HEY!
I weigh 90 pounds and am on 900mg every six weeks.
you are on a pretty high dosage also. You should ask your doctor to talk to contact local blood test centers near you and get blood tests four months after an infusion. I don't remember what it is called, but it will see if your body is keeping the remicade in your body or not. I just took the test and if I don't have enough remicade in my body, I will be taken off and probably start humers. I am scared too. Hang in there.
I started remicade the summer of '05. My mom put it off for a while until humera came out because you can't get back on remicade after having a reaction. But it has made the biggest difference in the world! My mom says it was like night and day. If you live anywhere near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A....GO THERE! they are amazing! The pediatric nurses...not so much. But if you go to the infusion center...the nurses are great! Especially Magda! Also, never be afraid to ask for the main nurse...any time aany where. If you are lucky enough to go to the infusion or pediatric center at Cedars-Sinai or if you are in the hospital over there ask for Shane! He is great and he explains what he is doing every step of the way.
A couple of tips:
- as much as it hurts, have them tie the band around bare skin, not your shirt
- drink plenty of water to get your veins nice and plump
- do not squeeze your own hand, a ball, ace bandage roll or anything where the consistancy of pressure veries. They best thing to squeeze when they are putting the needle in is a roll of medical paper tape. It is nice and firm
- if you notice your nurse is not feeling for a vein, but rather looking, ask for a nurse that uses the feeling method. They will not look, just feel. This way they can tell if it is a tendon, bad vein, or good vein. A good vein should be bouncy and should almost feel like leather.
- sometimes it also helps if you ask them to count to 3
- if you ask them to count, take a deep breath on 3 or if they don't count, take a deep breath when you feel it go in.
- if you find you are allergic STOP USING IT, but there is clear, rectangular tape that you pull on the edges to take off. PAIN FREE! It is amazing.
- some people have a nice plump vein down the crease of their arm, leave it as a last resort, it is the most painful and risky place. A lot of nurses mistake your tendon for a vein even when they use the best method (the feeling method). Also, as blue as the vein may look, it is very thin, to get the needle in the vein they will have to aim it at a 90 degree angle. There may be a vein on the top of your arm, that is a GREAT vein if you have it because there is a better chance of getting it in the vein then in the tendon beneath it-it is a 40 degree vein
- Heating packs are your friend! It sometimes helps to put them over the place the infusion tube is
I hope I didn't overload you, but this is what I do, and it works every time!
Remember, never feel needy if you ask for a different nurse, you shouldn't stay with the same nurse after the third, fourth, fifth prick.
Post Edited (3crohnysisters) : 1/7/2008 6:57:27 PM (GMT-7)