A humble request of all the SVR's in the crowd

[want2live]

I am just about to start my tx, am am seeking info from the SVR's out there.
Did you fortunate souls follow any special diet? Exercise?
I do know that lots of water is important.
Thanks in advance, I appreciate you help.

[new-sojourn]

How badly do you want a chance @SVR?  I traveled over 300m round trip, over the Cascade Mts to get the proper and informed care.  I cl'ed @3wks, fin 24wks, SVR 15+mo.

The best advice I can give is make yourself comfortable, drop as much as you can, adopt a diet and vit/sup plan ypu are comfortable w/ and try to elimate as much work for your liver as possible.  Your liver's work is to elimate toxins, so elimate as much toxins-inc stress and emotional upheaval-from your life so your liver doesn't have to eliminate the toxins.


kinda like, don't add insult to injury. Make it easy on your body.  Tx is just a stage.  Healing also has to take place and repair.  So good nutrition is important.  Use food as another healing tool.

I also think a visual mental image of the battle between the virus and the tx and the victorius outcome is an incredibly strong tool in helping your body help itself.

[cindyazure]

I didn't do anything like they tell u 2.  Didn't change much at all.  So don't go by me but I took my shot a few hrs. earlier every time until one time I took it the day before.  That's when I became undetectible.  Between 8 & 10 weeks from 27 million vl.  After a while the meds forced me to change lifestyle.  Also my blood counts got bad about the same time I cleared.  Now I go by the rules more but I've been taken off meds several times.  Good luck.  You can do this.

[Indiana]

Don't look now...but I think your Riba has "kicked-in". Hahahaha
I'm glad it all worked out. Now go go pick out a "good girl" outfit to wear for Nurse Hatchet. Are you blonde? If not, Can you get a Blondee wig and look all Wide Eyed too? Then just smile and act REAL nice and REAL dumb. She'll give up.
I think you BOTH had some important questions that deserved good answers....and I think you BOTH got them. No need to fight over who got the biggest peice of the pie here....or we'll have to send you both to your rooms without dessert tonite.

[jonihs]

Look at the 3rd thread!!!

[ringading]

ha ha ho ho ho how does one portray laughing your frikken a"+ off....cause man o man, every time i re-read this thread towards the end i start LAUGHING SO HARD OUT LOUD!!!!AND CAN'T STOP!!!!!

now DORI.(befud ).......NICY NICE tee hee........trained rodent up the butt???...ouch!!...OUCH..thats just nasty wishes on someone girlie.......now YOU apoligise......ha ha ha ha
kimba....

ha ha ha ha oh god.....think i need to puke if i laugh anymore, did my inject awhile ago and then went to the store to pick up the traditional.....HEALTHY monday night meal......

are you ready for this..WANT2LIVE

CHEETO'S AND GUMMIE BEARS!!!!!!

[doll face]

Here is my 2 cents worth of chat talk. I would also suggest that you continue to take your meds as you have scheduled. Tell your doctor that you are doing  your shots on Friday nights and not Monday afternoon and you did not want to interrupt your therapy to passify his nurses power trip, and besides that the meds (pegasys) usually has a one month expiration date on it (mine does at least)even though it probably is good for longer.
I would definately talk to him about his nurses communication skills and show up for the witches training class anyways.  Good luck and try not to strangle her.

p.s I sure hope that your doctor is more compassionate.

[oldhippiechick67]

JONI joni Joni!!!  No no no, your meds dont have a ten day shelf life!  thats absurd, they are good for much longer as long as they are refrigerated, Pegasys that is.  And PegIntron is good until it is mixed and then should be used within an hr
or so, I would imagine.
want2live, & befuddled - Dont apologize for heavens sake, the thread can be used for more than one persons questions. I see that both of you got responses to questions.  All is good.

[ringading]

ha ha ha i AM STILL LAUGHING........er we go!!

[ringading]

hey honey....exactly WHAT does that response have to ANY question on this thread...HA HA HA ...?????? sorry...still laughing really hard....ohhh better go take out my injection and let it "warm up".....

[jonihs]

I guess the only thing that worries me, is that when I got my meds in the mail. they told me they only have a 10 day life expectancy. I had to start 3 days b4 I wanted so the last shot would be good. I would call peggasist(Pegasys) 877-734-2797 or peg-intron- Rebetron (Commitment to Care) Call and find out because these meds cost too much  to waste.     Joni

[ringading]

HA HA HA HO HO HO I'M LAUGHING SO HARD IT HURTS!!!!!

