They had me on Trazadone 50 for sleep after discontinuing a pain management program cold turkey. It's not terribly effective imo. The withdrawals weren't pleasant, nor is the ongoing pain. So I was given Wellbutrin which was supposed to help me not care about the pain. That didn't work, so now the choice is Zoloft 100 daily. It does nothing except destroy libido. I would seek some other options were I having the troubles you're dealing with. They may be on the right course, just lacking horsepower to get you over the mountain...
Linuxter said
Feb 18, 2016
Hey Scott,
If you think it's a real and serious problem and the PA didn't address it, there's always the ER ...
... they WILL check it out and get to the bottom of what's going on.
I had to do that when I was getting ping ponged around between Doctor and Dentist, I went to the ER and they immediately sent me to the hospital 80 miles away and found I had a bad infection that was in my cheek and nearing my brain ... they operated immediately ...
... my point is that if you feel it's serious and the Doctors and/ or PA's aren't dealing with it the ER is an option.
Dave
-- Edited by Linuxter on Thursday 18th of February 2016 09:31:06 PM
Scott18927 said
Feb 18, 2016
Thank you Syd. I sure hope you get the 24 weeks. Keep us posted. This is a tough journey. Yeah, I figured it couldn't be any worse than the previous 2, and it really isn't. But I just have different issues.
Well, my ankle is doing better today. I got other pains now. My anxiety is one of the worst things I got going on along with these bad head rushes. Today, I had one this morning that was horrible.. So what does my PCP want me to do to fix this anxiety? Raise my Zoloft to 100mg per day.
Look, I am no doctor, but I never had head rushes before. I have always had anxiety and some time panic attacks. Now I am getting super bad head rushes. Lets see what changed. Hmm, Taking Zoloft, Trazodone, Rib, and Sol. According to the Liver Doc, his meds are not causing this. So, my only other thought is the Zoloft. So why take more? I am refusing to take more until they figure out the head rushes or they give me a rational explanation to take more.
As for the anxiety, I will just suck it up and hope it doesn't take me to the ER again with panic attacks. My main goal as everyone's on here is to get cured.
I am dealing with a lot of PA's. I don't know if you have them in Australia but I really don't like dealing with PA's. Hope that doesn't offend anyone but I have had bad luck with them and I like to speak directly to doctors. My PCP isn't even a doctor.
GOOD LUCK! How ya feeling today Dave?
Linuxter said
Feb 18, 2016
Hi Syd,
Thanks for the words of encouragement, they'er appreciated!
Best of luck to you as well ... hang in there, you're doing great through this.
Dave
Sydhanrahan said
Feb 18, 2016
Hi Scott,
what terrible side effects you have suffered previously. I have had a necrotic infection in my breast and infection after abdominal surgery Soi know how terrifying and out of control you feel as you go through stuff like that.
i hope they keep a careful eye on your ankle. You must be so brave to be getting back on this riba train again. Hopefully just a hitch on your journey this time round - aches and pains are part of riba too.
i am hitting week 10 tomorrow and am going to try and convince Drs to extend it to 24. It's scarey seeing how your life is in the hands of people who have the same foibles and the mistakes as the rest of us.
my heamoglobin dropped from 106 to 98 in a week and so the riba has been reduced from 5 tabs per day to 4. It will be interesting to see how much it has dropped again in the last week.
Good luck to both you and Dave,
Syd
Scott18927 said
Feb 17, 2016
Foot is feeling a little better today. I have iced it and taken some Ibuprofen. Anyone know if cortisone mixes badly with Rib/Sov? Just curious.
Linuxter said
Feb 17, 2016
Thanks TK,
Sounds like you're doing very well on the Bullet Train ... the virtually no side effects is going to change history in terms of HCV treatment.
Yes, lab results will be interesting to see, expectations are much lower VL, hopes are, of course, UND but either way I'll know the meds are doing their job. With an intitial VL of ~10 million it may take a while (therefore the 12 wks).
Dave
tkflex36 said
Feb 17, 2016
Dave,
It's so awesome to hear you are doing well! I'm very interested to see your four week labs, I'm sure they will be very pleasing for ya! Keep on trucking buddy!
TK
Linuxter said
Feb 17, 2016
Day 29
In a circling pattern waiting on 4 wk lab results ... fortunately these results tend to come in fairly quickly from this lab, I'm guessing I should probably know something by Friday. Also have an appointment with my PCP Friday for seeing about re-evaluating some meds I'm on and if they're in, discuss my lab results.
Over 1/3rd of the way done with Tx ... don't feel peppy but do feel some changes for the positive in small ways. Don't know if it's that the virus is down or that my diet is a bit better (diet has been a mix of good and not quite as good ... but that's better than it was prior to treatment. Still feel tired pretty much all the time but that's the Riba ... I look at two more months of that and go ugg but am glad to be taking it just the same.
Have a bit of a cough today, kind of an upper respiratory tickle and light cough ... common with the Sof/ Riba, or so I'm told.
Waiting Again,
Dave
-- Edited by Linuxter on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 08:01:53 PM
Scott18927 said
Feb 17, 2016
CBC was still good. So, I am not sure what is causing these head rushes. I know it is from the meds. I am going to PCP on Jan 29th to get some other tests and have them look at my ankle. If it gets worse in the next couple of days, I will go to the emergency room. Today is a rest day. Yay.
Here are my results.
