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Tracy's treatment

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Posted 4/4/2014 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hello hello. I feel great. I have nothing to complain about, which is a good thing. I feel for those of you that are experiencing side effects. My face has been itchy around my chin. Strange but thought I would mention it anyway. I was expecting to be tied to my home for the 3 months, but I am not so I will take advantage of that now because it might not be that way later. This last week flew by for me. 10 more weeks to go!
Posted 4/4/2014 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
I'm coming to the end of my 12 weeks treatment, I have 1 week left. The pharmacy sent me the 4th month today (??) I see my doctor this week to get my blood checked to see how I'm doing.

I take mine at 7:30 and 7:30 each day. The Ribo can cause a heart attack and stroke so be careful. Think about taking a daily Omega fish pills and childrens aspirin to help your cardiovascular system. Take your Solvaldi with food as it will make you nauseous on an empty stomach and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

My plan was to make an entire LIFE CHANGE. Why just get my liver fixed if I'm not going to improve the rest of my body. I do 4.5 miles every other day, upper body on the other days, strength train once a week and 1 day of rest each week. I'm 260 lbs now and my wife is a happy camper, shaaawing devil

I have NO side effects at all. I equate that to my total body treatment. I take NO other meds bedides my vitamins and Testosterone.

Adopting a positive outlook is half the battle. If you're just going to dwell on the negatives you're not helping yourself or anyone else. You are being watched to see how well you respond to this new EXTREMELY expensive and hard to aquire treatment.

Post Edited (furiousbeen) : 4/4/2014 1:11:18 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/4/2014 7:01 PM (GMT 0)

KWLAW said...
DAY 9, still having an increase in side effects. Now I have a low grade fever and "fuzzy" eyes (if you know what I mean). Also seem to be crying at movies and songs more. Any one else "hyper-emotional"? And by that I mean more than usual.

I pretty well have all these symptoms but if it makes you feel better I have noticed the last 2-3 weeks I have been having less symptoms and not so emotional.

The fuzzy eyes thing I was sorta worried and went to an optometrist and they told me my eyes were drying out in about 2 seconds and it should be more like 10 seconds and recommended eye drops 4 times per day and since I have been doing that my eyes are fine.

My wife has mentioned I am more emotional lately, I think alot of it is everything that has happened since I found out I was infected and since then its been w whirlwind of emotions and now I know I am being treated and will soon be cured and I guess its nothing short of a fricken miracle in my eyes the way everything just feel into place.

The do say though that depression is a common side effect and if you are at all worried about your emotional state please go see your doctor, I know mine personally is not so bad I feel suicidal or anything I just feel emotional and after all thats happened with me over the last 6 months I figure its ok if I wanna cry once and awhile ;-)

My side effects seemed the worse starting about day 4 and continuing till about week 6 and then slowly it seems they are fading away and all that bothers me now is being very tired but I no longer feel as sick as I used too and my eye problems have been resolved with the eye drops. As of today I have 27 days left and even if I was sick every single day I'd be ok with that knowing I will be cured :-)

Good luck Tracy and we are always here for you, you have so much to look forward to so smile turn
Posted 4/9/2014 12:06 PM (GMT 0)
New test results starting to come in:

WBC 3.8 - 10.8 Thousand/uL 5.5
RBC 3.80 - 5.10 Million/uL 4.23
HEMOGLOBIN 11.7 - 15.5 g/dL 13.1
HEMATOCRIT 35.0 - 45.0 % 38.7
MCV 80.0 - 100.0 fL 91.6
MCH 27.0 - 33.0 pg 31.0
MCHC 32.0 - 36.0 g/dL 33.8
RDW 11.0 - 15.0 % 14.4
Platelet Count 140 - 400 Thd/uL 207
Posted 4/13/2014 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
DAY 22, still don't gave the rest of my blood work back. Been trying to take meds earlier so that the insomnia isn't as bad. Trying to manage without any extra meds to deal with the sides.
Posted 4/15/2014 1:37 AM (GMT 0)
TEST RESULTS BACK!!!!

