Hep C Discussion Forum

Oh, 5-1, just now saw your post. Sounds like youve been having car trouble but worse that youre still not feeling well. Having trouble where we are trying to get wireless here in the Grand Tetons so everything is 3G right now; Ill check back to see how youre doing. I hope you feel better soon.

i still have this sinus/allergy/ear thing. will go to doctor next week if it doesn't clear up. We have cold windy weather so that doesn't help. but i'm not as sick as i was last sat/sun.

and... i'm stll waiting for my car to be repaired right. was told i needed a new radiator and there's still a leak, plus the old radiator was filled with water and there is no leak .

the mobile mechanic will be back friday morning and we have plans to ask for all money back if he cant fix it.....and rides to and from the car repair shop.

but at least he has to come to us and not us go to him

-- Edited by 5-1-18 on Thursday 28th of February 2019 08:55:38 PM

Harry, glad its cooling down for you, Im so not a fan of heat..so I really felt for you with your extremely hot summer.

I have had those irritating restless legs...my sweetie gives me an acupressure foot/calf massage when my legs get too ...scrunchy...

If it continues perhaps ask your Dr to send you to a neurologist for the tingling in your fingers and toes. I think the DAAs are tough on our nervous system.

Fatigue...it does take a while. I noticed it randomly....all of a sudden I realized I had done more or walked further and wasnt exhausted. As Cheddy suggested..keep up with the water.

 

Harry,

I'm so glad it's cooling down there.  That's got to be a big relief.

Sorry to hear about your hands and feet but I am glad you are staying in touch with your doctor.  Of course everybody is different in recovery and so are the treatments.  It took a while for me to bounce back.  At 3 months I had a good turn and got better quickly.  Your body has been through a lot and there is a recovery period from the treatment alone.  Remember, too, that your whole body is readjusting and your immune system is rebooting.  

Fatigue is tough, isn't it?  It's hard to accept doing nothing, but it's like the tide; it goes out and it comes in. Give it time and take it easy on yourself.  It will change.  And stay on top of that pinched nerve.

Keep drinking plenty of water! Keep moving as much as you can.  And please keep us posted.

Cheddy

-- Edited by Cheddy on Wednesday 27th of February 2019 03:08:58 AM

Hi all Harry here,,hope everyone going ok,I'm now 3 myths poste treatment ,end of summer over here which is a relief, heats been extreme this year , looking forward to cooler weather ,I'm still virus free ,only thing that bothers me is the numb fingers (tingly)and a couple of toes, my Dr just says "wait an see what happens"said it could be a few different things from age related pinched nerve in neck , diabetes side effect from treatment, ,who knows ,plus I get so tired from doing nothing ,does anyone know anything or experience similar feelings or have any idea how long this lasts or is it just from d.a.a. in epclusa ,and these symptoms are from having the virus ? I realize it's a small price to pay for getting rid of the virus but I really thought I'd be starting to have bit more energy, drs over here don't really know much about treatment or what happens.,one more thing anybody ever get the restless leg or body jerks when sitting around or relaxing ? Probably just me,,stay well an safe everyone.

So, how goes the sinus day today 5?

My, as bad as you must be feeling, you can still make me laugh what with your sad description of your poor wrinkly deflated balloon vaselined head/face! heehee I know very well this is NOT a fun or funny state for you to be going through - but ... it's just the way you describe things, with humour and pokin fun at yourself that gets me giggling. I bet you do not look bad, nor scare yourself OR anyone else either. We can be feeling just awful and sometimes people around us can never know by looking at us. That's a very good trick, the hot cuppa coffee mug held to between your eyes/forehead - I never thought of that one before - would work quite well! Doubly well actually, a wee heat treatment and fluid intake all at the same go! With your face slathered in vaseline tho, be careful with that hot cuppa on your forehead, don't want 1st degree burns on top of sinus trouble!

Hope you got some sleep or good rest, will soon turn the corner on feeling better. C.   

Oh darn-it! Your sinuses must be one of your worst weak spots at the best of times. If something is going to go awry, your sinuses get picked on i think. Really too bad, it is disappointing and discouraging when these maladies occur/re-appear. But, it will clear up, because you know what to do, how to treat yourself to minimize it. I recall my first while after cure I thought the weird horrid little abscesses that occurred on and off again on my forehead, face and inside my ears was never going to end. I felt so unlucky. But it finally did become quiet again, something got back into control. Nothing really helps in the interim, when you are in the midst of being plagued by something - but you have my heartfelt sympathy, and I wish I had some good treatment advice, but you already know waaay more than i ever will about how to deal with wayward sinuses to make them behave.

