It's been 3 1/2 months since I finished treatment and thought that I'd have this head of glowing hair. Well, I didn't wake up and feel like it was blowing in the wind. Not quite yet. I was expecting too much too soon. My physician assistant said it will come back. I was using extenstions, but was getting to the point that it was more of a challenge than I wanted any longer. Hanging on to my hair in the wind was a bit unnerving. Fortunately, they never left my head! Yeah! So I finally bought a human hair fall and looks great. It's wonderful to throw on and go on! Someone had told they heard of a woman who stopped treatment because she was losing her hair. I have no idea what happened to her and this was such an easy fix. This past week I gave 10 - 1/2 vials of blood. Can anyone say vampire?! April 25, which happens to be my birthday, will be my 3 month check up. Like I've said before, the Lord has taken me through this health journey will relative ease. I have read about, spoken to and heard about numerous people who have gone through the interferon treatment with horrible side effects. The Lord has for whatever reason allowed me to get me through this with relative ease. I am extremely greatful for this and believing that my check up will be a positive one showing that my levels are still coming down. This has been the never ending winter with the never ending cold in central New York. One day the sun will shine in the land of dreariness and plan on a really beautiful day on my birthday. I'll let you know the good news...

Feb. 12, 2011

So, as you can see with God's unmerited favo,r I excaped the side effects of the dreaded interferon. I had the nurses at work do my injections for about 7 weeks and and then figured it is about time that I do it myself at home. I was a bit nervous the first injection and went off with no problems.

When I first started my levels were around 4.5 million and in three months had dropped to 10,000! Oh, was I doing a dance of joy. On my next 6 week visit they were undetectable!! This was such great news. I was shouting with a very thankful heart.

I was still feeling well, tho I was loosing some of my hair, especially around the front area of my face. Thank God my daughter is a hair stylist and she made great extensions for me that were totally unnoticeable to anyone. I am still wearing them as my hair is sill thin.

Over the summer I did have about 6 weeks of fatigue. It was not to the point of being unable to work just enough to take the wind out of me doing stairs and doing much that was anything exerting. I would climb the stairs at home and at half way have to stop and rest and then when I got upstairs would go right to my bed to lay down for 5 minutes and then was fine and would get up.

I know a few people who have hep C and of all that I have read or spoken to I am the only one who has skated through this was relative ease. My Physician Asst. said that it does happen, but is rare. Why the Lord has let this happen to me and not to others is a question that I don't have an answer for. Of course, I am greatful that I am that rare individual, yet it breaks my heart and have shed many tears for others. All I can do is pray and let them know that no matter what our eye sees God is in control and He has a specific plan for each of us. He is never surprised by things that happen in our lives. We are and must learn to trust Him no matter what each situation looks like in our lives. I hope that even if the levels did not come down I would still testify of Jesus's unfailing work in my life.

There is much to share more on my continued journey with hep C and until next time....still standing on still waters

If you have never read my blog before please start at the bottom and work your way up.

Well, it certainly has been far too long since I’ve blogged and have much to share. So, I started taking the celexa 3 weeks prior to starting the interferon to help with the onset of possible depression and had no side effects from it. Now the three weeks have passed and it is the week to begin treatment. I wasn’t depressed before I took this so guess I’m really not depressed by taking the celexa.To say I was scared was putting it mildly. How will I function? Will I go to work every day? How exactly will I feel? I had the house cleaned, groceries bought and was as ready as I could be. I am blessed by wonderful friends and family who were all offering to bring meals, clean my house or meet whatever need I had. I almost felt as if they thought I was dying.
I have a clerical position in a doctor’s office and everyone was so supportive to me. I was nervous about giving myself the Friday injections and all the nurses were so willing to give it to me. That was at least one relief. Ok, now it is Friday night Feb. 5, 2010 and I take a sleeping pill in the hopes that perhaps I sleep longer and feel the effects a bit later. Sat. morning I wake up and lay there and evaluate myself. Hmmm, I don’t feel anything. I waited all day for something to come on me. Now, it is Sun. and again lying in bed evaluated myself and still nothing. Everyone at church was surprised to see there and least of all me! I’m thinking is this stuff really working on me? I had prayed that God would spare me from the dreaded and grueling side effects and thus He did. I called my NP on Monday that nothing had happened and she said you are probably very lucky. She said I could still get anemia, rash and irritability. I’m blessed by trusting the Lord with my life and looking to Him for strength. He will never leave or forsake me.
I have no side effects at all. I felt fatigued for about 6 weeks over the summer and that is it! Never got the opportunity to take advantage of the offering of meals and cleaning my house! Oh that part would have been the only good thing.
Much more to come….still standing on the still water

