Epiblogue

I am living without the HepC virus.

Its gone, I can feel that, and the blood tests at 3 months and 6 months post treatment prove it. In some ways the virus will always be with me, a part of who I have become, like someone I knew intimately in the past that I think about occasionally but have no desire to meet again.
I can live with that.
I will never forget the people I have met along the way. They have been a great source of inspiration, frustration, and amusement and I am very grateful to you all and I wish you well.
When the memories of the virus have faded from my mind, the memory of you will remain.
Wendy

"So long and thanks for all the fish"

I have been discharged from the liver clinic at the hospital.

So I guess that means its finally over and I can get on with the rest of my life. I feel strong enough to do the rest on my own now.

Prof Foster was very happy to see the back of me and got quite excited (not really). He was saying that it gives him a lot of pleasure to be able to give patients good news as too often, in the recent past, he had to see patients go through the hardships of treatment and then had to tell them that it had failed. Now more often than not, he has good news to tell.

My pleasure at getting a positive outcome from the treatment has always been tempered by the knowledge that there are still friends and fellow bloggers who have not had a successful outcome or have had to stop treatment for some reason. There will be a real cause for celebratation when there is a cure for this terrible disease that doesnt take such a toll.

My wonderful Nurse is leaving the hospital. This is very sad news and I have been very lucky to have such a dedicated person guiding me through the process. I feel sorry for the patients who will not have her help. She was my constant. In my darkest hour when everything else seemed to be falling apart, I could rely on her to be un-phased by my emotional and physical decline and her sometimes wicked sense of humour often caught me off guard and always amused me.
Her departure will be a real loss to the hospital.

So, we go onwards and upwards, hopefully never forgetting where we have come from, being stronger for the adversity and appreciating our small blessings as they come one drop at a time.

Peace out.

Wendy

SVR - 6 months post treatment tests

Happy to say I have been to the hospital this morning and Nurse told me that at 6 months post treatment the virus is still undetectable.

Didnt have time to get too nervous about waiting to hear the results today as a phone call came at 7am to tell me that my Mum had fallen and was on the floor of her flat and that the ambulance had been called. I rushed over and she is OK, a bit shaken and the ambulance men didnt need to take her in to A&E this time (this is the 3rd fall this year so far and she has spent 2 nights in hospital). I got her settled and since my brother was on his way I shot off to the hospital and arrived just in time for my 9am appointment.
All my other test results are within the 'normal' ranges except:
ALP which is high at 125
and as I suspected
TSH which is high at 11.41 (hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid)

Mum's doctor called to say her falls were probably caused by low potassium (he took blood tests last week) so has changed her prescription for water tablets to one which includes potassium.
Good news all round then :)

I have an appointment to see Prof Foster in a couple of weeks and Nurse said to ask him to change my prescription for Ibuprofen (which I have been taking for joint pains for about a year now). She also said he will want to monitor my ALP levels and that the high reading could be my liver repairing.
Off to watch Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit DVD and eat Danish pastry by way of a celebration, the sensible alternative to going to the pub and getting legless.

Love to all.
Wx

Begone Dull Care

Hi,
Its just about 6 months since I finished treatment and I'm feeling more like my old old self. Not the me just before treatment, but the much younger me from before I got sick. I'm happier, more flexible in my outlook, more confident, and less anxious than I have been for years.
Having said that, my joints are still sore and my body cant cash the cheques my mind is wanting to write. I find myself making plans while I am sitting down that I cant carry out when I stand up, its a bit frustrating and I will use that frustration to motivate the changes I need to make.

Life has defintely become more enjoyable. Colours are brighter, silly things bother me less and I am getting more fun out of every day.
I'm back at work full time, no working from home for me now.
I will go to the hospital to see the 'Vampires' (my friendly hepatologists) in a couple of weeks and have the blood tests that will tell if this treatment has really killed off the virus once and for all.
I will get the results on Wednesday 8th March.
I really hope that the fat lady is warming up her tonsils but I'll take it one day at a time as per usual.
Be well everyone
W

"You look so well"

