| Treatment |
| Treating Cryoglobulinemia involves treatment of various things. First and foremost, typing should be done to determine whether one has Type I, Mixed (Type II) or EMC (Essential). Some physicians do not think typing is important and choose to treat the symptoms right away. However, when one is dealing with the possibility of deadly disease such as multiple myeloma, typing should be done. The choice of therapy often depends on the severity of the disease involved. First and foremost, treatment should involve treating the underlying disease whether that be with chemotherapy or radiation (various cancers) or interferon (Hepatitis C). If the patient does not have any underlying disease, treatment often involves only the treating of symptoms---nonsteroidal antinflammatories for joint pain and swelling, possibly muscle relaxers for ongoing muscle pain and if the joint pain is severe, some physicians will also treat with a narcotic painkiller such as Darvocet or Tylenol #3 ( due to the risk of stomach bleeding and kidney damage, anti-inflammatories should only be taken with non-aspirin compounds such as Tylenol (acetaminophin)...never take other anti-inflammatories with prescribed inflammatories... this includes but is not limited to: Ibuprofren, Aleve, Naproxyn, Advil, Motrin, etc). In situations where kidney or nerve damage has occured, treatment is more aggressive and often involves high doses of corticosteroids (Prednisone), immunosuppressives and plasmapheresis. At this point, the outcome of the disease is difficult to know. Much depends on the underlying cause (such as cancer). |