Hello! I wanted to write before this but thought I would wait until I had my 2 week check-up at the clinic. I went today for my 11:30 a.m. appointment. The first thing Carla said to me was "You look great!". That was very nice. I do definitely feel very, very good. I have to let you all know that I have had only the rash as the bad side effect. This rash started about 3 or 4 days after treatment started. It looked pretty red and a little bumpy and was itchy. It was taken care of by the hydrocortosone cream. Today Carla looked at my belly and said it looks very good. There is a slight redness in one spot but you can barely see that. I do not have any more itchiness. I believe I caught this at the right time and have control of it. Other than that, I have had no bad effects. It is true that I don't feel my normal self. I do feel a lot more tired and don't have nearly the energy I had. I am still able to get up every morning, get dressed and go about my normal day. I have even resumed my running on the treadmill. I ran 3 miles yesterday and I felt wonderful. I figured it would be safer to run on the treadmill at home, just in case I'm out on the road and can't go any further. I would rather be able to just get off the treadmill and sit down at home instead of waiting somewhere on the road for someone to pick me up and bring me home!!!!
Carla told me that everything looks very good. I had bloodwork done on October 10th and she had the results. The only thing was a slight drop in my white blood cells, but that was expected and is normal. I specifically asked her if everything was good and she said yes, she was very, very happy. Can you believe that???? She thinks she is happy....she has no idea how happy I am!!!!! My hope is that my good luck holds out for the duration of my treatment. I figure if I don't have any really bad side effects by now, I probably won't get any. It makes sense to me and that is all that matters!! Seriously though, I do take one day at a time and if I wake up tomorrow with some problems or anything out of the ordinary, I will deal with it. I had to go for more bloodwork after my appointment. Carla said that if there is anything going on with that, she will let me know. I don't expect to hear from her.
My next appointment is on November 1st. This will be my 4 week check-up and the most important one. This is when we find out if the treatment is working. I will have bloodwork done at this time and then Carla will call me to let me know. I figure once I get over that appointment, I have it made. I really can't even entertain the idea that the treatment is not working. That would mean that everything stops and I have to wait until new drugs hit the market, some time in the future. I do not accept that. I will not accept that. I only have positive thoughts and know that it will work. I am not totally insane, I do know that it is a possibility and a small (very, very small) part of me accepts that and will be able to deal with it, if it happens. I pray it doesn't.
The biggest problem for me with this treatment is the fact that I have to ingest a minimum of 20 grams of fat three times a day with my Incivek pills. My first week I was eating everything that I could find that was high in fat: ice cream, creme brulee, cheeses, almonds, trail mix, whipping cream with chocolate syrup, chocolate bars, potato chips, etc., etc. I knew that this was not good for me and most of the fat I was eating was the "bad" fat. It has taken me a while but I think I have it figured out, for the most part. For my 6:30 a.m. pills I eat a very big and fat-filled breakfast: granola, whole milk, two slices of flax bread toasted with butter and orange juice. This gives me a little over 20 grams of fat and I love breakfast. For my 3 p.m. pills and my 11 p.m. pills, I have decided to just drink 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and some crackers or bread. I am not very hungry at 3 p.m. and definitely not hungry at 11 p.m., especially for these high fat foods. The olive oil and the bread give me my required fat and it is easy to take. I just swallow it down. It does not fill me up and it is not completely brutal to taste!!!! So far this is working for me. I have not had any of the bad side effects that can be had if you don't take enough fat with Incivek: anal pain and itching.....ouch!!!! I will do whatever I am supposed to do to prevent that bad boy from happening to me!
Anyway, that is about it for now. I am living a pretty boring and uneventful life right now. I take my medication and eat and drink what I am supposed to. The good little patient. I am determined to beat this disease and knock it completely out of me. That is why they call me Believer.
Tonight is my injection night. This will be my third injection of the Peginterferon and I am becoming an old hand at it. I am not nervous and I actually look forward to it as I know it is one powerful drug that is pounding out this Hep C.
I hope everyone is well and enjoying our beautiful fall weather. The trees seem to be exceptionally gorgeous this year....not sure why but to me they look more beautiful than any other year. I hope you can get out and take in this beauty.
Bye for now and will write soon.
Love,
Believer
xoxoxox
