Reply To: Unable to tolerate IVIG?

My normal BP is 90-100 over 50-60. During infusions my systolic drops into the low 80s. The nurse seems mildly concerned and sometimes turns off the IVIG and gives me a bag of fluids, but we always finish. To my knowledge, she hasn’t consulted anyone about this and I’m fine as long as I get up slowly and let everything settle out before I walk anywhere. She commented once that if the drop in BP were accompanied by an increase in heart rate, she’d be more concerned.

I was diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension in 2004 by a neurologist (long before the CIDP diagnosis in 2016). That means a drop in blood pressure upon standing up (my autonomic nervous system doesn’t adjust as it should). This leads to dizziness which I’ve just lived with.

But since starting IVIG, I’ve had more dizziness and some shortness of breath. I bought a BP monitor and pulse oximeter and sometimes my BP is down in the 70s systolic! I think the cuff is right because I’m very consistent in my method, and just came in at 95/56, so that’s fairly normal, even at a doctor’s office.