I went in to the lab today at 8:00 to have blood drawn after fasting to check my tri-glyciride level. At the start of tx it was a very normal 121. Last test it came in at 400. This seems odd as I’m a vegeterian, I’ve lost 10 or 15 lbs since I started tx, and I don’t eat a lot of fat. I take 7 ribavirin pills a day (aka Rebetol). The interferon shots boost one’s immune system to the point that it’s like an immune system on steroids. The Riba’s keep the virus from replicating and kills while the boosted immune system does more killing. It can be described as follows: the interferon is the shock and awe and the Riba is the marines fighting on the ground. One reason the virus is hard to knock down are the sheer numbers. I started with 5,200,000 copies in the blood sample. One multiplies that times 6000, the total amount of blood in one’s body, and we come up with 31,200,000,000 I can’t even pronounce the number, but I think it’s about 31 billion. If one survives, you’re toast and you relapse. This disease is tough and the treatment is a nightmare for the patient and the caregiver.
So back to the tri-glycerides. The ribas are absorbed by binding with fats in the stomach. My theory is, that since I take the ribas with fat, the ribas are pulling the fat into my blood stream as is reflected by the high count. At any rate, stay tuned.
Today, I told M that if I were pregnant, I would be having my baby next week. M just looked at me and said, “You’re really nuts”. She’s been saying that a lot lately. All is well and bye for now.
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