Component Results
Component
Your Value
Standard Range
WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT
6.3 10*9/L
4.0-11.1 10*9/L
RED BLOOD CELL COUNT
4.53 10*12/L
4.76-6.09 10*12/L
HEMOGLOBIN
14.3 g/dL
14.3-18.1 g/dL
HEMATOCRIT
42.0 %
39.2-50.2 %
MEAN CORPUSCULAR VOLUME
92.7 fL
80.0-100.0 fL
MEAN CORPUSCULAR HGB
31.6 pg
27.5-35.1 pg
Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration
34.0 g/dL
32.0-36.0 g/dL
PLATELET COUNT
224 10*9/L
150-400 10*9/L
MEAN PLATELET VOLUME
10.1 fL
9.6-12.8 fL
RED CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH CV
13.8 %
11.7-14.2 %
RED CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH SD
45.9 fL
37.1-48.8 fL
Neutrophil %
63.2 %
LYMPH PERCENT
23.7 %
MONOCYTE PERCENT
10.3 %
EOSINOPHIL PERCENT
2.4 %
BASOPHIL PERCENT
0.2 %
IMMATURE GRANULOCYTE PERCENT
0.2 %
ABSOLUTE NEUTROPHILS
4.0 10*9/L
1.8-6.6 10*9/L
ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES
1.5 10*9/L
1.0-4.8 10*9/L
ABSOLUTE MONOCYTES
0.7 10*9/L
0.2-0.9 10*9/L
Absolute Eosinophils
0.2 10*9/L
0.0-0.4 10*9/L
Basophil (Absolute)
0.0 10*9/L
0.0-0.2 10*9/L
Immature Granulocytes Absolute
0.0 10*9/L
0.0-0.05 10*9/L
NUCLEATED RBC
0.0 %
0 %
NRBC ABSOLUTE
0.00 10*9/L
0 10*9/L
Linuxter said
Feb 17, 2016
Hey Scott,
Sorry you're not feeling well ... did you take your temp?
Definitely sounds like a trip to the Doc would be a good plan.
Hope things improve for ya.
Dave
Scott18927 said
Feb 17, 2016
2 am here. I have chills and let Trazodone doest seem to be working any more. Already went from 25 to 50 just a few days ago. I actually had a dream where I was shivering in a field on a way to a movie. Then I woke up and I was shivering. Grabbed another blanket and cranked the heat up.
Don't know it i already posted this but my rt. ankle that I had surgery on Dec 2014 was completely mobile 3 weeks ago. Now the joint is swollen and I have no mobility. Feels like it did 1 month after surgery. I guess I'll have to get that looked at. Don't want any fluid to cause an infection. I will give it a couple days first but I will notify my doctor. CBC today when they open. I don't see myself getting back to sleep.
Linuxter said
Feb 16, 2016
... LOL ... never donned on me ... Doh!
-- Edited by Linuxter on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 01:56:09 AM
Ari-anna said
Feb 16, 2016
Doh, Dave - the most common form of colour blindness in a male is an inability to distinguish between red and green!
Linuxter said
Feb 16, 2016
Scott18927 wrote:
Oops, Minimum
... sorry, I just had to drum up some drama, always with the drama ...
Scott18927 said
Feb 16, 2016
Oops, Minimum
Linuxter said
Feb 16, 2016
Color blindness ... ??? ... Well that explains those flashing red and blue lights behind me on the way home from the clinic ... I figured something was up with my eyes so I just ignored them and sped off ... they seemed to go away so I'm fine now.
... Actual green blood ... go figure ... Alex, I'll take "Very Strange but True" for 500 ... (Wow, bet that really had the ER scramblin')
160 OZ/ min ... Woah, that's way too much in one min ... (That'd be like the guy below on steroids, like x 10)
Glad to hear the Doc took it seriously and is on top of this rather than dismissing it like the PA (perhaps the PA should be dismissed)
-- Edited by Linuxter on Tuesday 16th of February 2016 11:02:01 PM
Scott18927 said
Feb 16, 2016
Can't wait for your results Dave.
Well, my PA emailed me back today and said, "Your symptoms are not related to the meds, go see your PCP." I made an appointment with my PCP and the soonest was Feb 29th.
Then 1 hour after I make this appointment, I receive another email from the Doc and he said exactly opposite of what the PA said. Boy I am glad I have a thorough Doctor that is checking up on those PA's. He said come in ASAP and get your CBC done again. You dropped 2 points in your Hemoglobin and you RBC dropped quite a bit, although were in normal range. It could be that they continued to drop and that is why you are getting those symptoms. Reduce your Ribavirin to 4 pills a day until you get these Labs.
So, I will go tomorrow. Just some history on my last 2 treatments. the first one, I got a massive infection in my arm where they drew blood in the Navy. I had to get blood 2 times a week for the first 3 weeks then once a week. Anyway, a few days after I got my blood test, I had a couple of pimples on my arm. The next day they were holes the size of a quarter and had the smell of the worst thing I have ever smelled. I was sent to the ER and hospitalized for 8 days with every antibiotic known to man pumped through me. Very close to having to amputate. They had to remove muscle, part of the insides of my forearm and my vein.
The next time I had treatment, I had mouth sores so bad that I couldn't even talk. White pockets all inside of my mouth. This time it was a Liver Doctor who had been treating Hep C patients for 35 years. He said worst case he had ever seen and it is from the Ribavirin. Now, both times I was on Interferon which has its own side effects and amplifies that of the Riba. Anyway, Long story short, even in my 20s, I had bad reactions to this stuff. I can't believe the PA just blew it off. She very well could be right, it could be side effects from the other meds I am on. But I like the doctors recommendation. Get you in and get tested and if it hasn't significantly dropped then you go back to 6 and go to PCP to have them look into what else could be causing it.
Personally, I think I over did it one of those days and it took a few days of rest.
