I Got the “All Clear” for the ALZI Trial

I received a call this afternoon from the trial representative at the hospital that I passed the last step to being on the trial: being sick. Well, I ain’t that sick (yes, as my “former Dean of the English department” professor tells us in my level 4000 grammar class, that is gramatically correct), but I did test positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fell within all of the other criteria.

She is faxing in my paperwork and I should be called in to Tampa General Hospital (TGH) for my orientation with the meds and my new Pari eFlow aerosol machine. I have the old version (pictured in the battery-operated configuration), which works wonders to disperse the medication in 3 minutes rather than the traditional 15-30 minutes. This new one is supposed to work even better, though I’m not sure yet if it is supposed to be faster or more effective or both. The trial is also somewhat a trial for the new machine, since it is not available for the general public yet.

I got my TOBI meds on Tuesday and I can already feel the difference using something targeting my problem, so I can’t wait for the ALZI to go to town on my gunk.

Big Trial for Cystic Fibrosis – and I’m in It!

The FDA is saying that they need more data to clear the use of ALZI (Aztreonam Lysine for Inhalation), which holds great promise for all of us suffering from the ravages of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, which I’ve pretty much had my whole life. It’s the cause of multiple sinus infections, monthly sinus maintenance visits, and pretty much the only cause of IV treatments any time I get bad enough to need them.

It’s darn near invincible and causes permanent scarring and other tissue damage to the lungs, and it has become resistant to all but two major antibiotics the doctors put me on. I’ve never been on Aztreonam that I know of, so it should darn near eradicate my ongoing infection.

According to my friend, Aspen, over at Salty and Sweet, Aztreonam is one of the few IV antibiotics that still work for her, so she’s eagerly awaiting it in aerosol form. Since I’m not on any trials now and meet all of the criteria, I’ll be starting the trial in a week or so. It is a medicine-guaranteed study since the FDA only needs data about its results at this point, so there will not be any placebo introduced into the study any more.

If this keeps me off IVs from this point on – more or less – then we’ll be a very happy family! I’m adding a new category to track these posts for you and keep everyone updated about my progress. Please visit Aspen’s site and consider donating because her insurance situation sucks. We did, and you can, too. $65 is an appropriate donation, but anything will help.