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.
So I finally got into the Gilead Study and stated TX the Tuesday after Thanksgiving making for a really crappy Christmas and even more crappy New Years... But hey, I'm on treatment... This morning I took shot 7 which to my understanding that means week 6... My pills consist of 8 in the morning and 6 at night and the shot on Tuesday... My life seems like one big blob of a day, the only thing that I can remember seems to be to take my drug store every day... The sides that I have experienced are all different from week to week but the most common is hair thinning, not so much loss just thinning at the moment. Body aches, I feel that my skin hurts and if someone touches me they are putting their life in danger,lol...Oh and the rash at the injection site, really pretty, I am just glad that it's not summer, well who am I kidding I can't wear a bikini anyway... So I take 2 investigational meds and riba and interferon I think, if I got into the 1 arm of the study if not I take placebos and the riba and interferon, either way I'm getting treatment!!! The only thing that sucks is that I am kept blind to all of the bloodwork and have no idea what my vl is. I was told my the DR that I would be kept blind until around week 14. I am kinda excited because it seems to be going fast so far, I know I have a long way to go but dang, week 6 already!!! I can't remember half of my life from Thanksgiving till now but I think it has been good, my kids prob could tell you more than me! My only regret is that my kids are so small and I am doing this TX as a single mother and it takes away from their childhood! I can do anything for 11 months, that's the only thing that is getting me thru this!!!
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I gave my 2 week notice last Friday 13th. Now to join you fine people in a life of leisure and nothing else to do but to look out for myself....is it just me or does that sound pretty boring? My goal was to live to retire and I guess having to take early retirement because of health reasons wasn't exactly the way I had planned things. I just can't stay in that building that is reeking mildew...
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I'm trying to exercise daily. I was doing fairly well until I sprained my ankle 2 weeks ago but now I'm getting back on the horse. Today I walked over a mile with my arm weights that are about 22lbs total. I was out of shape and it was hard on my arms. I also did my 30 situps. I'm also going to drink a lot of water and try to eat healthy. I do tend to have a sweet tooth but I'm cutting...
There are so many new and exciting drugs to combine with riba/peg.
I found hot weather wiped me right out (and I love the sun).
Keep us posted on how you make out!
ps
maybe you can get another Dr. to do a viral load test for you on the side ...shhhh! :)
I will try again. I hope your new Rx is the key to success!
At this year's AASLD, an early, 28-day study combining two oral drugs from Gilead's labs didn't yield promising results, but when those same drugs were combined with either ribavirin alone or in a quadruple combination wth ribavirin and interferon, the antiviral response was much more robust. In the quad combination, 93% of patients had undetectable viral levels after 28 days.