Starting treatment

[Jsceltic67]

I'm starting treatment today for CCL.The treatment is called Rituximam,has anyone out there had the treatment,I would like to here from you.Thanks John.

[GMa27]

I had FCR....make sure the rituxin is administered over at least 4 hours. Very slow. I had a port which saved veins & kept my hands free. They give you great premeds to help with any issues. You are in good hands. 💕🙏

[CCgroup in reply to GMa27]

Welcome to our group.

I had Rituximab infusions which contained another couple of other ingredients as my first treatment after being diagnosed with CLL. They took a few hours each. Once I started on Ibrutinib the results against lymph nodes were so amazing the infusions were stopped and I just took the pills. After almost 5 years I'm leading a normal life.

Dan

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

We have nearly 3,000 posts mentioning rituximab (Mabthera/Rituxan) treatment. It's generally given in combination with another treatment drug or drugs.

Neil

[lankisterguy Volunteer]

Hi Jsceltic67,

I had rituximab / Rituxan (aka Mabthera) infusions in 2010 for my CLL, but as many others have found, it gave me a short remission and is rarely used alone to treat CLL now days.

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In most cases it is combined with another pill type drug like venetoclax / Venclexta (aka Venclyxto) or one of the BTKi drugs like ibrutinib / Imbruvica, acalabrutinib / Calquence, or zanubrutinib / Brukinsa

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There is also a more effective infusion than Rituxan called obinutuzumab / Gazyva that is used more often, but again mostly in combination with a pill type drug that is taken for 1 to 2 years and the combination gives much longer remissions than 6 or 8 infusions over 2 months alone.

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Len

[Senecio]

Hello John,

I was treated with Rituximab (together with Cyclophosphamide and Fludarabine - FCR) in 2017. Seven years after, I am still in (partial) remission. NO other drugs needed in those years of remission. I am likely to need further treatment in the next year or so.

Rituximab itself was not a nasty treatment, although I did develop an allergic reaction during the first day - they just spread it over two days and all went well. The other two drugs however, were not pleasant.

Good luck,

John

[Jsceltic67 in reply to Senecio]

Thank you very much for the information,really appreciate it,as you know your mind is all in bits.Thanks John.

[LeoPa]

I know it's a typo but CCL made me laugh. Caribbean Cruise lines came into mind 😀.

[Floxxy]

I had FCR as a first line treatment in 2019. I'm now 18 months in to my second line treatment of venetoclax and Rituximab. I had Rituximab infusions once a month for 6 months. The only side effect I had was fatigue. I hope all goes well for you. X

[W00dfin]

My WW ended with hospitalization for sepsis and FCR in 2011. I am fuzzy on the order of the 3 infusions. The first one in a huge IV bag triggered rigors, uncontrollable full body tremors. Since I was still in hospital the doctor ordered an extremely slow drip which took 24+ hours. Since you didn’t report a significant illness, you should not require this procedure. I would still support Gma27’s recommendation for a slow drip as a precaution.

My remission lasted 5 years. May yours be at least as long!

[Canuck901]

rituximab with venetoclax is a very good combo , obinituzimab and venetoclax is better but. not offerred everywhere yet

either of those 2 are very good protocols