Sure, it is scheduled, but the approval isn’t there. I received a call the other day from the insurance company that the expedited review has been denied. So I called the insurance company. I was told that the infusion was still under review. Under review for what??? When I tried to get Rituxan approved, the denial was because Rituxan wasn’t a FDA approved drug for multiple sclerosis. The denial letter went on to tell me based on my history that…
Well, if your following the saga (or catch up with the link above), I discussed my insurance concerns with my doctor with regards to the Rituxan. The Rituxan will come from the patient assistance program at Genentech. However, the infusion of the Rituxan, steroids, benedryl and saline are not covered. My insurance will deny them because they denied Rituxan. I’m scared, at the last minute, they will tell me we couldn’t get authorization for the infusion therefore you can’t do…
Continuing my story from yesterday… Two main things happened yesterday. I was informed that I don’t need blood work done. Shocker!!! I’ve been on Rituxan for a year and have had repeated blood work done satisfying the hepatitis pre-check for Ocrevus. HOWEVER, my doctor felt, we were running into a time crunch and I should stay on Rituxan for the July infusion. I knew it!! I purposely came in to see her June 2 to get everything done for the…
OCREVUS (Ocrelizumab) is the new approved drug for the treatment of patients with relapsing or primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. I’ve been on Rituxan, the sister drug to Ocrevus, for over a year. The comparison on the drugs is mostly illustrated in my blog post here… I made the error thinking same company, basically same drug, easy transition….NOT!!! Last Friday I found out that my infusion place that I was receiving the Rituxan from, WILL NOT be doing Ocrevus…
Let me first address the fact that it took an hour and 45 minutes to get into the city for my check up. That means I’m doing nothing for all that time. I was her first appointment that morning. When we do my neurological checks and timed walking, I’m at the best I’m going to be. Therefore the check up is based on this point. However how realistic is it? This is the first time I was her first appointment,…
Here we go again. Another battle with the insurance. After I went to through the the battle with them and filed every appeal possible for my Rituxan, I was denied. Insurance denied saying it was not approved for multiple sclerosis. Although we filed all the necessary paperwork and they did approve it for others they would not approve it on my case. What is more than frustrating and this is that the new drug that is coming out for MS,…
During my treatment yesterday, there was a man sitting next to me that I started talking to. The conversation started after he had to take a phone call and felt bad that he thought he was disrupting his neighbor. He apologize for the call and explained his brother-in-law was going in for triple bypass surgery today. He was sitting next to me getting Chemotherapy. I politely explain no need for apologies, I totally understood . From there we…
Most doctor’s do two rounds two weeks apart and then you repeat every 6 months. It will be the same senario as when I posted the first time https://multipleexperiences.org/2017/01/16/rituxan-infusion-day/. I feel bad for Zoey, the 5 month old puppy, today because no one is around and she has to be in her crate for 6+ hours. I feel bad for me because Zoey will have a lot of energy when I get home. Maybe it’s Marshmellow, my 8 year old frenchie,…
