This past Saturday (July 18), I had my first Skyrizi home infusion, and overall, it went much better than I expected.
I was really impressed with my infusion nurse. She arrived with the medication that had been shipped by my specialty pharmacy, opened all of the boxes, and got everything set up—including a fold-up IV pole that came with the shipment. Before long, we were ready to begin.
Finding a vein turned out to be the most challenging part of the visit. She first tried my arm but ultimately decided to use a vein in my hand. I’ll come back to that in a minute.
The infusion itself took about 1 hour and 40 minutes. My nurse mentioned that the IV catheter they sent was smaller than what she normally uses, which meant she had to run the infusion more slowly. Before next month’s infusion, I plan to contact my specialty pharmacy and ask if they can send the larger gauge catheter instead.
Like most people facing a new treatment, I was nervous going into it. Thankfully, my nurse quickly put me at ease. She was easy to talk to, and we spent much of the infusion chatting while I worked on some programming for my internet radio station, 90s Plus Radio. Having something to focus on made the time pass much faster.
Now, back to my hand.
After the infusion was finished, the nurse removed the IV, and I went to the bathroom. When I came back, the veins on the back of my hand were noticeably swollen. Neither of us was quite sure why, so she stayed for the required 30-minute observation period and kept a close eye on it. Thankfully, the swelling had already gone down quite a bit before she left.
A few days later, I received a follow-up call from my Skyrizi nurse, and I told her what had happened. By then, my hand had become sore, and a large bruise had appeared. I’m not sure why it took more than a day for the bruising to show up, but that’s how it happened. Fortunately, it has been improving a little each day.
I also seem to have developed what feels like a mild cold, which can be a side effect of Skyrizi. So this hasn’t been my greatest week, but I’m grateful that I haven’t experienced any of the more serious side effects that can occur.
Overall, I’d still call the experience a success.
For my next infusion, I’d like my nurse to spend a little more time trying to find a vein in my arms before using my hand again. She did try my right arm the first time but didn’t want to stick me too many times, which I really appreciated. That said, after dealing with a sore hand for nearly a week, I think I’d rather have a couple of extra pokes if it means avoiding another hand IV.
Speaking of my hand, it’s feeling better today, but I’m going to stop typing before I overdo it.
So that’s one home infusion down and two more to go! My next infusion is scheduled for mid-August, and I’ll be sure to keep you updated on how it goes.
Thanks for following along on this journey. If you’d like to keep up with everything I’m working on, you can find me on social media at 90s Plus Radio on Instagram and Facebook.
And while you’re here, why not enjoy some great music from the 90s? Just use the player below, or listen to 90s Plus Radio on the Live365 app.
Until next time,
Rich