Hepatitis C Support Group
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.
Only 12 more days to go and just wanted to check in & thank everyone for your support.
I had a hitch in my giddyup occur on July 9th - old surgeries on my left foot have flared up, so will see a podiatrist this Thursday to see if I'll have to re-do them (left big toe (Hallux) has Rigidus, and the joint repair might have gone bad by now, almost 5 years later); and the arch tendon on same foot was replaced cuz it wore away from arthritis due to a birth defect (accessory navicular syndrome - inner ankle area I have a cap-bone, most don't have - so it looks like I have a knob sticking out below what we think of looks like our inner ankle)... so, that arch is KILLING me today.
At least I did make it finally to a new pain mgmt doc on the 16th while this foot was flaring up, so he approved me to stay on Soma and Norco until 3-8 weeks after treatment, but I promised I would be titrated off no later than October 1st. Now with this foot, we shall see if that's possible. I sure hope so!
Again, thank you all - I don't get on here that often cuz of other painful conditions (neck herniations & weak arms makes it hard to type much at times).... I hope to remember to check in after treatment a few times, but I can't offer a lot of support right now cuz I'm just dealing with too many other health issues. Thanks all for understanding.
I had a hitch in my giddyup occur on July 9th - old surgeries on my left foot have flared up, so will see a podiatrist this Thursday to see if I'll have to re-do them (left big toe (Hallux) has Rigidus, and the joint repair might have gone bad by now, almost 5 years later); and the arch tendon on same foot was replaced cuz it wore away from arthritis due to a birth defect (accessory navicular syndrome - inner ankle area I have a cap-bone, most don't have - so it looks like I have a knob sticking out below what we think of looks like our inner ankle)... so, that arch is KILLING me today.
At least I did make it finally to a new pain mgmt doc on the 16th while this foot was flaring up, so he approved me to stay on Soma and Norco until 3-8 weeks after treatment, but I promised I would be titrated off no later than October 1st. Now with this foot, we shall see if that's possible. I sure hope so!
Again, thank you all - I don't get on here that often cuz of other painful conditions (neck herniations & weak arms makes it hard to type much at times).... I hope to remember to check in after treatment a few times, but I can't offer a lot of support right now cuz I'm just dealing with too many other health issues. Thanks all for understanding.
I have a little over 2 weeks to go with mine. I have noticed some of my ailments are going away as if they were all hvc related.
Insomnia has been my biggest side effect from the Riba. I am hopeful the side effects will go away a few weeks after i stop taking it.
It took maybe a year after the 11 months of interfeuron and riba side effects went away.
That was 6 years ago. So glad these new drugs are free of all those sides.
I did the old inf/riba twice and it was so bad but so far Im having very few sides with sov/riba.. I have to do it for 24 weeks as I'm stage 4 cirrhosis and already got rid of HCC and CRC finished chemo 2013 .
I do eat "clean " and drink loads of water .everyone else says the first 2 weeks are the worse but I am at 2 weeks tommorrow and very little sides ?? on the inf I got worse and worse as tx went on??
thanks
I was scared back in the day of interferon + whatever, as I read the forum then and people were saying their pain was now worse, post tx ! ** to clarify , I am talking about the older treatments, not the new ones.**
my liver doc though , upon first consult with this, told me he does not think in my case the RA is not RA......because I have RA nodules etc.
speaking of long term foot problems........turns out I had been limping around for YEARS with a fractured foot because my RA pain and osteoarthritis pain , etc, is so bad all my docs, including the RA one, said oh you have arthritis, that is why your foot hurts ! even some had ordered xrays and missed it. thank goodness for the podiatrist that took xray and read it and said you have an old broken bone and it is very noticeable......he has no explanation for why no other doc knew that. anyway , I am long winded. Sorry. I am thrilled for you both to be ready to be rid of this !
I just got off phone with Specialty Pharmacist at BioPlus. He said the Ribavirin has a long half-life, so to continue being careful not to get too much sun exposure for 7-10 days post Tx. He told me to wait 3-5 days post Tx to start titrating down off Soma & Norco. He also said, depending on the severity of one's other health issues, it is hard to give a definitive answer as to when the body aches & pains dissipate. For me, I've seen some improvement, but due to herniations, I will always have referred nerve pain (even with spinal cord stimulators, which only help with about 60-70% of that pain in both low back & neck).
I see a Podiatrist on Aug 9th (was supposed to go today, but we had a heat wave here for 2 days with 98-104 temps (no A/C, as I live on the Coast in Oregon, so we don't need A/C most of the time), and they're having a 107-109 degree day today over in the part of the State where my Podiatrist is, so I had to reschedule to a day that hopefully won't be above 93. But will still have to be very careful of sun exposure, as I developed quite the "chicken skin" rash & horrid internal itching on arms & legs, both areas that got too much sun; I now have skin that looks so brown, and have no idea if that will be reduced post Tx.
So, all-in-all, eating "clean" & staying hydrated, as Jansumner pointed out, is very important. I can always tell when I'm not drinking enough water, not due to headaches (as I rarely get them, & have only gotten about 3-5 during the past 10 1/2 weeks on Sovaldi/Riba), but my lips start feeling very parched and enlarged. I do eat meat, more fish during Tx, which I plan to continue, but I cook 90% of my meals at home, keep frozen around just in case I'm too tired/exhausted to cook, or get ready-made salads at the deli counter, then save the ingredient lists from the ones I like & make those at home later without all the excess preservatives & salt, etc.
Thanks for your encouragement in all this. It's been a real blessing!
My daughter is leaving for vacation Portland Oregon & I won't even tell her about the heat - she hates it.......not that familiar with Oregon.
I have similar back issues and RA - it takes time...It is a very slow, slow process and then if you are anything like me, you will do something too soon and my body was not ready for it yet.
The main thing is after the Riba and Sovaldi left my system (I did 24 weeks), it did take me about 6 months to clear these meds.
Well 6 months in & then 6 months clearing out.
I am slowly weaning myself off meds - very slowly. It is easier on me this way. You will see a difference.
I found that I got sick with colds/chest infections (even pneumonia) which I never had in my life....It takes a while for your body to bounce back, but once you stop the treatment meds, that alone feels so, so good.
God Bless
I have 11 out of the 24 days to go.
I am hanging on with Gods help to get me through this.
I hope all of you will hold on and keep it up for this short period. The outcome will be soo worth it.