The Summer I Turned 28

The summer I turned 28 was a summer of change for me. I had just spent the year from hell recovering from surgery and steroid type drugs to counteract the symptoms of my girlie affliction. That was not fun. I was working in a “nowhere” sales clerking job, bored to death and hating every minute of it and paid nothing to boot.

I decided to return to college that fall and finish my program. It was a long hard year of being a full-time student and my poor husband managed to work himself into a stomach ulcer from the extra stress of being the sole breadwinner.

Well, I did it and it paid off 100 fold for us.

Shot 28 was completed on Friday evening and I am trying the injection pattern suggestion that came from the forum by treating the stomach injection area like the face of a clock. I am sorry that I didn’t heed that suggestion at first. It works and my frantic itching has been manageable since I’m not injecting in the same six areas. I also use copious amounts of moisturizer several times a day to ease the alligator skin that has formed around this area. This tx is brutal and my once OK skin is so dry and rough that I probably could hang a sweater on it. Also, I look like one of those wrinkle pups as I have lost so much weight along with not doing exercise the muscle tone is nil so it just hangs there.

Yesterday, I did some major furniture shopping. MAJOR. I’ll take pictures and post them once the pieces are delivered over the next few weeks. A couch, chair, antique white table and sideboard and black vase will complete some of the empty areas of the house. We dragged one table and the black vase home. I haven’t the energy to wash them down today. They will have to wait.

My husband and I also met up with friends who haven’t seen me since November 2007 and they commented on my weight loss. Also, my friend is a hairdresser and, well, you know…my hair looks like crap (what’s left of it).

I was also into my old workplace last Thursday and it has been weeks since I was there. Several co-workers commented on how exhausted I looked and that I had better get out of the secondment as it’s too much for me. Little do they know. Along with that one co-worker squawked about my eyelashes and how long they are…can you imagine! I couldn’t believe that she noticed it. She will rant on about that and send people down to look at me when I return in a couple of weeks.

My days of working full time are numbered. I feel like I have taken it to the chin long enough. Time to look after me. I would have taken more time off this past year, but because I have the 72 week tour of duty I have to hang in these days as long as I can to keep my sick time for the last 36 weeks of treatment. I don’t think I’ll make it to the 36 weeks working full time. I’ll have to worry about those days at the end when the time comes. I’ll hardly care I’ll be so happy if I make it to the 72 weeks.

As terrylee8 suggested …keep repeating the mantra…”I’m undetectable, I’m undetectable, I’m undetectable…”

First Easter Memory & Shot 27

At 27 years of age I spent the year recovering from an emergency surgery and battling the sides of a steroid medication to combat endometriosis. I persevered and took the drug for the full 12 months scribed. The sides were not great, but I stayed with it. It wasn’t a life threatening illness and I was thankful that I didn’t have a worse prognosis other than endometriosis.

On a lighter note, this being Easter, I should write about my first childhood memory. I had to be very young (later 50’s) and we took a rare family trip to visit friends of my parents. These friends owned a store and I can remember being carried into the store in my Dad’s arms and he pointed out a huge chocolate Easter Bunny. I was in awe! I never forgot that huge chocolate Easter bunny and I wished for one of my own. I never asked for one until I was older and Mom managed to get me a hollow Easter chicken. Crap! I wanted the bunny that was nearly as huge as me. LOL Hey, I was lucky to get the chicken!

Well, shot 27 is done and the two worst sides are fatigue and now I am plagued with major itching. Layers and layers of different creams, cortisone (used sparingly), anti-itch creams and the occasional antihistamine are only giving me temporary relief. The hair thinning is bad, but it’s more psychological than a real problem. I use the Nioxin product for thinning hair, but as one forum member indicated when I first started visiting the forums…”It doesn’t matter what you do, what product you use, if the tx is going to make your hair fall out or thin drastically, it will happen. You cannot stop it.” She was right.

Undetectable!

Undetectable!

23 Week PCR

46 weeks left

Shot 26

At 26 years of age I was whisked into the local hospital for emergency surgery for Endometriosis (sorry, guys, girlie stuff). It was nasty stuff, but not life threatening. I was a trooper and took that punch on the chin. I was put on a year of meds following the surgery to curb any problems. There is no chance of clearing Endometriosis they can only settle it down with drugs. However, it did reduce my chances of having children.

I had blood tests done yesterday scribed by my local doc to see if my week off work helped my WBC & HGB, etc. I expect he’ll go into panic mode when he receives the results.

I am still waiting for word regarding my 23 week PCR.

1/3 Completed

I found this on a Hep C forum “Med Help” and I thought it was worthy of acknowledging it in my blog.


After recovering from hepatitis C

by xapbkob, Mar 07, 2008 04:20AM
I am dating a woman who had Hepatitis C. She was able to recover from it and says that she does not have it anymore. What could I expect if I to marry her? Will I have to use condoms , or will we have problems having children? Is there a possibility for anyone to be infected from her?



FI Guy
Mar 07, 2008 07:48AM
To: xap
If you have found life partner who has cleared hcv, you are a truly lucky guy. People who have battled and beat this disease display traits that are not only admirable but necessary for success in life. They demonstrate commitment, fortitude, a sense of purpose and an understanding of the difficulties of achieving a difficult goal. The real question that you should be asking is if you are worthy of such a person.


I was, as the Brit’s would say, chuffed to the buttons when I read this response from FI Guy. I perceived this to refer as anyone who has gone through treatment (male or female) and gave it their best attempt to clear no matter what the outcome.

I can only hope that I make it 72 weeks through this journey.

Waiting on my 23 week PCR results and that will tell the story if I am to continue with treatment. It will be a wait!

Shot 25 this week is completed.

Shot 24

My Dad passed away with bowel cancer the year I turned 24. He walked me down the aisle at my wedding in May of ’78 and was gone by January ’79. I wasn’t close to him, but he was “somewhat” around when I was a child and growing up. My mom stayed with him until I (the baby of the family) graduated from high school. He wasn’t a warm fuzzy type of Dad. He was away working or road running more than he was home. However, it’s all I knew. I was used to it and accepted it. I loved him in my own way even though he created an emotional distance between himself and his children. Unfortunately, my bother inherited Dad’s standoffishness. However, at 24 years of age his death floored me.

I don’t even remember where he is buried and it’s somewhere in this shire. It has horrified people when I admit this to them.

“Old Man, look at my life, 24 and there’s so much more…” to quote Neil Young. I noticed that JB quoted Neil Young in a post “long may you run…” I managed to see Neil in concert years ago and, unfortunately, it was during his country music mistake. He did play his classics, however, the warm up group was The Judd’s. Naomi Judd is a great advocate for Hep C here in North America and I think back to that concert and now I know that many people sitting there were carriers of Hep C, but didn’t know it...me included.

I’m babbling today.

Consequently, if I am allowed to continue I shall be 1/3 through my treatment. I am waiting for a PCR test result and I expect it will take weeks to receive the results. My bloods took a drop this last month and I am waiting to hear how my HGB is doing. I know that my WBC is low as the nurse called and indicated that on Wednesday.

She thinks I’m “overdoing it” However, I figure my HGB is lower as I am getting mild headaches by the end of the week and yesterday’s headache was enough to take a couple of Tylenol throughout the day. I am dizzy and exhausted so I have been trying to rest. I cannot do much else, but I would force myself to do things and now I’m not. There are toilets to be scrubbed, sinks to be cleaned and I just cannot do it right now. I think I’ll hire someone.

I am going to try and get copies of my recent tests from my regular doc.