Aa
blood
With just 5 weeks left on treatment, for the first time, at least confirmed with blood test, my white count is 3.1 platelets 133 and uric acid a little high at 9.2 I have had weak legs and arms since Monday spending most of the week with no energy. I went through this in my 2,3 and part of 4 month but blood was allways o.k. Some body wrote yesterday or today about the sx roller coaster. I hope this isn't the start of another hard period.
My blood levels are not to far off but seems to be enough for them to effect me. Just typing this is a drag. I'm hoping that the levels return quickly. Whats others expirences ?
My blood levels are not to far off but seems to be enough for them to effect me. Just typing this is a drag. I'm hoping that the levels return quickly. Whats others expirences ?
Kalio1
I didn't have signs as far as I know. I turned 50 years old in June of this year. I went into the doctors just to get a physical and came out with Hepc.
I felt a little tired, but that's about it. Even thought I turned 50 this year I still fine and I am very active in my job...sales and on the go. Fifty is the new 30 nowadays?
I have three kids to support...
Too bad the blood washing didn't work out! I thought I was on to something..LOL
I am also concern with the high cost of the treatment. I have Blue Cross and Blue Shield. I was told that I would pay for the drug cost up front and then tried to get BC/BS to reinburse me.
It just sounds so expensive!
I didn't have signs as far as I know. I turned 50 years old in June of this year. I went into the doctors just to get a physical and came out with Hepc.
I felt a little tired, but that's about it. Even thought I turned 50 this year I still fine and I am very active in my job...sales and on the go. Fifty is the new 30 nowadays?
I have three kids to support...
Too bad the blood washing didn't work out! I thought I was on to something..LOL
I am also concern with the high cost of the treatment. I have Blue Cross and Blue Shield. I was told that I would pay for the drug cost up front and then tried to get BC/BS to reinburse me.
It just sounds so expensive!
Dr. Jensen seems to be a top dog from his CV. I am on PegIntron and Riba. I am a geno 3, recommended treatment length was 6 months so I treated for 6 months but relapsed, so I am treating for a year more. I have 4 and some months to go.
Kalio1
Thank you for the Commitment to Care. It sounds easy to do.
What treatment are you on?
And how long.
Maria
Thank you for the Commitment to Care. It sounds easy to do.
What treatment are you on?
And how long.
Maria
BCBS wants you to pay up front and then you are suppossed to try to get reimbursed? Hmm, sounds fishy to me. The drugs run several thousand a month just for the Interferon and Riba. If you need additional drugs like Procrit that runs several thousand too.
You can call Commitment to Care, they are great and you have a treating physician to write the scrip, they can help you with the meds costs. They are easy and fast and have very generous earnings allowances. It is well worth contacting them. They took my BCBS info. I am not sure what, if anything, they get from BCBS but Commitment to Care supplies the drugs free to me and delivers them to my door plus I didnt have to spend all that energy fighting with BCBS and waiting on hold. Their service leaves a lot to be desired. It is well worth the call. I just faxed them the info they asked for. It is not an indigent program, it is for middle class folks too.
Their number is 800 521 7157, they make PegIntron. If you take Pegasys they have an assitance program too, their website has all the info. Pegassist.com
The copays can be prohibitive and Commitment to Care provides the drugs to you at no cost. You give your info to Commitment to Care, your docs office then contacts them with the scrip and you are in business. You can prequalify before you see your doc so you can avoid the pain and hassle of fighting the insurance company and know the drugs will be there when you need them. I have had no problems with their service.
It is a shocker to find out about Hep C. They say most people find out by "suprise" like you did. Man, what a way to ruin our day!
I am so glad to hear your symptoms are minimal. That is great news, plus you are in good shape, that helps.
The more you learn and better informed you are the easier it becomes to deal with, at least for me it was that way.
am glad you found the site, there is a lot of good info and links to be had.
You might want to look at the www.clinicaloptions.com site. It is geared towards medical personnel but you can access it for free. Super informative audio, video and text.
