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Avatar universal

Why take shots on Friday?

Hi everyone. This may sound like a dumb question, but I was wondering why the need to take shot on Fridays? It really ruins Hubby's weekend, and the only time we have together to enjoy together. Hubby doesn't work, so we certainly wouldn't have minded taking mid-week. Do they insist on Fridays so that working folks can have a couple of days to deal with the side affects and recover before heading to work? Thoughts?

Thanks,
17 Responses
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577132 tn?1314266526
I'm just super impressed that you can handle the meds with a job like that.  Go you and the best of luck with your continuing treatment!

Epi
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
there is no set rule on day of the shot.
I work in the airline business in the air and work shifts of 6 days on and then 3 days off.

Means in my case always between 7 to 9 days on alternative days,but always in my case early in the mornings.

For anyone ready to scream my doc knows my job and ****** shift sytem with 60 hrs per week and accepts our agreed variabilty on shot days.

I find since beginning 30 weeks ago no sides and non dectable still
Helpful - 0
717272 tn?1277590780
Tylenol pm is Tylenol with benedryl (diphenhydramine) added to make you drowsy.  I was originally told to take the tylenol an hour or so after the shot since it would take a few hours for the shot to be bothersome and no point getting the tylenol into your system and having it wear off before you actually needed it for fever control.  As it turned out I was lucky and had no shot reaction so never needed to experiment and see when was best.  I did take diphenhydramine throughout TX to sleep on the riba.
Helpful - 0
92903 tn?1309904711
Remember your testing cycle is tied to shot day - you want to do your PCRs pretty much before the INF shot. Probably true for WBC checks too.....
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi everyone. Thanks for your feedback! Do any of you take tylenol pm? If so, do you take it before or after the shot?
Helpful - 0
412873 tn?1329174455
Well, they say we are all different.  I took my shots on Thursday.  The worst days were Sunday and Monday (my days off).  

I think it all depends on your schedule.

I later moved my shot day to Wednesday but by that time I was so saturated with the meds, I didn't notice any difference.

Good luck to you.

Isobella
Helpful - 0
577132 tn?1314266526
As a lot of people have mentioned Interferon can be sooo unpredictable.  I took mine on a Friday night and my worst days were usually Mon/Tue.  

But what I liked about the Friday shots was that I would have the weekend to rest and prepare for the working week to come.  I always found that I got quite 'knocked out' after my shot and would often sleep until lunchtime on a Saturday and I really valued that rather than having to force myself out of bed to go to work.

If hubby doesn't work, sure, why not change it to a day that suits you both better.

My understanding is that you can change is by 12 hours each week until you get to where you wish to be but you have to take it earlier rather than later.  I started mine on Sunday morning because I was on a trial but I pulled it to Friday nights over a period of 2 or 3 weeks.

Oddly enough though, I realised I actually shortened my tx by 2 days which kinda bugged me.  I was lucky enough to have an extra shot and extra Riba so that I could extend it to the full amount of time...

Btw, according to studies interferon reaches cmax at between 72 and 96 hours so you may want to use that to calculate when optimum shot date would be.

All the best!

Epi :)
Helpful - 0
717272 tn?1277590780
Work scheduling is the only reason for Friday shots. Talk to his doctor about moving the shots so your time together doesn't get ruined.  You can move the shot by one day here and there to get to a more convenient day of the week, but the doctor needs to advise on how to do it and be in the loop so he has which day is shot day in your husband's records.

.
Helpful - 0
545538 tn?1295992017
I just ended tx and I took my shots on Thursday nights because I would start to decline over the weekend and start to get better slowly by Monday. I started first on Friday's but found that Monday was too difficult. I only missed one day of work 47/48.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I take pegasys on thur.  It really doesn't matter. I feel pretty much the same all the time. My sx just aren;t that bad. genotype 2 -13 wks into 24
Helpful - 0
476246 tn?1418870914
I took mine on Tuesdays, because I thought it would be good to have a better weekend. But that didn't happen. I would feel the worst from Thursdays to Mondays.

I think it depends if you are on Pegasys or Pegintron.

With Pegasys it is as you described.

With Pegintron people seem to feel their worst on the day of injection and for a few days later. So for working people Friday on Pegintron would be preferable.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
A while back a survey was done on this board that determined that the vast majority of treaters experience their worst side effect 3-4 days post injection. So if you want to save your crummiest days for the weekend, it's best to inject Wed or Thur.

I think the idea of injecting on Fridays is a holdover from the earlier times when folks weren't using the same pegalated interferon. Either that or its to counter the nasty side effects some people experience soon after the first few injections. But those side effects fade once you fall into a pattern. In any event, the idea that Friday is the best injection day doesn't hold water.

When I was in treatment I injected on Monday and my worst days were Thursday and Friday.
Helpful - 0
691935 tn?1421027090
I took mine on Fridays so I would have the weekend to recoup as I had to work.  Funny though after the first few months, just like Bill said, Saturday was pretty good and Sun & Mon was bad.  Very unpredictable.  I take it he already started his Tx?

stacie
Helpful - 0
427265 tn?1444076436
I started mine on Fridays so I would have my worst days over the weekend and be able to keep working. But, like Bill1954, my best days are usually Saturday and ending by Sunday late, heading into the work week on a low note. But I do like having more energy on weekends, I'm finding. Of course, I now jinxed myself and will have a weekend from helll because Interferon can be SO unpredictable!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
My first tx i did my shots on friday and i hated it for the reason you gave. This time i do them on monday and it works out great for me. Even though i still work, it forces me to get moving on tuesday which for me makes me feel better then just laying around.

Best to you and your hubby

can
Helpful - 0
971268 tn?1253200799
Who is insisting on Fridays?

I don't think most doctors insist on you taking the shot on any particular day... Most people decide to do it near the weekend because they need to work during the week, and take their down days when they have time off.

Usually you can choose which day to take your shot, and usually, if you want to move the shot day, you can do so slowly with doctor approval.

Have you asked the doctor if you can move the shot day?
Helpful - 0
87972 tn?1322661239
Hi Juana,

I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that; it’s a convenience for the nine-to-fiver’s so they don’t carry an interferon hangover into the work week. I found it really didn’t make much difference, anyway; the IFN is so unpredictable. I often had my most productive day on Saturday; the day after injections… there wasn’t much rhyme or reason to any of it anyway.
Helpful - 0
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