› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Last 11 Interferon Shots….
- This topic has 33 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by
BrianP.
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- November 5, 2012 at 11:55 am
They were some of my best days while doing that treatment. I finally saw an end to it all. On the flip side when I was officially done, it was some of my hardest days because I felt like I wasn't doing anything to actively fight anymore. Once I realized that doing skin and node checks is doing something, I came around. I've been done with interferon for almost 3 years, I can honestly say I have days I don't think about the C word at all!
Congrats on your awesome accomplishment!
Amy S. in Michigan
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- November 5, 2012 at 11:55 am
They were some of my best days while doing that treatment. I finally saw an end to it all. On the flip side when I was officially done, it was some of my hardest days because I felt like I wasn't doing anything to actively fight anymore. Once I realized that doing skin and node checks is doing something, I came around. I've been done with interferon for almost 3 years, I can honestly say I have days I don't think about the C word at all!
Congrats on your awesome accomplishment!
Amy S. in Michigan
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:18 am
Amy~ I am feeling mixed emotions with ending the Interferon, I am ready to be done, but also feel that the Interferon is a safety net. I am not 100% at all on it but have maneuvered my way around it, my so call "new normal". Life after Interferon…..ready or not here I come! Thanks …..
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:18 am
Amy~ I am feeling mixed emotions with ending the Interferon, I am ready to be done, but also feel that the Interferon is a safety net. I am not 100% at all on it but have maneuvered my way around it, my so call "new normal". Life after Interferon…..ready or not here I come! Thanks …..
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:18 am
Amy~ I am feeling mixed emotions with ending the Interferon, I am ready to be done, but also feel that the Interferon is a safety net. I am not 100% at all on it but have maneuvered my way around it, my so call "new normal". Life after Interferon…..ready or not here I come! Thanks …..
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- November 5, 2012 at 11:55 am
They were some of my best days while doing that treatment. I finally saw an end to it all. On the flip side when I was officially done, it was some of my hardest days because I felt like I wasn't doing anything to actively fight anymore. Once I realized that doing skin and node checks is doing something, I came around. I've been done with interferon for almost 3 years, I can honestly say I have days I don't think about the C word at all!
Congrats on your awesome accomplishment!
Amy S. in Michigan
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- November 5, 2012 at 10:38 pm
I agree with Amy. See the light and run with it! Congratulations on finishing!
Tricia
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- November 5, 2012 at 11:41 pm
I'm not too far behind you. My last shot will be on 12/12/12. I can't wait to be done! Throughout the year there have been plenty of days where I haven't felt too bad but all I have to do is walk up a flight of steps to remember I'm not 100 %. I haven't had too many different side effects toward the end. In fact some of my side effects have gone away. The interferon reduced my blood pressure and I used to get terrible light headedness almost every time I stood up. I also used to get weird pressurization feeling in my ears. Almost like I was in an airplane and I needed to swallow to equalize my ears. The one thing I've had the last couple months that has been driving me crazy is a cough. September was brutal it was so bad. I've talked to someone else who was on interferon and they had a cough almost the entire year. Not sure if mine is interferon related or not. I still have my achy days (mostly on the day after the shot) but usually an advil will clear it up. Good luck with your last 11 shots.
Brian
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- November 5, 2012 at 11:41 pm
I'm not too far behind you. My last shot will be on 12/12/12. I can't wait to be done! Throughout the year there have been plenty of days where I haven't felt too bad but all I have to do is walk up a flight of steps to remember I'm not 100 %. I haven't had too many different side effects toward the end. In fact some of my side effects have gone away. The interferon reduced my blood pressure and I used to get terrible light headedness almost every time I stood up. I also used to get weird pressurization feeling in my ears. Almost like I was in an airplane and I needed to swallow to equalize my ears. The one thing I've had the last couple months that has been driving me crazy is a cough. September was brutal it was so bad. I've talked to someone else who was on interferon and they had a cough almost the entire year. Not sure if mine is interferon related or not. I still have my achy days (mostly on the day after the shot) but usually an advil will clear it up. Good luck with your last 11 shots.
