I will you much succes in your tx. There are so many great people here that will help you through. I did the interfron and riba 2 years ago and these new tx are much better. Best to you!
Hi and welcome, I don't post a lot either but I read most of the threads. I took my last shot (48) last Friday and am finishing up the last week of the Copegus pills this week. The virus was undectectable after 12 weeks and has stayed that way. Now the waiting begins to see if I attain a sustained viral response. It might sound like a cliche but the time really has flown by and it seems like I was just in your shoes. I went in expecting the worst and it turned out I was one of the fortunate ones with relatively few and minor side affects. There are people on this board who seem to be very knowledgeable about our shared condition and the treatment of it so visit here often and read and ask any questions you want. Best of wishes to you and keep your eyes on the prize.
Barry,,,Glad to see you join in with us and yes,,,the support will be great for you starting tx. You will have so many questions...Good Luck on your first shot!
Petey,,,congratulations on being at the finish line!! Glad to hear your tx was overall smooth sailing...Take care and enjoy your med free life!!
barryd, Welcome aboard! You won't find a better group of people anywhere.
Petey, glad to see ya made it to the finish line, congratulations!
I am 2b and on shot number 14. I am in a clinical trial and may only have to take 16 shots instead of 24. So far, the only side I've had is a rash on my hands. I was hoping for the weight loss side effect but it never came, so I'm back at Weight Watchers. I have not felt ill or tired, but my husband and two boys say I've been meaner since I've been on treatment. I think I'm just as mean as I've always been :-) Good luck in you treatment - I hope it goes well for you.
Good luck! I'm in week 6/24, also with the premixed pegasys/copeg, and my sides have been pretty manageable. I was VERY freaked out prior to starting TX (mainly about how I'd feel after that first shot) and was surprised to wake up Saturday morning feeling relatively normal. I find now that I don't start to feel even remotely bad until Sunday night, and then it's just a mild sense of yuckiness.
best of luck on your treatment.. do you know what peg you are taking?
wishing you SVR...
thank you all for the welcome and best wishes, i will be around to post and ask questions.
to answer the question about what peg it is i will be taking, it is alpha-2a
Welcome Barry and best wishes during your tx. I'm a 2b and on shot 14/24. I do the pre-mixed pegasys (alpha-2a and 1200mg of copegus.
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones also, sx has not been too bad. I'm a little more tired at the end of the day but I work 10-11 hours most days. On Friday night I do the peg shot and I feel kinda yucky either the next day or on Sunday. Not too bad, I just take it easy. Helps with the "honey-do's" :-)
I'm in Florida so I've found it helps to stay out of the hot sun on the weekends. The tx seems to have made me sensitive to it but I just don't go out as long as I used to.
One thing I found really helps (which you'll hear over & over) LOTS OF WATER!!! It's true, it really helps.
A good vitamen regime may help also during tx. For a short while I quit eating healthy as I started craving sweets all of a sudden. I ate a lot of junk and quit taking my vitamen supplements and started feeling rundown.
Well I know it's just anecdotal but when I started taking my
Sam-E, multi-vit (for men, no iron), folic acid,
CQ-10, NAC and alpha lipoic acid (jeeze that sounds like a lot) and my energy level and mental outlook improved immediately. In all honesty I feel the Sam-E helped the most. I took it & the
multi-vit for a week before restarting the others and felt the impact almost right away. Just my experience but maybe it will help someone.
Anyway, all the best, welcome aboard and here's wishing you svr. I lurk more than I post but feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Peace - Gulfcoast