UCSD Came Early

UCSD reached out and informed us that they wanted to see Andy sooner than his scheduled (early June) appointment.  As a result, we went in and met with the head honcho today.  Here is the latest...

They are pleased that his tests (in April) yielded positive results and that he remains largely stable.  They want to start lining up the next drug(s) since, as I mentioned before, he's currently at a steroid level where he could start seeing symptoms increase.

He is to continue with this dosage through June and in July they will begin him on infusions of a drug called Rituxan.  Then, approximately four to six weeks after the infusions, he will resume his steroid taper.  The hope is that the Rituxan will allow him to wean off of steroids completely, or at least allow him to stay on a very low dose.  They've warned us that it could be some time before we find the particular pharmaceutical cocktail that will work best for him. 

This round of tapering will take approximately one year, as they want him to do it much more slowly than before.  Apparently, coming off of them after long-term use can be tricky.  All of this, of course, depends on how well he tolerates the changes.  It reminds us of the time that Calvin asked his dad how they determine the weight limit on bridges, only we have do to it with Andy's body!  Wish him luck!




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