Day 31-37

Well, I went to a wedding in Southern California this weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and everyone had a good time. I relaxed and enjoyed my time with my girlfriend.

I think I may have messed up today's shot. The reason I say that is because blood started gushing out after I took out the needle. There was no pain, but I was shocked to see an instant little pool of blood form on my leg. I think I may have hit a vein. I'm supposed to avoid veins, but was also told that it's pretty hard to hit a vein. Well, the bleeding stopped pretty quickly, but I hope nothing weird happens to me if I really did screw up the shot. No blood went into the vial, so I think it's okay to continue using this pen.

How I feel: 8

Day 28 - 30: I need a new toy

I woke up on Saturday feeling not so good. I got 8 hours of sleep the night before, but I could have used a couple more hours. So, I decided to buy a car to make myself feel good. :) Actually I've been looking at this car for a while, so it was time to take the plunge. I almost didn't feel like going, but I managed to get myself out of bed. The car was great... and I came to a deal with the seller. I got him to back off his asking price by a pretty good amount, so I think I got a pretty good deal. I'm going to pick it up on Monday, so hopefully the seller won't change his mind by then.

Day 24 - 27: Sleep, sleep, and more sleep

Hmm... I decided not to go to work twice this week. I've been really tired after my shots lately. I slept about 12 hours each night after my shots. I don't think I've done that since college! I'm also happy to say that my appetite has returned since my last post. I knew it was a fluke event!

BTW, the weather has been weird today. It rained a little in the morning while driving to work... then after work it rained again! I guess it's nice that the weather has finally cooled off a bit.

Day 20-23

Last night during dinner I wasn't too hungry for some reason. Having no appetite is pretty unusual for me. Maybe it was because the weather was so warm. I also take naps almost every day now. It's almost as if I need these naps. I get really tired and just have to sleep.

Day 19

I didn't feel that bad this morning when I woke up (even though I had a shot last night). I decided I was okay to go to work. I was a little tired while driving to work, but I made it safely. I seemed to get worse while I was at work and had to stuggle to stay awake. I was really tired during the morning hours. I started to feel a little energetic by noon, but got tired again on the drive home from work. Oh well.

Today was an 8.

Day 18: Ouch

Ouch. My last shot in the abdomen actually hurt a little bit. I don't like the trend that's developing... Every shot I give myself is starting to hurt a little more.

How I feel: 8

Days 15-17

Not much has been happening with me the last couple of days. I had a pretty good weekend filled with lots of rest, but for some reason felt super tired this morning when I woke up. I got up around 4:30am and started getting ready for work, but after a couple of minutes into my routine, I decided that it wasn't a good day to go to work. I knew it wasn't going to be a good day at work if I went. I slept a lot of the day away with little naps. I guess my body is really tired from the drugs even though I haven't really been doing much lately.

Day 14

For today's shot I got to use a new injection pen. The old one finally ran out. It was exciting opening something new, even though it's just medication. The plunger on the pen is a little harder to push than the old one, but that's probably because the pen is brand new and full.

I went to Wendy's for lunch with my co-workers. Yes, I ordered the chili! My co-worker got some chili too, since I didn't want to be the only one buying it. The chilli was actually pretty good. It was a little too watery for me, but I enjoyed it. Plus, the fingers were cooked thoroughly and weren't too chewy.



Today's overall rating: 9

Day 12 and 13

It's been two weeks on this medication and overall I'm doing okay. I've been really tired the last two days. I think it may be a combination of medication and going to work. Yesterday at work, my body ran out of energy and I just felt like sleeping for a couple of hours. It was tough just staying awake at work. I was feeling slightly nauseous and couldn't really concentrate on anything. I'm considering not going to work on the days after I give myself shots if I continue to feel like this.

I also saw my doctor for the first time since starting interferon. He said I was one of the lucky people that don't feel too bad on this medicine. He was also telling me that in a couple of studies of this treatment, some people were hospitalized the whole time they were taking this stuff. Other than that, I didn't learn too much from the doctor. The other day I got my blood drawn to see if my blood count is okay, but the results are not in from that yet. I also won't get any indication if interferon is helping helping me beat Hep B until a couple more months of this treatment.

Physical: 8
Mental: 8

Day 10 and 11

I decided to give myself the shot a little early today. I was getting impatient and just decided to go for it. Maybe I was a little bored too. It was my last dosage from my first vial of medicine. Each vial lasts 6 shots. Since there was a little left in the vial after I was finished, I squirted the rest out just to see.

I hope everyone had a nice July 4th. I didn't watch any fireworks last night. (Not even on TV). Instead I watched the 2005 Hot Dog eating championships! Here are the world rankings. Check out the resume of Sonya Thomas. She stuffed down 11 pounds of cheesecake in 9 minutes.

Man, I want to try out Nathan's hot dogs now.

Day 8 and 9

Last two days were good. Yesterday I saw War of the Worlds with a friend. The movie wasn't that great, but the company was good. I enjoyed the special effects and the beginning of the movie, but the end was kind of a let down.

I bbq'd some ribs and steak for lunch today. I guess it's a guy thing to enjoy standing around a bbq.

I just gave myself another shot too. When I give myself a shot now, I seem to notice it more. It's actually starting to hurt a little bit now. Giving myself shots is getting old and I'm starting to dread shot time. I haven't really been feeling too many side effects lately. It's mostly fatigue these days. I almost want to feel some more side effects.... at least then I know the shots are doing something.

Mental: 8 Physical: 9

Day 7: Show and Tell

Well, it's been a week since I've been on this treatment. So far so good. I only felt bad in the beginning and it seems like I'm getting used to the side effects already. I wonder if I'll feel fine in the coming months, or get progressively worse.

Here's a picture of the needle I just took a shot with... It's a tiny needle, nothing to be afraid of!

Mental: 9
Physical: 9