Week 5

NP called husband this afternoon to tell me that my hemoglobin is a bit low and that's what is going on with the shortness of breath. It's not bad, but I noticed it.

Beginning viral load is 549,540

I had my four week viral load done and my whole treatment seems to be based on this four week viral load.

I am very mixed up after talking to my NP here are my options when I get the results of last week’s tests and I am thrown for a loop because NP said my four week tests will determine the following:

If I have a one log drop I’ll have to stop
If I have 1-2 log drop I’ll have to treat 72 weeks
If I have 2 log drop “but still measure” then I have to treat 72 weeks
If I have 2 log drop and “not measure” I will have to treat 48 weeks.

If I continue I will not get another viral load test until week 24

I expect the rules to change as I go along with this NP as they were certainly changed when I received the hand written options listed above from her last week. It hardly seems fair that so much is determined by a four week outcome when other places in the world wait until the eight or 12 week outcomes to determine stopping or length of treatment.

Let’s hope I misunderstood, but it’s written on a piece of paper here and it appears these decisions are made after my four week VL test.

Shot number five Friday Oct 19.

I did a bit better this weekend when I didn’t hold back on the extra strength Tylenol. According to NP I am only allowed 2000 mg in 24 hour period. I was skimping on them prior to this weekend and I just took them every six hours for the first day and got along much better. It’s my new plan.

I was horizontal most of Saturday and Sunday I felt seedy. I notice I have very little energy on the weekends so my major work around the house has to be broken up into chunks on week nights when I am feeling good enough to do the necessary cleaning of bathrooms.

I am avoiding one of my friends as she will be relentless with figuring out what is wrong with me. She is busy with a major thing in her own life and that will probably take the heat off me until the middle of December then I’m on my own with her and it will be difficult to hide that I am not available on the weekends to do stuff with her.

I had to use the cold excuse this weekend and had to miss a major yearly party.

Ironically, my voice is gravelly as if I have a cold and I think it’s all out exhaustion from the meds. They all think I have a cold. I can’t use that excuse for 43 more weeks.

Also, I do notice a bit of trouble catching my breath when I exert myself so my bloods must be dropping. I’ll know after these recent blood tests.