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Hep C Discussion Forum -> On Treatment -> Half-way point... doctor tried to kill me :-)
Post Info TOPIC: Half-way point... doctor tried to kill me :-)
Larry2384


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RE: Half-way point... doctor tried to kill me :-)
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Kristen,

If the riba rash gets too bad, you can ask your doctor for atarax. My doctor prescribed it for me the last week of my treatment and it works really well. It will make you very drowsy and sleep like a baby. Riba is a nasty little pill of torment for sure and it stays in your system for awhile after treatment.

I am 3 weeks post treatment tomorrow and my itching still continues, even today, although very much improved. I have about one day a week where it seems to flare up a bit but not nearly as bad as before. Oddly, it seems like every time there is a cold snap like today, the itching increases for me perhaps because the furnace blows dry air that aggravates the skin...just a theory. Unfortunately, the riba will continue to build up in your system and I was quite miserable my last week of treatment. I had to get into the atarax one week following treatment too because I had a bad day of itching.

I am sleeping better all the time and even fell asleep for a nap in my chair like old times today. It has been months since I had a nap in my recliner. On the down side, I am now suffering from depression and going to see a doctor about tomorrow. I am not sure what to make of it all but feel like a yo-yo and it is not common for me to be depressed although I experienced it in 1979 after a divorce and a traumatic automobile wreck and in 2009 after another employment drought. This depression may not be related to my treatment and more because of the long winter blues unemployment. I suspect the combination of everything has been overwhelming but I also know riba can cause depression too. Hopefully this experience is unique to me and my friends on this board will not experience too.

I hope the next 6 weeks go uneventful for you



__________________

 

Larry2384

 

Gen 2b naive, age 57, contracted HCV in 1974, started 90 day regimen of Sovaldi + Ribavirin on Dec 14th. <15 undetectable after 5 weeks

 

 
Enavigo3891


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Happy monday!

So this evening marks my official halfway point. At 7:15pm this evening I will take my evening Riba which will conclude my first 6 weeks of treatment!  The Riba, those blasphemous little pink pills, are starting to annoy me. I've got riba rash in my cleavage!! Fellas, I don't expect you to understand but ladies... you feel me on this one? Grrrr!  My skin is super dry and my hair looks like I just emerged from 6 weeks under chlorinated water. My gums hurt and feel puffy. I'm going to the dentist after work tomorrow for him to look around and make sure all is good. And the most annoying side effect currently is some funkiness going on inside of my right ear canal.  As some of you may recall, I've been experiencing an elevated WBC count which my PCP cannot seem to figure out and didn't think it was related to the outer ear infection he diagnosed me with 3 weeks ago. Well, in the continued hunt for the source of my elevated WBC I decided to go to my ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) as my right ear continues to bother me. So the doctor said there's no infection but I do have a serious case of funkiness in there. He said it's pretty much like Eczema in the ear canal and he's fairly confident it's due to the Ribavirin. He prescribed me some ear drops, enough to get through treatment (how nice of him) as he said it tends to get better for a bit and then come back. I went and picked it up... was laying on the couch and thought "Eh, guess I'll start these ear drops" so I grabbed the bag from CVS. I read the front of that leaflet thing to find out how often to use them. To be honest, I never read the inside of those leaflet things because they make you NOT want to take your medication. However, for some very odd reason that I cannot explain, I didn't just tear open the bottle and drop that stuff in there. I actually opened the leaflet, no intention to read it, just opened it. The word "PEANUT" jumped out at me like it was lit up in Broadway lights. The stupid ear drops have Peanut Oil in them. I am DEATHLY allergic to peanuts. My ENT is also MY ALLERGIST!

I called the doctor's office back and explained the situation (I left out the part I hadn't used them yet), the first girl had no idea what to say to me, the second girl sounded scared and assured me the doctor's nurse would talk to him as soon as he got done with a patient and the nurse would call back to tell me when the new Rx would get called in. Well... The doctor himself called back in about 7 minutes (bet he was thinking of that malpractice premium) and immediately asked if I used them. He sounded so relieved when I said I hadn't. He apologized up and down ... I told him it was okay, I made a last minute appointment ruining his afternoon and he tried to kill me, which would have certainly ruined my evening. It's all good ... I can laugh about these things. Who the heck puts peanut oil in ear drops and why the heck do I have Eczema in my ear? 

Ahh well... i'm off to pick up my new prescription. Guess I'll have to give in and go to the Hematologist to see about the WBC count. Anyway... just figured I'd share in case any else has itchy annoying ears!  Hope everyone had a great day!



__________________

Born HepC + in 1983 ... diagnosed @ age 13 ... GT2 ... 12 wks of Sovaldi/Riba from 2/11/14 to 5/5/14  #ribazombie

1/30/14 - Starting VL 1,922,967 * 3/11/14 - UND @ 4 wks * 7/29/14 - SVR12 * 11/6/14 - SVR24 * May 2015 - SVR52 * MAY 2016 - STILL UND * FEB 2018 - STILL UND

 
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