approved!!!

[ninjamonkey]

I called patient advocacy and they finally have Mr approve so now that's under way they actually approved me today and ate sending out my packet. So all I have to do is pick out my start date and get this party started! Lol don't get me wrong I'm freaking scared but I have starters anxiety more then anything I think ill ne far less freaked if u could just get going. Does that make sense?

[eureka254]

It's the monkeying around before treatment that's really the hardest part :).  Once you get started, your nerves will settle into ninja quiet...
Congrats on the approval and best of luck. ~eureka

[ninjamonkey]

Yeah I was just thinking to have my days off coincide with the day after my shot the first few times so I can see how I  handle it. Also if I take the first one early in the day or late afternoon so I can get the nurses assistance can I then take the second one I give myself a little bit later then what was previous given?
And I have a problem spell checking before I hit post thanks to all of you for figuring it out and  responding.

[beeblessed]

Hey Ninja, congrats!
Don't remember if it's an 'official suggestion' but I was advised to do the shot close to bedtime, so I would sleep through any possible side effects.  I do my injections at 9:30 pm on Fridays, so I have the weekend to rest when I need to.

[Advocate1955]

Congratulations on your med approval ninja.  My husband has opted to do his shot on Friday afternoons before he goes to work.  He works swing shift.  This is his third Hep C treatment.  For him, the side effects of the shot tend to start on Friday evening, but are worse on Saturday, and begin to improve on Sunday.  That way, he feels better by the beginning of the work week.  But I agree with Bill1954 that as therapy goes on, the specific side effects of the Interferon injection do not seem to be the biggest issue (maybe the body adjusts to the Interferon after a few weeks?).  I think the side effects from Incivek have been tougher than either Interferon or Ribavirin this time around.
Advocate1955

[Bill1954]

Hi NM--

Congratulations! Yup, anyone that’s honest with themselves experiences some anxiety as they get started. Once you get settled in it usually isn’t as bad as you thought... often folks say you’re dealing with the worst of it right now.

Your doctor is probably setting you up with a hematologist (blood specialist) to manage rescue drugs? Of course you should ask and verify this, but they’re often a bit more aggressive managing blood disorders like low red and white cells; it’s what they studied for and do for a living.

For what it’s worth, I found that shot timing really didn’t matter too much. It might for the first week or two, but after that it became almost irrelevant. In fact, sometimes the day after the interferon injection was my best day of the week; I got this slightly manic mood going, so after I injected on Friday, Saturdays were the days I scrubbed the house, did the linens, shopped and cooked, stuff like that. It tends to run together after a while; at least that was my personal experience.

LOL, I tend to read the way you write, so it all makes sense to me :o)!

Good work, by the way. You’ve had some challenges getting this going so it’s great to see you finally prevailed.

Take care--

--Bill

[ninjamonkey]

They didn't suggest a good shot time I was actually wondering what would be best? I have to consider work my off days rotate and they said they would work with me so I'm trying to decide I figured a day or two off after my shot might be best so I need to pick a good night to do shots where labs are concerned and where its best to take a day or two off afterwards. So what does every think about labs and shot days?
Also I understand little things bothering you and I'm not on treatment yet. After I push post I always see my rushed responses sorry. My new phones auto correct really is very odd on its word selection so I need to be more aware .

[orphanedhawk]

Sorry, I've gotten silly picky about little stupid irrelevant things, which I'm blaming on side effects or ribavarin.

I do my shot on Thursdays. This way. I can do labs on either Tuesday or Wednesday so they have time to tell me if I need the to take the rescue med or not.
But I'm doing SOC and am not sure how these things differ with the triple treatment.

Keep moving forward!!!

[ninjamonkey]

My phone auto corrects words that are spelt correctly and I get to excited to check it lol! I am to take meds every week he said on Monday or early Tuesdays so they could get then and have time to react quickly if needed. The rescue meds issue is odd he said they will send me to someone else that's connected to there practice if they are needed. He said the other Dr has more practice getting the rescue drugs approved by insurance and can do in house shots I guess if needed and his office doesn't do that. He said he works with them with all of his patients who need it so I guess this system works for them. I hooe. I had a few issues and tried to get another doctor here in town and no one will take me because they are full and I already have a Dr wth! But anyway I talked out my issues with my Dr and I'm pretty sure they understand lol. So moving forward!

[orphanedhawk]

Despite the gramatical errors, that's really clear to me.
I felt exactly the same.
Once I began treatment, the anxiety disappeared.

Have you talked with your doctor about monitoring you?
How often will you be doing labs?  
Will your advocate help you  get rescue meds if needed?

Some of the applications can take time to get through.
Its best to have everything set up before you begin.

Good luck
OH