"The only way that lunch could get any better was if  you added a grilled cheese Sandwich and dipped it into the tomato soup before each bite."

Now you're talkin, I make a Mean Grilled Cheese sandwich too, Jo say's they're the best in the West, LOL.

I agree, that's what was missing ... I was wondering  ... thanks for clarifying!

We're 50 Mi. East of Vancouver, WA up the gorge.

Keep us posted on how the meeting goes, wishing you the very best!

Dave

Dave, The only way that lunch could get any better was if  you added a grilled cheese Sandwich and dipped it into the tomato soup before each bite.  Remember you must Take RIBA with food, that's all I needed for an excuse to chow down!   I'm in Seattle today, it blew hard and rained harder, The great Pacific Nortwest.   Keep fighting Dave.   RC

Day 54 (30 left  to go!)

Just another rainy, windy, hailing  day here in the Pacific Northwest ...

... I'm not a big fan of processed foods, but there's something very theraputic about a hot bowl of tomato soup with saltine crackers, backed up with a very hot cup of very strong coffee on a Sunday afternoon.

I feel recharged and ready to hit it for another 30 days ... the dragon is friggin' dead, it's the moping up stage here ... just a matter of killing a few lurkng offspring, if any, and keeping this environment I call my body toxic enough, long enough to ensure that there is no chance of anything virus related ever having any chance of surviving.

I'll spare you the more graphic rantings and ravings but this dragon deserved every last bit of dreadful horror that I could throw at it and then some. I feel absolutely no remorse and will continue thrashing about with my freshly sharpened sword until I feel the sweet satisfaction of SVR.

So There!

Dave

Hiya Syd,

I'm so glad to hear that your energy level has improved, no doubt it will get even better as time goes on, you get past the other meds, you reach SVR and your liver mends even more than it already has. 12 weeks of the Riba is enough (I'm glad you don't need to take it for longer), the Sof/ Dac on top of the Sof/ Riba is like hittin' the virus with the second barrel of a double barrel shotgun (one barrel would likely do it, two is most excellent insurance ... you've got this Syd ... we'll both be sailin' on to SVR very soon. 

Hehe, I was just picturing your 3 year old grand daughter wearing her Minnie Mouse dress, how cute she must be. I too enjoy gardening very much and I'll be off Tx by the time the rains slow down a little here in Washington state and Spring is in the air. 

You're right, of course, that I have enough on my plate right now without being concerned with the eye surgery. I'll enjoy getting my glasses, they are going to make a world of difference.

Thank you for the kind and wise thoughts, they are helpful and greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

Dave

Hi Gracie,

thanks for your positive thoughts. It makes a huge difference when someone else can be your voice of reason.

Hi Dave,

I have always been head down in at least ten different projects - I am the have a go at anything, master of none type. That includes, knitting, sewing, patch work, stained glass, miniatures, gardening and so on. 

So last year when mum liver finally turned into a bag of walnuts, the scariest symptom fir me was losing the energy and will to begin or get into an unfinished project.

two weeks ago, that's 11 weeks into treatment I finally started to get it back. I am still tired but not as badly as when on RIBA and I have just finished a Minnie Mouse dress for my 3 year old grand daughter to wear on her birthday. You too will be back in the middle of building mayhem soon. And forget about the cataract operation for now. You're getting the glasses, you're on treatment,  and thats enough. 

Syd

Hi Mike,

Yup, today's not been bad ... I probably didn't drink enough water yesterday ... I do pretty good most of the time but every once and a while I mess up.

This next week I get my new glasses ... that will be a big plus, I'm not sure how long it's been since I was last in for an eye exam (8-10 years maybe). Doc said Left eyes is 20/100 Right is 20/70 without glasses and then add in the cateracts ... he said he could get me to 20/30 both eyes with glasses ... bonus!

Not sure how cateract surgery will go ... I'm totally paranoid of anythng anywhere near my eyes but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I think the actual surgery only takes about 10 minutes each eye and they'll only do one at a time, If they tie me down I'll probably be Ok, LOL.

So hey, when's your SVR date? (less than 3 wks maybe?) ... now I'll be waitin to hear from ya on that, for sure ...