HCV RNA, QUANTITATIVE REAL TIME PCR <15 IU/mL 118
HCV RNA, QUANTITATIVE REAL TIME PCR <1.18 Log IU/mL 2.07


Glucose 65 - 99 mg/dL 104
Fasting reference interval
Urea Nitrogen (BUN) 7 - 25 mg/dL 10
CREATININE 0.50 - 1.05 mg/dL 0.70
For patients >49 years of age, the reference limit
for Creatinine is approximately 13% higher for people
identified as African-American.
eGFR Non Afr. American > OR = 60 mL/min/1.73m2 96
eGFR African American > OR = 60 mL/min/1.73m2 111
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 6 - 22 (calc) NOT APPLICABLE
Sodium 135 - 146 mmol/L 140
Potassium 3.5 - 5.3 mmol/L 4.3
Chloride 98 - 110 mmol/L 107
Carbon Dioxide 19 - 30 mmol/L 20
CALCIUM 8.6 - 10.4 mg/dL 9.3
Protein, Total 6.1 - 8.1 g/dL 7.2
Albumin 3.6 - 5.1 g/dL 4.2
Globulin 1.9 - 3.7 g/dL (calc) 3.0
Albumin/Globulin Ratio 1.0 - 2.5 (calc) 1.4
BILIRUBIN, TOTAL 0.2 - 1.2 mg/dL 1.0
Alkaline Phosphatase 33 - 130 U/L 97
AST 10 - 35 U/L 18
ALT 6 - 29 U/L 19
Posted 4/15/2014 2:43 AM (GMT 0)
OMG OMG OMG...this is fantastic. Who can believe AST/ALTs like that. And the rest look perfect. I hop you are feeling as good as these numbers! BEST NEWS, Carol
Posted 4/15/2014 11:45 AM (GMT 0)
My liver hasn't had a break like this in 30 years. WOW! I see the doctor next Thursday. Wish he would change me from 6 mos to 3 mos Tx.
Posted 4/16/2014 11:44 AM (GMT 0)
Great to hear you're doing so well Carol, this is GREAT news and your numbers are looking good and it makes me so happy to see people like you doing so well and I'm glad your liver is getting a break after all these years :-)
Posted 4/16/2014 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
This one is Tracy...Carol (MOD, Mama Lama)'s partner, Mike is on treatment also.
Posted 4/21/2014 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
Good morning. Today is day 30!!!! I have to complain a bit. I am having severe anger outburst (severe for me is yelling) and I have heard about Riba Rage. Coiuld this be happening to me? I am generally a very patient person with others. Also, I have Herpes like blisters on my rear end. This a side effect? Thursday I see the doctor for the 1st time since starting Tx.
Posted 4/21/2014 12:41 PM (GMT 0)
Yes on Riba rage.

And yes on skin stuff!

Call your treatment coordinator. They will have some ideas.

Remember the, treatment is short. And you can bear anything rather than die of liver disease. Think of other patients struggling for their own cure. Nausea, hair loss, small chance for remissio n or cure. You are in a pretty positive path. Good luck.
Posted 4/29/2014 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
NEW TEST RESULTS IN:
Name
Standard Range 3/7/14 4/7/14 4/24/14
Albumin
3.9 - 5.0 g/dL 4.6 4.2 4.7
Alkaline Phosphatase
38 - 126 U/L 111 97 105
ALT (SGPT)
9 - 52 U/L 44 19 26
Anion Gap
6 - 22 17
AST (SGOT)
15 - 46 U/L 37 18 37
BILIRUBIN, TOTAL
0.2 - 1.3 mg/dL 0.6 1.0 0.7
BUN
7 - 17 mg/dL 5 10 20
CALCIUM
8.4 - 10.2 mg/dL 9.4 9.3 9.7
Chloride
98 - 107 mmol/L 106 107 103
CO2
22 - 30 mmol/L 24 20 24
Creatinine
0.52 - 1.04 mg/dL 0.66 0.70 0.60
GFR MDRD Af Amer >60
GFR MDRD Non Af Amer >60
Glucose
74 - 106 mg/dL 87 104 91
Osmolality Calculation
275 - 295 mOsm/kg 282
Potassium
3.6 - 5.0 mmol/L 3.9 4.3 4.1
Protein, Total
6.3 - 8.2 g/dL 7.4 7.2 7.6
Sodium
137 - 145 mmol/L 141 140 140
Posted 4/29/2014 12:11 PM (GMT 0)
What does "RBC Morphology Slight macrocytosis" mean?
Posted 4/29/2014 1:22 PM (GMT 0)
Tracy, evidently it is not unusual with liver disease.

See here: www.mayoclinic.org/macrocytosis/expert-answers/faq-20058234

Sound like it isn't something to sweat over.

Hugs,
ML
Posted 4/29/2014 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks ML. If anyone else is interested here's the scoop:

Macrocytosis is a term used to describe red blood cells that are larger than normal. It typically causes no signs or symptoms and is usually detected incidentally on routine blood tests.

Macrocytosis isn't a specific disease, but it may indicate an underlying problem that requires medical evaluation. Common causes of macrocytosis include:
•Vitamin B-12 deficiency
•Folate deficiency
•Liver disease
•Alcoholism
•Hypothyroidism
•A side effect of certain medications, such as those used to treat cancer, seizures and autoimmune disorders
•Increased red blood cell production by the bone marrow (regeneration) to correct anemia, for example, after blood loss
Posted 4/30/2014 12:02 PM (GMT 0)
TEST RESULTS BACK!!!!!

Hepatitis C RNA NOT DETECTED IU/mL NOT DETECTED
(NOTE)
Reference range: NOT DETECTED

THE QUANTITATIVE RANGE OF THIS ASSAY IS 43 IU/mL (1.63 log10) TO
69,000,000 IU/mL (7.84 log10).

A RESULT OF "NOT DETECTED" INDICATES THAT NO HCV VIRUS WAS DETECTED.

Post Edited (KWLAW) : 4/30/2014 6:05:29 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/30/2014 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
Best news of the day! So glad for you. We are living at a historic threshold. Hugs, Carol
Posted 5/1/2014 5:31 AM (GMT 0)
Congrats!!!
Posted 5/1/2014 11:58 AM (GMT 0)
I'm happy for you ML!
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