The Janis and Friends site has well compiled info too, as do others I jsut can't think of them off the top of my head.
You will get through this!
You can call Commitment to Care, they are great and you have a treating physician to write the scrip, they can help you with the meds costs. They are easy and fast and have very generous earnings allowances. It is well worth contacting them. They took my BCBS info. I am not sure what, if anything, they get from BCBS but Commitment to Care supplies the drugs free to me and delivers them to my door plus I didnt have to spend all that energy fighting with BCBS and waiting on hold. Their service leaves a lot to be desired. It is well worth the call. I just faxed them the info they asked for. It is not an indigent program, it is for middle class folks too.
Their number is 800 521 7157, they make PegIntron. If you take Pegasys they have an assitance program too, their website has all the info. Pegassist.com
The copays can be prohibitive and Commitment to Care provides the drugs to you at no cost. You give your info to Commitment to Care, your docs office then contacts them with the scrip and you are in business. You can prequalify before you see your doc so you can avoid the pain and hassle of fighting the insurance company and know the drugs will be there when you need them. I have had no problems with their service.
It is a shocker to find out about Hep C. They say most people find out by "suprise" like you did. Man, what a way to ruin our day!
I am so glad to hear your symptoms are minimal. That is great news, plus you are in good shape, that helps.
The more you learn and better informed you are the easier it becomes to deal with, at least for me it was that way.
am glad you found the site, there is a lot of good info and links to be had.
You might want to look at the www.clinicaloptions.com site. It is geared towards medical personnel but you can access it for free. Super informative audio, video and text.
The Janis and Friends site has well compiled info too, as do others I jsut can't think of them off the top of my head.
You will get through this!
Welcome, sorry about the diagnosis. there is NO question that is stupid to ask, please feel freee to ask anything. It is hard to take a Hep C diagnosis, especially when the treatment is so long and the chances of success are less than ideal. Number one to me is to get the best doctors you can and it sounds like you have done that, that is a smart move. Just try to learn all you can about Hep C and extra hepatic manifestations, get copies of ALL your test results and try to be patient with all the waiting and wondering.
They have tried the "blood washing" idea, the blood heating idea, it doesn't work, the virus endures in spite of such treatments. The only thing so far that is able to kill it is the combo therapy of Interferon/Ribivirin. There are new treatments in the "pipeline" but they are still in trials and not yet approved by the FDA nor do we have sufficient data to confirm they will work better than what we have now though they do look promising.
The duration of treatment is due to the fact that the virus is quite stubborn and clings to it's host (you} and hides from our immune systems quite successfully unfortunately and it only needs ONE to replicate. So the treatment can knock it down, even to the point of having it be "undetectable" by our most stringent testing abilities but if even one remains, when you stop the treatment the virus begins to replicate again and is back to it's old tricks.
Being Hep C positive puts you at risk for a variety of OTHER conditions and diseases in addition to the damage it can wreak on your liver. Do you have symptoms now?
They have tried the "blood washing" idea, the blood heating idea, it doesn't work, the virus endures in spite of such treatments. The only thing so far that is able to kill it is the combo therapy of Interferon/Ribivirin. There are new treatments in the "pipeline" but they are still in trials and not yet approved by the FDA nor do we have sufficient data to confirm they will work better than what we have now though they do look promising.
The duration of treatment is due to the fact that the virus is quite stubborn and clings to it's host (you} and hides from our immune systems quite successfully unfortunately and it only needs ONE to replicate. So the treatment can knock it down, even to the point of having it be "undetectable" by our most stringent testing abilities but if even one remains, when you stop the treatment the virus begins to replicate again and is back to it's old tricks.
Being Hep C positive puts you at risk for a variety of OTHER conditions and diseases in addition to the damage it can wreak on your liver. Do you have symptoms now?
I been reading on this forum for a few weeks now and truley enjoy it. I am going to get a second opinion on Friday at University of Chicago w/ a Dr. Jensen.
