The Unthinkable, or So I Thought

Go Figure.

I last wrote about the good luck I've had with Remicade. Well, I'm not certain what the problem was but I've had my first reaction to Remicade. Like I said before, I was scheduled for a treatment at 8:30 am on Wednesday the 17th. I've had Remicade at this clinic before so that wasn't a first; they used the same pre-meds as before (Tylenol and Benedryl) and I've never had a reaction for the last year and a half of taking Remicade.

Sorry for the delay in the post. I've been away since Saturday recruiting for work at the University of Missouri (my alma mater).

Here was my experience. Sorry for the length of the entry.

About a half an hour into the treatment I woke up feeling very feverish and flustered. I tossed off the blanket that the nurse had given me and sat up. My chest felt very tight and my throat very dry. I took a few sips of my ginger ale and attempted to calm myself. I had never felt this way before and didn't know if it was an allergic reaction or what. I have felt slightly flustered before but was able to control it and this was definitely a whole different story. About a minute passed and I made eye contact with a nurse and told her that I thought I was having a reaction.

That's when things went sour.

The nurse immediately called for help as well as told another nurse to call for medical assistance. Apparently I was 'firetruck red', as she put it, and my eyes were dilated. At this point, I also began feeling very nauseous. It took most of my focus and I spent the entire time trying to calm myself as well as keeping myself from vomitting.

One nurse was taking vitals, another directing, and another two were taking me off of the Remicade and onto some fluids. The nurse taking vitals noted that my blood pressure and pulse were erratic. They would go drastically high for a while and then scarily low. About five minutes into this ordeal, I once again hear over the loudspeaker, 'medical assistance required in the oncology infusion room.' Soon after, there are 5 doctors surrounding me overlooking and supervising the situation.

I can't say that I was much help to the nurses and doctors as they were frequently asking me questions and receiving no answers. I felt very out of it and had no desire to talk. The doctors and nurses were debating calling 911 as I lie there motionless. I can't remember what drugs they used to stabilize me off the top of my head but I know they pushed three things: a steroid, benedryl, and something else. I heard one doctor tell the nurse to call 911 to be sure and at that point I decided I wanted to talk and barely murmered 'I don't need to go to the ER, I'm feeling better.' The doctor informed me that it was their protocol to send a patient to the ER for observation if the patient's BP dropped as low as mine did. I didn't argue. I didn't have the energy at that point.

After my first ride in an ambulance, a nap in the ER, and a crappy hospital sandwich, I decided I'd had enough. I asked the nurse to discharge me since I was feeling better. I hopped a cab back to the clinic and drove to work regardless of my secretary continually telling me to go home and go to sleep. I needed to do something today. I felt worthless and I hate it when my Crohn's interferes in my life. I missed one meeting that my secretary rescheduled for me but atleast I got a few things done at work.

Looks like there will be many chats with doctors in the coming weeks. I only received 1/5 of the Remicade dosage and will need to try it again fairly soon. I will post updates soon.