[Tommy Daniels]

I was diagnosed with MDS of the RARS variety in 2005. Though I am not -5q in Dec12 my oncologist suggested I may benefit from Revlimid.

After taking the stuff for about a week I came down with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. In recent years I've had a propensity for Hives for which I take Allegra daily. My allergy doc who was previously an Internist opined that with a Hives history I was not a good candidate for Revlimid therapy.

If your oncologist suggests Revlimid and you too have a Hives history, be sure and tell him about it. If he discounts it, consult with an Allergy doc before going further.

You do not want Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. I was lucky to recover from it and that it did not progress into the worse form which is TENS (toxic epidermal necrolysis).

In the run-up prior to trying Revlimid, apparently due to FDA requirements for that drug, I had to go through a very thorough interview with the company that makes it. I don't recall if they asked about a Hives history but if so I told them about mine because I gave them every morsel of my med history. Strangely the company did no follow-up with me to find out how it worked, or if there was a bad reaction. Wanting to get the latter on record, I went to the FDA website but couldn't find a way to register my bad experience with it.