My first opinion came from Northwestern Hopsital here in Chicago.
They wanted to start the tx right away and I became a little afraid of such a rapid tx. Oh well, I now realize that this is a up and coming disease and the doctors are seeing tons of people, but the way they laid it out to me was...hurry,hurry and start treatment ASAP that scared me.
I am getting my house in order so to speak,too. And if I am going to be sick 2-3days out of the week I need a plan for my job.
This is my question to all, please bear with me...it might be kind of stupid...
If the blood in my system is contaminated, why can't the hospital have an option as to cleansing it through some kind of machine and rejuvenite it???? Maybe mix in a little of the medicine as well...just a thought. And why is the treatment so long for Hep1a...more money for the drug companies???
My first opinion came from Northwestern Hopsital here in Chicago.
They wanted to start the tx right away and I became a little afraid of such a rapid tx. Oh well, I now realize that this is a up and coming disease and the doctors are seeing tons of people, but the way they laid it out to me was...hurry,hurry and start treatment ASAP that scared me.
I am getting my house in order so to speak,too. And if I am going to be sick 2-3days out of the week I need a plan for my job.
This is my question to all, please bear with me...it might be kind of stupid...
If the blood in my system is contaminated, why can't the hospital have an option as to cleansing it through some kind of machine and rejuvenite it???? Maybe mix in a little of the medicine as well...just a thought. And why is the treatment so long for Hep1a...more money for the drug companies???
Hide inside. I have had to do a lot of that. Though I complain, I know I have nothing to complain about. I think everyone could say that they wouldn't trade places with anyone else. No matter how bad my problems look, I am me and these are my problems. There are many times mostly on this tx that I have not liked myself and did not like the future. But those moments end even though on tx they have lasted way to long. So after the squirl in my head gets exhusted from his wheel running, a different perspective pops through and the gratitude is much deeper then anything else and carries me through the next time the squirl jumps back on.
I would kill to have a 3.1 wbc I seem to stay at 1.4 have tried neupogen but only last 2wks anc 630 don't like taking other meds while on tx I figure I will hide inside till I finish in january
I had the same thing happen at the end of treatment. I had to grit my teeth and bare it. You can too! You're almost finished. Only five more weeks. You can make it to the end.
The meds just make you feel like ****. Sometimes my doc will call and say how great my bloodwork looks so I ask him "so why do I feel so crappy, doc?" It's the meds he says. Sigh.
Your " I hate everything" comment made me laugh, thanks.
Hang in there.
Your " I hate everything" comment made me laugh, thanks.
Hang in there.
Yeah, I didn't think of what it was. And that's a good point because the doc said its still normal and not a concern, to them. I have always been in shape so anything different effects me. I hate everything. saying that makes me laugh
What was your hemoglobin?
Just because it's in the "normal" range doesn't mean it hasn't dropped considerably perhaps - for example if you started out at 16 but went down to 12 (women numbers - all I know) it would still read as normal but a 4 point drop if you had it quickly would be KILLER!
Everything else is fine but that sounds like the reason perhaps you are so exhaustrd (although tx alone does that to us anyway)
Just because it's in the "normal" range doesn't mean it hasn't dropped considerably perhaps - for example if you started out at 16 but went down to 12 (women numbers - all I know) it would still read as normal but a 4 point drop if you had it quickly would be KILLER!
Everything else is fine but that sounds like the reason perhaps you are so exhaustrd (although tx alone does that to us anyway)
Week 1 was surprisingly less than what I expected. We'll see tonight. Will also dd in week 3 and have a pcr. So, if things go okey-dokey, 3 weeks should do it. Then, it's settle in for the haul - you know what that's like.
Crazy, craxy, and weird are all perfectly acceptable. Many of us have expereince in all three.
I am also a male. I look at the name I choose here and in one of those fogs I wanted to say am i crazy but hit wrong botton. I may not be crazy but I am a weirdo
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