Dr visit after 1st IVIG treatment

    • Buzz
      February 17, 2018 at 10:35 pm

      Hello, My 1st IVIG treatment got delayed because of insurance/Dr office issues. Once everything got straightened out, my follow-up Dr visit fell on the same week as my loading dose of IVIG. I called the Dr office to let them know, and a new appt was scheduled for MONTH away. The pharmacy administering my treatment thought there were two odd things about the IVIG prescription from my DR. 1. There was no maintenance order only the 5 consecutive day loading dose.
      2. The follow-up visit is a month after my loading dose
      Is this normal? Is this going to cause problems? Should I call the Dr and demand an appointment sooner?
      Thanks in andvance,
      Buzz

    • GH
      February 19, 2018 at 12:29 am

      You should not make demands of your Dr. Try to work with him or her. If at some point you lose confidence, you can change, but you should not do that lightly.

      There is nothing wrong with scheduling a loading dose and then waiting to see how things develop. In my case, I received a five-day loading dose then was sent to rehab. I continued to decline, so went back to hospital and was given another five-day loading dose. I declined further and had no more IvIg after that.

      A month wait to evaluate your condition seems rather long, but since it seems you are not in hospital, it may be ok in your case. You should track your strength by some objective means every day, and report to your neurologist if you are getting significantly weaker.

    • Buzz
      February 19, 2018 at 2:46 pm

      GH, thank you for the reply. “You should track your strength by some objective means”…..Do you have any ideas for me?

      Thanks,

      Buzz

    • GH
      February 19, 2018 at 5:32 pm

      For example, weakness generally starts in the feet and legs. Holding onto the back of a chair for balance, can you raise yourself on the balls of your feet? Can you do it with each foot separately? This is a test the neurologist will do to see if your strength is increasing or declining and which anyone can do on his own. Just pay attention to how high you can lift each day.

    • cer100
      February 19, 2018 at 10:00 pm

      The tiptoes is a definite thing I use to gauge how I am doing. Great when I can walk on them (which is declining now) and a bummer when I can’t raise on them at all.

      As mentioned I would expect that to be a normal test your neuro is doing as part of their evaluations.

    • Buzz
      February 20, 2018 at 2:02 pm

      cer100,

      Thanks for the tip….no pun intended. My Dr has never had me do that, however, I am going to start doing it on my own to use as a gauge.

      Thanks,
      Buzz

    • cer100
      February 20, 2018 at 11:49 pm

      Hmm, my neuro exams have been about 90 % of these linked. tiptoes, heels, dont let push, dont let pull, nose to finger, follow finger with eyes, reflexes, etc

      http://www.medicalmediareview.com/3-minute-neurological-examination/