Today is Friday, and I'm about to have my shot #5 of Peg-Intron.

I think I might have mentioned it already, but my doc wanted to see me
on Week 4. So, I saw him yesterday, and he had me give blood for some
standard stuff like complete blood count and lipid panel, plus he also
said he wanted to see what my viral load was. I was to call him before
taking shot 5 today, just in case there was something terribly wrong,
although I'm feeling reasonably well.

So, I call him this morning. The good news is that my ALT/AST, just
like during my Week 2 test, is normal (I believe he said they were 20
and 22)...which is a big deal for me, as normally ALT and AST were
around 150-200 or more, and 50-100 or more, respectively, before I
began Tx.

Now, the bad news: hemoglobin.
A month before starting Tx, it was 14.7 (although I believe it was
13.5 on the test taken right before shot #1)
Week 2, it was either 13 or 13.2 (it was over the phone, and I haven't
had the time to get the last few blood work print-outs, as I usually
do).
Week 4, as I found by phoning the Dr this morning, it's 11.2

The Dr was concerned about the fact that it was a significant drop
between weeks 2 and 4. I told him that I did have some fatigue, but
nothing that bothered me or interfered with functioning too much.
Still, the doc explained that he couldn't just sit around and hope
that it would stop dropping. He said he didn't want to reduce my meds,
esp. this early in Tx...he told me to come by his office on Monday and
pick up a script for something called Procrit. He asked me what kind
of insurance I had--apparently, this Procrit is pretty expensive. So
far, I'd been lucky, with Medicaid paying for all meds, HepC-related
and otherwise. I understand some people have trouble because of pricks
with MBA degrees at their insurance companies making medical
decisions. I keep my fingers crossed for having my Medicaid pay for
all meds, tests, and doctor visits, with only a few dollars instead of
co-pay.

But, that's a different topic. I wanted to ask...do you guys think my
Dr made a wise decision, or is it too early for Procrit? Esp. since
I'm not feeling too bad? I looked around the archives, as well as
elsewhere on the Web, and found out that if your Hg is 12 or above,
you should not take Procrit, and mine was 11.2 (blood test taken one
day before shot #5).

I hope Medicaid pays for it, although I should have no reason to
suspect otherwise. By the sound of it, the doc might reduce my meds
unless I start on Procrit, and I REALLY don't want that to happen.
f.ck, I've only had HepC since 2001, and I'm turning 30 this July--I'm
reasonably healthy, and all of a sudden I have all these meds I must
take. And, I'm genotype 3a, which is supposed to be easier...why is my
Hg dropping so fast, so early on in Tx?

Well, I guess I should be thankful for not becoming depressed or
confused, devoid of all energy, or many other things I could've
gotten. I'm actually taking steps to getting my driver's license (if
all goes well, I'll have it before I'm 30, hah!)

Sorry for the rant, but this came as a shock to me, esp. since I've
been feeling fine. I welcome any comments, especially if you've had to
deal with dropping Hg and/or had to take Procrit.

On another note...I've noticed people here have discussed levels of
iron and something called "ferretin"...I haven't been tested for any
of those (and I didn't have the biopsy). Should I be concerned with
that at the moment? Oh well. I have too much stress at the moment, and
my family alternates between treating me with pity and blaming me for
everything they could figure out that is "wrong" with my life.
Somehow, I'm to blame for my low Hg levels, too. And I'm not the sort
to complain and nag, either, even though I do vent sometimes...but I
just swore to myself that I will never again discuss my treatment in
any detail with my family members. They harm me more by wounding me up
and causing stress than they help me by helping me eat right.

Sheesh, look with what I started this post, and this self-pitying
crap. Sorry, I'm just seething with anger at myself because of a
conversation that took place as I was finishing this post...<sigh>

Thanks for any comments on the topic, kids.