Albumin

Mike,
I meant to say hi in my last post. Hi. Are you still seeing Dr. Pratt? I don't know if you knew his PA, Abigail. She was the absolute best. If I emailed or called, she either answered me right then or, within a couple of hours. She left after having a baby and moved to NH, but came back last year and is working in the MGH transplant clinic.

As for the cramps, taking quinine helped a lot. It didn't totally stop them, but they were less intense. I had the same problem when driving and had to put my hands against a flat surface and press them open. They were like claws. At least the hand cramps didn't hurt as much as the feet and calves. I had a horrible cramp in my left calf that woke me up in the middle of the night and it left a lump there, that took almost a year to go away. I still have occasional cramps, when I don't drink enough fluids. Now that's no big thing, because they want me to drink at least 3 quarts a day.

I remember that you were taking quinine at one point. Are you still doing that? That was my most expensive copay of any pre transplant meds. MGH isn't big on that, but my pcp prescribed it.

Mike, stay with it, if you could knock out the Hep C, most of your problems would be gone. I have been undetectable for 13 months, but there's no guarantee it will stay that way. Also, I had a MELD score in the low to mid teens for years and all of a sudden it jumped. With any luck, you'll get the new meds and won't have to deal with a transplant. I only go to MGH every 6 months these days, and have my blood work done on island. I did have a endoscopy a little while back. Turns out I had a calcium deposit on my pancreas, but the docs said it's no big deal. You might want to drink tonic water, it helps with the cramps, a little. Be well.

  Germy .

Ziff

Connie, I see my liver doc this May and will run that by him. I would like to try any combo w/o interferon if it is going to help instead of waiting around. if there is a chance to get better I am willing to try it.

David, Dr. Pratt is the head of the team I belong to, but have not seen him the last couple of appointments. Dr. Mullen is still my liver doc and he has to converse with Dr. Pratt before any med changes or other medical issues. I was taking Qualaquin, 1 324 mg. tablet a day until my insurance changed. Before , the cost was $6.85 for 30 pills, a month supply. Under the new insurance the cost is $78.00 for 30 pills. I guess they helped a little with the cramps, but when the cramps were severe it did not help at all. It just seemed to be worthless taking it. There were no major side effects for me, but the idea that it might effect my heart bothered me. I had EKG's every 6 months that showed no damage,but both sides of the family have a history of heart disease, especially on my Mom's side. I never met Abagail. I asked about her a long time ago. Not sure if she is still on Blake 4 at MGH.