March 1 ~ I called my regular Dr. and asked for some labs to be done. I wanted to see what my numbers were, after being off of treatment for 3 weeks. I must say that I feel so much better already. That feeling of doom and gloom has lifted and I'm able to get some things done around here. Not one headache since stopping either. I have an appt with USC on the 7th and at this point, I have every intention of telling them I am not going to continue on the study.

March 7 ~ Well, in light of the fact that my PCR came back UNDETECTED, I am back on the study!! I just can't see stopping when it is actually bringing my viral load down. The test was done at Speciality Labs and goes down to 550. That means that my viral load is at least less than that! It was 2 MILLION when I started the study in November. I am torn between being so happy to see some light at the end of the tunnel and having to do interferon some more. I know I'll make it through the study now, though. Just knowing that this stuff is working is worth any of the side effects I have to endure. All of the reports on Roche's Pegesys have come back with real good response rates, so I am hoping and praying that this is THE drug for me! Maybe this will give incentive to others with a Genotype 1 to give it a try when it is approved by the FDA. 
    Dr. Lindsay started me back on a lower dosage of the Pegesys than before. I'll be taking 135 mcg weekly instead of the 180 mcg. My mom is going to be my treatment "buddy" and will be able to tell them when I am starting to slip into depression or start acting looney toons.
    My shot was easy to take this time, just knowing that my labs are starting to look good. The weird thing was that on the evening of the 8th I started feeling really lousy. Kind of like when you take the very first shot of Interferon. I had nausea, muscle aches, a low grade fever and chills that wouldn't quit! It was strange because this was all 24 hours after I took the shot! I'm sure that won't happen again, though. My body was just adjusting to the drugs again. I also had that "interferon" hangover most of the day on Friday, but that I am used to!