Week 9 – Friday
The week has positively zipped by for me – although I don’t think I have done anything more this week than usual.
My injection on Monday has now become a routine – a few minutes sometime during the day. This week I noticed a drop of blood at the injection site when I withdrew the needle. I immediately wiped it away (and safely disposed of the wipe) thinking of the potential that single drop of blood has to cause misery to anyone unlucky enough to come into unprotected contact with it.
I suspect most people who are HepC+ have considered how poisonous their blood could be to other people. Because I have thought a lot about where I might have contracted the disease – and can identify a number of places where it could have easily occurred, I feel very aware of how quickly HepC COULD be passed on.
It feels like a responsibility to me to make sure I keep others safe from my blood. For example this means I have got my own electric toothbrush. Previously everyone in our house used our own toothbrush but shared the brush holder and base unit. I realised that over time, some blood from the occasional bleeding gums can end up on the base of the unit, etc. I am aware that the virus can live on, even when the blood has dried and in a very small amount of blood. Apparently the HepC virus lives on longer than the HIV virus in dried blood stains. So I also make sure that my razor is kept separate and away from others. And I carry plasters with me (never before in my life could I have been bothered!!) for the same reason.
All week I was watching out for the ‘off’ day – trying to spot a pattern of when it occurs. Nothing. It didn’t happen this week – I am pleased to say. So much for there being patterns with these pharmaceuticals!!
Work was busy all week, with people calling in to request counselling post-Christmas. I found it quite humbling to speak to several people with chronic diseases much more disabling than mine who seemed to have no support networks or any emotional help coping with their condition – and expect themselves to carry on as normal (but can’t, not surprisingly). It made me aware how much I go on about my health – but then that is what this blog is about! And how fortunate I feel to have support networks in place around me – family, colleagues and friends. Again, I feel empathy for HepC+ people who feel they must keep their medical condition confidential as it then deprives them of the benefits of these social support networks.
I suppose work has made me feel appropriately tired in the evening and I have stopped taking paracetomol before going to bed ‘in case’ I have trouble sleeping. I suspect any medication loses its effectiveness over time through constant use in the body; so I am holding back using paracetomol now until I feel it is necessary again.
At the risk of sounding ‘Bridget Jones’- ish, I have lost the two pounds I gained over Christmas but I think my smoking has increased to about 10 per day at the moment. My head says anyone with a low haemoglobin count and shortness of breath should stop, but my heart says I am still content to follow the advice from various medical people not to worry about it at the moment – although you can see I am not all that comfortable with it.