Benlysta Vista

Hello my friends! I am officially the worst blogger ever, but am glad to be chatting with you again. It has been a very busy few months. Our annual event, Serving up Style, was a great success. We reached over 10,000 people and shared our new awareness campaign Voices of Lupus with many people, telling the stories of lupus patients. The gala was also a great success and we doubled both the amount of guests that attended and the amount of money raised. Over all, it's been a really fantastic few months even if it is a little busier than my normal life.

Yesterday I started my first infusion of Benlysta, the first approved drug for Lupus in over 52 years. The hardest part was finding a vein in this dehydrated body of mine, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. I got a little nauseous half way through, but ate a cookie and felt better almost instantly.

Today I have felt a little crummy. I definitely have a headache and am nauseated. As long as I nibble on something, the nausea seems to stay under control, but the headache is definitely the most annoying of my symptoms. They say it should only last a couple days and then you are good until your next infusion.

The way I understand how this drug works is that you have an IV drug treatment once every two weeks for the first month and then you only have to do it once a month after that. If it means no extra pills and that it may make the ups and downs of my disease better, than I figure it is definitely worth a shot.

I'll be sure to update you all as the week goes on as to how I am feeling but for now I hope that you are all well and having a pain-free day!!

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
~Lao Tzu