6th Injection

People have said that around the sixth week is when it usually start to kick in. Yup, things are certainly starting to happen.
I've been trying to deny it, of course. Convincing myself that it's all in my head. That works, to a certain degree. But if I'm completely honest, I'll admit that I've been feeling a bit "under the weather". That's the best way to describe it. It's not something I can put my finger on. I've just been feeling kind of sad, low, lethargic...
The other day I got the results of my latest blood test. I have low readings of my platelet count and white cell count. Also low are my Neutrophils and Lymphocytes. Now, I really don't know what all that means exactly. I know that your white blood cells help fight off infection, so if they're low I'd better be really careful not to catch any infections. And I imagine that having low counts of that kind of stuff will probably be making me feel not-so-hot.
So, really, what's happened this week is that I've received medical proof that there's a reason why I should not be feeling good, and it's given me permission to admit that, in reality, I'm not feeling good!
Sometimes I wish my emotional brain would stop getting in the way of logical brain!!

Fourth Injection

It's got to the stage now that I don't sit around waiting for the effects to come on after my injection. And they don't. Ever since that very first one, which scared the living daylights out of me, every other injection has been uneventful.
I still have the itchy rash popping up in patches on my legs and arms, but it's not very bad and I rub a little calendula lotion on it, which does wonders (I've also discovered that the rash comes on when I stress out, and eases when I calm down).
The only thing that's noticeable is that I'm gradually getting more and more tired as the weeks go on. I wasn't sure whether that was actually happening at first, because I've been tired for years (which I see now was caused by the virus). But there's definitely extra tiredness happening in my daily life now.
It makes sense that whatever problems you've been having due to the virus will be exaserbated by the treatment. After all, interferon is just an overdose of what you're body is already using in its fight against the virus.

Third Injection

On Tuesday evening I gave myself my third injection. It's Thursday now. I waited a few days to see if any bad side-effects came on. Today I'm feeling a bit tired and slightly achey, but nothing like what I would expect.
Yesterday I had an episode of crying over nothing at all, which was easily fixed by a strong cup of coffee. I felt quite silly, really. Here I was sitting in bed bawling and my husband asked me what was wrong. Do you think I could come up with an answer? By the time I'd ummed and aahhed trying to think of what the matter was, it was time for a coffee and I was fine after that. How embarrasing!
So, it looks like I'm going to handle this treatment pretty well. I wonder what it is that causes some people to react so badly and others to feel so well.