Hello!
Well, today is January 24th and I am just completing my 16th week of treatment. I started on October 4th and did 12 weeks of Incivek with the Riba and Interferon. I am now just on the Riba and Interferon. Since the Incivek ended, I have had absolutely no side effects from the other drugs. I feel better today than I have in a long time. My biggest side effect from the Incivek was the constant severe nausea. I had that almost from the beginning and it never really went away the whole 12 weeks. I found it very hard and struggled through. Thank God it is over and I feel so great. I have no side effects whatsoever from the Riba and from the very first injection of the Interferon, I have had no side effects from that. I was told that I should feel like I have the flu and have chills, fever and just generally feel terrible. I never had that....not once. I think I am very lucky when it comes to this. Obviously, if I was really lucky, I wouldn't be on treatment at all....so I guess I'm a "little" lucky. LOL.
I had my visit to the Clinic this morning. This is my regular monthly visit. I get to talk about how I am feeling and how the drugs are affecting me. As you can imagine, I didn't have much to say. I told Carla how great I feel and that I have no problems at all. My bloodwork continues to be great and of course I am Undetected since Week 4. I know that I have already beaten the Hep-C....it is just a matter of continuing to bombard my body with the Riba and the Interferon...sort of as insurance to make sure that the virus does not rear it's ugly head ever again!!!!!
I was told that I would have the FibroScan in January. Well, it doesn't look like that is going to happen. I am very disappointed. I wanted to have that test this month, as promised. I need to have the test before my next visit to the Clinic on February 18th. This test will positively prove that I DO NOT have cirrhosis. My NP, Carla, insists that she will stick with her "presumed cirrhosis diagnosis", even though there is absolutely no reason why anybody would think I have cirrhosis. All you have to do is look at my bloodwork, my ultrasounds, my healthy body, etc., etc. It doesn't make sense and it isn't right. If I do not get the test before March 21st (my last day of treatment) Carla will insist that I do 48 weeks of treatment and not the 24 weeks. Ridiculous. I believe in my heart, soul and body and bones, that I do not have cirrhosis. I will not do 48 weeks of this treatment without positive proof of cirrhosis. I will not do it based on a presumption. I need to get the proof in my hands. If I cannot get this test done here soon, I will have to travel to Ontario and pay for the test myself. I will have to pay for the travel, the test and getting back here. I will do that if I have to. That is how much I believe that I do not have cirrhosis. The only way I will get Carla to agree to only 24 weeks of treatment is to have the paperwork showing I am right. How sad is that?
I am going to call the office of the doctor who promised to do the test first thing Monday morning. I will continue to call and "bug" them as long as it takes. If, for some reason, I do not get the test done here soon (before March) I will make the trip to Ontario and have the test done there myself. I hope I do not have to do that. We'll see.
Well, that is about it for now. As I said, I am feeling better than I have in a very long time. I feel as if I am not taking any drugs whatsoever. I am able to get out and walk (at a very brisk pace) for an hour every day. I have been going on the treadmill and actually running. I think that as soon as this cold snap goes away, I am going to get my running clothes on and start running outdoors. I know that the drugs are affecting my blood and that I do not have the same stamina and strength I had before treatment, but I believe that I should be able to run at a slower pace outside. I'm looking forward to that!!!!
I hope everybody is staying warm and cozy and that you are all doing well. My next appointment at the Clinic is February 18th. I hope to post a blog before that with the information on the FibroScan test. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I can get this test done very soon and that the results are exactly as I predict.
Thanks to all and stay healthy!!!!!
Believer