my kid deleted your incoming e-mail.please feel free to e-mail me again and ill be glad to respond
I missed your post. It is jmjm530 and I-horns fault. I forgive them though ;p
Thank you for the good wishes, and glad I made you laugh. He is on his own when it comes to the Riba. He is anxious as it is. More than likely he will start with the shot, as that as when he has a few days off. The PA never called back (sigh).
Honey11, I so have to giggle! We discussed today how Hep c could be fatal. That means lock up ALL firearms and throw away the key LOL.
He is afraid of brain fog. He has nightmares about letting all 3 dogs out at one time( lets just say they are not friends). I told him no worries! I will leave you a check list. I may possibly have to get combo locks and not give him the combos ;)
harda$$ I have seen so many say that Ice Cream has been vital. You keep up the good work on UND and I will force him to eat ice cream, because lots here say it is yummy ;) It is just not something we have here all the time, so I want to make sure it is available.
im on third treatment 15 mcg infergen daily. virus was cleared in only few weeks.long way to go.tis tru about the ice cream.very serious sustainance.god love em,i feel like the friggin rhesus monkey sometimes.he didnt make it ya know.i lay stone but sometimes wobbly on the feet.sure thankful for the treatment from v-a.one badassed medical institution.
Sounds like you are off to a great start in helping your hubby reach SVR! And yes,,,important facts,,,top of list,,water,,,water and ice cream! Patience is a big plus because you will have days that you will be just shaking your head and thinking that there is a new man in your living room haha Keep yourselves busy and try to rent lots of comedies to keep him laughing. The time will go fast if you just focus and know that he will reach SVR!!
#1,,,also,,,,,come here often to vent or share the good times! Best Wishes!!
48 weeks for me, brother. I cleared at 12 weeks, probably sooner. Recall I was only at 88 viral load at 4 weeks. I'm thinking I probably cleared around 6-8 weeks.
Strangely, I've felt better the past couple of weeks than I have during a lot of the treatment. I'm starting to think I'm getting a placebo by mistake or I've been placed on some trial without knowing it. It's got me PARANOID I tell you. You know how it goes. You feel bad you wonder why. You feel good, you wonder why.
I-Horn: I'd be having a big FAT cocktail were that me.
-------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, well I guess we think alike on that issue. LOL. Good luck with the rest of treatment -- forgot if you're doing 48 or decided to extend. Haven't seen you around much, but thanks for dropping by and livening things up as
usually happens :)
-- Jim
Sounds as if you have made a good stockpile. IceCream...Must have gotten that from Deb...I can't quit laughing. ANyway good luck and I would wait until the 1st day to tx to start the Riba. Its main purpose from what the doctor told me is to make the Peg last all week.
Yeah we're cool. It just kinda struck me the wrong way and I LOST in, man.
I'd also like to say that 'pre-loading' is generally a term used when taking a drug with an initial high dose to get the blood levels up quickly ( usually by IV ), then going to a lower, usually oral, dose to maintain that level.
Technically, taking riba before starting interferon isn't 'pre-loading'.
All is well. Congrats on your 1 year SVR. Man, I'd be having a big FAT cocktail were that me. I did shot 33 today. Whoooo-hooooo !!!
Looking back over the thread, I'd like to apologize for my wording in "C18" above. I certainly could have expressed myself in a better mannered way, but it's been one of those days. I thought we had a pretty good relationship in the past and hopefully we can agree to civily disagree on this one, and pick up where we used to be. To clarify a little, I don't think it's a "dangerous" approach, in fact I find it an intriguing approach. Just think for a number of reasons it should be medically cleared. Nuff said on that.
Be well,
-- Jim
She said "six days" before. All I'm saying is that it's not SOP and it should be run by the treating doctor for approval and monitoring if necessary. The links I have say ribavirin should be started the day of treatment with SOC.
I'd be willing to bet hundreds if not thousands of people have started riba a few days before their first interferon shot. Show me a link where it says definitively that it is not recommended or even moreso, dangerous, as you're making it out to be. For weeks or months, mabye. But for a few days. No frickin' way.