Last remark: Dave, I added up my water intake for the of it. 160 OZ min. That is 1.25 Gal. or 4.73L, 288 in^3, .167 ft^3, or 4731.76473 cm^3. . I have an APP.
Week 4 blood and I just heard from your lab. Seems you're suffering a bit of color blindness now. Should return to normal once you've achieved SVR. The lab sent me a photo of your recent blood sample. You might want to cut back on the green smoothies buddy, lol!
Let us know just as soon as those results come in! Good luck Brother, I think you'll be pleased....
... apparently my blood is still red, not green ... except when it's blue ... which it's really not.
-- Edited by Linuxter on Tuesday 16th of February 2016 07:56:17 PM
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
...
... I wonder if my blood with be green tomorrow? ... Ya think?
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
... Ya, as for the carrots ... the Green Smoothie Ranch ordered 27 pallets of those just the other day ...
... not ... I agree, getting to the bottom of that bag before they went bad would be rather difficult and if you managed to pull it off, like SF said, you will, no doubt, be one shade of orange or another ...
Shadowfax said
Feb 15, 2016
Nice Dave and you are exactly 20 days ahead of me. I reached 7 days today. I will get my requisitions sent to me and take them to a lab of my choice so there will be no mix ups and calls. I am sorry you had to go through that. We will be looking forward to your results.
Scott, BP is a strange thing for many people. My doctor has only seen mine close to normal once because I have what is called White Coat Syndrome I go into a doctors office and it goes up. I do tell him that at Walmart or a drug store it is actually fine. It is a great idea to keep those records. Did you know eating too many carrots will turn you orange? Just sayin ... lol Your BP does not look that out of whack when the normal or what used to be normal is 120 over 80 (More than 120 over 80 and less than 140 over 90 (120/80-140/90)) not that anybody achieves that similar to body temperature. Low BP can indeed cause feeling faint but so can just standing up too fast as the blood rushes away from your head to fast even when we are healthy. Still tell your doctor.
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
Good Plan ... Try to test one or even two times a day if possible at ~ same times each day, be conscious of your diet (i.e. sodium intake in particular). You Doc will greatly appreciate that you have a record over time ... even if not a real long time period.
Best,
Dave
Scott18927 said
Feb 15, 2016
Definitely will I guess they took President's day off. I have been drinking tons of water, coconut water, and smoothies. However, I just found that if you normally have higher BP and it suddenly drops, it can cause all my symptoms. And Zoloft can cause low BP. This is why I advised against them starting me on both at the same time. But I trusted them and now, if this is the problem, how will they fix it? I guess I will find out tomorrow. And just because I have that BP today doesn't mean I will have it tomorrow. So, I will start writing them down to help the doc out.
Firechic19 said
Feb 15, 2016
I was feeling the same thing the other day, getting very light headed upon standing and if I bent over to pick up a toy it would hit me. It felt like I was just going to completely black out, I was just dehydrated, after chugging water it went away. Haven't felt it since. Like everyone said you should mention it to your dr. just to be safe. Hope you get it taken care of and feel better!
Scott18927 said
Feb 15, 2016
One more thing! Think these ought to last me a week. And real carrots too. Just kidding. I think they are for horses or rabbits. Not sure how you could go through this bag before they spoil.
I hear ya Dave, I wouldn't be on the train if I hadn't have taken the steps to get here. The first place I was getting looked at wasn't going to treat me and never even did a fibroscan. My biopsy was 8 years old and I was F1. I knew I felt horrible and they just kept blowing it off. So I had to make different appointments and finally got one to do the Scan and bam, F3 so got put on treatment. But if I would have waited around for the first place to treat me, I can guarantee, I would have cirrhosis by then.
Ya, if just plain old age didn't get ya first ... LOL!
Scott18927 said
Feb 15, 2016
I hear ya Dave, I wouldn't be on the train if I hadn't have taken the steps to get here. The first place I was getting looked at wasn't going to treat me and never even did a fibroscan. My biopsy was 8 years old and I was F1. I knew I felt horrible and they just kept blowing it off. So I had to make different appointments and finally got one to do the Scan and bam, F3 so got put on treatment. But if I would have waited around for the first place to treat me, I can guarantee, I would have cirrhosis by then.
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
Don't know ... should discuss with the Doc though.
Dave
Scott18927 said
Feb 15, 2016
So, My BP is the lowest it has ever been. Could this be the cause of the huge head rushes?
My ID Doctors office told me they had faxed the order for 4 wk labs to my local clinic (5 miles from home) so I don't have to make the 130 mile round trip to the ID Doctors clinic, called to verify that the order was received by the local clinic today (I need to take them tomorrow) and, Of Course, my clinic says they didn't receive anything.
I called the other local clinic (20 miles away, same Medical Network as mine, just different office) and they said they hadn't received it either.
Sent Message to ID Doctor's office and told them to please resend the order to my local clinic.
Couple of hours later I called local clinic again, they confirmed the order had been faxed.
Now I can go get my labs tomorrow, Boy, I tell ya, it sure does take being proactive, if you aren't, odds are you will NOT get adequate medical care, period (End of Rant ... actually not a rant, just another day dealing with dysfunctional medical systems).
Question: Why, in this day and age do medical offices even use fax machines (a totally outdated technology if you ask me)?
I'm aware of security concerns via the InterWebs but that's what encryption technology and secure servers are for. One of our referred doctor's offices doesn't even use electronic record keeping yet ... they do everything via hard copy (paper) ... boy are they behind the curve (Ya, like at least 20 years behind).
