Tomorrows the D-Day For me

[Rain6866]

Hi all,

I finally got everything situated and I start tx tomorrow. I have an appt at 2:30 with my Docs nurse to give me the first shot and teach me how to give it. The one thing i dont know is when I do start taking the Riba pills? Do I do it in the morning tomorrow or wait until I get the shot and begin them tomorrow evening. I called the Docs office and had to leave a voicemail so I am waiting for someone to call me back but I would like to at least have a hint on how some of you did it. Im super nervous and I am stressed out of my mind. I just want to cry. It's like you dont know which way to turn and you keep going in a circle.

[portann]

Here's the Pegasys page with the injection videos. Scroll down and choose the video for the pre-filled syringe or vial, based on which you'll be using:

http://www.pegasys.com/injecting/how-to-inject-pegasys.aspx

Your nurse will probably give you a fancy package to take home tomorrow that will include your sharps container and an injection CD. She may even give you a pill box. If not, you should get one. It's been a lifesaver for me. I fill it once a week and then the box is the boss, telling me whether I've taken my pills on days I'm confused.

I just did my 42nd injection a minute ago and considering what a bundle of nerves I was about injecting for weeks and weeks, I'm now a pretty cool dude. You will be, too.

Good luck tomorrow.

[bandman54]

Don't sweat it... I was totally let down my first shot and hardly noticed a thing... it really was no biggie...

My sides tended to increase as got a few more weeks under my belt.   I guess it takes a while for the meds to saturate your system. .. a few weeks actually.

Just remember everything.  Don't assume anything.   Everything from insurance to lab results must be double and triple checked.

I am sure you have heard it all before, but everyone reacts differently.

Be sure they check your fasting glucose and fasting insuling before you treat so you can determine if you are insulin resistant or not.   They may not want to do this, but it is an inexpensive test and well worth it.  You should insist and if they are still reluctant there are plenty of studies here you can site.

And yes you will be able to drive home!

I did my shot every night at the exact same time and took one half a benydril about one hour before the shot... usually slept right thru the night.

There is an interesting poll on this site where people indicated what day they took their shots and which day(s) was their bad day.  It was quite revealing.

Once you get started it is a bad idea to change days, but my doc let me move it one day back and one day only.  So keep that in mind.

Remember - lots of water,plus your daily protein requirement, exercise (this was the hardest for me, but I always felt better after I did, even if it was just a walk around the hood.  And eat healthy!!!!  

It really is not that bad!  Some days are good and some really suck,  and you never know.   I can remember waking up feeling like **** some days and dragging myself to work, but once I got there and got into my work, I just kind of zoned out and felt fine.
You will do fine!

post often here as there are a LOT of people who can help!

bandman

[powerbuilt]

I like you was scared stiff of sticking a needle in my stomach for my 1 st shot.... When it was all over I was relieved, still get a little up thight doing my shots but nothing like the 1st . You will be fine,stay away from anything stressful and it will go by smoothly and Quickly..  Also eat well to keep your strenght up and lots of walking or bicycling or what ever you like and never look back ,you will do fine.....

[epiphiny]

Once you get that first shot done you'll feel a lot better!  I took my best friend with me to my first shot appointment, not just for support but also so that there was someone else there to hear what the doc/nurse said and so that she would be able to help me with my shot in the future if I couldn't handle it.  She also drove me there and back, however I didn't have any side effects till about 4 hours later....  As it turned out I could have done it all on my own and I never needed any help with my shot after that either but it was nice to have a friend with me...

It would be good to go home after so that you are in a nice safe environment, that will ease your anxiety.  Probably nothing will happen but it's that anticipation of what 'might' happen that I find quite unsettling

I would also suggest you take a couple of panadol (Tylenol) about 20 mins before the shot, and then a couple more about 4 hours after.  They are effective in lowering your body temp, and heading off any aches you might get.  

Everything else been covered already; water, rest, fat with riba, no fibre...  And remember that it's best to take your Riba 12 hours apart so that you build up a constant serum level in your blood, so that might guide you in what time you decide to take your first Riba tomorrow night.  If you take it at 6pm you'll need to take it next a 6am so pick what time works best for your schedule...

Just like Forrest Gump said: TX is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get!  

Good Luck and Welcome to the Merry-Go-Round!

Epi :)

[charm27]

Wanted to welcome you to the forum and wish you well with tx. I didnt feel anything till about week 5- No reaction at all from first shot. Eevryone reacts different to these meds so all you can do is take one day at a time. Try to DRINK LOTS of liquids , stay hydrated and try to rest as much as possible..pace yourself. As you get going  in tx you will see what you can and cannot do.

For me it wasnt an easy 55 weeks however doable....I moved very slowly due to low HGB. NOT EVERYONE has SEVERE sx, some find it easier than others.
Wish you well and keep us posted.
CHARM27

[jonney4141]

Hi Rain, congrats on starting, i know exactly how you feel, and it was useless for people to tell me not to worry, but i made myself stressed over nothing. my doc recommended that i take the 3 riba's the night before the shot. I gave myself the shot and felt nothing. i went back to work and around 3ish my stomach got a little funky, and when i got home i got some mild, mild flu like symptoms, but nothing to make me stay in bed or not do chores. i did sleep alot, but i guess that's good for us? so far i feel fine, except for some crazy itching going on, but i want this sickness out of me so i pray that it works. good luck and know that you are a winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bill1954]

There is generally a period of time before you experience any side effects; most of us don’t feel anything for hours… maybe five or six hours? And maybe nothing at all the first time, although I wouldn’t count on it. I’d feel very safe taking the initial injection, then driving home, as long as I was home within several hours.

