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IVIG

Messages
15
Hello,

My husband is super sick and we are trying to see if IVIG will help him. There's so much info and it's too difficult for me to do searches and go through it. Wondering if anyone can reply to this post with my questions:

1. What testing to do before IVIG? IGG, IGM, IGA? What am i looking for in these results?
2. What is the best brand of IVIG to use? Dosage?
3. Anything other info i should know or look into in relation to this?

Thanks!

Elena
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Hello,

My husband is super sick and we are trying to see if IVIG will help him. There's so much info and it's too difficult for me to do searches and go through it. Wondering if anyone can reply to this post with my questions:

1. What testing to do before IVIG? IGG, IGM, IGA? What am i looking for in these results?
2. What is the best brand of IVIG to use? Dosage?
3. Anything other info i should know or look into in relation to this?

Thanks!

Elena
What has your husband been diagnosed with at this point?

Yes, testing is for total IgG and subclasses 1-4. I also tested IgA because if this is low you will want to pick a product that has low IgA to avoid allergic reactions.

There are many types of products. Hizentra is the only subQ preparation at this point in the US but some of the IV products can also be infused subQ. The side effects are reportedly less subQ and you get better coverage - fewer peaks and valleys - with a weekly self infusion as opposed to a monthly hospital infusion.

The dosage varies depending on weight. It is usually best to start low and slow and then raise.

This is an excellent resource:

http://primaryimmune.org/

Here is good info as well focusing on Hizentra:

http://www.ptcommunity.com/ptjournal/fulltext/Profiler_Hizentra/Profiler_Hizentra.pdf

Ema
 
Messages
15
Thanks everyone for your replies. He has a PICC line so doing it IV form is no problem. I calculated dosages per his weight and it came up to be 80 grams? Sounds like a lot? I might have calculated it wrong!

Emma, he has CFS and lyme