Finding the right VYVGART dosing cycle for me

Doug was diagnosed with anti-AChR antibody positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) in 2017 and started on VYVGART for intravenous (IV) infusion in 2022. In this guest post, he talks about his personalized VYVGART dosing schedule—and how symptom tracking helps determine his breaks between treatment cycles.

Doug
Started on VYVGART for IV infusion in 2022

Doug is a paid spokesperson of argenx.

I grew up on a family farm, and that’s where my strong work ethic came from. I was used to having chores to do at dawn before school every day, and I carried that with me into my dual careers in nursing and the Army Reserves. I chose this path because of my lifelong determination to work hard, be responsible for myself and for others, and keep up an active lifestyle.

This began to change in 2017 when I started having difficulty chewing and trouble with my vision. These symptoms are what led to my diagnosis of gMG a few months later. I began seeing a neurologist, and I tried a few treatments before landing on VYVGART for IV infusion. Before I got started, my doctor let me know that the most common side effects are respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection. Part of getting started with VYVGART was understanding how dosing works and working with my doctor to figure out how long my personalized break would be before my next cycle.

Doug Doug Doug

For readers who may not know, here’s how dosing works for VYVGART for IV infusion: For each treatment cycle, you’ll receive 4 treatments—1 treatment each week for 4 weeks in a row. After that, you take a break of at least 4 weeks before starting your next treatment cycle. You and your doctor work together to keep track of your symptoms. When they start to return, it’s time to talk to your doctor about starting your next cycle.*


“Symptom tracking helps your doctor determine when to start your next treatment cycle.”


I like that the break between VYVGART treatment cycles can be personalized to me. Right now, I’m on a quarterly schedule, which means that after each 4-week treatment cycle, I have a break of about 8 weeks, which my doctor may adjust based on my symptoms and side effects. But, of course, everyone’s symptoms are different, and different people may need different lengths of time between treatment cycles. Sometimes, a break may be a set amount of time like mine, and sometimes it may vary instead.

One of the things that’s really helped me is tracking my symptoms with the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) scale. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a scale where you rate your gMG symptoms based on how you’re feeling. There are 8 common signs and symptoms on the scale, and you put a score to each. If you’re not experiencing a particular symptom at all, it’s a 0. When a symptom is at its most severe, it’s a 3.

Doug Doug Doug
Doug Doug Doug

I track my own MG-ADL score once a week. By looking at my scores, I get a better sense of how I’m doing with my gMG management and personalized breaks between treatment cycles. I also think it’s important to share this information with my doctor. That’s because symptom tracking helps your doctor determine when to start your next treatment cycle.

Right now, my treatment cycles are on a consistent schedule. But if my symptoms were to start flaring up during my break between treatment cycles, my MG-ADL score would also help me spot that. I’d be able to see my scores starting to go up and use those scores to talk to my doctor about planning my next treatment cycle—and maybe even adjusting my breaks between treatment cycles as needed in the future.

Want to find your own MG-ADL symptom score?

Overall, I feel good about how my VYVGART cycles have been working. My treatment cycle is flexible enough that I can always schedule my infusion appointments for Wednesdays. That’s my “me” day, and I like knowing that I can plan my treatments around the other things happening in my life.

With VYVGART, I have been able to manage my gMG symptoms well. As I get older, my hope is to keep doing some of the things that I love. And with personalized breaks between treatment cycles, I know I’ll have options if my symptoms ever start showing up more frequently between cycles.


*Your neurologist will work with you to help determine when you need another treatment cycle, if additional cycles are needed, with the aim to help manage your symptoms. The safety of starting the next treatment cycle sooner than 4 weeks from the last infusion of the previous treatment cycle has not been established.

AChR=acetylcholine receptor; gMG=generalized myasthenia gravis; IV=intravenous; MG-ADL=Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living

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Still have questions? Call 1-833-VYVGART (1-833-898-4278) to speak with an educator about gMG, how VYVGART works, study data, cost and coverage, and more.

Do not use VYVGART if you have a serious allergy to efgartigimod alfa or any of the other ingredients in VYVGART. Do not use VYVGART HYTRULO if you have a serious allergy to efgartigimod alfa, hyaluronidase, or any of the other ingredients in VYVGART HYTRULO. VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO can cause serious allergic reactions and a decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting.

VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO may cause serious side effects, including:

  • Infection. VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO may increase the risk of infection. The most common infections for efgartigimod alfa-fcab-treated patients were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. Signs or symptoms of an infection may include fever, chills, frequent and/or painful urination, cough, pain and blockage of nasal passages/sinus, wheezing, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, excess phlegm, nasal discharge, back pain, and/or chest pain.
  • Allergic Reactions (hypersensitivity reactions). VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO can cause allergic reactions such as rashes, swelling under the skin, and shortness of breath. Hives were also observed in patients treated with VYVGART HYTRULO. Serious allergic reactions, such as trouble breathing and decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting have been reported with efgartigimod alfa-fcab.
  • Infusion-Related Reactions. VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO can cause infusion-related reactions. The most frequent symptoms and signs reported with efgartigimod alfa-fcab were high blood pressure, chills, shivering, and chest, abdominal, and back pain.

Tell your doctor if you have signs or symptoms of an infection, allergic reaction, or infusion-related reaction. These can happen while you are receiving your VYVGART or VYVGART HYTRULO treatment or afterward. Your doctor may need to pause or stop your treatment. Contact your doctor immediately if you have signs or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction.

Before taking VYVGART or VYVGART HYTRULO, tell your doctor if you:

  • take any medicines, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, supplements, or herbal medicines,
  • have received or are scheduled to receive a vaccine (immunization), or
  • have any allergies or medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

What are the common side effects of VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO?

The most common side effects in efgartigimod-alfa-fcab-treated patients were respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection. Additional common side effects with VYVGART HYTRULO are injection site reactions, including rash, redness of the skin, itching sensation, bruising, pain, and hives.

These are not all the possible side effects of VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the US Food and Drug Administration at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What is VYVGART® (efgartigimod alfa-fcab) for intravenous (IV) infusion and what is VYVGART® HYTRULO (efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc) for subcutaneous injection?

VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO are both prescription medicines, each used to treat a condition called generalized myasthenia gravis, which causes muscles to tire and weaken easily throughout the body, in adults who are positive for antibodies directed toward a protein called acetylcholine receptor (anti-AChR antibody positive).

Please see the full Prescribing Information for VYVGART and the full Prescribing Information for VYVGART HYTRULO, and talk to your doctor.

Do not use VYVGART if you have a serious allergy to efgartigimod alfa or any of the other ingredients in VYVGART. Do not use VYVGART HYTRULO if you have a serious allergy to efgartigimod alfa, hyaluronidase, or any of the other ingredients in VYVGART HYTRULO. VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO can cause serious allergic reactions and a decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting.

VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO may cause serious side effects, including:

  • Infection. VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO may increase the risk of infection. The most common infections for efgartigimod alfa-fcab-treated patients were urinary tract and respiratory tract infections. Signs or symptoms of an infection may include fever, chills, frequent and/or painful urination, cough, pain and blockage of nasal passages/sinus, wheezing, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, excess phlegm, nasal discharge, back pain, and/or chest pain.
  • Allergic Reactions (hypersensitivity reactions). VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO can cause allergic reactions such as rashes, swelling under the skin, and shortness of breath. Hives were also observed in patients treated with VYVGART HYTRULO. Serious allergic reactions, such as trouble breathing and decrease in blood pressure leading to fainting have been reported with efgartigimod alfa-fcab.
  • Infusion-Related Reactions. VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO can cause infusion-related reactions. The most frequent symptoms and signs reported with efgartigimod alfa-fcab were high blood pressure, chills, shivering, and chest, abdominal, and back pain.

Tell your doctor if you have signs or symptoms of an infection, allergic reaction, or infusion-related reaction. These can happen while you are receiving your VYVGART or VYVGART HYTRULO treatment or afterward. Your doctor may need to pause or stop your treatment. Contact your doctor immediately if you have signs or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction.

Before taking VYVGART or VYVGART HYTRULO, tell your doctor if you:

  • take any medicines, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, supplements, or herbal medicines,
  • have received or are scheduled to receive a vaccine (immunization), or
  • have any allergies or medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.

What are the common side effects of VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO?

The most common side effects in efgartigimod-alfa-fcab-treated patients were respiratory tract infection, headache, and urinary tract infection. Additional common side effects with VYVGART HYTRULO are injection site reactions, including rash, redness of the skin, itching sensation, bruising, pain, and hives.

These are not all the possible side effects of VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the US Food and Drug Administration at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What is VYVGART® (efgartigimod alfa-fcab) for intravenous (IV) infusion and what is VYVGART® HYTRULO (efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc) for subcutaneous injection?

VYVGART and VYVGART HYTRULO are both prescription medicines, each used to treat a condition called generalized myasthenia gravis, which causes muscles to tire and weaken easily throughout the body, in adults who are positive for antibodies directed toward a protein called acetylcholine receptor (anti-AChR antibody positive).

Please see the full Prescribing Information for VYVGART and the full Prescribing Information for VYVGART HYTRULO, and talk to your doctor.