Thursday, November 26, 2009

RX Drugs are Expensive Even with Insurance!

We filled his prescriptions with the new insurance (Humana Select HMO) for the first time.  The Pegasys alone was $504, and the RibaPak cost $345.  That's for a one month supply.  As for the Alinia, that was only $50, but Humana only approved a 20 day supply.  So Steve is going to have to call the doctor, and the doctor's assistant will have to straighten that out (hopefully).

I have to say that the doctor and his assistant have both been great.  Anytime Steve needs anything they take care of it without any problem.  Thank goodness for them!

Tomorrow I am going to call Roche Patient Assistance Foundation to see if we qualify for help with the cost of the drugs.  In case anyone else needs help, the number is 1-877-757-6243.  In addition, there are other pharmaceutical industry-sponsored patient assistance programs.  For more information on those, the website is called Partnership for Prescription Assistance.

To those of you who celebrate it, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

All the best to you and yours,

Lisa

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Steve's Back on the Treatment!

Steve went to the cardiologist on Tuesday.  All the tests came back normal, and he was given the go ahead to go back on treatment. 

The gastroenterologist says that he wants Steve to start from square one- which means he'll be on Triple Therapy for another 48 weeks.  He'll have his first blood test in two weeks and every two weeks thereafter:  just a standard CBC.  At the 6 week point, he will have his viral load checked (which will be the first time since he's been off treatment.)

Steve's taking 1200mg of Ribavirin daily, 0.5ml of Pegasys once a week, and 1000mg of Alinia daily.  On Saturday, he is going to start taking the Procrit again (40,000 units weekly), and he will remain on the Procrit throughout the Triple Therapy.

He's already feeling the effects of the meds.  Couldn't sleep last night.  Had several charlie horses in his legs.  Today he has had a bad headache all day, and he is freezing again.  

But as I've said before, if it works, it's all worth it.  I am speaking for both my husband and myself when I say that!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Almost a Month Since He's Been Off Triple Therapy

My husband went to the cardiologist last week.  He had an echocardiogram and a stress test.  For the stress test, Steve was injected with a dye that enables the technician to see the heart in 3-D.  After the injection, his blood pressure shot up, so the tech had to give him a blood pressure pill before performing the stress test.

The results won't be in until next week.  Why it takes so long...I don't know.  But the nurse insists that because the test is 3-D, it takes about 2 weeks to get the results.  So based on that, Steve scheduled an appointment to see the cardiologist Wednesday the 18th. 

If all goes well, the gastroenterologist said he can resume treatment immediately.  So we are excited about that.  We would like to get another viral load taken to see if there is a significant change since he has been off treatment (it will be a month on the 14th), but the doctor doesn't think it is necessary.

Right now, Steve is trying to psych himself back up to get ready for the treatment.  He has the disability hearing on the fourth of December, and that is stressing him out.  Because he waited too long to file a claim, we severely doubt he is going to get approved.  Although we could really use the money, my main concern was the medical benefits, and I found out that he wouldn't be eligible for Medicare until 24 months after being approved for disability anyway.  So at least, we have health coverage from my new job.

Once again, I can't stress enough what a great source of information http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ is.  I wish we would have known about the site and all the information that is on it when Steve was first diagnosed.  We wouldn't have waited and things would probably be very different right now.  So as I said before, I hope that someone else can benefit from the lesson we have learned.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A Guide for Caring for Your Loved One with Hepatitis C

I found a guide for loved ones caring for someone with Hep C.  Thought you might find it interesting and helpful.  I did. 

The guide is on HCVAdvocate.org:  For Family and Friends Caring for Someone With Hepatitis C

The subject matter is as follows:
  • Common Reactions of Caregivers 
  • How to Cope
  • Caregiver Stress Danger Signs
  • Protect Yourself from HCV Infection
  • Sexual Transmission 
  • The HCV Patient During Treatment 
  • Depression, Anxiety, Irritability and Mania
  • Resources 

Monday, November 2, 2009

Blood Test Results Are In - The Procrit is Working!!

Steve has been feeling a lot better  The Procrit is working his RBC count (3.52), WBC count (3.8) and Hemoglobin (12) have all increased. And we've been getting along just like we did before the treatment.  No more fighting over nothing.  I am so happy.  I feel like I have my husband back.

He feels bad about how irritable he was, but we both realize that is quite common and a side effect of the treatment.  He was reading some blogs on Janis and Friends that he could really relate to.  He told me that a lot of bloggers on treatment were talking about how they were fighting with their spouses over nothing but couldn't stop themselves.

Steve is going for his stress test (and echocardiagram) on Wednesday.  If all goes well, he will be resuming the Triple Therapy with the addition of Procrit

It has been a long hard road for him, but he definitely wants to continue the treatment (which makes me very happy)!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Finally Stopped the Itching!!

Steve was going out of his mind from the itching.  He said he felt like something was crawling all over him.  It got so bad that he wasn't sleeping at all. He just wanted to jump out of his skin.  The medication that our primary care physician prescribed ( Hydroxyzine HCL 25mg and Triamcinolone 0.1% Cream FOU) wasn't working at all. 

So Monday I called a dermatologist, and they were nice enough to get Steve in the same day.  The dermatologist prescribed Clobetasol Propionate Foam, 0.05%.  The first night he used it my husband was able to sleep, and it has been working ever since.  He itched a little here and there the first few days but nothing like before.  He isn't itching at all anymore.  He uses the foam twice a day (in the morning and before he goes to sleep).