Nov. 1 ~ Nov. 7 ~

I don't know how much more of this I am going to do. I'm feeling worse and worse. My liver has been hurting for 3 weeks now. I hardly want to go anywhere. I even told my daughter I wish I could just sleep all the time, because I don't feel bad when I am asleep. I go back to the doctor next week and I have a feeling he isn't going to continue the treatment.  I'm torn between wanting to stop and knowing this is my last treatment option.

Nov. 8 ~ Nov. 14 ~

It's finally sinking in that this Infergen is NOT the drug for me. My numbers are so high it is scary. The lab actually ran the liver enzymes twice to be sure they are right. I was just stunned to see my Ferritin up to 1921. It should be between 10-160. My urine has continually gotten darker. I can't stand for more than 10 minutes without getting dizzy. My skin is dry as a bone. I'm down to 115 because I am just not hungry. I can't hold the baby for more than 10 minutes because she is just way too heavy for me. I'm in bed by 7:30 and need 2 naps during the day.

The hardest part of all this is trying to accept the fact that I am a total non-responder. The doctor and I agree that Pegelated won't help me. It's just Intron with an additive to make it time released. I didn't respond to Intron before so I won't respond to Pegelated. I am in Stage 3 fibrosis with cirrhosis showing on parts of my biopsy. Knowing there isn't any other drug that will help me is kind of scary. I'm going to ask the doctor this afternoon if he will consider doing another biopsy so we will know exactly where I stand now.

I'm thinking about writing a book. All the books are written by medical people and I think a book by a patient would really be helpful. It will keep me busy too!

Nov. 15 ~ Nov. 21 ~

We got my PCR back. I about had a coronary. It is UNDETECTED!I can't even TRY to explain it. Neither can the doctor. He was just about as amazed as I am. I guess we had to bomb my body to get to the virus. I am restarting treatment as of the 17th. He wants me to do 15mcg 3 times a week now. He's also going to watch my CBC's REAL carefully. His big concern are the WBC and the platelets. He said he feels this may be a bad reading due to the fact that the drugs have caused so much havoc with the rest of my body. I'm hoping like crazy that he is wrong! We will do another PCR in 3 weeks and if it is still undetected we will know this one is correct.

My lab sends my test to Speciality Labs in Los Angeles and the test there only goes down to 2000 so I'm sure there is still virus there but this is good enough for me. I have waited SO LONG to see that on a lab sheet. It makes all of this seem worthwhile. I've waited over 20 months to see that and I'm not about to question it now. OH HAPPY DAY I FEEL LIKE DANCING!!!

After my restart on Wednesday, I was sick as a dog!! I didn't think that first shot would be a killer, especially after only being off for 1 week, but it was. I started with a 103 temp about 5 hours after doing the shot. THEN the chills set in. I was just freezing and could not get warm. I just lay in bed with sweats, knee sox, and a quilt and afagan on me till morning. I was dragging pretty much on Thursday but I was better by evening. My shot on Friday wasn't bad at all. I'm sure hoping this method keeps all my other levels ok so I can stay on it. My bloodwork looks so much better, just after one week on no treatment!

Nov. 22 ~ Nov. 30 ~

What a difference a few days make. I feel so much better doing this stuff only 3 days a week. I was able to cook Thanksgiving dinner and didn't feel wiped out until late in the evening. My appetite seems to be coming back as well. The only constant problem is the headache. It seems to just always be here.  I'm beginning to feel the need for my daily naps too. I kind of feel like I have been over-doing things and have been skipping the nap. Not a great idea! My shortness of breath is still here but nothing like it was. I can actually get up the stairs without having to sit down and rest halfway up! Just knowing I am undetected makes all ths worthwhile. I wish I had started out on Infergen instead of going through that 20 months of the other drugs.