Hi @rockitman You’re not too late…I’m so relieved to hear you have an appointment next week at Mayo. It’s truly a place of hope.

From what I’m reading, with your latest diagnosis your doctor feels your immune system is killing your platelets. That would be the B-cells in your immune system. So that’s where the Rituxan comes into play. It suppresses the B-cells when they launch an attack against our cells with an autoimmune response. They’re supposed to be protecting us but they can also turn against us. I was also on Rituximab for another issue with my bone marrow and it worked in halting the damage.
Rituxan’s initial side effect usually happens with the first dose while you’re having it done at an infusion center. The nurses are right there with benadryl or other meds needed to quickly counteract. When it’s given at a slower drip rate, the reaction to the infusion is diminished. I’ve had that happen and it wasn’t a big deal. My doctor and nurses all explained that this might happen and that they deal with it at the time.

Anyway, you’re scheduled now for a visit to the hematologist at Mayo. I’m a survivor because of my amazing care from the hematologists and bone marrow transplant teams at Mayo Rochester.
Which campus will you be visiting? Do you have any questions on lodging, testing, navigating? How about your Patient Portal, do you have that set up yet?