Hello All:
Well, I had my 4 week checkup yesterday at the Clinic. The hospital seemed to be extra busy that day and I'm not sure why....oh well. I did see Carla and she asked me how I was doing. I told her about the few sx (side effects) I was experiencing and she noted these. I am doing very well in that regard. My biggest complaint so far is the pain in my lower back. I do believe that I have it under control but it seems to be around pretty much every day. I do understand that it is the Interferon doing this and it is manageable with Advil and hot water bottle. My rash is all gone and the only other thing I have is the flu like feeling. I have this pretty much every day....usually late afternoon to mid evening. My mornings are almost all fantastic. I wake up every morning and I feel like I could handle anything! I honestly feel completely normal and since I have figured this out, I do a lot of my work in the morning. I do my laundry, ironing, vaccuuming and general cleaning all in the morning. By the time lunch comes around and 3 pm Incivek pill time, I am very, very tired and feeling flu like. Funny how that seems to be a pattern with me. Carla also told me how important naps are to me. I have to admit that I never did take any naps. Carla said that could be the reason why I start to feel bad late in the afternoon and evening.....I am exhausted. She told me to definitely have my "nappies"!!! She said that even if I lie down but don't actually sleep, that is better than not doing it. I took her advice, of course, and had my first nap yesterday afternoon. I came home and took my Incivek pills with the fat and then I laid down. This was at 3 p.m. I left a note for my husband when he came home from work to let him know where I was. He came in and woke me up at 5 p.m. I actually did sleep. I actually did feel better when I woke. I felt very well all evening. I guess Carla was right....ha, ha, ha. I will have a nap every day and see how that works for me. Obviously my body needs it otherwise I wouldn't have slept. It is true that I am so much more tired these days. My energy level is pretty low as my body fights this disease.
Carla also told me that my VL before treatment was 4.66, which is 45,708.81. This is very low but from what I understand, anything over 0 means you have Hep C in your blood and the actual amount is not that important. It is good to have a low VL, for sure, but what we really want is zero VL or UND.
After I left Carla I went to the blood collection and had my blood taken. I was told by Carla that she would not get the results until next Friday, November 9th. OMG....so long to have to wait. I can't believe I have to wait a whole week to find out something so important. I just have to be patient and be positive!!! After I had my bloodwork done, I went to the pharmacy and picked up my next month's supply of drugs. I must say how incredibly smooth this journey is going. My appointments with the Clinic, the bloodwork and the drugs are all going as they should. I don't have any complaints about any of this.
Tonight was my 5th needle injection of the Interferon. I have no problems giving myself this injection. It is simple and painless. I should also say that I don't seem to have any of the sx associated with the Interferon injection itself....which is very good.
So......now I just have to be patient and wait to hear the news from Carla. She promised that she would call me as soon as she has the information in her hands. I should also mention that Carla told me she had planned to take a vacation day next Friday, November 9th. She told me that she was going to cancel that and take it the next Friday. She was doing this so that I wouldn't have to wait until Monday to find out my results. Now.....that is what I call a wonderful Health Professional and a caring and compassionate person!!!! God love her.
Well....I don't have much else to say other than things are going very well. I'm going into my 5th week of treatment......they say time flies when you're having fun......Ha!!! I must admit, the time has gone by fairly quickly and I am counting down the weeks until I no longer have to take the Incivek. I only take that for the first 12 weeks and I can tell you that I will be one happy camper to end that. The 20 plus grams of fat three times a day is about the hardest thing I have to do regarding the drugs. Eight more weeks to go....Yah!!!!
I hope everybody has a great weekend....looks like we're headed for fair weather and cooler temperatures for the weekend. I am glad for that and am looking forward to getting out and doing a bit of yardwork. The leaves on the ground are unbelievable!!!!!
Bye for now and love to all....
Believer
xoxoxoxoxoxox