Should I go for Rituxan Or IvIg

Hi Guys
I had my last treatment of Rituxan on may 2007 and I was doing very good with plt 250 to 350K till february 2011.On February 14th 2011 my plts dropped to 20k & I took prednisone for 2 wks( I was in back home at that time, so I had no other options).After the pred I was ok for few days & again on march 09, 2011 I had my blood work done & plt was 14k. So I had 2 shots of IvIg treatment(march 9th & 14th). After that i was doing good. But today april 04, 2011 it seems like my plt dropped again as I saw lots of rashes on my arms & legs.so going for blood work again
While I saw my hema she told me I could either take Rituxan ( that might give me a remission) Or I could go with IvIg (that might work for 21 days max). At this point I am unsure what should i take as I told u guys before that I was planning to get pregnant & with rituxan I had to stop thinking abt the pregnancy at least for 12 months after the treatment.I am really confused...and Frustated....
What's your opinion?
Thanks

February 14, 2011- 20k(treated with prednisone for 2 wks)
February 25, 2011- 989k
March 04, 2011 - 650k
March 07,2011 - 141k
March 08, 2011- 27k
March 09, 2011- 14 K (Treated with IvIg 1st shot)
March 14, 2011- Cbc was not done ( 2nd shot of IvIg)
March 22, 2011- 951K
March 29, 2011- 450 K
April 04, 2011- 6 K
April 05, 2011- 0k (1 shot of IvIg)

I know you're only looking for advice, but ultimately only you can choose. I don't know the side effects of Rituxan on a woman wanting to get pregnant, or one already there! And you know IVIg only works for a short while. How come those are your only 2 options?

Hi Server thanks for the reply. Actually I don't wanna take prednisone as i hate the side effects & I have to take it for long period...hate that Winroh never worked for me.My hema is not considering giving me Nplate yet...she was telling me about Danazol but she said I could get lots of acne as side effect ...anything with face I hate that ...so not gonna go with that either...So only IvIg & rituxan left

Well, if you're willing to wait a year after Rituxan to get pregnant, I'd consider that since you had such a nice remission last time. Either that or have frequent IVIG which would get old pretty fast. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks sandi. I have decided to go for rituxan. Yesterday I went to hospital & got a shot of IvIg.I signed the paper for Rituxan , it may take 3/4 wks to approve.In the mean time if plts drop again I will get Ivig.My platelet was 0 yesterday ...Hoping to get the rituxan soon & keeping the fingers crossd!

Good luck!

Just a quick question. Do you still have your spleen? My dr does not want to use Rituxan unless i get my spleen removed and that does not work. So I was just curious.

Shannon

Hi Shannon, I had my spleen removed on March 2007, it was unsuccessful though. My plt dropped within 7 days of my splenectomy. Then I was given Rituxan & was on remission for almost 4 yrs.

Thanks