posted
I did my first IV Vanco treatment at my hospital infusion center over a longer period of time than my prescribed time. If they do it slow, you have less of a reaction or chance of one.
I had taken Benadryl pills and Pepcid AC beforehand. They told me that you can have an allergic reaction in your GI tract, too. I tend to have reactions to everything, so we braced for the worse.
I was fine until like 20 minutes in. I started having the most intense itching in my scalp. I tried to hide it being the dumb person that I am, but things got progressively worse and hiding it became impossible. I was as red as a stop sign, as well. Generally, if you are JUST red, they are not too concerned, but they get antsy about itching.
They stopped the drip, and gave me IV benadryl. After about half an hour, the itching had stopped, and we resumed. I was bright red for the remainder of the dose, but it was tolerable. They said that liquid Benadryl is ideal to premedicate with. I think the thing that took the edge off for me was the IV Benadryl.
I pre-medicated before each dose after that. The Red Man Syndrome got less and less which was nice.
Essentially, towards the beginning of your Vanco treatment course, longer infusion times are better. When I was doing them at home at first, if I started itching at all or got too red, I would halt my infusion, give it a little time, and then restart without issues.
Best of luck!
-------------------- You name it, I've got it. Full-time medical anomaly. Posts: 432 | From Southeast | Registered: Aug 2011
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posted
I forgot to add that after the first 4-5 doses, I no longer had any red man syndrome.
I started off on 1 gram/2x day with no pulse. I increased to 1.5 grams/2x day. I had them in an elastomer. They were supposed to take 60-75min. On the 1 gram, it took closer to an hour and a half. They adjusted the rate for the other, and I got a bigger new port.
Sorry, but I can't recall how much saline it was with. I just remember that people said it was more saline than they normally do with it.
If you do elastomers, taking it out of the fridge and letting it warm greatly affects the rate.
I took Children's dye-free sugar-free Benadryl. I think it was 4 tsps.
-------------------- You name it, I've got it. Full-time medical anomaly. Posts: 432 | From Southeast | Registered: Aug 2011
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Yes, probiotics are a big must. If I am not mistaken, Vanco is one of the strongest antibiotics on the market, if not the strongest.
Ultra Flora and Florastor are good ones. I believe the best kind needs to be refrigerated. I am not really a probiotic expert, but maybe others will have more suggestions about that.
Are they planning on monitoring your blood levels on a weekly basis?
-------------------- You name it, I've got it. Full-time medical anomaly. Posts: 432 | From Southeast | Registered: Aug 2011
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I have a port, so I am not sure about the picc line issue. Although, I know that if you are taking any antibiotics, you HAVE to take probiotics. Some brands may be better than others with a picc (guessing it has to do with infection rate), but I have never heard that.
I have had GI issues before/during/after, but it wasn't related to the vanco. Of all the antibiotics I have been on, I felt like I had the least amount of symptoms and GI upset. I may have gotten a little nauseated randomly when I first started it, but it wasn't that bad.
You're welcome!
-------------------- You name it, I've got it. Full-time medical anomaly. Posts: 432 | From Southeast | Registered: Aug 2011
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Hi. My husband is on IV Vanco. The very first infusion, we went and sat in the hospital ER parking lot. I was a nervous wreck. But his LLMD had said 50 mg Benedryl pills. he took that 1 hour before. Then after he started the infusion he slept for hours. So he decided to try 25mg of Benedryl. That works great. He takes it one hour before every infusion. His Vanco comes from infuserve in small elastic pump bottles. They take 2 hours to infuse. That takes care of the Red Man Syndrome. They say the longer it takes, the less the chance of it. His Probiotics are Ultra Flora plus DF. 1 capsule 3x a day. His bottle of vanco says there is "250 ml" of saline. But like I said. His comes already mixed in the bottles. Good Luck. Feel free to PM me.
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