Day 126, Old Friend Back Again

Yesterday morning I awoke to an all too familiar sensation in my neck, throat and head. It's the same symptoms I've had twice before and I feel the recurrence of these episodes aren't allergy related at all. They are side effects from taking Ribavirin and Sovaldi. So I got the idea to revisit the long list of side effects of just Ribavirin alone, and when compared to my symptoms versus what the drug can cause, the conclusion was obvious. I Googled "Ribavirin Side Effects" and the first result was from MayoClinic.com. Within the list of over 100 side effects posted, here's the ones that stood out most: body aches, congestion, cough or hoarseness, dryness of the throat, fever or chills, general feeling of discomfort or illness, headache, irritability, brain fog, poor concentration, rapidly changing moods, quick to react or overreact emotionally, restlessness, lack of sleep, runny nose, sore throat, swollen glands under the neck, sores on the lips or in the mouth, trouble with concentrating, trouble with swallowing, dry skin, heartburn, lethargy and stuffy nose. Pretty incredible when looking back retrospectively on my symptoms versus the drug's side effects.

Thankfully, this Thursday at 2:15PM, I have a follow-up appointment with my treatment doctor, and I plan to go over all of these occurrences with her. I know it's going to be one of those cases that I'll have to tough through it regardless, and there will be no relief until therapy has ended. I've had to visit the Emergency Room three times since April 16th from my mini-vacation to Atlanta, GA. What I presumed was a mere allergy related matter, and now with the refresh of looking at Ribavirin's side effects, I'm second guessing this entire sinus infection prognosis and leaning more towards the medication. I went to Walgreen's yesterday and picked up some Emergen-C with Immune Boost to help get me through the next couple of days. I'm going to do everything in my power to not visit the ER again, and just tough through it as I approach the final 41 days of treatment as of today. 

I'll be sure to keep all my friends, fellow dragon slayers and church family up to speed on my progress as we rapidly approach the countdown to the final 30 days. Please continue to pray for me as we can now finally see the home stretch of this 6 month journey to get cured of Hepatitis C once and for all! Before I go, I wanted to share a scripture from the book of Romans with you that has helped me get through the past week. The reminder of God's unconditional love sometimes is all the motivation I need to keep Striving to Keep Thriving. Please 

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39 NIV

Day 86, Aches, Chills & Cramps

So this past week, I was up in Atlanta, GA visiting with a friend and enjoying the sites in and around town. Upon many of my travels over the past 6 days, my wife and visited Six Flags over Georgia and rode all the roller coasters, saw on Broadway The Lion King, and visited some film locations from the television series The Walking Dead on AMC. All was going well until Tuesday night, on the way home from our Broadway show, and shortly after taking my nightly dose of Ribavirin, I became extremely chilled, shaky and my lower back began an all familiar deep ache.

By the time I drove to my friend's house outside of Atlanta, all I could do was get in bed with multiple layers of sheets and quilts on me. I was so bad with the shakes, that my wife could hear my teeth chattering. Being an RN, she advised me to take a hot shower. The thick-headed side of me held out as long as I could, and finally 25 minutes later with my hands, toes, head and limbs all cold to the touch, I caved and my wife started the shower for me. By the time I unclothed and stepped in, the chills had reached it's peak, as my hands literally shook and where pale to the naked eye. I wasn't sure what exactly was happening to me. At first my mind raced that I was coming down with a virus, then continued to run with ideas that my immune system is low, and that I'm having an early onset of the flu. It wasn't until I took the hot shower, warmed my body up, and jumped back into bed that my mind began to think logically as my body temperature became stable. Upon putting the puzzles pieces together, I traced the symptoms back to the previous hour when I had taken Ribavirin that I realized I was the ill-fated flu-like symptoms of "Riba-Rage."

I'll be honest, I've never had an episode strike me this hard, and as severe to date while on therapy. And to be frank, I honestly have no "words of wisdom" to offer other than a hot bath or shower. Preferably a nice soaking bath if you have a tub available. I couldn't take Alieve, Ibuprofen or Benedryl as I wasn't having fever symptoms, nor had signs of pain or headache. It was one of those instances where you toughed it out, and got through the night as best one could. Needless to say, I got less than 5 hours sleep last night, and had to get up and drive 6 hours home this morning. And Atlanta was in a major cold zone when we left at a chilling 34 degrees, which didn't help with my lingering chills loading the car up this morning.

