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Bad Incivek HepC side effects over 2 years later
I have been off the HepC Incivek protocol for over two years and I swear I feel as bad now as I did during treatment. Leaden fatgue, cognitive blunting, blurred vision, extreme irritability. The severe weakness is the killer here though. I'm a complete shell of the person I was prior to treatment. I would seriously advise any naive patients to NOT do Incivek. Instead, it appears there are breakthroughs with new drugs that have little or no side effects comparatively speaking. As for any double nonresponder Gentype 1-b patientS like I was? DO NOT MESS WITH THIS DRUG.
Yeah man, check your thyroid. I agree, these drugs are way too dangerous, and too many doctors are naive or in denial about the side effects and injuries they cause. Patients are inadequately warned, also. There is no way to adequately communicate to a treatment-naive person what you are feeling or what they might feel.
Hep C kills relatively few people infected with it. The drugs severely damage or kill relatively few people that take them. The "relatively few" % in each case is about the same, however (less than 5%). And all the others who take the drugs are damaged somewhat less than severely ( i.e. - RBC counts stay lower than pre-treatment notwithstanding still in "normal" range)
Eat well, meaning "impeccably." Junk food / inflammatory foods need to be a thing of your past. Check out low dose naltrexone. It often helps. Definitely check your thyroid.
If you are having problems working, apply for SS disability while you recover.
I also recently read that 48 hour fasts help the immune system re-set after chemo. I almost died a few years ago from an infection after treatment. After 11 days in the hospital and 30 pounds of weight loss, I was feeble but it was the best I had felt -mentally - for a long time. I recall thinking my immune system had "reset." It ended up being the beginning of reconnecting with myself and the gradual shedding of that terrifying (almost evil) depersonification that INF combo therapy can cause. So I am definitely going to start fasting periodically. Maybe you could too.
You find yourself trying to wrap your head around "How could a doctor possibly give me a medication that would do this to me? What the &*%$ is the matter with them?" Big Pharma - internalizing the profit, socializing the cost.
Hang in there. :-)
Hep C kills relatively few people infected with it. The drugs severely damage or kill relatively few people that take them. The "relatively few" % in each case is about the same, however (less than 5%). And all the others who take the drugs are damaged somewhat less than severely ( i.e. - RBC counts stay lower than pre-treatment notwithstanding still in "normal" range)
Eat well, meaning "impeccably." Junk food / inflammatory foods need to be a thing of your past. Check out low dose naltrexone. It often helps. Definitely check your thyroid.
If you are having problems working, apply for SS disability while you recover.
I also recently read that 48 hour fasts help the immune system re-set after chemo. I almost died a few years ago from an infection after treatment. After 11 days in the hospital and 30 pounds of weight loss, I was feeble but it was the best I had felt -mentally - for a long time. I recall thinking my immune system had "reset." It ended up being the beginning of reconnecting with myself and the gradual shedding of that terrifying (almost evil) depersonification that INF combo therapy can cause. So I am definitely going to start fasting periodically. Maybe you could too.
You find yourself trying to wrap your head around "How could a doctor possibly give me a medication that would do this to me? What the &*%$ is the matter with them?" Big Pharma - internalizing the profit, socializing the cost.
Hang in there. :-)
Have you checked your iron levels? I found mine extremely low which is a possibility for low energy and tiredness. I am not feeling well either so I will try the iron and se if anything changes
So, you think two years is too long a time to feel the side effects of Incivek? Actually, it's been 2.5 years. This September will be 3 years. Thyroid? I haven't had my thyroid checked. Until now I had yet to hear that it was even a consideration. I have blood draws two or three times a year. Usually I'll have a RNA/PCR Quantitative Assay once or twice a year. Last year my RBC was 4.56 on a scale from 4.70-6.10. My HGB was 13.7 on a scale from 14.0-18.0. 41.8 out of a scale from 42.0-52.0. Ridiculous. I feel like I'm 80 years old and anemic. I'm not willing to live any longer like this.
So, you think two years is too long a time to feel the side effects of Incivek? Actually, it's been 2.5 years. This September will be 3 years. Thyroid? I haven't had my thyroid checked. Until now I had yet to hear that it was even a consideration. I have blood draws two or three times a year. Usually I'll have a RNA/PCR Quantitative Assay once or twice a year. Last year my RBC was 4.56 on a scale from 4.70-6.10. My HGB was 13.7 on a scale from 14.0-18.0. 41.8 out of a scale from 42.0-52.0. Ridiculous. I feel like I'm 80 years old and anemic. I'm not willing to live any longer like this.
Sorry that your not feeling better. Have you had a complete physical? Check your thyroid etc. Two years is along time and you should have recovered by now. See your doctor and investigate why.
Let us know how it turns out
Best to you
Let us know how it turns out
Best to you
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