At least our local clinic does everything via electronic with the caveat that they still use fax ... but they are getting MyChart which is pretty cool, so patients actually have access to their medical records and messaging to/ from Dr's/ patients online.
Dave
Scott18927 said
Feb 15, 2016
BP was 114 over 70 before treatment. I have no dinner so I will check at machine at safeway. Not as accurate but it will give me a ballpark.
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
Day 27
Feel surprisingly normal today, of course I'm pounding down water like the world will run out of it tomorrow.
The sun actually came out for a short while today (that always seems to lift the spirit).
Having fun with learning how to eat in a healthy way.
Think I'll take my 4 wk labs tomorrow and I have an appointment with my PCP on Friday, hopefully the labs will be back by then, don't know. If not, I'll discuss re-evaluating one or two meds I'm already taking and touch bases with her since I haven't been in since I started Tx.
Life is Good,
Dave
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
Scott,
No doctor here, just a thought but the faintness when first standing up sounds like it could possibly be a blood pressure issue, you might want to talk to your Doctor specifically about the faintness when standing, if it is blood pressure, that's fairly easily controlled via medication short term and over the long term some diet changes may help resolve that.
It could, perhaps, be related to the HCV meds, I don't know, but I haven't experienced that myself. Talk to the Doc(s) about it.
Dave
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
lol ... dogs will be dogs, Kayla looks/ sounds like a wonderful friend ... we say Hi back.
All makes sense, do pace yourself, think about the possibility of limited duty in case you need it, being around the very high voltage and dizziness are NOT a good mix. I know Tig knows some legal tricks if you need to use them to get time off work or at least some light duty. The decisions you are making seem to all be quite logical so it's good that you are doing what you can to cut yourself some slack right now. Great looking pup, we have a couple and they are as much a part of the family as we are ... ya gotta love that unconditional love they bring into our lives.
Take Care,
Dave
Scott18927 said
Feb 15, 2016
Well, I slept 11 hours last night and still woke up with no energy. I had to work for a few hours today. I still got dizzy a little bit. That is always fun in front of a 550VDC source. I wore all my safety gear today (Usually I don't). Getting bit once a year keeps you on your toes. LOL Don't think my body could handle a little jolt now though.
I attempted to call my doc today to let them know about the side effects that I have been getting, like you suggested Dave, and guess what, They are closed today. Who would a thought a non-Government facility is closed, well at least the hepatology and transplant clinic are closed.
So today, I am going to spend another day on the couch watching some good upbeat movies.
Me to Kayla - "Sorry Old Girl, I know it is going to be 60F today and you will want to get out there and play in the creeks and run circles around me, but you need to give me a few months. Then all will be normal again. You have had a great Life, lots of treats, toys, hikes, camping, swimming (Including diving in a raging river and almost going around the bend to never see her again) and rolling in your favorite stuff (Horse crap and dead carcasses - immediately followed by a good bath) .
Kayla says hi to everyone!
Linuxter said
Feb 15, 2016
Hey Mike,
Maybe it would be easier if I had a larger container ...
... I will look for a larger glass container, I don't like drinking out of plastic for some reason, I know it's a bit weird but I worry about the chemicals leaching from the plastic. (Probably completely unwarranted but I have the preference non the less).
Regardless, I need to be drinking more (I thought I drank plenty but can see now that's not the case).
... I swear though, if I start growing fins and gills, I'm cuttin' back a little. (Even if it would make swimming a lot easier)
Dave
wmlj1960 said
Feb 15, 2016
Adequate hydration is very important. I buy purified water in gallon containers at Walmart and drink 1 a day + some milk, smoothies and juice. My 34oz cup stays beside me almost constantly.
Ok, I got out a measuring cup and the water bottle I'm using holds exactly 2 Cups. (Forget the Ounces, forget the Gallons)
16 Cups = 3.78541 Liters
So I should be drinking 8 - 8.5 of these per day ...
... ya got an IV I can borrow
Linuxter said
Feb 14, 2016
Hey, at least I'm smiling ... lol
Guess there are side effects to most everything ... must be all the Omega3
D
Tig said
Feb 14, 2016
Dave,
I hate to tell you this, but from the looks of that photo, you're taking way too much Cod Liver Oil or Fish Oil capsules. It has really changed your features buddy!! Steady as she goes mate, lol!!
Linuxter said
Feb 14, 2016
Hey Tig,
Not to worry, feeling fine ...
-- Edited by Linuxter on Monday 15th of February 2016 04:14:48 AM
I must have been using some of that "Fuzzy Math" ... (or is that "Foggy Math")
... I use a 26oz glass bottle to drink from
I have been forcing myself to drink a Minimum of 4 of those per day.
That's 104 oz = 0.8125 gal.
So it looks like I'm within the range of 3-4 liters/day but I can increase that to:
5 of the 26 oz containers which would be 130 oz = 1.01563 gal
1.01563 gal = 3.84 liters
I'm afraid 6 of those plus smoothies might make my teeth float, either that or I'd just have to just move into the bathroom altogether.
5 it is then,
Dave
-- Edited by Linuxter on Monday 15th of February 2016 03:44:47 AM
Tig said
Feb 14, 2016
Hey Dave,
You mentioned drinking one half gallon of water daily. We have always recommended 3-4 liters of good filtered water per day. With all the smoothies you're doing now, you have to consider that as well. I think you'll find that the closer to 4 liters per day schedule will help further reduce your side effects. It's worth trying for a few days. Even with the smoothies, you need water!
Linuxter said
Feb 14, 2016
"Real Carrots" made me chuckle a little ... hehe ...