I've had mild symptoms like these before, but nothing this severe. Also, deep in my Femur bones on both legs, and deep in my pelvis and coccyx the dull ache and throbbing from last night still persists even now as I'm typing. I go in for my 12 week lab work this Friday, with a follow up doctor's visit on April 28th, 1:30PM. I also have a routine hematology appointment in which labs were also drawn just before I left Atlanta at my Hemophilia Treatment Center this coming Tuesday April 22nd. These labs were drawn at week 11, and hopefully will offer a lot of insight in what's going within my body since my last labs and doctor's visit over 7 weeks ago. I for sure will keep everyone updated.

On a lighter note, I finished bottle #3 while on vacation, and am now 2 pills into my fourth month/bottle. The feeling is somewhat overwhelming in knowing that I'm almost done with treatment. Hang in there dragon slayers, victory and your new life is just beginning. We have to be refined by pain, suffering and ailments in order to appreciate the new lives and second chances that God has given us with this treatment of Sovaldi.

Day 73, Go Away Headaches

One side effect of this therapy persists, not every day, but shows up randomly to thrust it's ugly face into my life. Headaches have been my most prominent side effect while on Sovaldi and Ribavirin (800mg). My only real strategy to combat their persistence is 2 Alieve and an hour or so of rest. I can definitely conclude that it's the liver medication causing these headaches, as before I rarely got one, and when I did, it was from staring at a computer monitor too long coding web sites or in Photoshop hours upon hours. These headaches are different from normal tension headaches, so much, that I can feel the pulsating behind my eyes. Almost perhaps like a sinus related issue? But my allergies, at best, have been decent the past few weeks, and no real severe moments of scratchy eyes, congestion, coughing or what I refer to as, "river nose." River nose is when you can bend over a sink while shaving, brushing teeth, putting on shoes etc.. and your nose just drips like a leaky faucet. That is "river nose." #RiverNose

I know different people based on health situations, complications and their own personal preference will choose different approaches to their headache woes, but when one is on high-powered toxic liver therapy, sometimes those fallback methods tend to become skewed and greater measures must come into play. That's where I am now, the Alieve works for a while... but then the residual sensations lingers into the evening and night. I have actually had episodes so bad, that I could barely open my eyes even in a dark-lit room from the pulsating throbbing going on inside my head. As the little cartoon above demonstrates, it feels like the top of my head is going to explode.

So here's Joe's 3 step golden rules for Hepatitis C liver treatment related headaches.

1. Drink plenty of fluids, 64oz a day at least - One may not realize it, but drinking fluids hydrates your cells, body and membranes, and causes your kidneys to flush out toxins and even your medications. Once the medication is absorbed into your system and cells, the residual has to have somewhere else to go, your digestive tract. Drinking plenty of water not only flushes your system daily of all the medications and toxins, but for me personally, I generally tend to feel better if I've drank plenty of water during the day. Days where I lack or procrastinate, is typically when the headaches and other side effects rear their ugly heads. 
2. Rest & Power Naps Daily - Your body, especially your liver and immune systems are going through rapid changes while on liver treatment. Your body sometimes has a hard time adjusting and waves of lethargy will strike at any given moment. Taking a 20-30 minute power nap, if it's doable, can reset your body, charge it up and help you finish out the rest of your day. For me the best time to power nap is 1 hour after lunch, that's when you get the after lunch grudge match of alertness and sheer lethargy. 
3. Take Pills to Control effects of Other Pills - It sounds ironic, and cliche, but let's face it, we have to manage our side effects somehow. Whether your resort of herbal remedies, holistic approaches or you're like me, take two Alieve and call me in the morning type, we all can agree something has got to be done about managing our side effects. Whatever your approach, talk to your liver treatment care specialist and consult on the best approach for you to control your headaches, side effects and make your quality of life better while on liver therapy. And remember, the pain is worth the end result of being potentially rid of your dragons once and for all.