Dave

 Sounds like you feel better today Dave. I felt sorry for you, the way you felt yesterday, but I knew It would likely pass. For me, with Riba, some days were worse than others and some were even pretty tolerable.
 HCV also made me appreciate life more and helped me realize how serious this disease is. That can get depressing if we dwell on it too much so we need some laughter to balance things out. I get that from your shenanigans as well as from a few others around here so don't worry, keep them coming.
 It won't be long now before you'll be back with your home improvement projects so keep your spirits up. By the time you get the riba worked out of your system you'll have energy to do plenty of projects but first things first. It won't be long now.

Day 53 

Hi All,

Thank you, Life is Good!

I am oh-so-grateful that I landed at this website (sorry, sometimes I tend to take it for granted) ... I went to another or two before arriving here and they were nothing like this, not anywhere near a distant close. I can't even imagine Tx without the wonderful support we find here ... so my thanks definitely go out to everyone, especially the founders and moderators of this site. Thank You!

Seeing more and more people finally getting Tx, as of late, is very uplifting. Being nearly 2/3 done with Tx is very bright as well. I send my biggest wishes to those still waiting to get on Tx (or as the case may be, Re-Tx), one thing is certain ... soon you too will be on Tx, it's a long wait for some but with persistence you'll get there. 

Life is Good and getting better!

Before I found out about HCV we were in the middle of remodeling our house, I was putting in hardwood floors and had other major projects in the works ... but it was going slow. I just chalked it up to getting older but I know now that HCV had a lot to do with it becoming so difficult. When I started Tx everything went on hold ... so our house is currently in what I would call 'a state of adequate disorder'. Today Jo and I talked about "getting our house back", it is overwhelming right now, of course, but I'm starting to see beyond Tx now even though I'm not done yet. I think having HCV has made it crystal clear how precious life is and I know I'm not the only one here that feels this way.

Perhaps it's the light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps it's just an ebb in the tide of ups and downs but it's nice to get a glimpse of normalcy, I am certain that it's due in great part to my friends here ... so thanks everyone, YOU make it all possible!

Soon I'll be back to my shenanigans and y'all will be rolling your eyes and shaking your heads  ... I'll try to keep them to a minimum but give no guarantees ... 

Be Well, Have a great weekend,

Dave

Syd,

Riba only makes a slight difference, and if your doctors took you off, it's probably better for you. RIBA can wreak havoc on your system, so stay the course and keep on trucking. The results without RIBA are still in the upper 90 percent range, especially at 24 weeks, and you did get the initial 12 done. Hopefully feel a little better too without RIBA symptoms as it starts to clear away.

Hi Dave,

you might know I have just finished 12 weeks of RIBA, sof, Dac. The doctors took me off RIBA last Friday 03/04/16 but I am still on the sof/ dac treatment. There is no way of knowing whether I will now relapse because of giving up the Riba at 12 weeks and it was a decision they made but I could have fought more to stay on it. 

Looking back I don't think I could have done another 12 weeks of it, and I just wanted to let you know I have a fair idea what youre feeling like.

Take care, the end of this 12 weeks really does come more quickly than you think it will when you are in the middle of it.

Syd

Linuxter,

You, and all the riba heads - ARE MY HEROS!

Without a doubt. C. 

... hadta put the headphones on for that one and Tomorrow ...

D

That which cannot be argued with.

IMHO.

Life is worth fighting for and the pain along the way is simply stepping stones to strength.

Jimmy and will even drop the K to make a more personal point.

Amen brothers and sisters ... 

Dave

And to go along with that...

Yup

A brother cannot ask a brother not to worry about a brother. <~~~ And you can quote me. ;)

JimmyK

Hey U-Awl,

Not to worry, I'm pretty much clownin' I am happy to be where I am and on the road to freedom.

This stuff just has a way of stickin' to ya and clogin' up the gears. It's like ridin' down a highway that's been freshly chip-sealed then gettin' stuck behind a truckload of chickens. Won't kill ya by any means but it's not a lot of fun either ...

... tomorrow I'll get around this dang chicken truck wash down the feathers with a gallon of water and get on down the road being darn glad it's not full of pot holes.

Water, Coffee, Water, More Coffee,  Exercise, followed by more Water tomorrow ...  <---- Pickin' feathers out of my hair ...

