When to start treatment

[jezzie1]

Hi,

I have a choice I can start treatment next week or start after Christmas do you think I should start in January will it ruin everyone's Christmas, which would you do.

[cheflady]

Hi if i was you start after xmas my hubby was given that choice end of October last year and he as said many a time that he wished he had waited and like nzkiwilife said you will be closely monitered for the first few months my hubby had to go to the hospital weekly for the first month which was a pain to say the least so if i was you enjoy xmas with your family first then start in the new year i am just glad that i bought a frozen turkey because he had no appetite at all when he first started tx we had our xmas day at theend of May for his birthday! If you have any spare time over xmas, use it to educate yourself about tx and organise yourself it will make life a bit easier for when you start the tx. I wish you all the best and please keep us posted. Jules

[nzkiwilife]

Also consider what support/help is out there for you should you need it. You will need close monitoring in the first couple of weeks to a month  so you will need your specialist nurse/doctor to be available should you need them to ask advice; help you through the first lot of side effects and write out prescriptions for any meds to counter any side effects.
Good luck with your tx.

[Carlhcv]

It's your call but the sooner you start the sooner you will finish! Be sure you haven't had any alcohol for awhile before starting and not a drop during tx. The first shot might make you very sick that day so be ready for that. After that you should be OK. I hope you can beat it! :)

[pooh55811]

If you are choosing between starting now or waiting until after Christmas, I would wait until after Christmas to start. It is only about 3 weeks that you would be waiting and that should not matter. I felt rather crummy on treatment (I did Interferon, Ribavirin, and a Protease Inhibitor), but I still would not want to start Interferon and Ribavirin and then try to do Christmas. You may do fine and have very few side effects, but you won't know that until you start. I would suggest   that you enjoy your Christmas and then start treatment.

After you start treatment, be sure to come to the forum often. It is a good place to find out about Hepatitis C in general and how to deal with side effects. It is also a good place to get much needed support as most of us have gone through treatment so we know what you are going through.

Have a wonderful Christmas and best of luck with treatment.

[jezzie1]

Thank you I have been thinking that  myself

[dontworry_behappy1]

My personal choice would be after Christmas.  You don't know how you might feel and because you are just starting treatment......you have nothing to compare to.  I can tell you that after a few experiences doing certain things while on treatment....you learn what you can and can't do.  I would wait if you are going to have lots of enter actions with people.  That is my personal opinion.