I was diagnosed HCV positive back in the early 90's there was no treatments on offer back then, after all it had only just been identified & named in 1989. After the odd visit to my local hospital 18 years little had changed regarding treatment but then in January 2008 one year after mother passed away I stood prepared for a relatively new treatment & so it began... With hindsight I can now say I was far from prepared, I sat back & left it to the clinic, thinking all I had to do was take the meds. what followed was a recipe for failure, literally... 12 months later the PCR test came back virus STILL detected !
So here's the thing, by leaving it to the clinic mistakes were made, that in turn would cause stress & with each further mistake moving deeper into treatment stress becomes an almost permanent fixture, the drugs can make you manic in varying degrees, you will more than likely find it hard to control your emotions, that is why I recommend stress management as a major weapon. I count stress management as the equivalent to another drug in the fight, to cut out stress is to give the drugs you take, the best chance to achieve full effectiveness.
How you go about stress management is up to you, my main points are as follows...
1, When dealing with doctors & staff separate your emotions, maybe your not happy with the way they handle you... I say in the scheme of things that is not important, they are there to guide you through a process pure & simple the finesse they display counts for 0. Use them to get the job done, this is about you & that virus, don't buy into he said she said. I did the 1st time & I failed treatment !
2, Keep on top of all appointments & tests if anything is unclear call them & ask questions. Keep or cancel all appointments it's the right thing to do, also, don't forget your conduct is being monitored throughout treatment, any inapropriate behavior will be noted & may count against you, don't forget you may fail & wish to do treatment again further down the line.
3, Home routine, the main area of stress management will be from day to day at home, I took extreme measures the 2nd time I did treatment & remember I beat it, so don't knock it.
a, First of all I sacked BT, put the car in the garage & got the bus, bought an answer machine & cut contact with all but a very few people. You have to remember your more than likely going to become very touchy & maybe even confrontational, it's better if you have as fewer triggers as possible, I sacked facebook & twitter there are many damaged souls crying out for attention as well as those out to confront, I became confrontational on Facebook the 1st treatment, I found it very stressful & so I quit my account before my 2nd attempt.
b, the car is another cause of stress, from breaking down to anger behind the wheel not to mention stress from paying out. All that is gone in a flash & is replaced with the much milder worry about how long you'll wait for the bus. I see so many trying to do treatment & working driving on facebook & so on. It's no good
4, Exercise, is also very important, very ! You must push yourself out the door & walk, it's a fine balance between doing too much or too little. i found the day after my jab I would overdo it then spend the next couple of days paying for it. I kept on top of that during my second shot at treatment & measured my day to day efforts.Just a good steady walk around the block is ok on bad days then increase the distance on better days.
5, Food & water, water is the easiest to deal with, keep a large glass or bottle by your side all day every day & drink often, I also drank a pint at bedtime & upon waking, they do this in the Paratroops, your body is over 80% water keep it topped up & flush those drugs out of your system, easy ! Food is not as simple, you appetite will suffer but you must eat when you take your tablets, in the morning i eat a yogurt & a banana, we made fresh soup also a big pot of food on the stove is a wonderful thing be it soup, stew or curry. i had trouble with sores in my mouth, i would make a drink of green tea with fresh slices of ginger & lemon with mint honey & ribena you don't have to include all mix & match these fresh ingredients to make a hot soothing drink, I would take the cold half of this drink to bed & sip throughout the night.
6, So remember this is probably the most important 6-12 months of your life, it's outcome vital to a brighter future, so don't leave it to pure chance, get pro active & make hard sacrifices in the short term it's inconvenient in the big picture your doing what has to be done, as far as work is concerned, I'd rather be unemployed & virus free, if your employer won't let you have time off, then they don't care for you. I know it's easy for me to say but I never expected to be free of HCV, but now I am & there is absolutely no doubt in my mind my 2nd course of treatment succeeded because I made big changes in the way I lived my life, changes that decreased my stress levels & so increased my immune system so when matched with the treatment drugs the hep c virus became completely overwhelmed & in turn led me to victory !!!