Dave

Brother Dave,

I have never wanted to speak evil of Riba knowing I have brothers and sisters here that are depending on it. Fact is the stuff had me walking with a cane by week 9 until removed from treatment due to breakthrough on week 11.

Pulled off week 11 of 12 with 6 stinking days remaining was a harder pill to swallow than the 10 I had been doing for months.

I was trained that I was not allowed to cry so I didn't but the fact is I was looking to make someone else do so.

That was wrong.

Fact is as miserable as it was for me I would do it again if it would work. Fact is also that was not my pill and I wish it were.

You are on your way to being done. To putting it behind you. Never give up. Fight with all you have and keep the rear view mirror as your goal. 

I wish like hell that I felt as bad as you do, but it was working.

Sometimes I feel like the only one who understands me is Clyde and that is likely because we have so much in common.

Sip your coffee and be grateful for the cup. Better days ahead my brother, this I know.

JimmyK

Hang in there fellow Slayer! Sit up in that recliner and hit a glass of AQUA refreshment, perhaps one of those magic smoothies with a shot of Cuban coffee. I guarantee you will be ready for another four weeks! I've been wanting to come back to my home state, might have to come by your place and give you a little pep talk!! Stay jazzed my friend, there are great days ahead!!

52 schmifty two ...

it is what it is ... it's not what I would call "Epic" ... 

got my coffee, life will go on, whatEvver ... 

dave

Day 52 Dave, just sayin ....

day whatEVER ...

blah, blah blah ...

... lol, kind of describes my mood today.

no major sides, riba's taking it's toll on my enthusiam ... just a hair over a month left ugg/ yahoo (kind of a mixed feeling there, lol)

i'm off to the store to get more coffee, we just ran out and I can't bear the thought of waking up tomorrow without any.

dave 

p.s. the great news is that so many fine folks are getting the latest DAA's now and a great many regimes are now riba-free ...  now that is Great News indeed! We've come a long way baby, no doubt some of the True Vets here see this way more than I with their having had to endure a whole lot worse than riba to become HCV-Free (my hat's off to each and every one of them)! :Salute

... I'm  not too surprised Jimmy, he sounds like he's a solid friend ...

Linuxter wrote:

---

... won the argument with myself!

---

 I once won an argument with Clyde.

True story!

JimmyK

... Good Grief!

... there, I just did 4 more minutes (covers me for the next time I happen to be 2 minutes short) ... I hope you're happy ...

... good grief (mumble, mumble, grumble ...) 

"ok I'm not agitated any more, honest, I swear, *&"?%$#!!"

Hey Mister, watch that language! You've got two minutes left on that bike, pal! Get on it, after you have another glass of water!

... won the argument with myself!

Rode the exercise bike for half an hour (well, actually only 28 minutes) ...

... turned my shortness of breath into downright heavy breathing but hey, at least if felt good to stop.

Floating around on my endorphins now ... kinda dizzy and drinking water ... ok I'm not agitated any more, honest, I swear, *&"?%$#!!

Whew!

Dave

Dave wrote:

Day 51 (That's Day 31 for you SF ... LOL)

That is true :)

It sounds like you might want to exercise even if only a bit. It will probably work off some of that agitation. <---- This coming from someone who won't exercise until I can get on my bike again outdoors. Oh well.

The one thing I never forget is to hydrate. I still keep updating the app I have every time I have a bottle or glass. I tend to drink 2.5 liters a day although I set the limit to 3. I like to start to slow down closer to bedtime so I am not up 3/4 times a night.

I am glad you finally had your eye exame .... I tried to google that and come up with a definition in some language for you but noooooo. Oh well.

Take care

SF

Day 51 (That's Day 31 for you SF ... LOL)

Back from my eye exame ... Glasses in one week ... bonus!     (exame ?? what's up with that ... good thing I don't have to pass a spelling exame !!)

Need eye surgery but will deal with that post SVR.

Riba making me feel a bit antsy and agitated today, nothing new about that ... drinking more water and trying to talk myself into getting on the exercise bike ... (good luck with that dave ...) ... yes, I was arguing with myself again 

Dave

... Excellent Choice ... gotta admit

My go to song...

JimmyK

Brother, when Carolyn is cured I will consider changing the statement. In fact, a simple UND will suffice. Until then I have a burden that will not be behind me until it is behind her.

