I almost made one milestone

Sorry that I didn’t add this post when I promised to. I had a bit of a set back when my pneumonia knocked me on my ass longer than I had hoped. I finished the first round of antibiotics but the pneumonia stayed. So I went back to the doctor’s and they did an x-ray and gave me another stronger antibiotic. I just finished those yesterday. I am not too sure that the pneumonia is finally gone. Perhaps by the end of this weekend I’ll know. Last year I had pneumonia three times. I moved to Toronto last fall and since I moved I had not experienced pneumonia so I was hoping to make it through to the end of the year without having it again. That is now one milestone that I won’t make. My sister believes that I may have jinxed myself by telling everyone that I had hoped to make this milestone when the cough first surfaced.

Amazingly, despite fighting this pneumonia I do have quite a bit to report. My appointment with the Hepatologist went off as re-booked. I was still pretty sick but I didn’t want to miss seeing him again. So I went and wore a mask. We discussed starting the treatment. There were some options that I was unaware existed. First, I could choose which form of interferon I wanted to use. Either Pegetron or Pegasys. The Pegetron requires mixing the drug before injecting it with a syringe. Pegasys comes premixed in Epi-Pen like devices. So that is great for me. I’ve been a little nervous about having syringes around the house. I was a little worried that they may make me anxious and lead me to a relapse. Another option I had is that I could either go to the clinic for my injection or the nurse can come to my place to do it. That again sounds good to me. People I know who have done the treatment have told me to expect to get chills and sweats about 15 mins after the shot. I was wondering what the likelihood was of me getting the shot, jumping in a cab and then getting home in time was.

So my Hepatologist filled out the forums to get the treatment covered while I was there. He also faxed the association for the nurse and told me that it usually takes 4 weeks or less for everything to fall in place. The next day I got a call from the nurse. She believes that I’ll have the drugs by December 9th, so that is the day that she will come here and show me how to do my first shot. I also found out about a very important policy for the clinic. Treating Hepatitis C can cause the haemoglobin to drop leading to anaemia. On The Nomads forum that I participate in I see that how that is dealt with depends on where you are being treated. Some clinics offer a rescue drug called EPOETIN or PROCRIT which helps increase your blood cells. Other clinics don’t seem to offer it and will just do a dose reduction of the Hep C drugs. Everything I have read suggest that using the rescue drug leads to a better outcome (Hep C wise) than doing a dose reduction. When I asked my Hepatologist what they do there he said that they give the rescue drug. “Anything to avoid a dose reductions” was his words. So that was comforting.

So everything seems to be falling in place. Right now my emphasis is on getting this infection cleared up before I start. I really don’t want it to come back once I start. I will update as events warrant it.

Cheers,

David McHep C

Virus Wars; Episode V, The Fever Strikes Back

I ended up having a bit of set back today. I woke up today feeling really crappy. My fever of 39 Celsius came back with a vengeance, so there was no way that they wanted me at the Hepatologist. So the appointment with the Hepatologist needed to be canceled. The city as well as the country are on high alert because of H1N1. I called my family doctor and even they were unsure how to handle me. The receptionist thought that I may have to go to the emergency. On the news the head doctor for the province was warning people not to go to the emergencies. It seems everyone wanted to pass the buck. So my family doctor called me back and asked me to come there. I had to mask and they put me in an isolation room right away. The outcome is that they are treating me for pneumonia. I started a strong antibiotic today. I take two pills today and then one pill a day for four days. Hindsight is twenty twenty, but I wish that I had gone to the doctor on Tuesday and did not wait as long as I did. Today I was in rough shape, having trouble breathing and alternating between sweats and chills.

The good news is that my appointment with the Hepatologist was re-booked really soon. One week from today. I really feared that it would have been several months. So I am happy about that. I am hoping that something will happen overnight and I'll start feeling better tomorrow. Don't have a lot to say because I still feel pretty rough. So my update on treatment will be delayed one week. I'll update everyone then.

Cheers,

David McHep C