Reply To: subcutaneous infusions

Subq was an early term for SCIg. Many people can give SCIg to themselves in lieu of going to an Infusion center or Hospital. SCIg saves time and money for those that can tolerate it.

As far as regular IVIg treatments go, they are far easier tolerated, and MUCH faster given, when one has a port or PICC Line. IVIg Side Effects: It is fairly common for patients to experience headache (which can be mild to severe), stiff neck, and fever during or shortly after an infusion. Patients may often feel fatigued or flu type symptoms for a day or two after their infusion as well. These symptoms are usually related to aseptic meningitis syndrome (AMS). AMS symptoms are manageable and can be minimized or prevented by infusing IVIg very slowly. More AMS info here:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296420

If an increased dosage or rate of IVIg is hard for some to tolerate, consider SCIg as an alternative treatment. SCIg does what IVIg does treatment-wise with less possibility of AMS. SCIg is a subcutaneous injection/shot given into the fat layer between the skin and muscle. Many people can administer SCIg themselves; I’m not one of those. I’m overly sensitive to anything puncturing my skin and these shots really stinged me, so I discontinued them. I’ve since had a few other types of subcutaneous shots and tolerated them as long as they were given v e r y slowly. SCIg is discussed here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2817783