Remicade #5 and a new rheumatologist

Last week I had my 5th Remicade infusion at my new Rheumatologist's office. The new doctor seemed quite compassionate and observant. After discussing how the last 400 mg infusion went, he determined that it would be in my best interest to increase the dosage to 500 mg this time. He is re-running all the standard rheumatology bloodwork (ANA, rheumatoid factor, ESR, etc.) as well as my normal CBC and liver functioning tests (thanks to Methotrexate).

When I went in to the doctor's office, I was using the cane. I walked out after the infusion without it. The infusion nurse and nurse's assistant were very sweet and the infusion room was rather large with very comfortable recliners (though they are difficult to get out of). They gave me the benadryl IV then the Remicade. In total, the infusion lasted about 1.5 to 2 hours. Not too bad. I went in around 1:30 and left at 4:15--that included new patient paperwork, vitals check, waiting for the doctor, seeing the doctor, and getting the infusion.

The bad:
The doctor's office is not easy to get to. It's located in an older part of town (on a hill). The disabled parking spaces are at ground level (lower side of the hill). The doctor's office is on the top floor (accessible from the second parking lot on the high side of the hill) with no access from the ground level. There are no disabled parking spaces in the second parking lot and no crosswalk between the parking lot and the office entrance. I parked in the disabled parking space, thinking it would be a reasonable distance from the office and have no stairs to traverse. Boy was I wrong! I ended up having to climb a flight of stairs to get to the office. At least next time I'll know. It still sucks. It really made me mad that day because I was in so much pain and that was just one more thing to make the day difficult.