My Bloghttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/My-Hep-C-Healing-Journey/blog/default.htmen-GBCopyright © 2008 LynzFri, 21 Nov 2008 10:33:25 GMTFri, 21 Nov 2008 10:33:25 GMTSampa v.1.0 (www.sampa.com)http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss120post tx week 17whatever next!  i fell and broke my arm on saturday morning, hence i am using all lower caps cos its easier to type that way one handed. i was out shopping with mum-in-law (who doesn't drive and father-in-law is still not driving after a second hip replacement) estee was golfing.luckily my daughter t-lee was at home and came to my rescue.  in the meantime estee had finished his game, had got my tearful message, and was on his way over.  he collected up our good friend mattie the fisherman who took mum-in-law home and their car which i had been driving.  estee then took mattie home. 

louth hospital were excellent.  i have broken the humerous bone just below the ball socket so it can't be plastered, only held still by a sling.  we were registered, seen by a nurse and then a doctor, x-rayed, seen the doctor again and on our way home within the space of just over an hour.  that's not the end of the story though.  later that evening i thought i would have a madisonal whisky, alright two, just for the shock and pain you know.  note here that i haven't drunk whisky for years, preferring champers or a glass of wine.  we had lit the fire and it was lovely and warm and the pain began to lessen.  next thing i knew there was a paramedic checking me over.  apparently i collapsed and estee couldn't bring me round.  apparently i had low blood pressure brought on by shock, whisky and heat.  the paramedics were lead here by a finder and i understand an ambulance also arrived.  today the swelling and bruising have come out and it is quite painful, hope it lessens soon and i feel up to a shower and hair wash.

so just as life was beginning to feel a bit more back to normal, i have this setback.  maybe i was trying to do too much, who knows.  anyway i now have 8 weeks of enforced incapacity and rest ahead of me.

on the hep c front, the tx memories are beginning to fade, although i doubt they will ever disappear completely.  even tho there was no blood spilt after my fall, i still felt obligated to let the hospital staff know the situation.  don't know if that is necessary?  just feel like i would hate to pass this virus on to anyone.  joint pain is still with me, it wasn't stopping me walking though - it doesn't seem to make it worse or better, and i still get water retention in my legs.  i had stopped gaining weight but still have the oversized tummy, which everyone finishing tx gets.  it's gonna take even longer to get rid of now. 

 


]]>http://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/post-tx-week-17.htmLynzhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/post-tx-week-17.htmhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/post-tx-week-17.htmMon, 03 Nov 2008 11:25:50 GMTPost Tx Week 14

This weekend saw a huge step forward for me.  On the Saturday I went fishing all day and on the Sunday I played 9 holes of golf.  Not far from being like the weekends I spent before tx…..   I didn’t become overly tired and I didn’t get grumpy – a near miracle!  I think Estee felt like he had got his wife back.  My golf muscles (or lack of them!) ached the next day and I was a bit sore and stiff, but that is to be expected after a 16 month lay-off.  At the same time I cannot believe how unfit I have become in that 16 months, even walking down the fairway made me breathless!

I have also been walking for 30 minutes every other morning and it doesn’t seem to make my feet hurt any more than if I didn’t do it, so I shall battle on with it.  I have now got a power walking stick to help propel me along and that does help me keep going.

So it seems like it is a long, slow journey to recovery and every so often I will feel like another piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place and I have taken another step forward.  I still have difficulty in concentrating… I find I will be thinking about something and then my mind will go blank and I have to retrace my thought pattern to try and remember.  I also seem to do everything at a much slower pace than before, the need to hurry to get something done is just not there.  I also still feel much older than my ** years!  I had some highlights put in my hair thinking it would help, but found out I preferred my natural half grey look.

I can just about remember how I felt a year ago as now and what I could achieve in a day at that time, and I realise, and am grateful for,  just how far I have come.


]]>http://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Post-Tx-Week-14.htmLynzhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Post-Tx-Week-14.htmhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Post-Tx-Week-14.htmTue, 14 Oct 2008 14:23:00 GMT2008-10-14T14:27:25Week 12 Post TxTwelve weeks into detox - that must mean I am about half toxed! I thought it might be interesting to make a list of my symptoms at this stage, as I did at the very beginning, and then again at the end of detox (if I remember!)

 

Bruising easily

Rheumatoid arthritis type pains in my joints

Forgetfulness

Weight gain - during but mainly after tx

Some improvement in my temperature control

Oedema

Sudden tiredness

Noise doesn't bother me so much anymore, I no longer need to find a quiet space to hide in.

