Rash?

[Gradyboy]

Woke up this morning with a rash on the inside of my arm from elbow down. Small bumps a little bit itchy. Last Gazyva treatment was a week ago today and I am suppose to start my Venclexta tonight. I have an appointment this afternoon with oncologist. Has anyone else experienced this? Have been a bit itchy lately.

[Big_Dee]

Hello Gradyboy

I had rash with Rituximab first two infusions but have not had a rash with Gazyva so far. In both cases, my rash cleared up in week or week and a half. Best going forward and blessings.

[Gradyboy in reply to Big_Dee]

Thank you! I am hoping this won't delay my treatment.

[SofiaDeo]

Have you brought out winter bedding from storage? Changed laundry cleaners/softeners,or possibly added too much last wash? Do you use air freshers of any kind, especially ones sprayed on the bed or couch or car seats? Has the heat turned on recently without there being some sort of humidifier to offset dry air? Any chance you shower at night & somehow didn't rinse all the soap off? Take baths in a new type of bath oil or bath salt? Have you changed foods or other meds (especially topical skin lotions) at all? Do you have seasonal or pet allergies that could possibly have been triggered? Anywhere near a fire, or construction zone (ash or dust in air)?

It's possible the rash is from the Gazyva, but there are also lots of other potential skin irritants/allergens. And the more irritants/allergens you are exposed to, the more possible a reaction can be.

[Gradyboy]

I will have to think about all that. Thank you.

[SofiaDeo in reply to Gradyboy]

What did your doc say?

[Gradyboy in reply to SofiaDeo]

Well, by the time I got to the Dr at 3:30 it was gone. He said if you get a rash come see me and it will go away. LOL I may be over thinking every little thing right now. I am so new to this, and so worried all the time. I started the Venclexta last night. I feel like I'm just waiting for a reaction all the time. I don't know why I'm like this. I hope I can get my nerves in check soon.

[SofiaDeo in reply to Gradyboy]

Well, IMO hearing the words "cancer" and "leukemia" are words one has long associated with "life threatening". It takes a while for us to process the fact that *this* particular one happens to be *chronic*. We are in a state of shock, sometimes for an extended time. That was my experience, anyway. I knew "rationally" that this was chronic, not life threatening, yada yada yada, yet it took months before I could just go to sleep without crying every night. Especially since I needed treatment "sooner" rather than "later", I didn't have any kind of Watch and Wait period. Plus being told I had "bad markers". But fortunately for me, I happened to become ill at the beginning of the newer treatments, and had something other than a Bone Marrow Transplant to try. So even though there is some uncertainty, it's a "good" uncertainty, as we are part of the group who is changing the statistics for this disease for the better.

There's this thing called "Medical Student Syndrome" that most health care professionals go through at some point during their training. As they learn about the various diseases, many are convinced they see evidence of the various diseases within themselves. I think patients who are trying to learn about their disease state go theough something similar. As you try to educate yourself about the disease, and the drugs used, you start to view every symptom you get through this filter. So now that you are starting treatment and have read about the various possible side effects, you see these side effects everywhere. IMO this is only a bad thing if it totally consumes you with worry. Perhaps if you make notes/chart stuff like I do, this will help. I can see if something truly is trending, or it it's a one off like a rash that goes away within a day. And if it happens to be something that actually needs treating, I have great records to tell my doc of when it started, how I felt (itchy, pain, hot, etc.).

Hopefully being able to come here to ask questions & search through older posts will help control your nerves. And that you are able to more quickly get used to the diagnosis, and the angst surrounding it dies down.