Ribiviron is used in monotherapy for other illnesses. Sars and RSV in infants. You're playing it like Ribiviron by itself is some kind of killer. You're giving the wrong impression.
You know, pre-dosing ribavirin is an intriguing idea, but these drugs are just too powerful to go solo. If you GI is onboard, that's another story. I'll be surprised if he says "yes", but I've been surprised many a times before here. Do let us know what the GI says, and all the best luck with your husband's treatment.
-- Jim
Just wanted you to know that I would make him call the GI first. Guess I didn't make that clear.
Please, this is where the internet can get people into trouble. There is only one person I know here who has pre-dosed ribavirin and that is FlGuy, and I assume he did that with the knowledge of his treating doctor. That last part is very important, HIS TREATMENT DOCTOR WAS ONBOARD. I urge you not to pre-dose ribavirin without running it by your treatment doctor. By now, probably not too many people reading this thread, but I guarantee that if you start a new thread with the title, "Should I pre-dose Ribavirin a week before Treatment" NO ONE will tell you to do so without consulting your doctor first. At least I hope no one will.
-- Jim
Technically I would continue the riba for 5 days after my last shot since I started the riba 2 days before my first shot. I don't think starting riba a few days before the first shot OR not continuing the last few days after the last shot
makes any difference, when it gets right down to it. I've read here that the riba stays in you for up to 30 days post tx AND takes a few days to build up.
I started the riba before my shot. Do as you like, or as your doc said.
There are always people who disagree. I'm just saying that's what I did as per my doc. He said start the riba as soon as it arrived.
Thank you for giving an explaination. It does seem to make sense. We will see how he is feeling . Maybe he can start it tomorrow morning after he sees the NP.
His PCR done Feb 19 had a low VL 712,000, but he is a 1a. So maybe it would make sense to get that built up in the system.
Don't most people continue to take the Riba after their last shot anyways?
If you don't, your first shot is basically mono-therapy. It takes a while for Riba to build up. I think I would have cleared at 4 weeks had I taken the Riba a week prior to my first shot. I started it as soon as I got ( per doctor ) and got my first shot 2 days after I started the riba.
Take the riba now. Trust me. You want your shots to be as potent as possible.
Thank you all for the good luck and advice.
nygirl7 I will try to remember that :) It will definately be hard. He is not the yell at me kinda guy. So it will definately be interesting to say the least. I am more the "hot head" around here. Oh man, and to think if I had to take Riba.
jmjm530 Thanks, and hope FlGuy will give us his opinion.
NYMark thanks for the exact name of the test.
I am working on getting my ducks in a row, and praying for an easy Journey.
PCR and CBC
Water
Ice Cream
Pizza
Benedryl
TylenolPM
Tylenol
LabCorp has a similar test called QuantaSure that is sensitive down to 10 IU/mL.
Mark
LabCorp is also very good. I think they have an even more sensitive test you might ask for at week 4, but this one might be better pre-treatment since it has a higher upper limit:
http://www.labcorp.com/datasets/labcorp/html/chapter/mono/id005500.htm
I flagged FLGuy, but like I said, pre-dosing with ribavirin is not the normal thing.
-- Jim
Well...the guys have already given you the best stuff but I just wanted to chime in and say GOOD LUCK!
And remember - if he starts to yell at you in a few weeks for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...........it's the meds (Riba). I don't know if you have kids or not but I am SO GLAD I told my kids and my parents about the riba rage BEFORE I started or they would have killed me off for sure! It's crazy stuff...so just remember it's NOT YOU - it's the meds!
That might help you save your marriage! ;)
On a serious note...good luck to both of you!
You guys are quick this morning :) He drinks about a gallon a day already hopefully he will keep it up.
Thank you. You were posting as I was. Hopefully FlGuy will come in and explain his strategy ;)
As far as the Quest Heptimax we have to go through Lab Corp does that matter?
He has an Appt with our PCP tomorrow morning maybe we could have her order the blood work.
Now I am confused LOL