hey brohandy. can you explain how you felt a little more? i have no idea what you mean by your left being being eaten. i sometimes get dizzy or lightheaded if i have a lot of blood drawn. once i stood up and fell right back in my seat. is that what happened to you, or did you have some kind of pain? whatever it was i would definitely mention it to your doctor.
brohandy said
Jun 23, 2012
I had my blood drawn for the second time in my life a couple weeks ago. I got sick right after, and it felt like something or someone had almost eaten a part out of my left being. Is that weird to say it like that?
iggle said
Jun 22, 2012
i started tx a month ago. i have had 4 blood tests, one every week. this monday or tuesday i am getting one more to check out my viral load and a few other things. i believe my doctor said i won't need another blood test for a month. blood tests are not so bad where i go, because there are always cute girls and they are very nice :)
-- Edited by iggle on Friday 22nd of June 2012 05:14:19 PM
52baddog said
Jun 16, 2012
Thanks for all the info. I guess every doctor does it differntly. Mine says every two weeks blood count, and then see him at week 4.
Margo said
Jun 16, 2012
First test at week four. You see your doctor as you feel the need for it. I haven't seen mine in 7 weeks but I do communicate with him over the phone or email if I have questions. He says I do not need to see him unless there is a problem such as a rash or chest pain etc...he cares about my blood test the most.
suey said
Jun 16, 2012
Things must vary a lot. I've had blood draws weekly for 1st 4 weeks, with viral at week 4. Now every 2 weeks, with next virals end of July (
12) weeks. Seeing NP as often as I feel necessary.
suey said
Jun 16, 2012
Things must vary a lot. I've had blood draws weekly for 1st 4 weeks, with viral at week 4. Now every 2 weeks, with next virals end of July (
12) weeks. Seeing NP as often as I feel necessary.
davesf said
Jun 16, 2012
Typical is 4 and 12 weeks viral load for assessment of length of treatment or discontinuation. Your bloodcounts will be done as well Your bloodcounts may be pulled more often without the viral load. My bloodwork was done at 4/8/12. Then because some counts were getting low we moved to a two week monitoring schedule. If they get worse your doc will move you to a one week schedule to keep closer tabs on them.
People on trials are an exception;I think they typically get draws every week.
For some reason my doc orders the viral load every 4 weeks; I don't think this is the norm.
I don't think there's a standard for how often your doc will want to see you. I saw mine for him to supervise my first injection, then at 14 and 21 weeks per his request. If you start having bad side effects that you can't manage, you may need to visit more often.
Phil G said
Jun 16, 2012
It is good that you are ask these questions before you start. That was a very confusig time for me, with very little instruction from the dr. After I started the Victrelis, I initiated the meeting with the office to clarify the blood work schedule. After that, pretty smooth. After the intitial tests, I only had a 3 week CBC and no 4 week VL load. I have done weekly draws since week 6 thru week 28. Saw dr about once a month. They are all different.
52baddog said
Jun 16, 2012
Hi Brad:
So, it is not a weekly blood test? I have not started treatment yet. Need to get a biopsy first. I have genotype 1b. They monitor your blood every other week, and you see the doctor every four weeks right?
52baddog said
Jun 16, 2012
How often do you get your blood test, once you go on triple treatment.
How often do you see your doctor?
krowdog said
Jun 16, 2012
How often do you get your blood test, once you go on triple treatment.
How often do you see your doctor?
Usually, a full set at the beginning of Tx, to get a baseline of things like red and white cells, hemoglobin, viral load, liver enzymes ALT and AST, etc. Then another one 4 weeks later, to see if the viral load has dropped enough to continue Tx, and if you qualify for shorter TX, and to see how the drugs are affecting you systemically. Then, another at 12 weeks, for the same reason.
I did fairly well on treatment, and I got bloodwork done every month. I only saw my doctor twice while on Tx. The way they did things here in Las Vegas, through Southwest Med. Associates, was to refer me to Walgreen's Infusion Services, who did my injections for me weekly, dispensed my other meds, did a health assessment, and drew blood monthly. They did the blood monitoring, and forwarded all my results to my doc, who kept an eye on them. (All in all, I think it's a pretty good system.)
