Hello Everyone:
Well.....it is now just after 3 p.m. I am home from my appointment at the clinic and have now officially started my treatment for Hep C. Wow...I can't believe it is here. My appointment went so well. My nurse-practioner, Carla, is so great. She went over everything that I need to know and she helped me with my first injection. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I have to inject in my belly where there is some fat. I thought it would hurt but Carla said fat doesn't feel pain....she was right...no pain. I had to pick up all my meds at the Shopper's Drug Mart in the hospital and go up to the clinic. Carla has done up a nice little sheet of paper with the names of the drugs, when I should take them and with what (regular food or high fat food). The two pills of Incivek must be taken every 8 hours and with fatty food...20 grams. That is a lot of fat. I am also taking Ribavirin pills and they need to be taken with just regular food. My injection of Pegasys is done once a week. I have been told to do this closer to bed time so that if there are any side effects, I can sleep through most of them. There are so many drugs!!!!! I have been given enough for one month and believe me, it looks like they could last me a year..... I'm not used to this at all. Anyway, Carla said that I may feel like I have the flu tonight around supper time or so, from the injection of Pegasys. Right now, I have absolutely no symptoms at all. I feel totally normal, perhaps a bit happier and more content, and that is probably just the relief of this being started and the good feeling that I am now in the real battle with this enemy!!!! I took my two (2) pills of Incivek at 3 p.m. Here is what I ate just before taking those pills: a peanut butter and banana sandwich, a bag of Cheezies and a small dish of almonds. All this with a glass of whole milk. This is definitely a lunch I haven't eaten in a long, long time. Normally I check food out to make sure it is LOW in fat and now I check to make sure it is HIGH in fat. What a change!!!!!
I am also taking one 5 mg pill of Folic Acid every day. This should help my body deal with what the other drugs will be doing to it. There is so much I have to read and look up on the internet. I have also been told to drink lots of water while on treatment. This is not a problem as I'm used to drinkiing lots of water. I have also been told to drink some coconut water as I will need the electrolytes.
I will be taking my next two pills of Incivek at 11 p.m. tonight. Again, I have to take with fatty food. I stopped at Sobey's on my way home from the clinic and picked up a bunch of stuff I can eat with these pills. I have some really nice looking Red Velvet cupcakes with frosting and I think I will have one of those for those pills. Now....doesn't that sound great???? I mean how many times are you going to get your doctor / nurse-practitioner to tell you to eat lots of fatty foods???? It is like a dream come true, really. I suppose I am just kind of giddy wih everything that is happening today....I should calm down over the next while and get into my routine; but today, I am celebrating my start to a cure and a healthy life!!!! I'm sure things will change for me over the next while and I might not be feeling so "chipper", but I will deal with that if and when it happens.
So....just to sum things up: Today is my first day of triple therapy treatment for Hep C. I am on Pegasys injection once a week, Ribavirin pills, 2 in the morning with breakfast and 3 at supper time with food. I am also taking Incivek, 2 pills at 7 a.m. with fatty food, 2 pills at 3 p.m. with fatty food and 2 pills at 11 p.m. with fatty food. Whew.....that's a lot of drugs!!!!! No problem though; I don't care how much I have to take or what I have to do in order to beat this Hep C and be CURED. The great thing is that they will be able to tell me if it is going to work after 4 weeks. That is good because you don't have to wait the full amount of time and it will make taking these drugs so much easier, knowing that they are working and I will be cured.
Anyway, I guess I will say bye for now but since my treatment has begun and each day will bring something new and exciting to my life, I will be writing a lot more in the next while. I expect I will write something tomorrow and let you all know how I made out this evening. I am expecting to feel something from the Pegasys injection....just not sure what and how it will feel. I will let you all know.
Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned for more exciting news to come!!!!!
Love,
Believer xox
You have a great article there and my wish for you is that the rest of your blog articles will be as pain free as this one. 
