THE EFFECTS WERE CUMULATIVE AFTER 4TH TREATMENT, BEGAN TO BE EXTREMELY FATIGUED AND HAD ACHING JOINTS – AND, THEY STILL HURT – EVEN THOUGH MY LAST CHEMO WAS IN JANUARY 2013. STILL GET TIRED, BUT ABLE TO WORK AND VOLUNTEER. PLUS I’M GOING TO BE 76 IN TWO WEEKS. I FEAR MY NEXT APPT – THE FIRST IN 3 MOS. BECAUSE I DON’T WANT BAD NEWS. MY HUSBAND DIED ON 7/28.

I had a very hard time taking Rituxan via needle in vein. But now I have a port and I have no side affects. I am on a maintence program because me cancer in remission. I have Rituxan weekly for (4) weeks and then 3 months off.

I experienced a bright red rash from the first dose of rituxan. The second treatment I took dexamethasone and did not have any rash, but had stomach pain, insomnia, and headache from the dexamethasone. I have the third dose next week. I am not taking the dexamethasone this time so we will see.

I have only had one treatment and didn’t know what to expect. I was hopeful for light side effects since my stomach has always been pretty good about reacting to meds. I had a 7 hr. treatment followed by a 2 hr. treatment the second say. That night I took a nausea pill although it wasn’t so much nausea as just a dull ache. I felt ‘wired’ for a couple of nights and didn’t sleep well but that wore off by the 4th day after treatment. I also suffered a headache from the nausea medicine so I quit taking them…willing to risk the nausea rather than get a headache.

The second half of 2008, I took rituxan every month for six months with fludara (sp?) and cytocin so I was in treatment 3 days each month. The first day I had unbelievable chills. I read where that was possible. I didn’t get chills after the first treatment. The next month I started itching under my bra, then down my sides and my face felt tight. I saw red welt starting to form on my arms. I went to the center’s restroom and saw the hives spreading across my face to my waist. After that I always had a Benadryl drip before my rituxan treatment. I didn’t have any more problems until the next to last treatment when my blood pressure dropped. The staff was on it. They were great. It didn’t happen again.

I had itching when I began my first treatment and was given a,
benadryl drip I get the benadryl drip before each treatment,
I am doing good.

I have a retoxin 5 hr IV once every 3 weeks( with a Benadryl drip first) followed by 5 days of 300 mg cytoxin each day. I will be having a 4th treatment in 2 weeks. The retoxin is long but I have had no side effects. The cytoxin is physically draining by the 5th day. My IgM (presently at 2246 has dropping 5% with each treatment). I hope it continues.
I lost 50 lbs from a previous treatment of velcade and retoxin. It gave me peripheral neuropathy which I am still trying to over come. Lyrica has helped with the pain.

Having had no aftereffects from the first set of 4 Rituxin infusions in 2003, I assumed all would go well in 2008. I drove home ok after the first infusion but started having chills that shook coffee out of my cup.; the ensuing MD call did not result in a prescription med even..things settled quickly…no more problem with that set of infusions. My last run in 2014 went nicely. With all 3, my hemoglobin and weight went up, the IgM way down. I’ve been very,very fortunate…some fatigue and itching, hip pain that may/may not be connected, and increasingly severe deafness that h-aids no longer manage…just recently saw that seeing and hearing may be affected by Waldenstrom’s and /or treatment. Blessings to all who endure ….

This is a postscript to my Sept 17 response re itching, hip pain, deafness. I’ve had chronic loose stools and ‘leaky’ valve which I attributed to surgery before the lymphoma…also had mrsa….hard to know what’s what.

I completed 2 years of Retuxan treatments on July 26, 2016. Very blessed that I tolerated the drug very well and grateful to be in remission. The side effect of insominia was somewhat abated by a lower dose of dexamethasone in the pre-treatment.

Had Jan. ‘17 treatment chills and rash w/steroid inj. and gone. Had 8 more treatments, no side effects and steroids all the way to June 9. Three leisions sites remained. Doc put me on Lukeran. Pharmacy made a mistake and gave me Alkeran had reaction after 15 days. They discovered error. Put me on Lukeran for 75 days. Three sites remained. Feb. 2,’18 received treatment. Broke out in noted flush at neck and upper chest , but also over body lightly. However, 4 old sites popped up 25mg steroid inj. awful!! By the end of the course of treatment they resolved except the one that persists to date.