I feel good ....... I knew that I would, now....

Hey people! This is the start of my 2nd week - had my 2nd jab this morning & I must say, so far, so good!! I know things can rapidly change, I'm certainly not deluding myself that the whole 48 weeks is going to be so easy, but I have given myself a pat on the back for sailing through the first week.

I had my 1st jab at 10am last Thursday & decided not to go to work afterwards as I wasn't certain of how I'd react to the treatment. As it turned out, I had a very good day, with just a bit of hip & backache to contend with (& after 15 years of coping with arthritic aches & pains, this wasn't a big thing at all!!)

Friday is normally gym day & last Friday was no exception. I was up at 6am, had 1 1/2 hrs in the gym & then straight on to work. I found the gym workout a little harder going than usual, but took it in my stride. I did get a slight temperature too, during the day, but 2 Paracetamol & I worked my way through it. The only one thing that p!ssed me off a bit, was the fact that I was peeing every 3/4 hr or so & I couldn't settle to work at a job for needing the loo so often - LOL!

Saturday through to today have all been good days. My urinary frequency has settled down nicely & although I feel a little short of breath at times & have noticeably more nasal mucous, I STILL FEEL GREAT!!

On Tuesday, I saw my rheumatologist. He was quite pleased with how I'm handling things & was impressed that I'm managing fulltime work & the gym! He's advised me to try cutting down my 10mg Prednisolone (steroids I take for the arthritis) as it's slightly too high a dose to take long term & I've been on this dose for nearly a year now. So, the plan is to take 9mg for a month & if that goes ok, then reduce a further 1mg each month - nice & easy does it!! He said that if I can get down to 7mg, he'd be happy - if I can get down to 6mg, he'd be over the moon.

So, one day at a time, coz I am a realist & know that, not only have I got to deal with the hep C treatment, I've also got to look after my arthritis too!

I must admit though, before I forget, that I did get a bit snappy with my niece on the phone last night, which isn't really like me. She's coming over from Germany at the end of July for a holiday & we were discussing the legal limit for bringing cigarettes with her as they're cheaper there than here. Anyway, she does tend to repeat herself sometimes & I was late to go & meet a friend, so (I'm sorry to say), I did snap at her, which I have since apologised for!

That brings me to today. I wanted to have my jab at the same time as last week, but couldn't coz I had an appointment with my chocolate teapot at 9am. So I did it before I left home, then went to clinic & reported that I felt great & left with a blood test form for next week & a stern warning that I mustn't expect the whole time on treatment to go so well - hey, I'm a big girl & a realist so tell me something I don't already know!! I had my bloods done too & will get the results when I return to clinic next Thursday.

Earlier this week, I posted a photo of me on the Hep C Forum flicker page & added the caption "What I'll look like if my hair falls out on treatment", meaning I'd just shave it all off! I've had such a lovely response from people telling me that I look cool in that photo (attached to this post) & encouraging me to shave my head now, before the hair fall out. So, I mentioned this to the couple of girls I work most closely with (the only ones who know I'm on 'a kind of chemo' apart from my manager) & they thought shaving it prematurely to be a good idea coz then people won't ask questions about why my hair's falling out (if it ever did happen) & that I should do it for charity. So, that's the plan - get people to sponsor my head shave & hopefully make a little bit of money for Hep C, which I think is such a cool idea!! Will let you all know how it goes & will post photos, of course.

So folks, one week down, 47 to go.

More next week............