April 9 - Life goes on

Saturday morning after injection #10. Wow, up to double digits! Unfortunately, not a great shot night with lots of flu-like reaction, despite the tylenol, and very little sleep. Now having my Starbucks coffee and lemon cranberry scone comfort breakfast and have added an es tylenol to the morning regime. Planning on a quiet day.

Was reading Steve's biopsy experience, which sounded quite unpleasant. I did not have a liver biopsy prior to treatment. Once diagnosed with genotype 3a, facing a shorter treatment regime with relatively high percentage svr outcome and showing unremarkable liver function on ultrasound, my physician was agreeable to having me take the treatment without biopsy. Should I not achieve an svr, I will certainly have a biopsy performed to be able to adequately assess where things are and to assist with future planning. Also affecting my nonbiopsy decision, I work within the health care institution where virtually all of the downtown liver biopsies are read by physicians I know well. At the time of my diagnosis, I was extremely reluctant to have my hcv status out there for all to see. As time progresses, this is less of a concern to me. This is good because I was placed in a position recently (by my employer), where my hep c and treatment were pretty much put out there with my coworkers, while we were discussing taking on extra responsibilities. Will only be a matter of time now, am sure, before it's common knowledge. Well, part of starting this blog was to help me to take ownership for this disease and its treatment. I am certainly impressed by the personal advocacy demonstrated by the other hep c bloggers. Perhaps I can do this with as much grace and stamina.

I've noticed that most of the other bloggers are being treated with the Roche Pegasys product. I am on Schering Plough's redipen formulation, prescribed as "Pegetron" in Canada. Am adding the Schering Plough hepatitis page to my "websites" sidebar. They only have a U.S. site, and the interferon and ribavirin products are "Peg-Intron" and "Rebetol" respectively there, I think.

There've been a few rough edges this week, not from the medication per se, but just life throwing a few curves in general. There was the work stuff, which despite involving promotion had the double edged sword of outing my hcv infection and treatment. As well, my bank, following extensive reorganization of my finances, managed to take money out of my account on a date that had been rescheduled for a different day each month, setting off a series of nsf cheques and frozen funds that required 2 days and multiple (often unanswered), telephone calls to sort out. In the end, they have redeposited wrongfully withdrawn monies and have covered all nsf charges so that it's all straightened out, but what a pain! I've also been contacted by a health care institution outside of Toronto enquiring as to whether I might be interested in helping them develop a plan for my type of work within their hospital setting. Finally, there is now an opportunity for me to arrange to write American examinations for my profession early this coming Autumn, which would entail my starting to study now. Alternatively, I could wait for a year and write in 2006. This all has made it (crystal) clear that, treatment or not, life goes on unabated. It is not standing still for my treatment and I continue to have associated choices and responsibilities to address. So I will address them.

Sue