Because Remicade shuts down the body’s ability to fight
certain illnesses and tumors, my physician wrote orders to screen for some of
these diseases. The screens required to
for starting Remicade included the following for me:
- Chest x-ray (looking for Tuberculosis, Histoplasmosis, and Hepatitus)
- Blood screen for hepatitis
- Blood screen for Tuberculosis
- Skin test for Tuberculosis
I’ve gotten the results from all but the last of these and
they were all negative.
I will get the results of my TB skin test tomorrow. Today the site looks negative.
Because I also have a history of a high PSA (Prostate
Specific Antigen) and I also spent 6 years as a life guard, I also arranged to
speak to my urologist and a dermatologist about my concerns.
The urologist stated that he had no qualms about me starting
the biologicals. He felt that the risks
were minimal and he encouraged me to start the treatment.
The dermatologist inspected my moles and found several that
required closer examination. One in
particular was worrisome but didn’t require immediate action. She recommended that my wife inspect the mole
on a monthly basis and that the dermatologist inspect them again in a
year. We made a follow-up appointment
for it. However, she also encouraged me
to begin treatment and found no reason to postpone treatment.
On Monday I’ll get my CT scan. I should get the radiologists report from
that scan by Tuesday. If all goes well,
I could be eligible to start the Remicade at that time. If so, then it’ll be a simple matter of
scheduling the first infusion. I hope to
get the first infusion within a week of approval. However, I have no experience with the
infusion centers and don’t know how long it normally takes from scheduling to
getting an infusion.
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