I wonder if your workplace air, winter air (or any kind of air you are subjected to) sets you up for more frequent sinus troubles?

I am convinced your work must understand completely, they know you just finished a heavy duty treatment (and all the while you dutifully worked, devoted-like, for them all throughout your treatment!) - they of course should and likely do allow you time off as required - you must be one of their best gems (I am sure) - they should treasure you appropriately.

Me and my buddy beat off a cold (we think it was a cold trying to gang up on us) just by gargling a LOT with hot salt water for a few days - sure seemed to work - neither of us succumbed fully to the cold, and what we did experience was very, very mild - I am always amazed just how how much plain ole water can cure in us, all forms of water - whether it be what we drink, an IV, applications/compresses (hot or cold), baths/soaks, ice, salt water, etc. etc, 

I wonder what you do for your sinuses at home, I think you said (prior) you flush your sinuses, do you also have humidifiers/steamers? 

Just give up on any idea of dwelling in guilt about not working - YOU KNOW dang well you HAVE to stay home and get better, and not just one night of getting more sleep either! - STAY OFF work for darn sake and rest better. Phone your boss and just tell him/her you HAVE to book off until further notice - that you will call again when you think you are better - and then just do what you need to do to get better - and DO NOT go back to work too early out of devotion and duty. 

You NEED more time off and rest and self-attention when you have these things awry with you.

At what stage(s) do you or will you decide to do any decongestants or allergy pills or antibiotics?

I asked the good sleep fairy to get over to your house tonight. C.

So glad your tooth ordeal is done and dusted. I suggest you eat something outrageouslay yummy to celebrate...peacan pie perhaps  (I was going to recommend cinnamon buns but thought you might need crunchy to use them chompers

Hey Hi all!

I am feeling MUCH better! 

I hate being in the "state of flux" with a pressing dental issue hangin there waiting to be resolved.

I still can't believe my bad fortune with fracturing 2 of my teeth, one at a time, in such short order.

Ya, Iris, it WAS just like your nightmare, spitting out a sharp crunchy chunk of tooth from that first back molar i broke, like a fractured piece of glass in your mouth! The second one i didn't even know it had split, I couldn't really recall a crunch or discomfort to speak of, and no shards of it to spit out, stayed intact.

I thought i did OK and was so relieved when I got through getting the first one fixed, then only to turn around and have another go! Lucky me, for the first one, they kindly fixed it the very next day.

I worked myself up into quite a little self-pity/worry frenzy waiting to get tooth number 2 fixed! Knew about the second one cracking last Weds (13th), but earliest  could get it fixed was today (21st).

But all is well now, I think many people arrive at the dentist's office with an assortment of negatives around them, but most leave relieved.

Thnaks everybody for babysitting me, it helped. i considered ALL the advice/info I was offered, that was good and appreciated. So I did end up having another long chat with staff (2 of them no less), this morning before I got in the chair, and that helped with clarifying things, and in mulling everything over, by the time the dentist got to me, we went just about full circle back to the original plan again, going with the cost-saving giant filling and silver flouride goo in the small cavity. I can (and hm, might have to some day) always do a crown and have the other small cavity filled.

She said as she got into exposing the tooth, getting down to the bottom of it being all drilled/ground out, that it was not any more surprising/or not anything worse than what  she had thought there was there, that she thinks the big filling will hold the crack (as much as she can predict).

Among many other things I asked before and during (when I could mouth a question) I asked if she has to put something in the drilled out area to "sterilize it" before she fills it up again with new filling. At first, she did not seem to "git" my question, thought I was asking about when they apply acid inside the tooth (acid etching) that makes the drilled area bond well to the filling material, but then she added that "nothing can survive the acid application", so I guess that answered my ques/worry about flora/bacteria being inside the hole as they are covering it up again.

Dentistry, I will never figure all their stuff out! But I guess with this big filling I just had, should it end up that I need a crown there in future that some of this existing filling material actually becomes part of the "core" needed for the crown? She said if it turns out that i do need a crown there, then in that case she would be discounting the "core" cost a small amount? - something like $80, considering I already have this filling? Something like that anyway. 

My teeth, back in commision for the moment. Yay.  C.

 

 

Canuck,

As far as I know using the silver nitrate (or silver diamine fluoride) does not preclude placing a bonded composite later on, of course going ahead and doing the gumline plastic filling is the better option if affordable. Same as using a big plastic filling acts as a solid base for a crown. The concern is the large plastic filling does not provide fracture protection for the tooth like a crown does. Your dentist could do a quick crown prep and place a hard plastic temporary crown in about an hour, you would have to inquire what the cost would be.

