anemia from over a decade of cancer treatments that have included:  surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, puts me in a HIGH RISK CATEGORY of contracting other life threatening illnesses.

Today, is the day that I get my monthly infusion.  I will arrive at UT Medical Center around 7:00 am and finish around 10:30 am and like always will be receiving premeds to keep from my getting sick.  The nurses will access my port on the right side of my upper body.

Of the two and a half hour treatment, I will probably sleep for about 90 minutes due to the premeds...  it's weird at first as I feel lightheaded and weak and my legs feel restless...  then, my eyes get heavy and the next thing I know I am waking up and there's about 30 minutes left.