Man or Mouse?

Today the doctors "busted out the big gun" so to speak. No really, that's exactly what they said.

Today I had my first Remicade infusion treatment. I went to a local infusion clinic where they started an IV and for about two hours I had a mixture of salene and a medication called remicade pumped into my veins. Remicade is a pretty new medication and it's only been approved to treat my condition for just over a year. The weird thing is that it consists of DNA and protien extracted from mice. Seriously. For whatever reason, in most patients, this certain mouse protein binds up with one of the proteins that is one of the key bad actors in the disease I have and neutralizes it, putting the disease into remission. Crazy stuff.

The infusion went pretty well and I was in and out of there in a little under three hours. My arm is a bit sore where they had the IV in the inside of my elbow. I'm still alittle loopy from the direct injection of Tylenol and Benadryl they gave me before starting the remicade drip to help me sleep through the whole thing.

So right now I have all sorts of mouse protein and DNA surging through my body doing its thing.

I will let you know if I suddenly have the urge to gnaw on the corner of my futon or put cheese on my hamburgers.

Thankfully I don't have a cat.

The Treatment Has Failed

Went to the GI doctor today, still feeling at rock bottom. The doctor concluded that, "The straightforward simple approach of basic medications isn't working... this course of treatment has failed."

*Sigh* I guess I'm one of the small percentage for which the usual doesn't work.

Fortunately there's a plan B that is pretty effective for people who don't respond to plan A. They are trying to set it up for later this week.