Brian
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- November 5, 2012 at 11:41 pm
I'm not too far behind you. My last shot will be on 12/12/12. I can't wait to be done! Throughout the year there have been plenty of days where I haven't felt too bad but all I have to do is walk up a flight of steps to remember I'm not 100 %. I haven't had too many different side effects toward the end. In fact some of my side effects have gone away. The interferon reduced my blood pressure and I used to get terrible light headedness almost every time I stood up. I also used to get weird pressurization feeling in my ears. Almost like I was in an airplane and I needed to swallow to equalize my ears. The one thing I've had the last couple months that has been driving me crazy is a cough. September was brutal it was so bad. I've talked to someone else who was on interferon and they had a cough almost the entire year. Not sure if mine is interferon related or not. I still have my achy days (mostly on the day after the shot) but usually an advil will clear it up. Good luck with your last 11 shots.
Brian
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:31 am
Brian~ Wow! you are really not far behind..I too can't wait to done, but am having mixed emotions. My "new normal" I have maneuvered my way around it. I almost feel like interferon is a safety net. My side effects seem to be stronger this last month. My blood pressure with the IV drip the first month went sky high, I do not have high blood pressure so they put me on Blood Pressure meds for a while, maybe 3 mths or so. My hair has fallen out but not all of it, I have lost 20lbs, but do eat. Very dry eyes…and of course the chills,achy, no energy at all, just want to sleep. I did get a cough back in April, so bad, it lasted over a month and they did put me on Zpack but that did not work. I now still cough but only in the morning and I have never smoked and do not have allergies Heres to better days…..you are almost there. All the best!.
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:31 am
Brian~ Wow! you are really not far behind..I too can't wait to done, but am having mixed emotions. My "new normal" I have maneuvered my way around it. I almost feel like interferon is a safety net. My side effects seem to be stronger this last month. My blood pressure with the IV drip the first month went sky high, I do not have high blood pressure so they put me on Blood Pressure meds for a while, maybe 3 mths or so. My hair has fallen out but not all of it, I have lost 20lbs, but do eat. Very dry eyes…and of course the chills,achy, no energy at all, just want to sleep. I did get a cough back in April, so bad, it lasted over a month and they did put me on Zpack but that did not work. I now still cough but only in the morning and I have never smoked and do not have allergies Heres to better days…..you are almost there. All the best!.
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:31 am
Brian~ Wow! you are really not far behind..I too can't wait to done, but am having mixed emotions. My "new normal" I have maneuvered my way around it. I almost feel like interferon is a safety net. My side effects seem to be stronger this last month. My blood pressure with the IV drip the first month went sky high, I do not have high blood pressure so they put me on Blood Pressure meds for a while, maybe 3 mths or so. My hair has fallen out but not all of it, I have lost 20lbs, but do eat. Very dry eyes…and of course the chills,achy, no energy at all, just want to sleep. I did get a cough back in April, so bad, it lasted over a month and they did put me on Zpack but that did not work. I now still cough but only in the morning and I have never smoked and do not have allergies Heres to better days…..you are almost there. All the best!.
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- November 10, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Jatbrown,
Our symtons are very similar. I had some weight loss also but I do feel like I eat quite a bit. I started at about 175 and went down to about 140. I'm now around 145. I've been losing my hair for about 10 years now so I can't really blame that on the interferon. I get the dry eyes also. I remember early on I used to get terrible dry mouth at night but that hasn't been as bad lately. I just had some lab work this week. My liver function numbers were way high. I'm going back in a couple weeks to reject it. If it doesn't come back down I may stop a couple weeks early. I hear what you are saing about coming off interferon. I've heard others say the same thing on here. I'll tell you what my mindset is and maybe it will help you out. Even though I won't be taking the interferon anymore it doesn't mean I'm not actively fighting mel. Every time a choke down a water instead of a sweet cold Coca Cola I am fighting. Everytime I order a salad instead of a nice big juicy bacon cheese burger, I am fighting mel. Every morning when I take my vitamin supplements I am fighting mel. Everytime I go exercise I am fighting mel. And most importantly everytime I pray for God's healing power I am fighting mel. I look forward to posting NED anniversaries for many years just after you post your's. Take care.
