Week 2 - Monday
I was tired when I awoke and had some trouble ‘coming to’ but I know this is the day of the next trip to hospital so I pull myself together as best I can.
Travelling on the train to the hospital, I realised my coping strategy for facing this weekly injection is to deploy a technique of ‘focused diversion’. I very firmly read the newspaper, or several, with such avid interest I barely notice the names of the stations as we pass. If Carol didn’t point out our station coming up I would miss it - or perhaps would have to adapt my coping strategy to watch for the stations myself!
Good news from Mynurse - she relayed the information about the liver function blood test results from last week. My ALT’s had dropped from 313 (results from the blood taken on the day I started the treatment) to 175 a week later! This indicates the inflammation in my liver is receding and that the medication is having an effect.
Without being too technical (within the limits of my meagre understanding of matters medical) ALT is an enzyme in the blood stream which indicates inflammation of the liver. Normal range is 0 - 40. When I was first diagnosed, my ALT was already 286. By October last year, the number was 398. In between the numbers bounced up and down, and did so again this year. My ALT was 333 in July this year and dropping to 313 by November.
However, a drop from 313 to 175 in a week is very dramatic and an encouraging result.
One of the other blood tests done at the hospital has been a viral load test. The first blood sample was taken for this at Week O and will be compared with the results from another test at, I believe, Week 12. The viral load measures the presence and amount of the HepC virus in my blood stream. Of course we will be looking for a significant reduction in the numbers between the first sample at Week 0 and that at Week 12.
My list of side-effects from the pharmaceuticals is not very impressive. Mynurse notes down my continuing experiences of needing a ’sugar-fix’ and points out that my blood sugar levels continue to be low, but not concerning.
I also explain I have had disturbed sleep patterns as well as dry and itchy skin. We discuss practical ways to address these.
Injecting this week was considerably less dramatic than the first time. Although I still don’t like it, I am getting into the routine of it. The site this week is my thigh and it’s done fairly quickly and easily - after the banter about it I did remember to wear underwear for this occasion, etc.
After making plans for me to do the injection at home next week and receiving instructions on the storage of the medication, etc, we set off home.
No flu-like side-effects!