Month 1
July 31 - August 27



July 31~Aug 6~  Well since we went from Intron alone on the 29th of July straight into the Rebetron, I didn't feel any different side effect~wise. The Intron I get now is already premixed and I did notice it seems to burn or sting a bit after it goes in. The needles are only 27 g. and they seem so huge too! I did notice that the diarrhea seems to be pretty strong this week, but other than that nothing is different.
 

Aug 7~Aug13~ This Intron BURNS! I find myself pulling back when trying to inject because of the burning. It also stings for about 15 minutes after each shot. I may have Larry start giving me the shots again. Its easier to lay on the bed and have the doggies lick my face while he sticks me!  I take 5 Ribavarin capsules every day. I'm on 1000 mg daily. I don't take them all at once, but 3 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. They seem to 'wire' me a bit and I am having trouble sleeping again. I seem to wake in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep for a couple of hours. It seems that the Wednesday shot does this to me the most. (I'm not sure if its the shot or the pills, though.) My appetite is still pretty much on vacation, but the weight loss has slowed down quite a bit.
 

Aug 14~Aug 20~  I am alot more tired this week. It seems like just going downstairs wears me out. And I can't seem to get enough sleep no matter how many times I take a nap. I just don't have the energy to do much of anything. My WBC's aren't going low but my Platelets are. They went down to 48 but came back up to 51 this week. Guess the Doc won't stop treatment or lower the dosage yet. I've gotten to where I hardly eat any red meat at all anymore. It seems to just cause my liver to hurt so I'm turning to chicken and fish (yuck) more and more. Of course the puppy knocked my plate on the floor on fish nite so that was ruined! (oh well!) I wasn't all that hungry anyway. (And no, the puppy didn't eat the fish either!) I have noticed my back aches alot more since starting the Rebetron also.
I can't get back in to see the Dr until the Insurance Company gets their heads out of their rears. Its a huge mess. My PCP's Medical Group went bankrupt. They had to change me to a new group...with the same PCP. So now I need a new auth. from the Ins to go back to my Gastro. AND...the bloodwork we have done EVERY WEEK since starting Rebetron has been done at the wrong lab. Now we need a retroactive authorization for that lab!  Life is a Beach!!
 

Aug 21~Aug 27~ I am more and more tired. I also find my mental abilities are getting worse. Concentrating for any length of time is more difficult and my short term memory is worse. Its so frustrating not remembering simple things.
I seem to have leveled off at 120 pounds and haven't lost anymore lately, which is a good thing. I still don't eat much, but my appetite is better than when I first started on Intron. My hair is still falling out by the handful. I'm at the point where I don't even want to wash it because so much comes out. I cry every time I wash my hair these days. I got a wig, but just am not ready to wear it all the time. Soon I won't have any choice.
The Dr is going to check my CBC's every 2 weeks now for the next month. Anemia is a big concern but so far so good. The newest note on my 8/20 bloodwork said, "Due to presence of FIBRIN CLOTS, WBC & Platelet values may be falsely decreased." I have no clue what that means and the Dr pretty much said not to worry about it. (I hate that phrase!)
 


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