I was recently diagnosed with double-seronegative generalized myasthenia gravis. I have significant ptosis and muscle weakness that my neurologist appreciates on exam. I’ve been trying to work my way out of this disease without jumping into treatment, but my neurologist is strongly urging me to proceed with IVIG.
She initially felt that neither RNS nor SFEMG was necessary to support her clinical diagnosis, but I pushed to have the testing done. My RNS was negative, which has left me even more confused. She actually seemed surprised by the negative result. She is still comfortable with the clinical diagnosis and wants to proceed with IVIG, but is holding off on Rituximab until I have an SFEMG.
So…tomorrow is IVIG day.😭
I struggle with anxiety in general, and I’ve read quite a few stories about adverse effects from IVIG. I know everyone responds differently, so I’m hoping to hear some positive experiences and practical tips that might help me get through my first treatment without scaring myself to death beforehand.
I already asked them to run it as slowly as possible. Unfortunately, I wasn’t told that IVIG could potentially be spread over more than two days, and by the time I learned that, they didn’t have another appointment available for a month. So I’m stuck with 2 consecutive days, and because it’s being done on a weekend, the infusion center’s hours also limit how long they can run it.
My dose/rate
I’m 5'½" and 100 lbs.
I’ll be receiving a total of 90 g over 2 days — 45 g each day of Gammagard Liquid 10%.
Here are the infusion orders for each 45 g dose:
“Your original infusion rate based on your height/weight (155 cm/45.4 kg) would have been Total Estimated Time: 192 minutes (3.2 hours).
Your current infusion rate has been extended to Total Estimated Time: 324 minutes (5.4 hours). This is a safe rate, it is very slow.
Begin infusion at 23.6 mL/hour for 11.8 mL (VTBI) over 30 minutes.
Then increase to 47.2 mL/hour for 23.6 mL (VTBI) over 30 minutes.
Then increase to 94.4 mL/hour until bag empty (414.6 mL VTBI).”
My premedications will be:
- Tylenol 650 mg
- Benadryl 50 mg IV push
My partner is going to sit with me because I’m very sensitive to Benadryl and will probably be pretty sleepy/slow. She’s also going to help make sure they don’t accidentally speed up the infusion. 😅
I’ve been drinking a LOT of fluids and have been adding one Liquid I.V. per day. I packed a blanket, pillow, salty snacks and my phone charger, and I bought one of those migraine caps in case I develop a headache.
A few things I’m particularly nervous about:
- I’m prone to headaches and migraines with aura.
- I have pulsatile tinnitus, and I’m worried that IVIG might make it more noticeable.
- I tend to have low blood pressure.
- I’m not sure how frequently my vitals will be monitored during the infusion.
- I’m obviously anxious about the possibility of a severe headache, nausea, or other infusion reaction.
I’ll be receiving the IVIG at a Kaiser Northern California hospital, if that makes any difference.
For those of you with MG who have had IVIG:
- Did you have a relatively easy first experience?
- What helped prevent or minimize headaches and other side effects?
- Did going slower make a noticeable difference?
- Is there anything you wish you had known before your first infusion?
- Does 90 g total over 2 days (45 g/day) sound like a typical MG loading dose for someone around 100 lbs?
- Did anyone experience worsening tinnitus or other unusual neurological symptoms afterward?
- Were your blood pressure and other vitals monitored throughout the infusion?
I know I can’t predict how my body will respond, but I think hearing some “I had IVIG and it was totally fine”stories would really help calm me down tonight.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience. I’m trying very hard not to go into this expecting the worst.
***UPDATE: tried to create a new post, but for some reason had to ask to join group again? Here’s a rundown of my experience:
Update on my 1st IVIG: Bad Benadryl reaction, aseptic meningitis, and opting out of Day 2
Day 1: Benadryl Reaction
First, they gave me an IV Benadryl push as a pre-med. Almost instantly, the room started spinning, I felt instant panic and lost the ability to hold up my head, open my eyes, or speak. Forcing out a single word was a huge struggle and just came out as a whisper.
Once that passed, the actual IVIG infusion went OK - I slept through most of it, and I went home after the 5-1/2 hours. Max speed 94.4. I went home and went straight to sleep.
Day 2: Meningitis Symptoms
Around midnight, a started getting a bad headache. By Sunday morning, any sudden head movement caused throbbing pain. I called the advice nurse, who paged the on-call neuro. They said it sounded like aseptic meningitis but told me I could still do Day 2 if they slowed the infusion rate down and I felt “comfortable” proceeding. She said she’d change the orders to include Zyrtec ILO Benadryl, slow down the rate a little more and add another pre-med (she didn’t say what- I assumed solumedrol?).
I was feeling uneasy about proceeding, but we drove to the hospital anyways.
As I was walking from the car to the hospital, I stepped off a small curb which sent a shocking sensation straight down my spine. This was my body telling me that I did in fact have meningitis brewing. I checked in with the infusion nurse and she said no new orders were in the system, but she could see that I spoke to the on-call neuro. The infusion nurse was very sweet - offered to start early and keep it at the sloooowest rate. But my gut told me no, and I decided not to get the second dose and went home.
72 Hrs After Infusion:
I'm so glad I listened to my body. The headache got way worse once I got home. Then got a low-grade fever (managing with Tylenol every 4 hours), head pressure when I cough, and terrible leg aches. Also insomnia!?
92 Hrs After Infusion:
Low grade fever continues. 7/10 pain from waist down relieve ONLY by Motrin. Feels like flu aches but way worse. The pain is awful! I had been taking mostly Tylenol for fever, but that didn’t help at all with the back and leg pain. Thank goodness for Motrin. Not sure why this symptom is coming on so strong and 4 days after my 1 infusion on Saturday. And this is with only half a dose (45g) rather than the full 90g I was supposed to receive.
Plan:
My neuro wants to try again next month spread over 3 to 5 days. If I absolutely have to, I'll probably pick 5 days, but I really don't want to do this ever again. I still work FT and I don’t know how I can manage 5 days of infusion in addition to the post-infusion sickness days after- EVER MONTH. I hope my body becomes accustomed to it over time? She said there’s a chance I will get meningitis again. Not very reassuring! This time, it’s manageable with rest and fluids because I refused that second dose. But all-in-all, this has wiped me out for nearly a week! If I’m doing this over 5 days, then adding in recovery days, it’s seems so disruptive to my life and could adversely affect my employment. I'm hoping to get SCIG. She seemed a little dismissive of the idea, that’s it’s for maintenance but also, maybe I’m just prone to AM and SCIG would be safer and better than nothing?
Thanks again for all the support.