2011_09_19 Waiting for results

Friday I had an appointment w/my doc. Labs were drawn just a bit before. My blood count numbers continue to drop as expected.

I am anemic (9.2 this week - normal is 12 - 16) and that is a big part of the lethargy I'm having. If that continues to drop, we have a couple of options. We can try to get insurance to pay for Procrit. It's not officially approved for HepC treatment induced anemia (it is used in cancer treatment induced anemia), so insurance may say no. It's a weekly injection, and very expensive. We also have the option of lowering my dose of Ribavirin. I currently take six pills a day, and we would start by dropping one pill daily. In clinical trials for Incivek (the new drug), when hemoglobin got below 9, Ribivarin dose was cut in half. Even with that drop, cure rates didn't drop. The Incivek is that good at enhancing the Ribavirin's effectiveness.

I am wiped out quickly after a walk. A trip to WalMart is a marathon to me right now. I am also having dry skin, slightly blurred vision, a rumbly tummy, & a bit of snarkiness mixed with tears that come at the drop of a hat. It sounds worse than it is. I'm really not inhibited by this, just a little inconvenienced.

I am a greeter at church, volunteering the 2nd & 4th Sunday of each month. I have scaled that back to only greet one service and not both on Sunday mornings, and so far that is going fine. I can sit for a few minutes if I need to, but we get very busy and the time goes by quickly. I know I need to keep serving through this ordeal. It's good to have a chance to get my mind of of myself and help some people have a good day. No matter what the rest of their day is like, they will see at least one smile (mine) and hear one hello welcoming them to church.

Friday, the viral load test was done as well (7 vials of blood taken). So much hangs on these results, yet it may take a week to get the results. If my viral load is not below 1000, we will stop treatment (as the doc puts it, we'll know it's not working). If it is zero, and is still zero at 12 weeks, I will only have to treat for 24 weeks instead of 48. I am anxious to know, but not really nervous. I just don't have fear about this. I believe God put everything in place for this to happen right now so that I can be cured and live a very long life praising Him.

I will post the viral load results as soon as I get them.