I couldn’t go through with the treatment. I was too afraid of the all the side effects. I decided at that time that I was going to alter my eating and approach things in an extremely healthy thought along with taking vitamin supplements. I was basically going back to the garden.
I did this until Nov. 2009 and then felt it was time for me to go to see the Physicians Asst. at the Gastro office. I wanted to know how I was doing and thinking about have the liver biopsy to see. I told her with absolute certainty that I was not doing the interferon treatment. We talked about scheduling the biopsy and I left. I started thinking that I really do need to start treatment and trust God that he will get me through the next 48 weeks. I have read and spoken to people who have done treatment and had nothing good to say about it.
I went to the hospital for a liver ultra sound and then the biopsy. The nurse who was with me said I see on your chart that you do not want to do the treatment. Again I said how afraid I was of it. She told me that her husband had hep C and was sick from the treatment. They had an appt. later in the day to see how his viral load was at 12 weeks and then decide if he should continue the treatment if it is not dropping.
I had the ultra sound and was told that it looked normal. Well for sure I was expecting great results from the biopsy. I had this done on a Friday and my PA called me Tues.and the results were not what I was expecting to hear. She said that I had Stage 3 Fibrosis and Stage 4 is Cirrhosis.
I told her that I wanted to start the treatment and wanted to start the antidepressants before I started the interferon. I had heard that depression was a huge side effect and thought that if I got this into my system before then perhaps I could possibly nip this in the bud. She said she wished other patients would do this. She put me on Celexa for 3 weeks to see how I’d react to it.

Thanks for stopping by and until next time….I stand still on the still waters. Diane

Are you kidding me? I'm the perfect candidate. I'm no. 1. Don't you get rid of 201 not 01? She said she was sorry and I could participate with the practice but the cost would be up to me. I had a schedule of all the times I'd me meeting with the study and the co-pays would cost me a fortune along with the cost of the meds.
I must be strong in my faith with Jesus. I try not to wear my emotions on my sleeve. I must trust and believe God has a plan, purpose and reason for this dreaded disease. I was surprised. He was not. He hasn’t kicked me to the curb. He has sent me on a different path. Oh that I may be pleasing to Him. The Lord was speaking to my heart about not having a defeatist attitude. My anger has finally left me. Still having anxiety, though. I thought God had opened a door for me by going to the study and trial and now the door just slammed in my face. I once again know that God is in control of my life. What is the definition of faith? Hebrews 11:1 defines it as “the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We may not understand the way something really works. How can a computer or phone for that matter transfer our voices and information via unseen lines or by a satellite up in the sky and across the ocean? I know it just works. It’s the same way with the Lord. He is working on our behalf even though we don’t understand or see what He is doing.
I must praise Him in the midst of what seems to be madness. I must stand in the gap for others and not continually have a woe is me attitude or be cynical toward everyone else’s life or comparing my life to theirs. God is working in my life. Yes, I don’t see it. Philippians 2:13 states “For it is God who is continually working in you. He is interceding to the Father on my behalf”. Don’t be discouraged!
Thanks for stopping by and until next time….I stand still on the still waters. Diane

I had gone to the practice doing the study and was given a 22 page packet of what to expect each week and the office visits. Yikes!! I was scheduled for a liver biopsy the end of March 2009. I was called and told that the pharm. company wanted me to move it up sooner, as they were anxious to have everyone get started. We would only be known as a number by the pharm. company, as no names would be mentioned. And my number happened to be 0001dwc. I'm no. 1, numero uno, I am the first on the list! There are 199 more people on this list after me. So now I am scheduled for March 27,2009 for the liver biopsy.
I got a call from the office telling me that the pharm. company is anxious to get everyone started and to have me move my biopsy up 2 weeks. It is a week before and my anxiety is kicking in high gear knowing in 2 days after the biopsy I'd be starting the interferon and the side effects would be attacking me 1 or 2 days after my injection.
A week before the scheduled biopsy I get a message on my cell phone that they had over enrolled and that I was being dropped from the study! I was totally freaked out and hysterical as soon as I got off the phone….
Thanks for stopping by and until next time….I stand still on the still waters. Diane