You could probably get about 6-12 months use out of the temporary crown, time enough to find out if the tooth needs a root canal also. Like Tig said cementing the temporary crown with permanent cement will prevent it from coming off but it will wear down eventually. My dentist told me he is using a much harder, longer wearing plastic for temporary crowns now. Hope this helps. I don't know about Canada but in the US most dentists no longer use silver amalgam fillings. In fact the EPA requires dental offices to place a separator on the office waste line to keep any silver amalgam drilled out from polluting water with mercury.

-- Edited by lamassu on Thursday 21st of February 2019 05:23:16 PM

Awwww Canuck,

I sure wish we had a universal dental plan in Canada...it really should be part of our health care, at least for the basics... 

dental care is so important for and has such a big impact on our health.

I hope your dentist can help you make the best decision. 

 

Sorry Tig,

I'm not quite "gettin" ya?

I'm not understanding crown work (obviously), are you saying ... that by using only the temporary crown they gave you (whilst you are waiting for the permanent crown they usually put in fairly soon) - you instead have opted to use the temporary crown only - thus you are just "delaying" paying the full $1800.00 price of the perm. crown?

How much does the temp crown work cost then, versus the cost of getting the perm. crown work done right away (aprox)?

I am really not knowing what to do here, like Lam suggested, a crown may indeed, technically, be a better "mechanical" fix? (than a big filling), but there is no guarantee how long this tooth is going to last, period, (regardless if it gets a filling or a crown) considering my bone loss. I am so torn about the best decision! given the circumstances.

If my decisions are money based - could i not get a big filling now, and then still be able to get a crown there later (if i changed my mind)? Does a decision to go ahead and do a giant filling now preclude a crown later, or make crown work there harder in future?

Same for the silver flouride cavity hardener stuff for that cavity that i have at the gum and below - it might be a cheap, fast and possibly simple fix (if it works!) at 40.00?, and if it does stain badly, or does not work, then could it not be drilled out and fixed with a nice good looking filling later?

If anyone has any further elaborations or ideas on the matter, I would appreciate mulling them over before I get to the dentist. I can continue to finesse my options with her before we start tomorrow

Man, I can't wait for tomorrow to be over tho!  : =

This is a disease that’s hard on teeth! We all have that in common, dental problems. I’m down to my last remaining teeth and they’re just hanging on. I had another one split, which was next to a back molar that needed work, too. Instead of the cost of a crown, he made a nice temporary crown, to try it out and see if it would work. He told me to keep using it and will reduce the cost of the permanent crown the amount this temp was. Still going to be about $1800 when I do, so I’m in no rush. We really need affordable, comprehensive dental insurance here. It‘s so valuable and is being dropped from a lot of plans.

So, the point of my little story there, was to tell you to ask about a temporary, to begin with, if you’re on the fence about it. It’s another option anyway. I would do almost (lol) anything to have a set of perfect teeth. These kids now, they all have them! It’s the first thing I notice. Lots of money in those pearly whites.

Good luck tomorrow, Chuck! 

sounds like my teeth canuck. they've chewed a lot of food

and i' coulda bought a new car or two along the way with what i've spent.

they've done the filling for now on me a few times and that buys about a year on my dental work

-- Edited by 5-1-18 on Wednesday 20th of February 2019 08:16:12 PM

Drat. Karma took my appointment at the dentist today! That ****. I got there on time, only to find out the office was self-destructing in emergencies.

I got bumped until tomorrow. Me and my wallet will try again tomorrow.

Lam,

Do unpopped popcorn kernals count as mini-jaw breakers?, or maybe we should just call popcorn and jaw breakers, teeth breakers! I don't think I have ever heard of anyone who actually broke their jaw chewing something, just teeth! Somebody warned me about cracking sunflower seeds tho, but too late I guess. Aside from constant candy and chewing any kind of cig replacement, I do think I am grinding my teeth, bigtime, (day and night i catch myself) and that would be bad/bad too - and maybe, in my case, in combination with many other factors, the final blow? 

Thanks for the dental sympathy folks, i'll keep ya posted from the chair. C.  ;=

Hey 5! (and Iris) ... :),

I did not mean to suggest (by me bringing up the topic of my own mysterious or non-existent pancreatitis) that Iris needed HER pancreas checked out, not at all, on the contrary, she just needs to get her docs opinion on what might be causing the symptoms she is having what with her mysterious bowel discomfort and rectal bleeding. I only started to speak about myself (and my mysterious pancreas) in the same vein as Iris's mysterious bowel malady, just that it is always best when these mysteries have answers. 