CAN WE SAY


F O O D   F I G H T !!!!

[ringading]

p.s......maybe an apoligy to befuddled would be appropriate as she is VERY FREAKED rightly so right now also, it was not anything as simple as having her "feelings hurt", and hopefully you will never be in THAT situation, that she is right now.....remember class...sometimes we "push" that post comment botton too quickly

[want2live]

Thanks everyone for your help. I am sorry to have claimed squatter's rights on a thread.
I appreciate everyone's input and good will.
Befuddled, I hope your next visit to the DR goes better than this one!

[oldhippiechick67]

I doubt that the doc would refuse treating you cuz of one "noncompliant" boo boo. LOL, just dont do anything bad ever again! KIDDING.!!  Girl, you are taking on way WAY too much guilt.  You are not Bad Patient!  You are anxious to get started.  You got chewed out by a clicking nasty rigid obsessive complusive woman.  Its not as big a deal as she is making it out to be, and good you got blood drawn before, so  they arent working with a blank screem/chart.
YEA Christie!  I agree whole heartedly with what you had to say.
True, an hour drive is a pain, but nothing compared with having to put up with that woman... I only see my hep doc like every 3 months, the labs can be reviewed by him, I get phone calls from the nurse telling me whats up. At first I had a lot of questions and sides, that's when you need good communication with the drs office.  Tx has taken on a blah blah boring existance.  Since you have good insurance you can at least change docs, but it sounds like the nurse is the difficult one.
The injecting saline for Nurse Ratchet sounds like a great way to keep taking your meds on YOUR schedule not hers!  Do you work?  A lot of folks take their shot on Fri nite so they can recoup over the weekend b4 goin back to work.  I agree with Indiana and whoever else it was that said keep taking your riba and Pegasys on schedule, dont stop fer **** sakes!  Have courage and tell the Dr when you do get him alone what she put you through, how you didnt appreciate it, and would prefer he find someone else to handle your phone calls.  Hopefully it will work out!! OHC

[BNR]

I am 1b/inflammation: grade 2; portal fibrosis stage 1; moderate steatosis. I was undetectable at 48 weeks of Pegasys/Ribavarin. Looking forward to my 6 month tests with crossed fingers. (I previously failed to clear after treatment with PEG-interferon/ribivarin (Sherring Plough) and the old 3x a week routine.)... so I have been on treatment for about 2 1/2 years total. I am very hopeful that I will remain svr or, if not, that the damage is halted until the next level of meds becomes available.

What helped me get through treatment:
*My family and friends!! Can't every say thank you enough to everyone for all of the hands that reached out to me.
*DRINK WATER. However, time your drinks. Do NOT decide to make up water intake over a short period of time, it's awful and can be dangerous.
* After I took a shot, I laid down and pictured the medicine flowing through my body killing the HCV viruses. Sort of like Pacman, if you can remember that game.
* I gave myself a reward each week for making it through another week. Could be a Reeses peanut butter cup (my favorite, although I know chocolate is bad), bought myself something (watch your budget here -- sometimes I went overboard). I also love to garden and when I work in my garden, I find peace.
*From time to time I wrote in a journal, symptoms, feelings, etc.
*I wrote everything down -- helped with the brain fog.
* I have a strong faith. I believe God is always with me and picks me up when I stumble. When I got low (I really needed antidepressants, these meds can make you so depressed it's scary), tried to tell myself that this happened to me for a reason. There are a lot worse diseases and a lot worse things that can happen. I try to remind myself to appreciate every minute of life.
*Laugh. There are funny parts. The first time in the doctor's office, they were trying to show me how to give myself a shot and I couldn't make myself do it. The nurse was getting exasperated with me and finally I just yelled AAAAAHHHHH and stuck the needle in. Got everyone's attention.

[DreamAngel]

Iwant2live, I am sorry that your thread got wasted, with chat talk, although I am only on 27/48 I was EVR @ week 2, my vil load was over 1 million, I do take vitamins, drink plenty of water, and my nurse said I can eat anything I want (except shell fish), I have mild sides, my lab work is all normal. I just wanted to offer you some support. Hopefully others will follow. Take Care

[nurse12hr]

I have to say, that there are limited threads available here. That is why people sometimes add their questions onto others.  Perhaps in your "important" case, this got out of hand.  

Most of us read every thread, every comment for just that reason.  To be sure that there isn't something we could offer or a new insight to be given.  

