It’s the day. It’s finally here. I’ve been doing these infusions for so many years now. I was on Tysabri for a few years prior. You”d think I’d be totally accustomed to these things by now, but I’m not. I get really anxious before the infusion starts. Partially because finding my veins for an infusion is not easy. If I’m doing blood work it’s very rarely a problem. However, whenever they have to find a place to keep an IV line in, that becomes a whole other story. I have a lot of scar tissue from steroids infusions. I have veins that roll. I also have veins that are deeper than expected. Then the best, I have veins that collapse. It is not unusual for me to have to be stuck 3 sometimes even 4 times before we find a spot for the IV. This is where my anxiety starts. I normally have to put heating pads on my arms to pull up the veins. My nurse doesn’t like me to do this until she is here because I’ve literally burned my arm in the past.

Once the line is in, I usually calm down. Then it is just about being a long day with many trios to the bathroom. I still worry about having reactions to the infusion. I don’t know if the whole blister incident was actually Rituxan or not but I am still concerned ever since I had that crazy skin issue. https://multipleexperiences.org/2019/10/29/blisters-and-rituxan/.

My nurse just called and she’s running 30 minutes late. She is here with me for hours so I can’t complain. I have my heat on, a sweatshirt and a blanket trying to warm my body up to bring out my veins. I showered and exercised but that was too long ago to matter. Here’s hoping for and easy IV line.