 

 

I'm hoping that the above symptoms are the cirrhosis and nothing to do with the hep c, but it will be another three months before I know that for sure. A definate improvement from how I felt during treatment, although the memories of that time linger on.  The treatment certainly slows you down and I don't feel 100% myself yet, but this is normal apparently and I shouldn't worry to much about it (they say).  It's kinda like I know what I want to do but the body isn't quite ready to follow it through.  Like feeling 95 in a 55 year old body. Or, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!

 

It was my three month post tx check up with Dr Sree today.  Good news!  Apparently my bloods are more or less back to normal, which is a good sign for getting an  UND at the six month mark.  Symptoms that I still have, such as the joint pain and oedema, I may have to learn to live with - a small price to pay - and is due to the cirrhosis as against the hep c.  Dr Sree couldn't get over the amount of weight I had put on - 8kgs since I last saw him - and said we will have to keep an eye on that if it continues (thyroid problems? I didn't ask)

Perhaps swimming would be a better option than walking to help me get fit (easier on the ankles)  I don't much like getting wet in the winter time but guess it might be worth a go.

I have rejoined the golf club as a full playing member as from the 1st October

and hope to play some holes this Sunday, weather permitting. 

The date for my SVR (sustained viralogical result) is 7th January and I shall see Dr Sree in February for the results.  If I get a negative or undetectable result at that time that is as near as I will get to being "cured".

All in all, I was very pleased with my visit to the clinic and remain optimistic for a negative result.  the best bit though is that I am beginning to finally pick up the threads of my life and move on.  Swimming, golfing, walking were not things I could even consider three months ago.  So anyone still undergoing tx please take heart, things do improve although its hard to see your way through it at the time.


]]>http://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-12-Post-Tx.htmLynzhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-12-Post-Tx.htmhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-12-Post-Tx.htmTue, 30 Sep 2008 14:32:31 GMTWeek 9 post txIt's hard to believe nine weeks have passed in a flash when the previous 48 weeks seemed to take forever. 

The results of the biopsy on my forehead only showed some sun damage (well, he gave it a long name, but that's what he meant).  He said if there had been a fungal or bacterial infection it had gone.  All I know is that since I stopped applying their creams and finished my treatment it has disappeared on its own.  Well, it is just visible but I can live with that.

The results of the ultrasound scan showed nothing untoward either and my blood test gave the ALT a reading of 19, which is promising for an undetectable result in January.

My weight has stabilised and stopped increasing, thank goodness.  I still have the achey bones in my ankles which prevent me from walking too much and I get the occasional headache, which I never got before tx.  I still get tired when i try to do too much, but I have learnt to recognise the signs now and I just slow down a bit.  I'll never learn my limits because its human nature to try to do as much as possible! 

My hair has just started to grow again and I see that posh spice has copied my crop, albeit hers is a different colour to mine!

I am now taking a daily supplement of vitamin b and milk thistle to help support the liver, I still drink plenty of water and herbal teas.  I try to eat as much fruit and vegetables as I can everyday.  I eat fish again but it still doesn't taste quite as good as it did before treatment.  Sadly, there is still no way I could play a round of golf just yet, but I'm still optimistic I will be back playing in the springtime.


]]>http://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-9-post-tx.htmLynzhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-9-post-tx.htmhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-9-post-tx.htmTue, 09 Sep 2008 14:04:09 GMTWeek 7 post txI had a bad day last week, I wasn't expecting to and it took me completely by surprise.  It was awful, just like being back on treatment again.  It brought all those memories back into sharp focus again.  It's quite normal apparently.  Perhaps it was a sign that I had been trying to do too much so I rested for a couple of days and was soon back to my post tx self.

This is why I think it is important to catalogue what happens after treatment as well as during.  It's like the convalescent period. 

I have been doing some walking and the hill that used to make me breathless no longer has that effect on me, progress indeed!

I have put on the stone in weight that everyone dreads when treatment ends.  I was only ever this big when I was pregnant with my first daughter!  I see Dr Streedharan at the end of September so if I haven't lost any weight by then I will ask what I can do to improve my metabolism, other than walking - perhaps I am just to impatient! 

My achey joints are just the same, unfortunately.  Not bad enough to warrant painkillers, just annoying.  They make me feel about 90 years of age, and if you saw me hobbling about sometimes you might think I was.  Again, its quite normal apparently.


]]>http://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-7-post-tx.htmLynzhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-7-post-tx.htmhttp://myhepcjourney.inthesphere.com/my-hep-c-healing-journey/blog/Week-7-post-tx.htmWed, 27 Aug 2008 08:16:07 GMT