Obviously I'm a true believer that plenty of good nutrition can't hurt any ... glad to see ya doing all you can to take care of yourself thorough this. Fortunately I think there are nearly as many good days as rough days if not more. Perhaps it's just that we find ways to circumvent the sides or maybe our bodies/ minds just keep adjusting, not really sure.
I haven't always been this nutrition conscious, I really need to feel as though I'm doing something to remedy things rather than just letting things take their course with Tx/ side effects etc, I think. For me, once I got past the initial shock of finding out I had HCV every thing seemed to change. As slow as it seemed at the time, the succession of events came relatively rapidly. Going from knowing virtually nothing about HCV to learning as much as possible about my condition, the treatment combinations used, how to maneuver through the health care system, the specific drugs and their side effects, whew ... concentrating on what I can do to improve my chances of SVR, improve my liver and generally take better care of myself. Learning that you have a virus that will eventually kill you if you don't do something about it has a way of grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking some sense into you. I'm sure glad my PCP was on the ball, my ALT/ AST was not even out of range, it was high but not exceptionally high ... she had the wherewithal to dig deeper and give me the HCV test (ya gotta love those "A" student types when it comes to medicine).
Nice to be doing something positive for our bodies after all those years of, "Taking Care of ourselves ... Not-So-Much".
Dave
Scott18927 said
Feb 14, 2016
I am still right behind you. I also made some smoothies today. Real Carrots, baby spinach and Kale, Strawberries, banana, blue berry, and coconut water.
Second one had more carrots, and less fruit but still tasted like fruit.
Linuxter said
Feb 14, 2016
Day 26
Pretty good day today, made a good batch of smoothies then tried making some V8 juice ... that turned out a bit iffy (I didn't feel like adding salt and sugar as is in the canned stuff). It'll work for a good soup base for sure, may taste a little better if a pinch of salt and pepper is added per glass, seemed to help.
Drinking LOTS of water today, I think my down days I may have slacked on that just a little ... dang, this stuff just requires a Minimum of half a gallon of H2O/ day, no exceptions.
Got a little exercise (maybe 15 minutes on the new bike trainer stand), it was pouring rain out and I felt like doing a little bit. Didn't push it too much, didn't want it to hit me like a brick. Felt good, I probably could have gone a bit longer without over-doing it.
All-In-All an all around good day ... Jo and I put off dinner out till we both feel more like it, she's still down a bit from that flu bug she had.
They had me on Trazadone 50 for sleep after discontinuing a pain management program cold turkey. It's not terribly effective imo. The withdrawals weren't pleasant, nor is the ongoing pain. So I was given Wellbutrin which was supposed to help me not care about the pain. That didn't work, so now the choice is Zoloft 100 daily. It does nothing except destroy libido. I would seek some other options were I having the troubles you're dealing with. They may be on the right course, just lacking horsepower to get you over the mountain...
Hey Scott,
If you think it's a real and serious problem and the PA didn't address it, there's always the ER ...
... they WILL check it out and get to the bottom of what's going on.
I had to do that when I was getting ping ponged around between Doctor and Dentist, I went to the ER and they immediately sent me to the hospital 80 miles away and found I had a bad infection that was in my cheek and nearing my brain ... they operated immediately ...
... my point is that if you feel it's serious and the Doctors and/ or PA's aren't dealing with it the ER is an option.
Dave
-- Edited by Linuxter on Thursday 18th of February 2016 09:31:06 PM
Thank you Syd. I sure hope you get the 24 weeks. Keep us posted. This is a tough journey. Yeah, I figured it couldn't be any worse than the previous 2, and it really isn't. But I just have different issues.
Well, my ankle is doing better today. I got other pains now. My anxiety is one of the worst things I got going on along with these bad head rushes. Today, I had one this morning that was horrible.. So what does my PCP want me to do to fix this anxiety? Raise my Zoloft to 100mg per day.
Look, I am no doctor, but I never had head rushes before. I have always had anxiety and some time panic attacks. Now I am getting super bad head rushes. Lets see what changed. Hmm, Taking Zoloft, Trazodone, Rib, and Sol. According to the Liver Doc, his meds are not causing this. So, my only other thought is the Zoloft. So why take more? I am refusing to take more until they figure out the head rushes or they give me a rational explanation to take more.
As for the anxiety, I will just suck it up and hope it doesn't take me to the ER again with panic attacks. My main goal as everyone's on here is to get cured.
I am dealing with a lot of PA's. I don't know if you have them in Australia but I really don't like dealing with PA's. Hope that doesn't offend anyone but I have had bad luck with them and I like to speak directly to doctors. My PCP isn't even a doctor.
GOOD LUCK! How ya feeling today Dave?
Hi Syd,
Thanks for the words of encouragement, they'er appreciated!
Best of luck to you as well ... hang in there, you're doing great through this.
Dave
Hi Scott,
what terrible side effects you have suffered previously. I have had a necrotic infection in my breast and infection after abdominal surgery Soi know how terrifying and out of control you feel as you go through stuff like that.
i hope they keep a careful eye on your ankle. You must be so brave to be getting back on this riba train again. Hopefully just a hitch on your journey this time round - aches and pains are part of riba too.
i am hitting week 10 tomorrow and am going to try and convince Drs to extend it to 24. It's scarey seeing how your life is in the hands of people who have the same foibles and the mistakes as the rest of us.
my heamoglobin dropped from 106 to 98 in a week and so the riba has been reduced from 5 tabs per day to 4. It will be interesting to see how much it has dropped again in the last week.
Good luck to both you and Dave,
Syd
Foot is feeling a little better today. I have iced it and taken some Ibuprofen. Anyone know if cortisone mixes badly with Rib/Sov? Just curious.
