Vision, Drugs, Exercise

Going to the gym like I always have is clearly out of the picture for me now that I'm on interferon / Ribavirin combo therapy. After my workout and New Years weekend, I was in so much pain that I did not go to work on Monday. I also had severe nausea on Monday morning. No vomiting, but continuous dry heaves.

In order to get exercise that I need, I've volunteered for an organization called Ace of Hearts which rescues dogs from euthanasia and try to find them homes. I'm a dog walker. Yesterday was my first day and was told I'd be walking Bianca but as it turned out, Bianca walked me and wiped me out. I'm going to try to do this every other day. The walking helps push the meds through my body, fights depression, keeps me a little more active to help in clearing hep C, and it makes a dog very happy for about a half hour so it's a good deal.

After work today I had an appointment with my eye doctor as people can go blind with the treatment I'm on so this needs to be monitored. 4 weeks in to my treatment and my vision has not changed. I do occasionally have 'floaters' in my line of sight but it's not all the time and my doc doesn't think we need to worry about it. I was actually quite impressed with his knowledge of hepatitis C and the treatment that I was going through. I could tell he honestly cared about my vision and asked me to find out exactly how frequently I am to be seen, and he was concerned with my overall well-being on this hellish treatment. My cold doctor warmed up. It was so strange!

After that, I went to pick up my meds from CVS. Last time I had problems picking up the interferon because it's such a ridiculously expensive drug that my insurance didn't want to do it until they knew it was necessary (because I'd love to go on interferon for the way it makes me feel; not!), but this time around, no problems. And so, tomorrow will be shot #5.

Which brings me to my 4 week blood test! This is the first point in which we test my viral load after starting treatment. To have a really good chance at beating this, I need to be undetectable by week 4. I took my test a few days early but I'm still hoping for undetectable. This will increase my chances of beating hepatitis C to 90%. If I am not undetectable, my next test is at 12 weeks and if that's not undetectable, it's really not going to be worth it and so I'd most likely end treatment. But, I don't want to think like that. I am visualizing my 4 week coming back clear (even a few days early!) and holding clear forever. I'm over this stupid virus and it needs to be eradicated promptly.

On Saturday I am seeing my fabulous stylist Angel at Vous Hair on Melrose and we're going to cut my hair pretty short. I'm not buzzing it yet as my hair seems to still be holding on for the most part, but the shorter it is, I think the less it will fall out and so we're going short. I'm tired of plucking my hair out of my food and I'm obsessing in the mirror at thin patches that Angel says I'm making up.

For side effects, I still have joint pain, my eyeballs do hurt, the floaters I mentioned earlier, my appetite comes and goes now, and oh yeah. Fatigue! I get so tired and even 10 hours of sleep does not feel like enough sleep. The less sleep I have, the worse I feel, but I've yet to find the right amount to keep me feeling well. My Ribas are causing some Riba Rage. I do okay and then something sets me off, usually someone being rude to me, and then I have a hard time letting it go. I know it's healthier for me to brush it off, but I get so angry. I pity the fool who treats me poorly to my face!

Talk to everyone soon! Thanks for reading!! If there's anything you'd ever like to know or hear more about, let me know. My life has always been an open book so don't be afraid to offend or anything.

Adam