I am glad you got to see some dif karma action going on today 5! Me and 5 want in on some of that good karma stuff. : ).  C.

No blood since the 14th. Dr's decided to take President's day off, ...great.

Iris,

Follow Cheddy's advice and get yourself into the doctor. I mean, there's blood from something like a hemorrhoid and then there's squirting outa your butt bleeding. The former can be dealt with, the latter, not a good idea to wait. You can lose a lot of blood if there's something leaking in there, not to mention all the bacteria you don't want invading your abdomen. If I sound overly concerned, it's because I am! It sounds to me like you need to see someone to rule out what's going on and it should be done sooner than later. Sometimes you can have some serious bowel problems, gastroenteritis, etc., that will cause the lining to get raw and bleed, especially when diarrhea is present, but when it's accompanied by persistent pain and lots of blood, it's time to go in and get your oil checked. Please let us know how things are when you find out.

Hi guys. Ya know when I read through the stuff you all are dealing with, I feel a little wimpy complaining about anything. Teeth issues are frightening to me I used to have a reoccurring nightmare about my teeth breaking apart into little pieces and spitting them out, ikes..

Well since the Floral nightmare I have had a horrible stich in my side. Just to the left of my belly button. Like a knife stabbing me in one spot. On Valentines day I have bloody diarrhea and cramping bowels, I was late to work. How do you call in and say "ummm I'll be a little late blood shooting out my butt".

The first time I had this pain was after my gall bladder was removed. About a week after I was in the ER where they did a CAt scan and said I had fibroids. So it has been sporadic since 2002. Sometimes the blood and the pain are together sometimes not. I've told the Dr. about this before they usually say it is gas. Well how long does freaking gas last? The pain has persisted since Thursday but the blood was only on that day. I had a colonoscopy in 2017 where they said stop taking aspirin, we don't see anything wrong.

If I look at the little chart I've seen around, the location of the pain indicates colon cancer, pancreatitis, chrones disease or celiac disease. I tried to make an appt. with primary on Saturday but found out they stoped doing Saturdays in January. Maybe I just stop in at the dr. after my physical therapy which I just started last week (for my back).

BB, Iris

Canucky, I hope shes gentle with your wallet and quick with your repairs.

I had bridges and plates for as many years as I could but the infections and abscesses were doing me in. Hep C broke my teeth...I had perfect teeth then a year after I got tainted blood a tooth just broke off.  I continued to lose them randomly and without warnings signals. No matter how much I cleaned and flossed and went to dentist for root canals I was in pretty bad straights for twenty something years. By the time, I got my remaining teeth yanked..there were only 2 left on the bottom that we replaced with implant anchors and hum.... 7 and 1/2 on the top...because I still had all/most of my front tops, he did good casts or moulds so my new teeth look exactly like my old ones, oddities\tilts included. All of this was before I even knew I was going to do treatment, I didnt see any option to keep trying to save them. I have another peculiar physical situation ..... my nerves do not freeze at dentists... (oddly its the same medication they use for C-section) so I was lucky enough to have enough teeth pulled that I could go in to the hospital for day surgery and msp paid for that part of the ordeal.

5- what on earth would make your coworker behave like that? Stay strong and enjoy watching the karma. 

 

yes canuck, some ppl think they can orchesrate drama and get away with it.

and yup, we can't make this stuff up  

-- Edited by 5-1-18 on Sunday 17th of February 2019 07:17:49 PM

yay, my car door opened today.

but omg, someone at work tried to stir up some **** for me after setting me up , you can't make this stuff up... but since karma has been serving this person dose after dose i can only image how much fun it was to try to get me in trouble.

but i know all is well and getting weller.

-- Edited by 5-1-18 on Sunday 17th of February 2019 05:21:19 AM

Hi Canuck, best wishes to you and to your partner. Glad youre taking good care of yourselves and getting the treatment you need at the doc and dentist as needed. Yes Ive heard that xylitol is great for oral health! Keeps the mouth from getting dry and of course its sugarfree. My favorite xylitol gum is called ice cubes I buy little tubs of it from CVS. Theyve got tons of flavors but raspberry is the best

Im looking forward to reading about your U/S results got my happy dance shoes all dusted off and ready

Take care

Hello my friend! You are neither wimpering, or whining. We all share in a variety of issues and dilemmas. I’m very grateful to have all of you to talk to. The forum is a friendly place and it’s all of you that make it this way! I’ll be sending insistent vibes to the good fortune fairy, keep your fingers crossed and hopes high. Afterall, we‘re in this to win it