How it went
Did it last?
- 4 of 10 said the benefit wore off (including the 3 who relapsed).
- 3 of 10 needed to keep doing it to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 2 | 20% |
| Near-full | 1 | 10% |
| Substantial | 2 | 20% |
| Partial | 2 | 20% |
| Relapsed | 3 | 30% |
| No benefit | 0 | 0% |
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severe | 3 | 33% | |
| Very severe | 3 | 33% |
4 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention Rituximab, per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 184 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | 0 | 682 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 704 | 0.0 |
| 2012 | 38 | 1,491 | 25.5 |
| 2013 | 1 | 1,708 | 0.6 |
| 2014 | 68 | 2,352 | 28.9 |
| 2015 | 44 | 2,158 | 20.4 |
| 2016 | 5 | 1,431 | 3.5 |
| 2017 | 36 | 3,110 | 11.6 |
| 2018 | 5 | 2,201 | 2.3 |
| 2019 | 8 | 1,075 | 7.4 |
| 2020 | 19 | 2,581 | 7.4 |
| 2021 | 21 | 1,867 | 11.2 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1,166 | 3.4 |
| 2023 | 4 | 1,000 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 1,237 | 2.4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1,019 | 2.0 |
| 2026 (so far) | 0 | 840 | 0.0 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
All 10 accounts
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Björn recovered from severe ME with antivirals (valganciclovir, ritonavir and isentress)
Ran a long multi-drug protocol: valganciclovir at 450mg twice daily for a year then a lower maintenance dose for another 8 months, repeated after HHV-6 reactivated again; famciclovir 500mg three times daily for 6 months; gammaglobulin infusions every three…
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3-month IVIG experience
Did two years of IVIG (July 2016 to July 2018) at 82g per infusion cycle, run at a very slow infusion speed of 40 ("but it was the fastest that I could tolerate"), for autoimmunity, MCAS and dysautonomia that included years of muscle weakness and breathing…
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The Temporary Recovery Stories (Judith)
Commenter Judith described multiple remissions and relapses since childhood, including a Rituximab course that caused complications. She now manages with AHCC, magnesium, Plaquenil and colchicine, and describes the illness as progressive, each relapse…
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Rituxan Number Three, Some Improvement, Still Early to Tell
Previously bed- and wheelchair-bound with complex neuroimmune disease, EDS, PID, NK-cell deficiency and MCAS, she had two Rituximab infusions in November 2018 and a third by March 2019. By the 3-month mark she reported clearly improved muscle strength and…
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Step by step I took my life back. My life's big turnaround, I call it
She attended a four-day intensive program at what was then called Frihamnsenteret, now the Clinic for Stress Medicine, near Bergen, covering stress-system education, group and individual therapy, mindfulness and physical activity, and continued mindfulness…
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Norwegian Rituximab Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Trial Fails
Credits rituximab. An unnamed patient had ME/CFS and is described as fully recovered. Index Hodgkin's patient: CFS vanished on rituximab; trials later failed.
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Still doing great since Rituxan !
Self-described severe/very-severe ME, she followed the Norwegian Haukeland Rituximab schedule (1g infusions across day 0 through week 60). One month in she reported a mixed picture — some autoimmune-type symptoms improving, but cognitive impairment and…
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I had Rituxan and I feel amazing
Ill 33 years with feeding-tube dependence, orthostatic blood pressure of 58/42, bedbound autonomic dysfunction and photophobia, she received 4 weekly Rituximab infusions (375mg/m2) with methotrexate and steroid premedication at Stanford, finishing mid-March…
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My Rituximab experience with RA and ME
Completed a full course of 6 Rituximab infusions and got "only a few weeks of CFS/ME symptom remission" before it faded. In a later post about the same OMI-administered treatment she called it "not worth $40k," saying she has since done better with Dr.…
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GOOD things happening!! Am I a responder???
Ill 35 years and largely confined to the couch in a fetal position with severe pain, she had two Rituximab infusions two weeks apart (of a planned eight) and initially became "vertical a LOT more," with flu-like symptoms down 80%+ and able to dine out,…