After the third month, they allowed me to do my injections at home, (when I told them I wanted to), because I only wanted to come in monthly.
Your Doc may do many more draws, depending on how you fare. They can watch so many things through the bloodwork. If they see things are going awry, they can prescribe other drugs to help, like procrit or Aranesp for low hemoglobin, or Neupogen for low white cells. Being able to completely finish TX is very important.
Brad
-- Edited by krowdog on Saturday 16th of June 2012 07:50:02 AM
hey brohandy. can you explain how you felt a little more? i have no idea what you mean by your left being being eaten. i sometimes get dizzy or lightheaded if i have a lot of blood drawn. once i stood up and fell right back in my seat. is that what happened to you, or did you have some kind of pain? whatever it was i would definitely mention it to your doctor.
I had my blood drawn for the second time in my life a couple weeks ago. I got sick right after, and it felt like something or someone had almost eaten a part out of my left being. Is that weird to say it like that?
i started tx a month ago. i have had 4 blood tests, one every week. this monday or tuesday i am getting one more to check out my viral load and a few other things. i believe my doctor said i won't need another blood test for a month. blood tests are not so bad where i go, because there are always cute girls and they are very nice :)
-- Edited by iggle on Friday 22nd of June 2012 05:14:19 PM
Thanks for all the info. I guess every doctor does it differntly. Mine says every two weeks blood count, and then see him at week 4.
Typical is 4 and 12 weeks viral load for assessment of length of treatment or discontinuation. Your bloodcounts will be done as well Your bloodcounts may be pulled more often without the viral load. My bloodwork was done at 4/8/12. Then because some counts were getting low we moved to a two week monitoring schedule. If they get worse your doc will move you to a one week schedule to keep closer tabs on them.
People on trials are an exception;I think they typically get draws every week.
For some reason my doc orders the viral load every 4 weeks; I don't think this is the norm.
I don't think there's a standard for how often your doc will want to see you. I saw mine for him to supervise my first injection, then at 14 and 21 weeks per his request. If you start having bad side effects that you can't manage, you may need to visit more often.
It is good that you are ask these questions before you start. That was a very confusig time for me, with very little instruction from the dr. After I started the Victrelis, I initiated the meeting with the office to clarify the blood work schedule. After that, pretty smooth. After the intitial tests, I only had a 3 week CBC and no 4 week VL load. I have done weekly draws since week 6 thru week 28. Saw dr about once a month. They are all different.
Hi Brad:
So, it is not a weekly blood test? I have not started treatment yet. Need to get a biopsy first. I have genotype 1b. They monitor your blood every other week, and you see the doctor every four weeks right?
How often do you get your blood test, once you go on triple treatment.
How often do you see your doctor?
How often do you get your blood test, once you go on triple treatment.
How often do you see your doctor?
Usually, a full set at the beginning of Tx, to get a baseline of things like red and white cells, hemoglobin, viral load, liver enzymes ALT and AST, etc. Then another one 4 weeks later, to see if the viral load has dropped enough to continue Tx, and if you qualify for shorter TX, and to see how the drugs are affecting you systemically. Then, another at 12 weeks, for the same reason.
I did fairly well on treatment, and I got bloodwork done every month. I only saw my doctor twice while on Tx. The way they did things here in Las Vegas, through Southwest Med. Associates, was to refer me to Walgreen's Infusion Services, who did my injections for me weekly, dispensed my other meds, did a health assessment, and drew blood monthly. They did the blood monitoring, and forwarded all my results to my doc, who kept an eye on them. (All in all, I think it's a pretty good system.)
After the third month, they allowed me to do my injections at home, (when I told them I wanted to), because I only wanted to come in monthly.
Your Doc may do many more draws, depending on how you fare. They can watch so many things through the bloodwork. If they see things are going awry, they can prescribe other drugs to help, like procrit or Aranesp for low hemoglobin, or Neupogen for low white cells. Being able to completely finish TX is very important.
Brad
-- Edited by krowdog on Saturday 16th of June 2012 07:50:02 AM