between a rock and a shit place

And speaking of crap gaps… This has been so long coming that I've actually had my first two half doses of Ocrevus by now. NEWS FLASH: I'm not dead.

In fact, each time I've had an infusion, I've tried to write a post. But for one reason or another, they've remained unpublished. So what scintillating titbits have ended up on the cutting room floor?

1. The support acts for the headliner Ocrevus (also known as the pre-meds) are a regular case of the old push-me-pull-you. Intravenous antihistamines knock you out, and then a dose of Steroids picks you up. And obviously, mean that sleep is hard to find that evening. Doesn't really explain how I managed to forget the main side-effect of steroids up until the night of my second half-dose, however…
2. People can be really annoying. Yes, even people with MS. We aren't all saints, y'know.
3. Related to this, noise-cancelling headphones are the greatest invention ever.
4. MS nurses are still great. At the end of the second infusion, one of them came up to me and asked me how I was feeling. Then she inquired about how I was going to be getting home. Then she said, "Before you go, I have one more serious question for you…" She nodded towards the remnants of the food I'd been snacking on.
   "I love those Nature Valley granola bars but I've never had one of the Peanut Butter ones. What are they like?"
   I answered with the seriousness this question required. "Game-changer. Total game-changer."
   

I'm not being paid for including this endorsement - but I'm open to offers

However…

You might remember that when I was diagnosed with COVID in October, I was getting ready to have my booster jab. And actually catching the damn thing put an end to that.

All throughout the period of my two Ocrevus doses, based on conversations I'd had with my Neuro and the MS Nurses, I'd been led to believe that I would have to wait until at least the end of December before I had my booster jab. 

I asked for clarification after my second dose and the nurse said that she would speak to my neuro and get back to me.

But I was totally unprepared when she called and told me that the earliest I could have my next vaccine shot was the end of March.

This is due to the way that Ocrevus works - it's one of yer classic Immuno-suppressors. And it's so good at it that, if I had a Covid vaccine, I wouldn't have much of an immune response to fight the infection and build up antibodies. 

Unsurprisingly, when the MS Nurse told me this, I said I wished that I'd stayed on Tysabri (an Immuno-modulator, if you remember). 

And all of this drama was before the Omnicron variant and BoJo's rapid vaccination roll-out. I've so far had three emails and at least two text messages from the NHS Covid response team inviting me to book my booster jab. It's pretty wearying, especially because we're trying to prepare for a normal Christmas, which - let's face it - it doesn't look like any of us are going to get.

So after basically shielding for all of 2020, and actually getting Covid, I'm in the same boat until the end of March 2022 at the earliest. 

And if by some miracle, Christmas 2021 isn't a total write-off, I'll need to be the ghost at the feast and - to the best of my ability - avoid seeing most of my family.

Weirdly, there's a Facebook group for people on Ocrevus. And EVERYONE has been told different things about when they can get their third vaccine / booster dose.

The most immediate repercussion of this is that I'm going to have to miss my grandmother's funeral next week - it's upsetting but I just can't take the risk.

I know that this sort of thing has been going on throughout the pandemic, but it doesn't make it any less of a shit business.