Brian
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- November 10, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Jatbrown,
Our symtons are very similar. I had some weight loss also but I do feel like I eat quite a bit. I started at about 175 and went down to about 140. I'm now around 145. I've been losing my hair for about 10 years now so I can't really blame that on the interferon. I get the dry eyes also. I remember early on I used to get terrible dry mouth at night but that hasn't been as bad lately. I just had some lab work this week. My liver function numbers were way high. I'm going back in a couple weeks to reject it. If it doesn't come back down I may stop a couple weeks early. I hear what you are saing about coming off interferon. I've heard others say the same thing on here. I'll tell you what my mindset is and maybe it will help you out. Even though I won't be taking the interferon anymore it doesn't mean I'm not actively fighting mel. Every time a choke down a water instead of a sweet cold Coca Cola I am fighting. Everytime I order a salad instead of a nice big juicy bacon cheese burger, I am fighting mel. Every morning when I take my vitamin supplements I am fighting mel. Everytime I go exercise I am fighting mel. And most importantly everytime I pray for God's healing power I am fighting mel. I look forward to posting NED anniversaries for many years just after you post your's. Take care.
Brian
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- November 10, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Jatbrown,
Our symtons are very similar. I had some weight loss also but I do feel like I eat quite a bit. I started at about 175 and went down to about 140. I'm now around 145. I've been losing my hair for about 10 years now so I can't really blame that on the interferon. I get the dry eyes also. I remember early on I used to get terrible dry mouth at night but that hasn't been as bad lately. I just had some lab work this week. My liver function numbers were way high. I'm going back in a couple weeks to reject it. If it doesn't come back down I may stop a couple weeks early. I hear what you are saing about coming off interferon. I've heard others say the same thing on here. I'll tell you what my mindset is and maybe it will help you out. Even though I won't be taking the interferon anymore it doesn't mean I'm not actively fighting mel. Every time a choke down a water instead of a sweet cold Coca Cola I am fighting. Everytime I order a salad instead of a nice big juicy bacon cheese burger, I am fighting mel. Every morning when I take my vitamin supplements I am fighting mel. Everytime I go exercise I am fighting mel. And most importantly everytime I pray for God's healing power I am fighting mel. I look forward to posting NED anniversaries for many years just after you post your's. Take care.
Brian
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- November 6, 2012 at 3:57 am
Since no one has said it yet, congratulations on getting this far! Stop worring about what's to come and start congratulating yourself on ajob well done!
mary
stage3
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:08 am
Mary~ Thanks so much for the encouragement….I have mixed feelings right at this point. I am very anxious to start to feel normal but anxious about stopping, sort of a safety net this interferon. They say "you are not going to believe how great your going to feel, once off of the shots"
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:08 am
Mary~ Thanks so much for the encouragement….I have mixed feelings right at this point. I am very anxious to start to feel normal but anxious about stopping, sort of a safety net this interferon. They say "you are not going to believe how great your going to feel, once off of the shots"
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- November 6, 2012 at 4:08 am
Mary~ Thanks so much for the encouragement….I have mixed feelings right at this point. I am very anxious to start to feel normal but anxious about stopping, sort of a safety net this interferon. They say "you are not going to believe how great your going to feel, once off of the shots"
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- November 6, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Congrats on getting this far. I completed 11months of interferon almost a year ago. 11/10/2011. It was a great feeling to finally see the end. I think once you see the end the weekly shots do not weigh on you as much. Each day after the last shot I felt better and better. It took me about a month and half before I started feeling some what normal again. As others have posted I did have that feeling of what’s next? Currently I see my oncologist every 6 months, CT scans every 6 months and the derm. every 4 months. 2 years NED.Scot
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- November 8, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Yes you are right but if any human goes through this incident then no any proper solution and then we say science should be do on such problems.
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- November 8, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Yes you are right but if any human goes through this incident then no any proper solution and then we say science should be do on such problems.
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- November 8, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Yes you are right but if any human goes through this incident then no any proper solution and then we say science should be do on such problems.
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- November 6, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Congrats on getting this far. I completed 11months of interferon almost a year ago. 11/10/2011. It was a great feeling to finally see the end. I think once you see the end the weekly shots do not weigh on you as much. Each day after the last shot I felt better and better. It took me about a month and half before I started feeling some what normal again. As others have posted I did have that feeling of what’s next? Currently I see my oncologist every 6 months, CT scans every 6 months and the derm. every 4 months. 2 years NED.Scot
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- November 6, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Congrats on getting this far. I completed 11months of interferon almost a year ago. 11/10/2011. It was a great feeling to finally see the end. I think once you see the end the weekly shots do not weigh on you as much. Each day after the last shot I felt better and better. It took me about a month and half before I started feeling some what normal again. As others have posted I did have that feeling of what’s next? Currently I see my oncologist every 6 months, CT scans every 6 months and the derm. every 4 months. 2 years NED.Scot
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