Thanks TK,
Sounds like you're doing very well on the Bullet Train ... the virtually no side effects is going to change history in terms of HCV treatment.
Yes, lab results will be interesting to see, expectations are much lower VL, hopes are, of course, UND but either way I'll know the meds are doing their job. With an intitial VL of ~10 million it may take a while (therefore the 12 wks).
Dave
Dave,
It's so awesome to hear you are doing well! I'm very interested to see your four week labs, I'm sure they will be very pleasing for ya! Keep on trucking buddy!
TK
Day 29
In a circling pattern waiting on 4 wk lab results ... fortunately these results tend to come in fairly quickly from this lab, I'm guessing I should probably know something by Friday. Also have an appointment with my PCP Friday for seeing about re-evaluating some meds I'm on and if they're in, discuss my lab results.
Over 1/3rd of the way done with Tx ... don't feel peppy but do feel some changes for the positive in small ways. Don't know if it's that the virus is down or that my diet is a bit better (diet has been a mix of good and not quite as good ... but that's better than it was prior to treatment. Still feel tired pretty much all the time but that's the Riba ... I look at two more months of that and go ugg but am glad to be taking it just the same.
Have a bit of a cough today, kind of an upper respiratory tickle and light cough ... common with the Sof/ Riba, or so I'm told.
Waiting Again,
Dave
-- Edited by Linuxter on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 08:01:53 PM
CBC was still good. So, I am not sure what is causing these head rushes. I know it is from the meds. I am going to PCP on Jan 29th to get some other tests and have them look at my ankle. If it gets worse in the next couple of days, I will go to the emergency room. Today is a rest day. Yay.
Here are my results.
Component Results
Hey Scott,
Sorry you're not feeling well ... did you take your temp?
Definitely sounds like a trip to the Doc would be a good plan.
Hope things improve for ya.
Dave
... LOL ... never donned on me ... Doh!
-- Edited by Linuxter on Wednesday 17th of February 2016 01:56:09 AM
Doh, Dave - the most common form of colour blindness in a male is an inability to distinguish between red and green!
Oops, Minimum
Color blindness ... ??? ... Well that explains those flashing red and blue lights behind me on the way home from the clinic ... I figured something was up with my eyes so I just ignored them and sped off ... they seemed to go away so I'm fine now.
... Actual green blood ... go figure ... Alex, I'll take "Very Strange but True" for 500 ... (Wow, bet that really had the ER scramblin')
160 OZ/ min ... Woah, that's way too much in one min ... (That'd be like the guy below on steroids, like x 10)
Glad to hear the Doc took it seriously and is on top of this rather than dismissing it like the PA (perhaps the PA should be dismissed)
-- Edited by Linuxter on Tuesday 16th of February 2016 11:02:01 PM
Can't wait for your results Dave.
Well, my PA emailed me back today and said, "Your symptoms are not related to the meds, go see your PCP." I made an appointment with my PCP and the soonest was Feb 29th.
Then 1 hour after I make this appointment, I receive another email from the Doc and he said exactly opposite of what the PA said. Boy I am glad I have a thorough Doctor that is checking up on those PA's. He said come in ASAP and get your CBC done again. You dropped 2 points in your Hemoglobin and you RBC dropped quite a bit, although were in normal range. It could be that they continued to drop and that is why you are getting those symptoms. Reduce your Ribavirin to 4 pills a day until you get these Labs.
So, I will go tomorrow. Just some history on my last 2 treatments. the first one, I got a massive infection in my arm where they drew blood in the Navy. I had to get blood 2 times a week for the first 3 weeks then once a week. Anyway, a few days after I got my blood test, I had a couple of pimples on my arm. The next day they were holes the size of a quarter and had the smell of the worst thing I have ever smelled. I was sent to the ER and hospitalized for 8 days with every antibiotic known to man pumped through me. Very close to having to amputate. They had to remove muscle, part of the insides of my forearm and my vein.
The next time I had treatment, I had mouth sores so bad that I couldn't even talk. White pockets all inside of my mouth. This time it was a Liver Doctor who had been treating Hep C patients for 35 years. He said worst case he had ever seen and it is from the Ribavirin. Now, both times I was on Interferon which has its own side effects and amplifies that of the Riba. Anyway, Long story short, even in my 20s, I had bad reactions to this stuff. I can't believe the PA just blew it off. She very well could be right, it could be side effects from the other meds I am on. But I like the doctors recommendation. Get you in and get tested and if it hasn't significantly dropped then you go back to 6 and go to PCP to have them look into what else could be causing it.
Personally, I think I over did it one of those days and it took a few days of rest.
Last remark: Dave, I added up my water intake for the
of it. 160 OZ min. That is 1.25 Gal. or 4.73L, 288 in^3, .167 ft^3, or 4731.76473 cm^3. 
. I have an APP.
Oh yea I remember you!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/06/11/man-oozes-green-blood-before-operation.html
Okay Dave,
Week 4 blood and I just heard from your lab. Seems you're suffering a bit of color blindness now. Should return to normal once you've achieved SVR. The lab sent me a photo of your recent blood sample. You might want to cut back on the green smoothies buddy, lol!
Let us know just as soon as those results come in! Good luck Brother, I think you'll be pleased....
Day 28
Bitten by a Vampire today ...
... apparently my blood is still red, not green ... except when it's blue ... which it's really not.
-- Edited by Linuxter on Tuesday 16th of February 2016 07:56:17 PM
... I wonder if my blood with be green tomorrow? ... Ya think?
