[lwem]

Revlimid - swelling of the face

by lwem on Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:18 pm

Hi all -

My husband recently began maintenance therapy with Revlimid (10 mg). A few days into this, he woke up with a swollen face and head. He had no other reaction and otherwise felt fine. By the way, he had induction with Revlimid, Velcade, dexamethasone (RVD), and never experienced any allergic-type reaction.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, have you continued to treat with Revlimid or moved to another treatment regimen?

The doctor advised that he stop and I believe we will begin again in a few days, this time with dex.

Thank you.

Laurie

[Castaway]

Re: Revlimid - swelling of the face

by Castaway on Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:26 pm

Laurie,

Hello. My first treatment after diagnosis included Revlimid at 25 mg. I had taken it for about two months with no issues. One morning I woke up with swollen face and scalp; my scalp felt tight. And kind of a tingle along with it. I tried to put on my ball cap but it didn't fit. So I tried all my other caps and they didn't fit. Way too tight.

I took a shower that evening and noticed a rash that was on my legs and stomach. I contacted my local oncologist and he got me right in. As a result he contacted the myeloma specialist that's about 200 miles away. She said to stop the Revlimid. I then went on a new treatment of Velcade twice per week and dex at 40 mg once per week. The swelling and rash went away after stopping Revlimid in about a week.

Make sure there isn't a rash starting along with it. The rash covered 60% of my body. It was horrible. No itching at all. Just felt very warm to the touch.

The crazy part is I started a maintenance of Revlimid several months ago at 15 mg with 20 mg dex and no rash or swelling this time. I guess my body couldn't take that higher dose of Revlimid.