how to count the weeks

[pcds]

Is week one the first shot, therefore week 12 is the day of your 12th shot?  Wondering when to go for that all important 12 viral load test.  One day or 6 days after that 12th shot?
This is a great site.

[IMstacie]

I made myself a calendar, a couple of them actually.  I was so out of it while on tx I really needed it.  I made an excel sheet with formulas so all I had to do was add a date and I made a 12 month calendar using a template and added a column to each month and typed in the weeks (ex. wk 1, wk 2, etc.until I reach 48).  I gave a copy to my doctor which he kept in my file.  Here is a link for the template if you choose to use it.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT010358990.aspx#ai:TC010361992|

[portann]

Hi pcds,

Shall I go ahead and assume you meant your starting viral load was 1, 700,000 and  not "1,7000,000"?

At any rate, the fast and oh-so-easy way to calculate a viral load log drop is to knock off the last zeros from the end of the number, for example:

1,700,000 (assuming that's the number you meant)

170,000 = one log drop
17,000 = two log drop
1700 = three log drop


You can also use an online calculator's ‘LOG’ function.  Input viral load, press LOG and voila.

Okay, now you can calculate the actual log drop! :) You can see it's way more than two but not three.

And the 'which week is it'  thing can be muddling - the interferon injection  starts the week, so you count it as complete just before you do your next one. (Think back to your first injection and you'll remember that you still had your whole week of riba ahead before you could say the week had gone by.)

With viral load testing, it's best to do the labwork the day before your injection or the day of your injection but before your injection. So for a twelve week viral load test, you'd have blood drawn for that test either on the day before your thirteenth injection or the day of your thirteenth injection but before the injection.

Which is what you're scheduled for, your week 12 PCR on the day of your thirteenth shot. Just be sure to do the blood work before the shot.

Susan



Hope this helps.

[pcds]

Thank you diane.  I will get my test on the friday morning of my 13th shot.  I was told by my doc that treatment would stop if the is any virus detected at week 12.  No more waiting until 24 weeks.  My viral load dropped from 1,7000,000 to 4800 in 8 weeks,  I think that's a 3 log drop?

[Diane12855]

Week one is actually shot 2. That's how my doctor counted it in a calendar that he gave me telling me what labs and office appointments I needed to schedule for the whole 48 weeks. I'll be getting my 12 week viral load on or around my 13th shot.

Oh! and welcome to the group.
Diane