And so it ends.  Yesterday I took the last of my meds and I am really glad it is over.  It hasn’t been awful, but I am very tired and my energy levels are the lowest they have been since I was last on interferon-based treatment seven years ago. I am feeling cold all the time and I have a persistent cough caused by ribavirin.  That said, I’ve ridden my bicycle to work every day, albeit more slowly and I have only missed four days of work since I have been on treatment. 

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I am sure I will be feeling better soon enough and I am so grateful to have been given a chance at this treatment.  I recognise there are hundreds of thousands of Australians still anxiously waiting for access to treatment and millions of people around the world for whom treatment is so much further from reach.  

I am anxious, because taking the meds is a kind of security blanket.  I knew I would stay undetectable as long as I took the meds.  I have always been a rapid responder. My body clears the hep C virus easily on treatment, any treatment, but it hasn’t stayed clear in the past. This time around, I’ve been undetectable since week two, but I need  to stay undetectable after I am no longer taking the treatment. 

The next few weeks, leading up to my first post-treatment blood test, are going to be the hardest yet in my hep C journey, so I’m taking it one day at a time.