Cycle two, day one: Rituxan

On Monday Nov 24 we left home early, expecting traffic problems, but traffic was light and we arrived early.

My hemoglobin level was at 9.9 g/dl, the highest it has been since early August. Since the effect of transfusions don't seem to last that long, it could only mean the monoclonal B cells were dying off.

My second time around with Rituxan turned out to be simpler, except that Nurse A. missed the vein and another nurse had to come in and insert the second line into my other hand. The Benadryl this time was in tablet form and didn't affect me as much. The drip was started at 100 cc/hr and increased by 100 cc every 30 minutes. As a result it only lasted about 3 hours instead of 4 hours. It was done faster because it was my second time and they now knew how I would react to it. I had some dizziness and chills during the infusion but not as much as the first time.

At home that evening and the next day I had only a sore throat. Altogether an easy day.