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 64, Morning Sickness

I realize the title is a bit misleading, but it actually is bearing true for me today. I woke up this morning with a very unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I haven't eaten a lot today because of this queasy feeling. My alarm went off this morning like it always does to remind me to take my morning dose of Ribavirin. But this morning was a little different. I awoke to a unsettling feeling, and waves of nausea. It was the Ribavirin wreaking havoc again on my stomach. The hardest part about this morning was the fact I knew I had to drink water, and eat something small so I wouldn't become even more sickened from taking Ribavirin on an empty stomach having just woke up. It was literally all I could this morning to eat a granola bar. Every bite was gut wrenching, as waves of nausea hit me. I'd chew small bites, then stop for a couple minutes. Take another small bite, then stop. Finally I got through the whole bar, and my morning dose was down the hatch. 

The hard part, just two hours later, I had to eat lunch so I could take my other antiviral medications, two of which require some sort of substance to help with proper pill absorption. Knowing what I was up against, I bit the bullet and ended up taking a Zofran tablet to combat my waves of stomach sickness. It helped... some. Even the smell of food makes my stomach turn upside down... Icky feeling indeed.

Lunch today was light, and no pun intended on word play, but a bit hard to swallow. But, knowing I had no choice and I had to literally force myself to eat (which I didn't feel like doing), I did it anyway. When you're up against a wall, and you know you have to take something to save your life, at the end of the day it becomes mind over matter, in this case will power over bodily nausea. Is it easy? I wish... Nothing in life is easy, but surviving and thriving to me is worth fighting for. There is a reason why I'm on liver treatment, there is a season why I am suffering, and a purpose to which I must be refined and endure. I may not understand the scope of the situation now in the present, but one day, I can glimpse back and reflect on this time in my life when I fought dragons, and won! Even tonight as I write this, just an hour after taking my last nightly dose of Ribavirin, I'm still somewhat unsettled in the gut. My face is also a little flush. I may have to take another anti-nausea tablet to help with overnight. I was reading tonight in James 5:16 (NIV), "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Continue to pray for me, and I will do the same in return, and remember, every day / every pill / every dose.