... Ya, as for the carrots ... the Green Smoothie Ranch ordered 27 pallets of those just the other day ...
... not ... I agree, getting to the bottom of that bag before they went bad would be rather difficult and if you managed to pull it off, like SF said, you will, no doubt, be one shade of orange or another ...
Nice Dave and you are exactly 20 days ahead of me. I reached 7 days today. I will get my requisitions sent to me and take them to a lab of my choice so there will be no mix ups and calls. I am sorry you had to go through that. We will be looking forward to your results.
Scott, BP is a strange thing for many people. My doctor has only seen mine close to normal once because I have what is called White Coat Syndrome
I go into a doctors office and it goes up. I do tell him that at Walmart or a drug store it is actually fine. It is a great idea to keep those records. Did you know eating too many carrots will turn you orange? Just sayin ... lol Your BP does not look that out of whack when the normal or what used to be normal is 120 over 80 (More than 120 over 80 and less than 140 over 90 (120/80-140/90)) not that anybody achieves that similar to body temperature. Low BP can indeed cause feeling faint but so can just standing up too fast as the blood rushes away from your head to fast even when we are healthy. Still tell your doctor.
Good Plan ... Try to test one or even two times a day if possible at ~ same times each day, be conscious of your diet (i.e. sodium intake in particular). You Doc will greatly appreciate that you have a record over time ... even if not a real long time period.
Best,
Dave
Definitely will I guess they took President's day off. I have been drinking tons of water, coconut water, and smoothies. However, I just found that if you normally have higher BP and it suddenly drops, it can cause all my symptoms. And Zoloft can cause low BP. This is why I advised against them starting me on both at the same time. But I trusted them and now, if this is the problem, how will they fix it? I guess I will find out tomorrow. And just because I have that BP today doesn't mean I will have it tomorrow. So, I will start writing them down to help the doc out.
One more thing! Think these ought to last me a week.
And real carrots too. Just kidding. I think they are for horses or rabbits. Not sure how you could go through this bag before they spoil.
Ya, if just plain old age didn't get ya first ... LOL!
I hear ya Dave, I wouldn't be on the train if I hadn't have taken the steps to get here. The first place I was getting looked at wasn't going to treat me and never even did a fibroscan. My biopsy was 8 years old and I was F1. I knew I felt horrible and they just kept blowing it off. So I had to make different appointments and finally got one to do the Scan and bam, F3 so got put on treatment. But if I would have waited around for the first place to treat me, I can guarantee, I would have cirrhosis by then.
Don't know ... should discuss with the Doc though.
Dave
So, My BP is the lowest it has ever been. Could this be the cause of the huge head rushes?
My ID Doctors office told me they had faxed the order for 4 wk labs to my local clinic (5 miles from home) so I don't have to make the 130 mile round trip to the ID Doctors clinic, called to verify that the order was received by the local clinic today (I need to take them tomorrow) and, Of Course, my clinic says they didn't receive anything.
I called the other local clinic (20 miles away, same Medical Network as mine, just different office) and they said they hadn't received it either.
Sent Message to ID Doctor's office and told them to please resend the order to my local clinic.
Couple of hours later I called local clinic again, they confirmed the order had been faxed.
Now I can go get my labs tomorrow, Boy, I tell ya, it sure does take being proactive, if you aren't, odds are you will NOT get adequate medical care, period (End of Rant ... actually not a rant, just another day dealing with dysfunctional medical systems).
Question: Why, in this day and age do medical offices even use fax machines (a totally outdated technology if you ask me)?
I'm aware of security concerns via the InterWebs but that's what encryption technology and secure servers are for. One of our referred doctor's offices doesn't even use electronic record keeping yet ... they do everything via hard copy (paper) ... boy are they behind the curve (Ya, like at least 20 years behind).
At least our local clinic does everything via electronic with the caveat that they still use fax ... but they are getting MyChart which is pretty cool, so patients actually have access to their medical records and messaging to/ from Dr's/ patients online.
Dave
Day 27
Feel surprisingly normal today, of course I'm pounding down water like the world will run out of it tomorrow.
The sun actually came out for a short while today (that always seems to lift the spirit).
Having fun with learning how to eat in a healthy way.
Think I'll take my 4 wk labs tomorrow and I have an appointment with my PCP on Friday, hopefully the labs will be back by then, don't know. If not, I'll discuss re-evaluating one or two meds I'm already taking and touch bases with her since I haven't been in since I started Tx.
Life is Good,
Dave
Scott,
No doctor here, just a thought but the faintness when first standing up sounds like it could possibly be a blood pressure issue, you might want to talk to your Doctor specifically about the faintness when standing, if it is blood pressure, that's fairly easily controlled via medication short term and over the long term some diet changes may help resolve that.
It could, perhaps, be related to the HCV meds, I don't know, but I haven't experienced that myself. Talk to the Doc(s) about it.
Dave
lol ... dogs will be dogs, Kayla looks/ sounds like a wonderful friend ... we say Hi back.
All makes sense, do pace yourself, think about the possibility of limited duty in case you need it, being around the very high voltage and dizziness are NOT a good mix. I know Tig knows some legal tricks if you need to use them to get time off work or at least some light duty. The decisions you are making seem to all be quite logical so it's good that you are doing what you can to cut yourself some slack right now. Great looking pup, we have a couple and they are as much a part of the family as we are ... ya gotta love that unconditional love they bring into our lives.
Take Care,
Dave
Well, I slept 11 hours last night and still woke up with no energy. I had to work for a few hours today. I still got dizzy a little bit. That is always fun in front of a 550VDC source. I wore all my safety gear today (Usually I don't). Getting bit once a year keeps you on your toes. LOL Don't think my body could handle a little jolt now though.
