Day 3 of Treatment

The last week has been quite the experience. After having the Hickmans line inserted last Thursday, I got to start my Interferon treatment this week. I was extremely relieved that it was finally underway. I was nervous in the lead up, I didn't know what to expect or how I would react, physically or mentally, to all of this but I knew I had the love and support of Noreen and my three girls so things would be okay.

Walking into the St John of God's hospital I came to terms that this would be almost like a second home to me for a good part of the year ahead, it's daunting, but I keep reminding myself that this has to be done and that I'm in good hands so everything will work out. I went in for my first round of treatment on Monday. I will be going in every day now for the next month and then less frequently after that. The process takes around three hours all up, it starts with a Saline flush of the Hickmans line, an anti-nausea drug, Panadol, the Interferon - which takes thirty minutes to administer, then to finish one litre of Saline - which takes another hour. It's a long process but after a few days of it I'm now used to it and I've accepted the fact that this will be a part of life for the moment. The fact that the atmosphere at the St John of God hospital is so great and that the staff and patients are really friendly makes the world of difference.. They're all happy to have a chat and discuss their treatment and that certainly makes it much easier to go in every day.

Once I'm finished at the hospital, that's where the fun begins with side effects. By the time I get home the shakes have started to kick in. Almost like clockwork, six hours later the hot flushes and spikes in temperatures hit, anything over 38degrees means I have to start monitoring my temperature to ensure it doesn't stay above that for a prolonged period of time, though all of this, plus the persistent head aches and lack of appetite are all standard when being treated with this type of drug. It really knocks you around each day and at night once you start to get tired and are looking for bed it's normally time for some more medication to ease the pain. I normally wake up a couple of hours later in a muck of sweat and have to get up to get changed but that's all part of the process.

Once I get up in the morning I am nearly back to normal, I'm keen to have a good breakfast so I'm full before treatment starts and I loose my appetite again. To keep on track I focus on maintaining a routine by getting myself up and my beautiful wife and daughters lunches ready for work and school before I do the school run. Then I start to get myself ready for the next day of treatment. One day seems to roll into the next at the moment, and as the weeks roll on the side effects won't change too much but I need to be very vigilant about how I'm feeling as one of the bigger side effects from the Interferon is depression. That's something I very much want to avoid as it could be a terrible downward spiral that could make this whole process a whole lot worse than it already is. I keep reminding myself that staying positive and putting things in to perspective is important to get through this.

If anyone reading this is feeling a bit down please know that there are avenues for you to seek professional help.