Just the way I roll and your words are also true and greatly appreciated.

JimmyK

JimmyK wrote:

---

Greetings,

 

"The greatest therapeutic thought I have is the fact that I deserve far worse than I have ever received." ®

 

That right there is an original JimmyK quote ? certified. Better add it to the sig line

 

Regards y'all!

JimmyK

 

 

---

Hi Jimmy,

I try not to dwell on the past other than to learn from it and move on, what's important, IMHO is how we are moving forward ... I have regrets too and they are many but reliving those over and over will only act to keep me from moving ahead in a positive way and being a better person from this day on ... Jimmy has a big heart! ... that's what I think you should add to your sig line ... Keep on keepin' on ...  ----> That way ---> 

Dave

Hi Syd and Ari,

Your words are helpful and calming, thank you for sharing your experiences, it really helps to be able to see through the eyes of others, especially when my own vision is now, at least in part, obscured by the Riba! I keep thinking to myself that the Riba is not a big deal but I'm glad I'll see an end to it in the not too distant future. Believe me, at EOT I am going to drink TWICE as much water as I already am just to flush it from my system.

Wishing you both the best!

Thanks,

Dave

Greetings,

"The greatest therapeutic thought I have is the fact that I deserve far worse than I have ever received." ®

That right there is an original JimmyK quote ? certified. Better add it to the sig line

Regards y'all!

JimmyK

hi Dave,

glad you are able to adopt more calm, pragmatic view of the whole trip. you may know, I was given another 12 weeks on sof/dac/riba but was taken off the riba last week at week 12. I also have genome 2 but am cirrhotic which seems to make all the difference.

i just found that the riba played such havoc with my mind. Anxiety, depression, aggression, a lack of objectivity, paranoia - and reminding myself it was chemically induced just didn't work. I felt I could physically feel the dosage of rib increase inside my body every day. The other symptoms - rash, joint pain, nausea, stomach pain, fatigue are all still there to varying degrees. But when I stopped taking it, it was like someone was emptying off a keg of poison. Within 48 hours I started feeling more calm and rational and now a week later I'm almost myself. So I'm sure that once you stop the riba the worst of the symptoms will start to abate too. 

As for dolling out the drugs - I too have found that very stressful. I know they are worth a lot of money but it's so stressful having them fed out bit by bit. Now my dac runs out a day before the Sovaldi so I will have to spend three hours on two separate days of the week driving and queueing. 

like you I've also stopped worrying so much about viral load results. Ultimately I'm sure we will get them but when the whole system is so indifferent towards the patient being informed when the results are in, there seems to be little use in banging your head against a brick wall. Hopefully I will get my week 12 results this Friday and then they won't do another one for 12 weeks and then 12 weeks after that.

it certainly is a waiting game. Take care and if you can get out, do. 

Cheers,

Syd

Hi Ari,

Thanks for the nice thoughts and helpful advice ... I'll do it!

To be honest, once I stop taking the meds life will begin to improve for me physically and I'll try to get an EOT+4wk VL test but am not going to waste energy worrying about it or trying to fight the system.

I feel a tad abandoned by my Infectious Disease doc with no more scheduled appointments or labs (other than EOT+12 lab only), then again she must know that Genotype 2b is quite easily cured and one of the most successful so won't waste time on me any more. I don't have to like it but I try to be pragmatic and (hopefully) know what battles to fight and which ones to bypass.

My gut tells me I will be cured by EOT, my brain is another story, it likes to mess with me ... evil little rascal at times, the brain ... LOL!

Thanks,

Dave

Hi Dave, I was always anxious over the meds arriving on time too. They wouldn't give me them all at once as they thought I would lose them - then the hospital spaced them out and accused me of selling them off! No apology when they discovered it was their fault. 

The shortness of breath does go away once off the medication. I really recommend doing just that little bit more exercise that you think you can manage, made all the difference to me, even though the chores were piling around me as I preferred to get outside for a walk than to vacuum the floor - funny that!

Heard on the radio the other day that the best cure for brain fog (or brain plaque as they called it) is exercise, I would agree with that from my own experience.

Keep on truck'n - your getting close

tho' I don't envy a 12 week wait post treatment to get any results. . . . . 

Aroha

Ari

Day 50

Another 14 day supply of meds should arrive today, one more shipment left after this.

