Wow. First shot was Saturday night

[ram921]

Well, THAT was special.  Just like they said- chills, fever, shaking ,body aches. And yet somehow overall O.K. The most significant lasted 12 or 15 hours, and then tapered off. I still feel fluish today, but I'm at work and functioning. We'll see...I'm told the first one is the most intense, I'm just going to get on with the day, and get busy forgetting about it.

[kickboxingmom]

Good luck with the sides.
First shot was like yours.Felling better by Tues. Afternoon.
2nd.3rd. shot- Same but not as hard.
By 4th shot HGB dropped and shortness of breathe for a few weeks.
Came up on it's own.
6th- Same as 2nd.little harder sides due to rheumatoid arthritis.
7th.- Same flu-like, fever, chills, sweats, then gradually better as week progresses.
It is doable but such an inconvenience.Look at your goal, SVR !
You are doing great.Keep it up.Your attitude means alot.Drink plenty of water.I'm sure you know but take water to work and DRINK half of your body weight in ounces.
Good Luck,
Tammy

[Rockerforlife]

Welcome to the the roller coaster ride....get a good grip and hang on bro....im just in the car ahead of you....im doing ok...dont worry...you will make it

[TeeVee36]

Congratulations you are on your way - you have to start before you can finish!

Hoping and wishing tolerable sx's if any at all.  As long as you can tolerate it you will be fine.  

They do say the first is the worst - my first shot the first time around was scary, playing the waiting game and then it hit, the chills and the unknown combined with fear and panic.  

When I look back it is as if it all were a dream and it makes me wonder how the heck I did it...

I too worked through tx and it was what kept me going and a diversion as well.  I had a strong support group at work and this forum.  

I haven't put my Xmas lights up this year but last year on tx and feeling sickly I managed to do it.  I guess I did everything in my power to keep some sort of normalcy (is that a word) in my life.

Keep posting and stay in touch!

Happy Holidays to you and yours,
TV

[lapis]

Yes, congratulations on starting tx.  I'm in wk 9, and my first shot hit me the hardest, too, so far.  Now I take Tylenol before I take the shot, and just plan to bundle up and rest that night.  Sometimes I feel fine the next day, sometimes I'm very tired.

[epiphiny]

For me the first shot was average, and in fact they have been pretty ho hum, mainly I think because I go to bed quite quickly after I do it, take Paracetomol/Tylenol and sleep through for 10 or so hours.  I actually start to feel pretty crappy on Monday and Tuesday.

It is my understanding that the interferon (assuming you are on Pegasys) takes 72 to 96 hours to peak in your body, most generally around 80 hours.  You can pretty much count the hours from when you inject to your peak and you find it pretty spot on every time.

Just thought this might be helpful for you to plan when to do your shot, if you are thinking of changing.  

I found it helpful for me as I have continued to work through out tx and found I could figure out when I might need to get cover for myself or try not to schedule important interviews and appointments during my peak period.

Well done on number one, it'll be over before you know it!

Epi :)

[R Glass]

Congratulations on your first shot. My first one was the worst also.
Now your journey begins and none of us can predict what is in store for you.
We can only hope you have an easy one and we will be here for you, R. Glass.

[portann]

I'm so happy for you - my fear of the unknown on tx  is one of the hardest parts for me but I try to take it one day at a time and one side effect at a time.

In my case, I only had one bad shot, my first.  It seems funny to me now but I said that if I survived until morning, I would quit tx forever and never do such a crazy thing again. I moaned to my husband and made him promise he wouldn't let me be fool enough to continue. Then I got up and made brunch for my house guests, and the episode just seemed like a bad dream.  

I am thrilled that you are functioning at work today, despite your own chills and shakes. I know from your posts that you are working in overdrive at this busiest time of year in your business.

After a while of adjusting to the meds' impact on my blood counts and a crisis or three(which I survived with the support of the forum), life seems almost normal to me.  I can't explain why I'm rolling along as well as I am. I know anything can pop up out of the blue between now and the finish line but I feel more confident now.

Merry Christmas and I hope you get a chance to put your feet up soon. And don't forget to take your daily meds - that was hard for me when I first started because of life's distractions but now it's a habit, even at this hectic time.

[comeagain]

Yes congrats to crossing over, I underline what charm says be paitent and slow down as much and whenever possible is the key.

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.

ca

[rita863]

Good luck, try advil for the body aches.  I also would take my shot on friday nights and then have the weekend to either sleep.  I would also take two advil pm's right after the shot so that i could sleep through the sides.  It worked sometimes, others not so...

Good luck you will get through it!
peace
rita

[charm27]

Good luck with tx. I had no sx from the first shot. Actually I had no sx until about week 6-7 then I got hit hard. I just finished 52 weeks.

Wish you good luck and easy sx.
Be patient with yourself is the key to get thru!

Charm27

[Trinity4]

Good Job Ram, glad to see you got through it. It's challenging, but you can do it.  It's harder to balance when we work, but most get through it just fine.
Happy Holidays
Trinity