HEALTH UPDATE: OCTOBER 28, 2005
... I'm hanging in there and now three weeks into the maintenance dose of the Pegasys interferon. I'm only injecting half dose weekly and that doesn't make me quite as sick. The day of the injections I feel pretty sick but then the next day, feel somewhat better. I'm still doing the phlebotomies, four to date and the porphyria seems to be much better. Not sire if this is what's really helping or the fact I'm hardly in the sun at all any more. I'm hoping the treatments will lower my liver functions and viral load again.
I'm trying to slow the cirrhosis progression and still keep things lower until I can try a new triple cocktail treatment next year. It's the Pegasys combination therapy with a potease inhibitor. It's supposed to be really showing good results from the clinical trails, but those in our support group that had done well coping with the sides of the Pegasys regular treatments right now are having real problems with this new triple medicine regiment. I have so many side effects from the treatments now, that I don't think I can handle the new treatment with all three medicines.
My biggest symptoms now are extreme fatigue, flu like symptoms, and joint and muscular aches and pain. I'm taking a lot more Ibuprofen and extra strength Tylenol for it.
Well, enough about me, I hope this finds you and Maria well and having a good week. Say "Hello" to Maria for me and I hope sometime next year I can get to meet you when you are here. This is the email I wanted to send you and may have recently sent you a copy of a previous email. Just disregard that one. This is how things are going right now. Keep in touch and have a great day.
A brother and a friend always,
Dennis