I didn't comment on your "important" thread, because you DID get several comments from SVRs with common sense advice.  The truth is that there is NOTHING magical that SVR's do or don't do.  You simply have to take your meds, take care of yourself, limit exposure to alcohol and nicotine, be careful of possibly hepatotoxic medications, drink plenty of fluids, work hard, play nice, and try to enjoy life and keep a positive attitude.  The chips will fall where they may, and you will get an SVR if it is meant to be.  If not, get right back in there and try again.  

Took my husband 2 tries at therapy to finally become an SVR.  Long struggle, and no magic or "thing" he did at all.  Just persistance and faith that it would some day happen.

[ringading]

ah sorry you feel that way it really isn't meant to dis-miss your VERY IMPORTANT question...you have recieved 7 great response and will definately recieve more....sometimes this just seems to happen on threads.....just check the second colume and see which are directed at you, sometimes also, in other comments there will be an answer to your question as well.....yah i know its frustrating and scarey....your doing the right thing asking questions really, other than the answers that are here, ie...no booze, no drugs, lots of water, healthy food, good attitude, lots of laughter...and a wee bit of luck, there really isn't much else one can do....oh yah and the vitiams...everyone here will be with you all the way through your journey as much as is possible......
cheers
kimmy

[want2live]

I am sorry that you had a bad experience at the Doctor's. I am also sorry that you insisted on venting throughout this thread that I started.
I NEED INFORMATION. I don't need to wade throught your tyrade from the "nurse that hurt my feelings" and the ten paragraphs that come with it.
Please be considerate to others and rant on your own thread, or fire up AOL and get a chat buddy you can vent on.  

[ringading]

WAY TO GO CHRISTIE...!!!!

....i truely REFUSE to believe that her nurse is representive of nurses ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET....just about every nurse i have ever dealt with has been wonderful and caring, if not somewhat "overworked"...still kind, thoughtful and compassionate.....
kimmy

[nurse12hr]

On behalf of nurses everywhere, I apologize that you had to meet up with one of my bitchy sisters....

The next time you get a face to face meeting with your doc, tell him/her exactly what Evil Nurse did and said to you, add in that you are not a child and in need of punishment, that you expect and deserve timely returns to your phone calls when dealing with medications like these.  Tell your doc that you may have to consider changing your physician group if something like this happens again.  And start looking for real, in the meantime, because there is no reason to take that kind of ****.

Seriously, I would make a few calls and go so far as to book an initial appt. somewhere else to discuss transferring care.  This "nurse" will be with you for the duration of your treatment, and I doubt she will improve with time.  You can switch docs while on tx, don't let anyone hold you hostage like that.  YOU ARE THE BOSS, NOT HER, NOT YOUR DOC, NOT ANYONE ELSE.  YOU ARE THE HEALTH CARE CONSUMER, AND IT IS YOUR INSURANCE MONEY THAT IS PAYING.  Stand up for yourself and don't let some catty ***** make you feel like ****.  

Go get 'em!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ringading]

no no sweeite pie...i mean WAIT and call the doctor....maybe on friday.....even tommorrow, before hes off for new years eve....you do NOT NEED HER PERMISSION....SIMPLY TELL HER YOU WISH FOR HIM HIM HIM TO RETURN THIS URGENT CALL.....NOT HER!!! SHE CAN NOT INTERFER WITH THAT!!!!!...take your damn meds..don't stop!!! got it girlie...your on the right track and all is well with the universe...except of course with your NURSE RATCHET

[ringading]

ha ha...theres ALWAYS the sand truck guy...told you i had a crush on him.....then theres the ferrier....thats the guy that does my horses...shoes....he REALLY is a babe!!!...but yah okay inndy, yah busted me...its all just wishful thinking....but a girl can hope can't she??

okay, now as for the blood on toothbrushes etc.....it was my understanding as of last year, that the reason they had so much trouble developing any anti-viral for this was BECAUSE they couldn't seem to keep the virus alive long enough in the petrie dish....!!!!...hummm so going with that....i don't know, i do imagine it is ALWAYS best to error on the side of cation though, ...right you are...as who knows, there may come a time years from now we'll find out the creepy little virus..is AIR BORNE or something.....

[ringading]

just read your new post ...DO NOT DO AN EXTRA INJECTION....just continue with pills and injections same time on friday and go in on monday with the sign on....she is abusing her position and has no authority to do so.....LET ME CALL HER.......