Anyone try Rituxan? | Arthritis Information

I'm on Rituxan and other than some nausea after the first set of infusions, I haven't had any side effects. Rituxan enabled me to go into remission after 8 years of having RA. I had very limited success with the other meds, so I'm extremely pleased with my results from Rituxan

Lynn

I have been taking Rituxan for a few years now and for me it has given me back a quality of life that RA had taken away. I do have some side effects...about 4 to 5 days after my infusions I get pretty bad joint and muscle pain that last a few days and also very tired. After my first set of infusions I really thought that it wasn't going to to work at all. It took about 3 1/2 months for it to kick in. I just woke up one morning with less stiffness and pain and within 1 week I was feeling better than I had in 3 years. My sed rate was in the normal range the first time since RA hit me. I am not back 100% but I am back to doing most of the things I love and adding new adventures, too.

Wishing you the best with your RA treatment and hoping you feel better soon.I had my first infusion of Rituxan two days ago. I was nervous about it but the nurses at the unit I went to in Manhattan are phenomenal at telling you every step of the way what they are doing and why. I had no reaction at all during the actual infusion which took about 4 hours. I was there for 6 hours all told and drove myself home afterwards. The second one in two weeks will be about an hour shorter I was told.

Yesterday I was very tired and weepy. The tiredness I think might have been the medicine. The 'weepy' maybe not. I sometimes have a reaction like that after I've been anticipating some event like this. In the shower this morning I noticed the upper side of my hand is completely bruised where the IV was. The circular bruise is about 2.5 inches across which is quite impressive but is more to do with how the IV was done than it is to do with Rituxan.

So - I've been off Enbrel for a month now after being on it successfully for about 15 months. Still taking Plaquenil and 15mg prednisone, which will need to be reduced once the Rituxan has a chance. Right now the prednisone is keeping the pain levels down.

Good luck with it, CinDee.

Thanks for your encouraging replies! I hope this is my "golden ticket". I forgot to ask dr if I should keep on taking the enbrel or not. I have two shots left. I will call on Monday to see what she says. I also have to go and sign a release form. I wish you all well in whatever form of treatment you are receiving.

take care

CinDee,

I know for a fact that if you are taking a biologic, "they" are not to administer rituxan. "They" claim it is quite dangerous to mix the two. I had to stop the enbrel 5 weeks prior to my first infusion. Be sure to talk with your rheumatologist as soon as possible so you don't have to miss your date with your first rituxan infusion. Good luck with it.

LEV

I just did my 5th cycle of rituxan last month...at my rheumatolgist appt last week for the first time in my very long RA life I had no swollen joints. Now the journey has taken awhile but we hung in there because I've been out of options. The next step is to see if I can last 6 months...the last cycle made it 5 months. But each infusion cycle things have gotten better. Oh and I have had no side effectsThanks everybody!

Lev: so glad you told me that because I didn't call dr and Sunday night I took my enbrel shot cuz' I thought "what the heck, I had two shots left". So I will definitely tell dr. Also, my infusions may be put on hold because I think I will have a long over due hysterectomy before I start.

Buckeye: great news-I wish you and everyone continued success!

I am very anxious to get something to finally take away this fatique. Enbrel did for the first few months but then it fizzled out on me. I do think it's a good idea to have surgery first so I don't have to go off it and mess up the timing. Does that make sense? LOL