All posts filed under: Orencia

Orencia seven infusions

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Next week I will have my 8th Orencia infusion. My time in the infusion center is about an hour. It is usually uneventful.  I am given benedryl, pepcid and another little pill I was told was for allergies. Blood is drawn for inflammation markers, C-Reactive Protein and SED rate, metabolic panel and CBC. Since I have been having the infusions, my neutrophils have become normal. My joint swelling has been greatly diminished. My pain levels have been reduced. I do have a weird cough. It is weird because when I enter a space away from home, I start coughing. It goes on for a bit and finally comes under control. Sometimes I feel like I have the flu, but I don’t. I still don’t have as much energy as I would like. I do have some RA problems. Still I am better than I was before the Orencia. I went to a number of online communities to see what others were experiencing with Orencia. There were many miracles. Good results. There were some with the …

Orencia, After three months

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I knew Orencia was working for me one week after my first infusion. Swelling in my hands, ankles and feet gradually disappeared until at three months I only have minor swelling in my hands. My daily dose of  RA(RD) pain has subsided to mostly feet pain, occasionally hand pain and spine pain. My improvement is amazing and  feels like a miracle. It feels like a miracle because I had been in uncontrolled RA pain since the Fall of 2012. Now in the Fall of 2015, the pain is almost gone. Thanks to Orencia my RA fog is lifting. I have more energy. And I will have a lot more energy as I move more. I am still on other medications for my RA(RD)*. I am also on Methotrexate injections. I take Plaquenil,  meloxicam, gabapentin.  My prednisone is 2/3 of original dose and decreasing. I go to the infusion center once a month. Time is about one hour. Occasionally, I have what feels like a rebound effect. About a week after the infusion, I have a day or two of inflamed joints. Then it’s …

Orencia: First Infusion

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Orencia In February of this year, I had two Rituxan infusions at Presbyterian’s Infusion Center on the West Side (Albuquerque).  So I knew what to expect when I returned for an Orencia infusion.  Pleasant faces at the reception desk checking me in.  A short wait. Two experienced nurses (team nursing) introducing themselves settled me into my room. Making sure I was comfortable in the recliner. First I was given several pills including Tylenol and Benadryl. BP, temperature, pulse , O2 sat recorded. An IV was started. That entailed a tourniquet around my arm and my nurse finding a suitable vein in my left arm. (Since the breast cancer, I cannot have needles stuck in my right arm; with RA I don’t like to be stuck in my hand.) Once the needle is in, she attached a little gizmo that had several ports. Blood was drawn for lab tests. I was ready to go. After a short wait, the pharmacy delivered the plastic IV bag that held my Orencia. My nurse added tubing, threading it through …