Week 7 and Week 8

Friday April 6th and Friday April 13th 2007

Rash rash rash. From toes to neck. Started Sat night April 6th and continued to spread over whole body over the next four days with the itch progressively becoming worse as it spread. By this past monday April 16th, it felt like a thousand fire ants were crawling and biting all over. Called docs office at 9:30 am Monday and was told my nurse and doc were with patients and would return my call. By 1:00pm with no return call, i called again and left another message. i hate doctors...wonder why? After 2 unsuccessful calls to get my doc on phone with no calls being returned until 3pm, when some secretary calls back and tells me nurse and doc arent available to call me and are gone for the day, but doc said go to ER, i was a little freaked and pissed. If you know me...i only go to ER if i think i'm dying. May be visiting a lot from here on in, but lots earlier.

5 hours in ER, wrapped in a "butt out the back gown" and a thin bloody sheet 'cause of the two missed attempts to draw blood....3 needle sticks to get two vials of blood, a shot of benadryl and a shot of cortizone through IV and the 3 hour nap that insued.....i headed home dazed and worn out, but no itch. What a relief!

ER doc diagnosed hives from some undetermined allergy. Gave me a prescription for antihistamine and prednisone steroid to take over next 9 days with a slow taper off on the steroid and to follow up with my Gastro doc before my next shot this week. I see him this Thursday and 2:30 pm. Hope he's not going out of his way too much lol.

i am worried about the Prednisone cause its known to cause bone and joint pain, which i already have in ankles , knees, hip and back. But also because it allows virius replication, the one thing i dont want right now. I need to have a 2 log drop in my virius count in order for my insurance company to agree to allow me to continue this $1000 a week treatment. Viral load count was 800,800 per ml at start of treatment, so there can be no more than 8008 detected at 12 week blood test, which is in a month. If i pass the 2 log drop, i get to finish the 48 weeks. So, i want no virius replication at this crucial stage. Tug of war, because i can't rash and scatch with a low white blood count either. and get skin/blood bacterial infection.

i was concerned this was a photosensitivity from the ribavarin or interferon as these drugs can cause sun sensitivity in some patients. ER doc doesn't think so because my face had no rash. my eyes were sensitive to light too and i get pain behind the eye ball. This is gone now after the ER visit. Both interferon and ribavarin are famous for what's termed "riba rash", so i wasn't sure if at 7 weeks the drugs had reached their dreaded toxic level. Most people get a riba rash, but not as severe as i had. This was hives. The slaying continues.......