start treatment this week...

[7summer7]

hello everyone I haven't posted for a few weeks. I have been very busy with doc. appts. and finals. I start treatment this week. should get the meds by teusday. I could use any advise I can get. I am very scared. when is the best time to inject and  what can I expect? do you get sick right away or what. I think not knowing is the hardest. so please inlighten me.    

[rita863]

The first injection for me was nothing, not one side effect.  I didnt start to really feel bad until about week 8 or 9.  The sides are different for all.  Everyone has a different experience.  I made my nights friday, so i would have the weekends to sleep if i needed it.  

Best of luck to you.

peace
rita

[Lynno711]

Congrats. on starting tx.  I always inject at 11AM on Fri.  The first time the nurses were with me, they helped me stay calm, BP went to 175 I was so anxious.  My side effects
were not too bad, tired and a bit irritable.  My symptoms are mostly emotional, but am told that is normal.  There are a lot of members talking about "brain fog" mine set in immediately and still persists today.  Week 39.  I think I'm one of the lucky ones, I hope your side effects are not too bad.  Once you have your first shot hopefully your anxiety will lessen.  

Good Luck & Keep Posting let us know how you are doing - Lynne

[AngelaNicole]

hi there :)  

the first injection, i agree is the worst... the nurses services 888-437-2608 free 24hr nurses on call to answer questions, keep you company, help when your scared or sick, etc.  

i took my first injection in the afternoon and 3 hrs later nothing.  6hrs later nothing.  ok, now i was convinced that i was not going to get any side effects and everyone was exagerating.  on hour 8, OMG... i thought i was gonna die, fever, throughing up, migraine, every muscle in my body was killing me, sweats, shakes, etc...  

i got the phone and called the nurses services and was sure they were gonna tell me to go to emergency...  the nurse i spoke with instead told me this is the worst it will be, and it is called "train wreck"  ...ya feel like you got hit by a train and somehow lived.   i did go to the dr the next day because i was so sick...  they said it was not out of the norm and gave me a script fof vicodine, morphine and soma.  mind you i was scared to death of getting addicted so i only took it when things were unbearable.

the point is, the first injection with the rib is the worst and  it slowly eases up from there.

i used to talk with my Mom on the phone a lot, and the day after i started treatment, i called her.  she said the one thing that i will always remember, "you are one day closer to the end of treatment".  after the first week, she was telling me "your almost done, one week closer to the end" and she continued to do the countdown and encourage me to continue treatment through it all.  

keep in mind, i had a lot of the less than 2% side effects... so i was real sick.  most dont go through it so bad.

the thing that bothered me the worst was not being sick, but loosing my hair.  go figure, im a girl lol

the other thing that helped me was trying to focus on something other than my sideffects- watching tv, playing computer role playing games, doing jig saw puzzels... i was in bed the whole 48 weeks, but it does pass.  and you have the people here :)

it will be done before you know it and it will be a memory /smile

[slamprecht1207]

Hi Summer,
Glad your back. Hope finals went well. I will be having my bx. this week and should be starting tx. after. I know you're scared. I'm scared too. We can do this thing together.
slamprecht1207

[burned74]

I had minor fever and chills about 5 or 6 hours after the first shot but nothing on the subsequent 29 shots.
my treatment did not succeeed. considering there is about a one in two  success rate, maybe you are the two.  
I played a trick on my wife as when she came home that first day, i was on the couch moaning and growning pretending i was half dead. We had a great laugh.

It took a month or so but my RBC count dropped and i got pretty darn tired when i swam or biked. i had to quit running.looking at these other posts, i am pretty sure I had fewer than average sides

I have seen things on this site recomending eating something with a little fat with the riba in order to help with riba absorbtion. When i treat agin, I plan to do follow that as well as space my first few shots a little closer as they seem to be the most important.

Good luck

[Tippyclubb]

Expect the worst, and hope for the best.  The first month was okay but went downhill after that.  Once I accepted the fact I was going to feel bad for a long time, things got  a little better.  Attitude is half the battle.  I wake up everyday knowing I'm not going to feel good and have learned to pace myself.  You will learn to adapt however you can.  No matter how hard things get always keep your eye on the prize.  Getting rid of Hep C.

Good luck on your journey.

[newleaf09]

I never had any reaction to the shots at all but I think that's a little unusual.  Be prepared for the whole nine yards and grateful if it doesn't happen.  Most of us who work do the shot Friday evening so we can be normalized by Monday morning (if there were side effects),

[justme53]

I rarely had any shot night reactions until week 22, then it hit with a vengeance about 3 hours later...Go figure! Now I'm back to taking a Tylenol PM before I inject.

Be sure to take your Riba with food to help with absorption and fend off nausea.  And you'll hear most of us preach about drinking enough water. It's the simplest and most readily accessible way to keep many sx to a minimum. Always have a Plan B...just in case and important numbers at your fingertips and preferably with another trusted friend or family member for back up.

[7summer7]

pegasys 180 mcg and ribba 1200 a day..

[desrt]

Will you be doing PegIntron or Pegasys? Onset of side effects seems to vary depending on which brand you will be using.

[ejoli]

Hi,  Congradulations on deciding to start treatment!   I would do the shot in the evening before having a day off. I always do them around supper time then they don't really hit untill the middle of the night. The first one is the worse I think.  I had chills and fever in the night with the first one. They weren't so bad after that.
             Good luck to you,    -Libby