Feel a bit tapped of energy and woke up with nausea but other than that doing fine.

Eye exam tomorrow morning ... looking forward to getting new glasses.

Dave

Day 49/84 (Wk 7)

All goes well, no complaints ... I don't know if my body is just getting used to the drugs or if it's because I'm not having to fight the Dragon any more ... I sense that it's dead but glad to have 5 more weeks Tx to be absolutely sure.

Shortness of breath is whenever I get up or walk to another room etc but it's not debilitating, in fact I need to get some exercise in spite of it (I've been complacent doing that lately and need to at least try).

Shortness of breath will probably go away shortly after EOT.

I'm not worried, perhaps a bit irritated that I don't see testing until EOT+12 but it won't be the end of the world if I do have to wait.

Yup, just 5 weeks to go on Tx, got a shipment of meds arriving tomorrow which covers me through wk 10 so only one more shipment after this and I'll have all my meds (Having all the meds will be a great relief, for some reason having them doled out in small batches has been nerve wracking).

Keep on keepin' on ... you're almost half way yourself, thanks for dropping in ...

Take Care,

Dave

Hi Dave,

Will the shortest of breath dissipate or is it on and off again until you are finished Tx?

I hope you are doing well and not to worried about it but that's easy to say. I also hope you hear from your PCP soon and glad you have just passed the half way mark. It will be worth the prize.

We are waiting to hear about today since, that post was yesterday. We will just keep going

SF

Day 48/84

Just another day in the life of a Dragon Slayer ... sword is getting a little on the heavy side ... shortness of breath is apparently now the norm, splitting some kindling is now a major chore. Even though, most if not all other side effects seem to be fading away ... perhaps a little fog still but I'm getting used to being dumbed-down, I guess.

Counting my blessings, I'm glad to be going downhill and gaining speed. No word from my PCP regarding any further testing before SVR, it's only been a week since I sent it and she's only in the local office 2 days a week so I imagine it's not really a priority to her now since I still have over 5 weeks left of Tx. I refuse to believe she's just ignoring the letter I sent, that's not usually her style at all.

Haven't heard from a couple fellow (Ribahead) Warriors lately, I hope all goes well with them ... ET(s) phone home ...

Dave

Hi SF,

I hope the headaches keep to a minimum, I know how distracting and uncomfortable they can be, I'm fortunate that I haven't experienced many during Tx myself but I do get them occasionally anyway.

Glad to hear that Tx is otherwise not giving you too rough a time.

It's nice to think that soon we shall both be HCV-Free 

Dave

I am horrible at the game but play so my friends can feel good

Give me a computer any day!

Scrabble does keep the brain sharp ... 20 games, Wow ...

Jo plays scrabble all the time on fb games, she often has a lot of games going at once too so she doesn't have to wait too long between plays.

I don't do fb much but do like scrabble ... one of the top games of all time, if you ask me. 

Dave

Good Stuff Dave,

That would be 27 for me that I just realized I forgot to write down. For the first time today I think I am having some minor brain fog. I looked at my pill case this morning, it's AM/PM and I usually fill it up on Saturday evening , since that is the last day on it. I looked at it and saw that Sunday's pill was gone, looking at PM even though I knew I had not filled it yesterday. I had not yet taken my pill. Duh ... It was finally figured out but after that I tried to play some online scrabble words back. I had 22 games going and I looked at the boards and could not see anything to play back, not even two letter words. I put it down, came back 6 hours later and same thing. I finally started and then was able to carry on.

Other than that and some mild headache, I am completely norBal ...

SF

Day47/84

Tick, tick, tick ...

Fairly uneventful ... glad to be getting along with Tx but will be oh so happy to be done with it.

I'm sure this is not the best time to be getting an eye exam since my vision may change once I reach SVR but I have no choice if I want to continue to drive ... so I have an exam scheduled for next week ... I'm long over due getting new glasses so bound to see some improvement there. That'll be a big plus.

Wishing you all Well, 

Dave

JimmyK wrote:

---

Linuxter wrote:

---

"At the risk of sounding sane ..."

 

---

 LOL no worries!

 

---

 Whew! ...  

Linuxter wrote:

---

"At the risk of sounding sane ..."

 

---

 LOL no worries!