Wanted to update everyone as to what is going on with my health. 

As you  know I decided last September 2005 to treat my Hep C with the chemo  suggested by the doctors who "specialize" in this stuff.  When I started treatment I had a viral load of 688,000 and my liver enzyme levels (ALT & AST) were 19 and 21 (very low).  I have a genotype of 2B, which of all the genotypes of Hep C, this one is 80-90% treatable.  The viral load of 688,000 was also incredibly low.

The treatment was Interferon 1x a week and Ribavirin 2x a day for a period  of 6 months.  That 6 months ended on March 10th 2006.

My treatment went incredibly well.  Within one week of chemo, the viral load went from 688,000 to 16,700.  Within 4 weeks of treatment, my viral went to -0-.  It became undetectable and remained that way thru the 6 months of
treatment.

After treatment was finished I went thru a "depression" that took some time to get over.  I understand now that this is "normal" (ha!) but of course no  one ever told me about what it would be like to stop treatment.  I was angry and depressed.  Not a good combination for me.  I felt completely out of
control and wasn't sure what to do.  The hard part was being aware of what was going on with myself and not being able to do anything about it.

 Finally I did do something about it.   I started taking Chi Gong classes and I started going to an acupuncturist who is also an herbalist.   Things started looking brighter almost immediately and I am very glad I took those steps in helping myself get "better".    I physically feel GREAT!  I have more endurance and energy then I've had in a very long time.  I'm still dealing with some of the residue of the chemo (ugly hair, weight gain, mouth sores) but they are all getting better and I look alive and my color is good.

I went and had my bloodwork done on June 2, 2006.  It came back with elevated liver enzymes (still very low but high for me).  The second half of the bloodwork came back with some disturbing  results.  The viral load had gone from -0- to 3,330,000.  Not good.  Not good at all.  I felt like I had been punched in the stomach, the rug pulled out from under me, a  pail of  cold water thrown at me. oh a dozen or so clichés..

I contacted the doctors office (the doctor is only in town 1x a month.  He is out of Stanford, a great hospital/research center but I always felt like I was just a statistic).  His nurse called me back and had me go do another blood test.  The results were just too weird.  They shouldn't have jumped the way they did, maybe it was an error at the lab.

The second results came back, they were worse then the first ones.  The viral load went from 3,330,000 to 4,260,000 in 2 weeks.  The virus is/was  replicating.  I go for bloodwork again at the beginning of August.  I don't  see the doctor again until October.

I will not be going thru the Chemo again.  I don't want to put my body through it again.  Emotionally and mentally, I don't want to deal with it again and I certainly can't put B. through it again (or A.).  (B., who was there every day watching me, caring for me, giving me my injections, helping me keep some semblance of sanity).

So..I will continue on with some of the alternative methods being used to treat Hep C.  Methods that have a really high success rate in keeping the virus under control (it is not curable at this time) and keeping my quality of life good.

Like I said, I feel really good and I have every intention of remaining that way.   Just wanted to let you all know what was going on.  I knew  during treatment that you were all thinking about me and I can't tell you how much it meant.  Please continue to keep me in your thoughts...

 Love,
R.

well... here i am... 3 shots down and 21 left to go...the hardest part is that i am so tired all the time....no energy...or sporadic energy bursts followed by being completely drained.

skin is getting dried out ... still have all my hair tho... cant seem to stay focused long enough to do much of anything..... everything tastes metallic,

B & L have been taking wonderful care of me. if it werent for B feeding me... i wouldnt be eating.. the thought of food makes me sick....

went to work for 2 days last week. luckily someone was with me. was pretty good part of the day and then very very tired.

anyway tho.... i am alive. i know my side effects could be worse (and hopefully they wont get worse!)... have done 2 blood tests... should find out about the viral load on monday....from the first week of treatment.   they say the first shot does a lot of the killing of the virus.... we'll see if it has... keep your fingers crossed.

x-posted