Got some GREAT news today!!
I have now been put on a prophylactic treatment for my Hereditary Angioedema.
So now, twice a week, I will give myself a sub-cutaneous injection into my abdomen to help reduce the severity and frequency of swelling episodes. This morning I went in to learn how to give myself these injections.
I am already on Methotrexate so I am very familiar with the actual injection part of it, but this new medication is much different. There is more of a process to it and it takes longer to actually fully inject the substance. I have to mix it (in a very specific way, storing the medication in a specific way), get it into a syringe, attach the needle, inject, then push the medication in over about 30-60 seconds (and holy hell does it burn). But it is amazing and I am super thrilled.
It will not prevent me from swelling, but I will hopefully have fewer major swelling episodes and I should not have to go into the Emergency Department for laryngeal or intestinal swells quite as often. (In theory). If I still continue to have serious and potentially life-threatening swells on a regular basis, then I will need to go in and be taught how to administer my own IV infusions of the same product*.
We are EXTREMELY hopeful. While I was on Tranexamic Acid it seemed to help quite a bit with the frequency and severity of swells, so this should work even better. It would be SO nice to not always have one foot in the car ready to head to the ER.
The burning pain of this injection will be SO worth the result of it... and because I have already had this medication around 5 times prior to this, I have a good idea of how my body will respond.
The best news of all?
Since I had to be taught how to do it today, I also received my first treatment today. My throat and abdomen already feel better and it is only an hour after the injection.
#HappyDance
*The sub-q injection activates slowly and has almost a time-release feel to it. So I will not get instant relief that is quick and dramatic, but rather a slower relief that doesn't improve as intensely, but improves over time and also tapers over time - so it is a more level experience vs a rollercoaster type experience.