Graduated 4th July off triple !

[rikkyde]

4th of July was my LAST SOL+RIB after 12 weeks; PEG shots ended a week earlier.


YEA YEA YEA. I'm fully expecting SVR at my blood work scheduled for the first week of August. I've been undetectable on all test throughout my treatment.


As I've reported in prior posts, the side effects were manageable for me. Mostly very lethargic for the 2-3 days after the PEG shot. Some itching and rash, but I lived with it.   

At least for the first 10 weeks.


What I wasn't expecting was the last two weeks were much worse than the first 10. Not just the tired and lethargy for a few days after PEG, but very out of it; itching got insane; rash got much worse. Thank you for cortisone cream and Benedryl. It didn't get better a few days after the PEG shot like it used to; this was different. Glad the World Cup was on since I spent much of the time zoning out all day in front of the TV. And I'm not a big sports fan.


The DOC has been monitoring my blood counts every few weeks; it went down a bit, but not enough for him to want to do anything, especially with only a few weeks left. So, not positive, but I'm guessing the build up of the drugs over 10 weeks finally caught up with me. And perhaps I become somewhat anemic.


This lasted until about a week+; but, after a few days, it did start getting better; just a bit each day, but noticeable. It's July 16th today, and I'd say I'm about 90%+ by now. Still some itching and rash, but getting less every day. The last two weeks of treatment we a challenge thou, and I wasn't expecting it.


And to add to the problem, early the morning of July, a pipe burst, and a good third of my house was flooded. Now dealing with that.


All in all I'd say the 12 weeks of SOL+RIB+PEG wasn't too bad for me, until week 10. But those last two weeks I was certainly counting the days.


There's so many supportive folks on this board that really helped me get thru this. To all of you that we active in my threads, and to the many postings I read but perhaps didn't reply to, a big THANK YOU. You all really did help me get thru this.


For all lucky enough to be on a treatment plan that does not include RIB+PEG, lucky you. It's only going to get better. I didn't have a choice to wait for the "no side effects" combo to be available.


I see the liver specialist in September; be interesting to see what he has to say about my liver condition; when I started treatment I was Stage 3.


Again, thank you all on this board for the support offered; yes, it really did make a difference for me.

[lporterrn]

Rick - you did the hard work, and now you are spreading hope. Holding good thoughts for your success.