The first day, they take it real slow because everybody has a reaction. So I arrived at 8:00 a.m. and left at 5:00 p.m.. Next week they expect to take almost that long. After that, it takes about 5 ½ hours.
Here is the sequence:
All medications are given through an IV.
- Tylenol (acetaminophen / paracetamol) (to reduce and aches and fever).
- Saline “flush” (I don’t remember how often they did that).
- Benadryl (diphenhydramine) (to reduce allergic reaction).
- Dexamethasone (a steroid I’m already taking weekly in pill form). Has anti-myeloma and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Darzalex (the main event).
After an hour or two, the rate is increased to 100 mg. Some time after that I began to feel a constriction in my upper chest and it itched a little. I waited to say anything to see if it got better or worse, but it stayed the same, so I told the nurse. They immediately stopped the drip and connected me to a bag of Benadryl. The earlier bag had not affected me, but this second bag made me very drowsy. When my chest felt normal, they put me back on 100 mg. I never had any more reactions.
After a while, they boosted me to 150 mg, and later to 200 mg.
By 5:00 I still had about 100 mg of juice in the bag, but I elected to quit there and go home. It was a long day.
Today I feel really good. Some people (about 20%) get aches in their joints and/or a slight fever, which they treat with Tylenol. I have had no reactions, except last night when it took two hours to get to sleep, because of the dexamethasone.
Next week I expect a 200 mg rate, which means about 5.5 hours in the chair. I take a sandwich, munchies, and diet soda, as well as my tablet, a book, and my MP3 player. That all makes it bearable.
The worst part (minor) is that, with all the fluids dripping into me, I must make about four trips to the loo, dragging “R2D2” with me. No big deal, and it’s important to stand up and walk once in a while.
The plan is to have weekly drips for eight weeks, then every other week for 16 weeks, and once a month after that (which means I can make nice long trips!).
My first 10 months of treatment (Revlimid, Velcade, and dexamethasone) was not very successful due to my low WBC and a reaction to Revlimid. I'm very optimistic about Darzalex.
