Week 16, I think

Thank goodness, the prozac seems to be working with none of the nasty sides. I'm thinking I might increase it by .05 soon. My next appointment w/Dr. Balart is Aug 22 so I'll speak to him then about it. With hurricane season upon us, I just realized that I also need to discuss a backup plan for my meds/tests in case we need to evacuate again.

I had developed an UTI last week but so far, it looks like the 3 days rx of jumbo cipro has cleared it up. Funny thing, I couldn't get an appointment anywhere until 2 wks down the road, so went to a walk in clinic (you know those doc-in-the-boxes?). They were surprisingly wonderful . Even put me in a separate 'well room' because I am immuno suppressed. They also ran a cbc for me which I should be getting back maybe today. When they drew the blood for the cbc, the blood wouldn't clot at first and was dripping down my arm (Emma was like, WOW, COOL!) , so they're thinking my platelets might have dropped. It's been 3 wks since my last lab report which I never got around to posting so here they are:

HGB - 10.4

HCT - 33

RBC - 3.1

WBC - 2.38

NEUTS - 1.32

Platelets - 217

Still Undetected

I still have 2 more or less slower moving zombie days and usually one out of commission day' (the day after the interferon shot). The rest of the days I'm merely fatigued, brain fogged and raw butted (sorry ) from the 4 month long diarrhea, but still manage to go about my life - just slower :). I try to plan/use my energy in short bursts with all I can muster during those in between times, alternating between cleaning a bit, grocery shopping, library, cooking, and learning and playing with Emma...and taking lots of quickie naps in between.

I've pretty much dropped out of life everywhere and have made my world more managable during this treatment by making it smaller for now. Stopped being active with my local homeschool group, stopped being active on hep c forums, etc...and am instead focusing soley on me, Kevin and Emma, for the here and now. I have to conserve my energy and use it only for our family for now.

We started homeschooling this week so there's lots of prep and gathering been going on. Emma's very excited today as we're going to be doing an explosive type experiment with mentos and 1 liter diet cokes. Should be pretty darned exciting :)

The other night, we set the alarm and got up in the wee hours to watch the Persied meteor showers. Took our blanket and pillows and just gazed up at all the shooting 'stars' and chatted the night away. A very relaxing and sweet night.

We had a visit from my girlfriend, Sherri, last week. She brought her daughter, Sam, to play with Em, brough lunch and then proceeded to clean my kitchen for me - right down to scrubbing the stove. She also helped me throw away a growing collection of magazines that have been accumulating. That was SO hard ;) I love my oprah, eating well, gourmet, decorating and yoga magazines - but I also know I NEVER go back and reread them! I need to LET GO! I made the agreement w/Sherri that as as soon as I get my health back, I'll come over and help her clear the clutter at her house, too. Well, she's already helping me and not herself because she ended up bringing home a stack of the mags I was throwing away. I guess a lot of us share that addiction :). She's coming back next week to give me a haircut (she's also a wonderful stylist).


Life goes on, the days and weeks are beginning to run together. Still we're just putting one foot in front of the other...It's darned hard, but I know we're going to get there and be HCV free in the end.

Still here, heading into week 15

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. As many of you know, I've been struggling w/depression caused by the interferon.

I now have been on prozac for the past week or so. They've started me off at a low dose (10mg) and so far I'm not having any intolerable sides from it. The sides I've noticed negatively are dry mouth, a bit of cotton brain, diarrhea, and lack of appetite. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about this since I had such a horrible reaction to the lexapro! The really good thing is that I am feeling more level emotionally. It hasn't been a 'light bulb' effect...more like a gradual evening out....a coming up for air.


Update: okay, blah - going from how I felt today, perhaps prozac is not my silver bullet...Kevin, Em and I were going into the city to my MIL's home for a birthday gathering (hers). We were all looking forward to it, but then while trying to get ready, it seemed that everyone was pushing my fricking buttons. Plus, I couldn't find anything I needed to try to look 'presentable'. People use my things and don't return them...typical when you're living with other people, especially children I know....but it seemed very overwhelming to me finally and I just broke down. I was feeling so jittery and teary and irritable. It was time to leave so I made the split decision to stay home, and send them off to the party.

What I felt I needed most was to lie on the sofa in a quiet house and watch a good movie. Maybe the prozac takes longer to work - it's only been 9 days. Oh well, I'll wait a while longer and see what happens and keep my fingers crossed. Took 1/2 xanax about 10 minutes ago and am already feeling more myself.

It's still hard to find stamina for much these days, and I find that I need to conserve & focus what energy I can muster into Emma, Kevin and our household.

I took Em to the park Friday and stayed for 3 hours. When we got back to the car, the thermostat said it was 99 degrees (w/probably 100% humidity). I was drinking lots of water, but geez, the heat was just incredible. On the drive home, my whole body was throbbing and I thought I was going to have to pull off the road. Luckily we saw a snow ball stand and I was rescued by a coconut snowball...Em enjoyed an ice cream flavored one. But WHEW, holy moly - it was way too much....had to take a nap when we got home. Must remember to set time limits in this heat or well, anything that requires any energy : )!