One of my favourite writers once wrote that history has a knack of
repeating itself, first as a tragedy and then as a farce. What the lovely
bearded fellow forgot to add is that sometimes twice is not enough for history,
and like a Sysyphus-deflating rock, history rolls heavily down the hill once
again – no longer a tragedy, or even a farce, but now simply a monotonous expectation.
It’s been a while since I posted here. A mistake, really. Reading back through
some of the older posts was very helpful in reminding me what undergoing
treatment for Hep B and C was like, and it was nice knowing that people had
come along for the trip whilst it lasted.
And it was a mistake because there have actually been loads of
developments in my life. I’m a little older, perhaps a little wiser, married,
and father to a wonderful boy, blessed with a loving family who has kept me
going strong, in spite of the many setbacks.
But perhaps the most important development in terms of this blog was
the fact that I started treatment for my hep B about a year ago. I’ve been
taking a daily dose of Tenofovir – a drug most commonly associated with HIV treatments
– and the treatment seems to be doing the trick. My viral load for Hep B is at
the lowest it has been for nearly two decades, which is great news. Tenofovir
is not a cure, however, so I’ll have to keep taking the little blue pill every
night for the next few years.
There are some side effects to Tenofovir, the one that’s been more prominent
this year being the constant state of tiredness – also a common side effect to
new parenthood, I grant you.
So, why the sudden blog update, I hear you ask. Well, my consultant has
suggested I have another go at Hep C treatment too, and I must say it was
difficult to say no. As always, if there is even a little chance of clearing
these nasty bastards, I must take it with both hands.
I’ll be undergoing another whole year of treatment with Interferon –
the same drug I’ve already failed twice on – and they will add a new one (Boceprevir)
at Week 4, which will hopefully make a difference this time around.
So, here we are, Week 1 once again. I had my first injection on Friday,
I’ve been taking six pills a day since, on top of the one Tenofovir. The
familiar tiredness has set in. Nausea has been an unwelcome addition. A little
bit of gloom overall, if I’m honest.
But, also, hope. They can’t take that away from us. So, here we go
again. I’ll blog about this new stage of the journey regularly.
Peace.
