Orencia

My experience with Orencia is ongoing.  SO far I have had a good response.  At my first review appointment my numbers were through the roof, but I was sick at the time and was expecting that.  So after my last blood draw, my numbers are currently pretty good.  My last CRP was 17, and my ESR was back within normal range.  Those are the only two I will mention because here in Australia they are the two that are tracked by Medicare for the government to provide my medication for free or at a heavily discounted price.  Currently since I will be going back to the hospital to get my infusions it will be free.

I have had few if any side effects from Orencia.  Sometimes it is hard to tell if something is a side effect or an actual symptom of my RA, Fibro, or Meniere's, oh lets not forget the Migraines and the medication induces Hyper Tension.  SO yes there are times I have been nauseated or felt a bit yucky or dizzy, but I can never be sure why.


One thing I can say without a shadow of a doubt.  If in Australia and in NSW I would NEVER recommend the Orencia Home Infusion Service.  I signed up with it back in May.  It took them several weeks/months to find me a nurse.  When they did my first infusion with them was still over 3 weeks late.  I had requested that my infusions be done on Mondays.  My Husband has worked out a special schedule at work where he has every Monday off.  Since I never know how I am going to be doing after an infusion I try and always schedule them on Mondays.  Well the first nurse this program got for me did my first infusion on Monday, but refused to do anymore on Mondays.  She said she worked.  That is all well and good, but I didn't request this. So she told me that she would do all my infusions after 3:30.  That way if I wasn't feeling well afterwards I wouldn't need to go anywhere, cause the kids would already be home from school.  I agreed but not happily.  SO my second infusion with her was 3 days late because she refused to come on any day but Thursday.  After that they found me a new local nurse.  Still with my third infusion it was again a week late.  I was told "You have to be patient, it is the holidays."  I explained that, that was all well and good, but my health was my priority, and my husband would very likely have to take a week off of work because I would be flaring badly that extra week I was waiting.  I was more than a little unimpressed with my second nurse.  First she wouldn't wear gloves to do my infusion.  Most people probably wouldn't have a problem with this,  but I did.  Second she was just rude.  Third, after my daughter accidentally yanked my IV out of my arm, she tried to shove it back in.  Lets just say that infusion was not a very fun experience.


My Rheumy was more than happy to let me return to the hospital to have my infusions after I explained to her everything that happened.  I was doing some research and discovered that if you go up to 56 days between infusions then your body can start to build up antibodies which will render the medicine ineffective.  Thankfully I never went that long.


 I added a few pics of my second hospital infusion.