So I thought I’d keep a treatment journal of sorts, for myself mainly, but also anyone else who might be starting this journey. I started 24 weeks of treatment with Viekira Pak + Ribavirin on March 24.

Side note, I am in Australia, so some things will be different. My accent, for example. Our cute marsupials. Our health care system. But other than that - the same!

Week 1 done and dusted. 23 weeks left. A mere drop in the ocean.

How do I feel? Interesting question. I think I fixate on side effects. “Fixate? You?” I hear you say.

So let me tell you the side effects I may have experienced. Perhaps an increase in bilirubin. Perhaps a decrease in haemoglobin. I am occasionally light headed. But that could well be another medication I am on. It has made me light headed in the past. I think sometimes I am slightly short of breath, but then I look back and realise I’ve just walked up a hill.

I get blood tests at two weeks to look for many things, these included.

So far, I am not nauseated. I am not headachey unless I don’t drink enough water. I am not fatigued.

So let me tell you what I’ve learned one week into treatment, and those who have already read my other thread have seen this, so skip to the end.

Last time I tried treatment with the interferon/riba combo, I knew it was going to be rough. I knew there was a high drop out rate. I knew the treatment felt worse than the disease while you were living through it. And so I was determined not to let the treatment beat me.

I spent the time I was on treatment fighting the treatment, not the virus.

This time, I’ve taken onboard that the virus is the enemy, not the drugs used to treat it. The drugs and I are working together to hopefully eradicate an unwelcome visitor.

So if I need to rest, I’ll rest. If I need to take a day off, I will. If I need to ask for help, I’ll do it. 

We’re in this together. Ombitasvir, dasabuvir, ritonavir, paritaprevir, ribavirin and me.

Go us.