Good luck, and congrats for getting things going--]

Bill

[GreatBird]

The shot usually takes 4-6 hours to hit. I had my first one around 11am and it hit around 4ish in the afternoon. Do be sure to take some Tylenol as a precautionary measure. I didn't have any and that was a mistake!

[Rain6866]

Thank you everyone. The nurse did call back and let me know to take the riba tomorrow night. As far as taking it on tuesday I have a method to my madness. First of all I work from home. I own an internet company. I have good people working for me so I dont have to worry too much. I chose tuesdays because of a few simple things. 1. Mondays are the most hectic workdays and I want to be able to do that weekly planning so tuesday days I can get the groceries in for the week, take the kids for doc appts etc.. then I allowed 3 days for the meds to hopefully wear off a bit and Ill have the weekend to spend with hubby and the kids.

One more question if you all dont mind.. When I get the shot.. will I be able to drive home? Or will it hit me immediatly and ill feel to weird for driving?

[Magnum]

Let the battle begin which will put you on a path to victory. Be thankful we live in this era and not 30, 50 or 100 years ago when there was no hope to eradicate this insidious enemy. You'll do fine. Relax, and know that with every shot, you are one shot closer to winning this battle.

Magnum

[Marc1955]

Unfortunately, you're likely going to have this feeling of going in circles and not getting enough help many times over the course of your treatment. It's a huge minority of us who feel our medical support team meets all our needs.

It is important to find people around you to help – a spouse or friend, someone in a support network, a nurse or pharmacist so that you don't have to make all the calls and handle everything yourself. We all do need help. And, of course, lean on this group. That's what it's here for.

Try to relax, go with the flow, and not get too bottled up. If the weather is nice and you've got some free time go for a long walk or run. Things will work out fine.

(And btw, iI can't imagine that whether you take the riba the morning of, or night after, the interferon is going to determine the success of the treatment. So whatever.)

[JTRiver]

Do the shot on whatever day works for you it's obviously tomorrow. I work six days a week and I still choose to take my shots on Monday's for a couple of reasons mostly being I don't want it to screw up my weekends because those are the only things I look forward too. You never know how you will re act to treatment until you do it. I was scared to death and jumped in feet first. I take my 8th shot tonight and luckily no sx at all so far. You might be one of the lucky ones so stay positive! If you do have sx this is a good place to come because these people have been there. Good luck and welcome.

[skersj]

The anxiety before taking the 1st shot was worse than the shot itself for me. I think the anxiety helps one deal with it because afterward you will probably say that it wasn't as bad as you thought!

[portann]

Okay, don't hug your water, chug it. Sorry.

[portann]

Unless your nurse says otherwise, I'd take the first dose of riba in the morning, with food that has some fat in it but no fibre. It's no big deal but day one is day one, so you may as well have your full dosage so that, as Frances says in Bread and Jam for Frances, it all comes out even in the end with no jam left over.

And I'd start hugging' water throughout the day.  

The waiting is hard, whether it's waiting to start, waiting for test results, waiting to see the reaction. You feel like most of the rest of us.

Try to follow what your nurse says tomorrow but don't worry if you don't. My nurse gave me a CD with an interferon injection demo on it and it was fantastic. I think it's also online and I watched it for weeks during my injection until I felt confident enough. Now it's easy.

Keep everyone posted. It's a big turning point and you will do great.

Port

[annieCinMD]

I'm just curious why you are starting on a Tuesday, unless of course, you have a non-standard work week, or don't work.  Most people I know, myself included, schedule the Peg for Friday night so the worst of the sides, if you have them will fall on non work days. I think I sleep through the worst of mine, because I have been sleeping 10.5 hours on Friday night. I usually wake up early Saturday with a headache, and will take Motrin and go back to sleep until 10:30 or 11am.  My first shot was around 3pm because the study coordinator wanted to make sure I did the first shot right, and that is a good thing to have them be there when you do the first one. I would see if she can let you do it yourself with her watching. After all, you are going to have to do the rest of them by yourself! They will probably tell you how/when to take the Riba. I only took one dose the first day because it was later in the day.  She did ask if I ate beforehand. I did and it was a lot because I thought it was going to be my last supper!  I can still eat and may have to start watching that because I could end up gaining weight because I am not working out. I do have a fair amount of fatigue and get winded easily, but all in all, it has been tolerable. Good luck to you, there is a lot of kind people who will support you here.

[justme53]

I was told to start my Riba on the morning of my first shot. I scheduled mine around meal times to have food in my stomach AND, perhaps even more importantly for me, to take the pills on time !!  That and a pill box has saved me alot of grief.

Good luck on jumping into tx!  Pam

[meakea]

I remember the feelings you are having so very well but, as soon as you get the first shot out of the way, you will feel like a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders.

As far as the Riba, my doc's office wasn't very clear with me on that issue either.  I took my first shot at 1:00 p.m. at the doc's office and I wasn't told to start the Riba prior to that so I didn't.  I took my first Riba at 6 p.m. that night.  I actually think that the better way to do it is to take your morning Riba, do your shot at 2:30 and then take your night Riba later.

I'll be curious how others did it too.  Hopefully your doc's office will call you back to tell you specifically what they want you to do but, overall, I don't think it makes a big difference.  I was UND at week 4 so, even though I waited to start my Riba 5 hours after my shot, it didn't seem to the effectiveness of the meds.

[Bill1954]

Hi Rain,

I treated two times, and started the ribavirin the same day as the fist injection; you might want to start it in the morning of the first injection. Don’t worry; you’re not going to fall of the end of the earth; although you might feel a little hung over in the morning :o). My biggest complaint for 152 weeks of treatment was pervasive exhaustion… I could sleep for 12 hours, get up to shower, eat, and take meds, then go back to sleep like I hadn’t slept for days.  Hopefully, treatment will be kind to you, and you won’t be bothered too much by it.

Take care—

Bill