I attempted to call my doc today to let them know about the side effects that I have been getting, like you suggested Dave, and guess what, They are closed today. Who would a thought a non-Government facility is closed, well at least the hepatology and transplant clinic are closed.
So today, I am going to spend another day on the couch watching some good upbeat movies.
Me to Kayla - "Sorry Old Girl, I know it is going to be 60F today and you will want to get out there and play in the creeks and run circles around me, but you need to give me a few months. Then all will be normal again. You have had a great Life, lots of treats, toys, hikes, camping, swimming (Including diving in a raging river and almost going around the bend to never see her again) and rolling in your favorite stuff (Horse crap and dead carcasses - immediately followed by a good bath) .
Kayla says hi to everyone!
Hey Mike,
Maybe it would be easier if I had a larger container ...
... I will look for a larger glass container, I don't like drinking out of plastic for some reason, I know it's a bit weird but I worry about the chemicals leaching from the plastic. (Probably completely unwarranted but I have the preference non the less).
Regardless, I need to be drinking more (I thought I drank plenty but can see now that's not the case).
... I swear though, if I start growing fins and gills, I'm cuttin' back a little.
(Even if it would make swimming a lot easier)
Dave
Adequate hydration is very important. I buy purified water in gallon containers at Walmart and drink 1 a day + some milk, smoothies and juice. My 34oz cup stays beside me almost constantly.
Rev 3.10 ...
Ok, I got out a measuring cup and the water bottle I'm using holds exactly 2 Cups. (Forget the Ounces, forget the Gallons)
16 Cups = 3.78541 Liters
So I should be drinking 8 - 8.5 of these per day ...
... ya got an IV I can borrow
Hey, at least I'm smiling ... lol
Guess there are side effects to most everything ... must be all the Omega3
D
Dave,
I hate to tell you this, but from the looks of that photo, you're taking way too much Cod Liver Oil or Fish Oil capsules. It has really changed your features buddy!! Steady as she goes mate, lol!!
Hey Tig,
Not to worry, feeling fine ...
-- Edited by Linuxter on Monday 15th of February 2016 04:14:48 AM
I must have been using some of that "Fuzzy Math" ... (or is that "Foggy Math")
... I use a 26oz glass bottle to drink from
I have been forcing myself to drink a Minimum of 4 of those per day.
That's 104 oz = 0.8125 gal.
So it looks like I'm within the range of 3-4 liters/day but I can increase that to:
5 of the 26 oz containers which would be 130 oz = 1.01563 gal
1.01563 gal = 3.84 liters
I'm afraid 6 of those plus smoothies might make my teeth float, either that or I'd just have to just move into the bathroom altogether.
5 it is then,
Dave
-- Edited by Linuxter on Monday 15th of February 2016 03:44:47 AM
Hey Dave,
You mentioned drinking one half gallon of water daily. We have always recommended 3-4 liters of good filtered water per day. With all the smoothies you're doing now, you have to consider that as well. I think you'll find that the closer to 4 liters per day schedule will help further reduce your side effects. It's worth trying for a few days. Even with the smoothies, you need water!
"Real Carrots" made me chuckle a little ... hehe ...
Obviously I'm a true believer that plenty of good nutrition can't hurt any ... glad to see ya doing all you can to take care of yourself thorough this. Fortunately I think there are nearly as many good days as rough days if not more. Perhaps it's just that we find ways to circumvent the sides or maybe our bodies/ minds just keep adjusting, not really sure.
I haven't always been this nutrition conscious, I really need to feel as though I'm doing something to remedy things rather than just letting things take their course with Tx/ side effects etc, I think. For me, once I got past the initial shock of finding out I had HCV every thing seemed to change. As slow as it seemed at the time, the succession of events came relatively rapidly. Going from knowing virtually nothing about HCV to learning as much as possible about my condition, the treatment combinations used, how to maneuver through the health care system, the specific drugs and their side effects, whew ... concentrating on what I can do to improve my chances of SVR, improve my liver and generally take better care of myself. Learning that you have a virus that will eventually kill you if you don't do something about it has a way of grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking some sense into you. I'm sure glad my PCP was on the ball, my ALT/ AST was not even out of range, it was high but not exceptionally high ... she had the wherewithal to dig deeper and give me the HCV test (ya gotta love those "A" student types when it comes to medicine).
Nice to be doing something positive for our bodies after all those years of, "Taking Care of ourselves ... Not-So-Much".
Dave
I am still right behind you. I also made some smoothies today. Real Carrots, baby spinach and Kale, Strawberries, banana, blue berry, and coconut water.
Second one had more carrots, and less fruit but still tasted like fruit.
Day 26
Pretty good day today, made a good batch of smoothies then tried making some V8 juice ... that turned out a bit iffy (I didn't feel like adding salt and sugar as is in the canned stuff). It'll work for a good soup base for sure, may taste a little better if a pinch of salt and pepper is added per glass, seemed to help.
Drinking LOTS of water today, I think my down days I may have slacked on that just a little ... dang, this stuff just requires a Minimum of half a gallon of H2O/ day, no exceptions.
Got a little exercise (maybe 15 minutes on the new bike trainer stand), it was pouring rain out and I felt like doing a little bit. Didn't push it too much, didn't want it to hit me like a brick. Felt good, I probably could have gone a bit longer without over-doing it.
All-In-All an all around good day ... Jo and I put off dinner out till we both feel more like it, she's still down a bit from that flu bug she had.
Hydrating,
Dave
Shouldn't be closed, it isn't the VA. LOL