That's what people keep telling me.
Somedays I feel it, most days actually. If it wasn't for my joint pains and general aches I would be firing on all cylinders at 5 months post treatment.
Getting enough sleep is the key, if I don't, my world seems to fall apart somewhat. I can recognise the occasional slight depression, fatigue and general feelings of being unwell now for what they are, lack of sleep, water or food. I still need to take good care of myself but as long as I do, I feel OK.
During treatment I felt like cr_p most of the time with the occasional OK day, now I feel OK most of the time with the occasional cr_p day.
That's a 'result' in my book.
Sorry for going so long between posts, been busy doin' stuff at work and for my Mum.
Hope you all have a lucky 2006, I won 49 quid on the lottery last week, I never do the lottery but was in the right place at the right time and just did the one off and got 4 numbers.
I don't mind not getting the 15 million, I'd rather have an SVR result in 6 weeks please and don't want to use up all my good luck before then. :)


Wx

Support group

Hi guys,
Nurse phoned me yesterday to ask if I wanted to be involved in a Hepatitis support group that she is planning to start up at my hospital. Of course I said yes as I had seen the need for more support for patients firsthand. We will have a meeting in mid January to thrash out the details. The group will probably take place one evening a week (probably Wednesday) and it will be interesting to see if anyone turns up.

By the way, most of our blogs are blocked in China. Apparently the Chinese govenment has a kind of 'Web Nanny' in operation which blocks some sites to all internet users there. The URL to this blog was emailed to someone in China who is about to start combo therapy and he is unable to access any of the 'blogspot' blogs. Luckily he CAN access Ron's site so I sent him links to the Forum and Martin's sites too and will communicate with him via email as he says there is not much support for people with HepC there. Poor guy.

In the meantime, I'm still at work although the staff are getting a bit thin on the ground as more and more people disappear to start their hols. Most of the students are long gone and the Campus is pretty quiet apart from the subdued buzz of people panicking about getting overdue work finished before they leave. There is way too much chocolate floating around the office for comfort and I am fighting to avoid the deluge of mince pies, Quality Street, and offers of a trip to the pub without seeming ungrateful. My hypoactive thyroid has meant that I have been piling on the pounds steadily for the past couple of months even tho I haven't been eating more or differently, and my comfortable jeans that used to be in danger of falling down are now getting a bit snug around the waistband. I'm determined to start using my exercise bike again over the break now I have a bit more energy (thanks to the Thyroxine).

2005 has been a strange year. I started treatment in February so the Summer was a bit of a non starter for me as I had to stay out of the sun or I got blisters on my face and hands. There was a feeling of holding my breath and waiting for the tx to be over and since finishing tx, waiting to feel better. Lets hope 2006 will be a good year for all of us with lots of virus un-detectable results and SVR announcements on the Forum. Its interesting how the cluster of bloggers and people writing on the Forum has developed over 2005 with some of the originals finishing treatment and new people coming along, the pool of experiences has expanded and extended into the post treatment phase, I think its really good and what a great cyber support group to have started Ron. Many thanks to Ron and Ben and all the other contributors.
I hope you all have a happy and peaceful holiday season and Aunty Wendy says "don't eat too much chocolate and share with your brothers and sisters" %-] .

Will I ever be well?

Hi,
I have been on Thyroxine for a couple of months now as my thyroid went hyper then hypo active post treatment. I am also taking some TCM herbs to stimulate my thyroid to keep on working so it doesnt 'give up the ghost' completely. I have started having Aloe Vera extract with Glucosamine and Chondroitin twice a day to try to build up cartilage in my joints. I am hoping to be able to manage without the thyroxine eventually.
I have had one T4 and TSH test since starting the pills and my levels were almost 'normal' but TSH was still slightly low. My GP wants me to wait until the new year before sending me for another test. Although I have more mental energy now and I could no longer enter the Olympics as a contestant in the sleeping marathon, its a bit difficult to tell whether its the result of tx or the hypothyroidism which is making me feel physically 'knackered' when I do anything physical (that is anything apart from lie on the sofa all day).
I get a bit 'down' sometimes wondering how long this is going to take and will I ever be better. Still, I am taking on more stuff all the time and am back working full time now although I still get cabs to and from work (very expensive).
Life is good, full of both happy bits and sad bits.
Happy because Sach's virus is undetectable at 12 weeks and sad because Kerry Grace and her husband are having such a hard time.
Happy because I went to lunch with Jeremy last week, he is 3 weeks post tx and doing fine. Sad because my Mum is ill and I cant be with her all the time.
Happy because its nearly Christmas and sad because I couldnt walk as far as the pub for our office Christmas lunch. I got half way there then had to sit down and rest in the bank because my back hurt so I came back to the office instead.
Still I expect my workmates are all p----d by now and talking b------s so no worries eh? ;)