My Rituxan infusion has once again been a complete disaster getting the necessary supplies and drugs. I would love to blame it all on CVS specialty pharmacy but my doctor’s assistant is partially to blame. What started a month ago has come down to the wire yet again. My third box of supplies has just been delivered this morning. All I can say is thankfully I know how my drug is administered. If I didn’t, this would’ve been a bigger mess. The missing items wouldn’t be discovered until the nurse came for the infusion and the infusion wouldn’t have been able to be done. It was my relentless phone calls that got this infusion to stay on track. Hours and hours I was on the phone, which really should never happen. I had so many emails to my doctor because her assistant didn’t get part of the prescription in for a week. I’ve put up with all this because I get to do the infusion in the comfort of my own home. Six hour infusion on my comfy chair, with my TV and my dogs, you can’t beat that. Plus my infusion nurse has been with me for over three years already. I want to stay with the company she’s affiliated with.  I just can’t keep doing this every time my infusion comes around.

Now there is one thing i still need to decide about. Instead of solu-medrol for the premedication, I somehow am getting solu-cortef.

Although Solu–Medrol and Solu–Cortef are sometimes used in other areas interchangeably, it is worth noting that the drugs are chemically different. Solu–Medrol contains prednisone while Solu–Cortef is cortisone.

Ive never had solu-cortef in an IV, EVER. I’ unfortunately have had way too much experience with solu-medrol. I asked my doctor about it and she said it was fine to use although she didn’t understand why it was replaced. She thought it could possibly of been replaced because there is a shortage of steroids due to Covid. She explained the drugs are going to work the same way as a pre-medication. She understood that I was just a little concerned because I have no experience with that drug in the 23 years I have MS. According to CVS specialty pharmacy they said that the order was verbally approved by my doctor’s assistant. Another woman who has been with my doctor for 10+ years, there’s no way she would’ve verbally switched the two drugs. My orders have always said Solu-Medrol.

Anyway, now this morning Solu-Medrol’s on my CVS specialty pharmacy list and I could ask them to expedite it out for tomorrow morning. However, the Solu-Cortef is already here. I have to decide do I bother? it could certainly be here before we start tomorrow with the infusion. I am already so anxious I just want to be done with all of this already. I actually am going to make a call to my infusion nurse and see what she thinks. My doctor was ok with the other drug but probably changed to the solu-medrol for me. Either way, I will be getting my Rituxan infusion done tomorrow.