Reply To: Rituximab

I have tolerated the Rituxan well and had only minor itching during initial IV’s. My worst reactions were to the Benadryl (made my legs feel squirmy and crawly) but it wears off in a few hours. I tried without the Benadryl, but the severe itching came back for me. Benadryl at 15MG is the dosage that I stuck with (doctor recommended 25MG, but that was too much for me).

Rituxan has a “half life” of 3 months (compared to just 20 days for IVIg) and I’m scheduled to get a maintenance dose every 3 months for 2 years.

I’m on Medicare and the Rituxan treatments qualify to be billed under Part B medical, where my cost share is the lowest with my “Plan N Supplement”. If billed under Part D prescription drugs … good luck, you could go bankrupt paying for it at around $17K per each 3-4 hour treatment!

Funny thing about the Rituxan is that I’ve recently noticed my right foot is getting a little more movement in it, not enough to walk or stand on it, but a slight lessening of paralysis. Could it be the Rituxan has helped my CIDP in addition to my anemia? I think it may have, or my body is better able to repair the CIDP related Axion and Myelin damage after the Rituxan treatments.

Rituxan has made me more hopeful after having been paralyzed since 2008. I would recommend other CIDP sufferers at least look into the possibility of using it to treat CIDP, RGBS, MFS, and MMN. It’s a newer alternative to the too often recommended IVIg, SCIg, and Plasma Exchange (but I do swear by the PE which helped me greatly in 2009!).