OPEN CHAT

[Hank's mom]

Hi starshine -

It is scary to think of starting but it isn't always so bad, so enter this with educated caution but not panic. Many people don't miss work at all or only do for short periods. Perhaps you can speak to your boss, if you are comfortable sharing this information, about your work related concerns. He might let you take a leave of absence or work an abbreviated week i.e. if you take your shot on Friday evenings you might ask to have Mondays off to give yourself some extra leeway for rest. And, tell him that you don't know this will be the case, but a possibility you're considering in case since you love your job and don't want to leave it.

The other thing is get as educated as possible - how to read and understand labs, what answers you can expect, what your viral load and genotype mean to name a few. Look around here and you'll find all kinds of information and anecdotes, and check out some of the websites like the ones from the various HCV groups, liver groups, and pharmaceutical companies.

I wish you all the best and by all means - if you have more questions, post as you did here and we try to help you.

Be well,
Susie

[robin]

Starshine...Susie said it correctly. You don't hear the stories about those who didn't have a horrid time on treatment because they really don't post them. What information you usually see relates to those who had hard side effects. Many of the side effects can be managed with medication. I worked both times I tried treatment and did miss some work but all missed work was secondary to having been hospitalized due to anemia and low white counts that weren't corrected with the neupogen and epogen. Found that I did need an afternoon nap when possible and I didn't have as much energy for things like keeping a spotless house or being social. Best of luck to you when you attempt the meds. You will find a lot of support here. Keep your spirits high...robin   

[RiverRandy]

 My first visit to the chat room was Wed 9/10/08 meet some very nice people, Helen, Mouse, I really can't remember the rest right off my head, I have a good memory but it is very short...lol... I am awaiting treatment for the first time starting Sept 29th and very anxious as I am 1a stage 3 and just found out that I have HCV.  Everyone in the support group have been wonderful.

[MissyMouse]

It's been a busy week around hcvanonymous.com.   In addition to the forum upgrade that chat room has also been upgraded and renewed for the upcoming year.  We now have an avatar function along with our usual emoticons and sounds effects.

For those of you that may have problems viewing the emoticon or avatars, you probably need to clean out your cache/browser history in your web browser.   After upgrading the chat room I was unable to see the avatars and after dealing with tech support, sure enough, after I cleaned out my cache/browser history, I was able to see the new avatars.  I know there are one or two of you that  have not been able to see the emoticons since about the time that Helen added a few new ones.   See if cleaning out your cache/browser history helps you.

For those of you using Internet Explorer, to clean our your browser history here is some quick instructions:

1. Open your Internet Explorer
2. Click on "tools" in your tool bar
3. Click on "delete browser history" in the pull down menu
4.  Click on "delete all".

If there are people using other browsers out there (you really should try to stick with Explorer or Firefox as they work best with our chat room) please let me know if you are having problems and which browsers you are using and I'll do some research for you.  Or if you know how to clear the cache on a browser other than Internet Explorer, feel free to post instructions here to help others.

Mouse

[keezzy]

i am in narcotics anonymous how does this site work, can u do steps online?

[robin]

keezzy...there is a forum for working the steps but I have never been there. Kerry (AKA Mongo at times) moderates it, I think. Keep your spirits high...robin

[Betty W.]

Robin come in chat

[mindy]

Lee, if I am going to be 49 in Feb. what does that make me, a fossel, a baby, "break-thru" or what?  lol.  I was glad to see Earl is still around, when I come our fellowship I always look for senior members, Pearl Earl is totally sweet Lee, did you think of that?  I love momxfive, dragonlady, sorry forget her name, missymouse, I love our fellowship and want to attend thhe wed. night meeting but most times by the time I get the twins to sleep I am ready to go to bed too.  I will make a commitment to attend one meeting a week in our fellowship as well as my A.A. fellowship.  My A.A. sponsor just called me so I have to end now.  But I have so much admiration for our fellowship, I need to attend some of these meetings.

[Timothy]

Hi All,
 I just wanted to post this to make sure everyone understands that they can meet in chat anytime they like as long as they are a member here.

 We have a few scheduled chats but it isnt always convenient for everyone. So if anyone wants to meet in there at anytime or just maybe notices alot of people are on and you feel like chatting, you can post it on the board OR or pm them and see if they would like to chat.

 Just wanted to make it clear that it can be used other times besides the scheduled times we have listed. 

Thanks. That is good to know.
Tim