Quote:
Originally Posted by Riverwild
Are there others who have the same or a different experience and if so, can you let us know what happens with you?
I am rural and don't have the large infusion center experience that a lot of you have. I go to a 29 bed med center for mine. They have a lot of outpatient services. They do oncology, dialysis, PT, OT, Radiology, MRI/CT scans right there. They have a small surgery. They have an ED and access for the air ambulance to send to higher level trauma center. They serve a 400 square mile or so area, and provide services to outlying islands, clinics and wellness services.They are lean and mean and provide a LOT of services for a small center, and they are good for what they have available. I can go within 20 miles of home and get what I need. For most of what I need, I can go to the clinic at the end of my dirt road, that they also run!
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Wow RW, it sounds like they have a pretty good operation there for being a small rural center!
My experience is similar to yours except it's in the MS neuro's office. They infuse me in a little room with two recliners. We go through the questions and check all the paperwork. They give me the copies of the Tysabri pamphlet to take home with me. They check all of my vitals as well: temperature, pulse and blood pressure. Usually the doctor does a checkup as well.
We go into the infusion room and they start the bag of Tysabri by itself. They make sure I'm comfy and check up on me often. There's always somebody just outside the door, usually within view.
The Tysabri drip takes about an hour or so, then they switch to the saline and let it run for about 20 minutes, still checking up on me periodically. After the saline flush, they remove the IV and check all of my vitals again. Next, they give me the choice of resting in the infusion room or going out into the waiting room for the rest of the hour. Before I leave, they check me for skin rashes and make sure I'm feeling ok. It usually takes 2 1/2 - 3 hours for my appointment.