Whatever Happened with that Interferon/Ribavirin Treatment?

I went to see the doctor today for my clinic appointment and we talked about me doing the interferon/ribavirin treatment for the HCV. The doctor decided that it would be in my best interest to pursue treatment after transplant. In the meanwhile I was urged to work on treating my psoriasis which has really started to get out of hand. I am generally feeling miserable with it right now. Plus, the doctor decided to put me on coumadin because of the blood clot they found this past January in my portal vein. I will do the coumadin for a month and then I suppose they'll do another CT scan. Most of this is good news and I will benefit from it in the long run. The only thing I don't like is that once I go back to see my dermatologist, I will most likely go back on Embrel and I hate the injections. But I guess that's a small price to pay if it will bring me some comfort and get rid of the psoriasis again.

I have also been having some hearing issue problems that we are looking at. I keep getting a ringing in my ears and sometimes things sound muffled and then come back on. Kind of like the elevation thing when you have to yawn to correct it. Anyhow, we cut back the dosage of the neomycin I have been on and we will watch it. The last thing I want to do is lose my hearing because of all the meds I am on.

Well, not much more to add to this.

Zombie

I wonder if George A. Romero knew someone who was sick when he directed Night of the Living Dead?

My wife was looking at me the other day and she said, "Your eyes are starting to turn yellow." 
I don't see it, but evidently she does. And having dark skin makes it kind of hard to tell if I am getting jaundice. I suppose it probably leaves me looking a little discolored. I have dark rings under my eyes, the result of leaky capillaries. Gravity causes the blood to fall downward and deposits below my eyes making me look tired and sick. They say 8 hours of sleep will fix this but, it is hard when sleeping is a difficult thing to do with this disease. I also have this whole blood clotting factor going on and a simple bump will bruise me. These things combined with my psoriasis have me looking pretty scary these days. I look bruised with lesions peppered across my body from the psoriasis and the scratching and I feel a little self conscious about it at times. Not always; just sometimes. I realize I am sick and there isn't much I can do about the way I look. I didn't realize I was being so vain until I read another blogger's post earlier today.

Today I was reminded that it has been two years since I was diagnosed with liver disease. I was told back then that I had 18 months before I might see another bleed out from varices. My last endoscopy showed that I have stopped bleeding in my esophagus and that the varices has moved to my stomach. I guess all the medicine I am taking is working. The doctors don't seem to be worried about what's happening in my stomach, and I suppose unless I start leaking a lot of blood then I am somewhat safe. In the meantime I remain wary.

I still find this all hard to talk about at times when I think of everything involved. The Call. Another person dying. My family. Myself.

Lois asked me the other day, "Are you getting scared?"

I said, "I don't know?"

It all seems unreal. I don't think I'll know until I get real sick.