This is INVASIVE???? I thought he just sits in a chair and gets hooked up (kind of like dialysis). I guess I'm completely off the mark here.

I read up on this and it says it uses the plasma of 20,000 donors and their antibodies. Thats why it's so expensive.

Anybody know why Alan's protein is 65. Might it have something to do with the fact that his mom had GB. Every single doctor we have seen in 18 years have always said "nothing to do with your mom having GB". But then no one ever ordered a spinal tap on him either.

Dr. Goldfarb wants to up his cymbalta but told him to check with Dr. Fred the next visit so maybe Dr. Fred can lower his zoloft. Because I said "I don't believe he has to be on 100 of zoloft and 120 of the cymbalta, I am concerned about Serotonin Syndrome.

She said "I know you're concerned but don't worry, Dr. Fred will explain and perhaps he'll take him off the zoloft". I then asked her "Isn't it true that different anti-depressants affect different receptors in the brain"? She said "that's absolutely right".

Alan is just sitting there letting us have a discussion. He doesn't understand any of this. He just wants his PN to go away. I've explained that he has to get more knowledgeable about his condition and he says "Melody I go on the internet every nigh, I go on the boards and I read all the posts, just because I'm not the type to post, don't think I don't read any of them". He also looked up IVIG and was fascinated. He asked me a very good question and I'm going to throw it out to any of you who might know the answers.

Now we know that the 65 in his spinal fluid means he might have some auto-immune stuff going on right?? Alan has psoriasis which is auto-immune. Alan also has OCD (which he says he looked up and he said that too is auto-immune). Our son has aspergers (Alan also has lots of aspie traits but is nothing like our son). Alan looked up autism and it said that is auto-immune also.

So am I to understand that if Alan goes and gets this IVIG, (and if it does what it's supposed to do), that Alan's psoriasis will clear up, that some of his OCD tendencies will clear up and his aspie traits will clear up (that is if he is correct in what he wrote that these things are auto-immune related).

I find this whole IVIG thing where you have to stay in a hospital for 4 days while they hook you up and put plasma from 20,000 donors into your body, well I find this a little off putting but many of you had it and it HAS helped many of you so Alan is all gung ho.

But will it also fix his psoriasis? This is not stupid question. Psoriasis is auto-immune (at least that is what his dermatologist told him).

So if anybody knows if Alan will have a whole new immune system out of this (and come out with a better immune system), (wow, wouldn't that be something), I'd love to know this.

thanks
Melody