I take lamictal an anti seizure med 200 mg does not condraindict and works great for me so far pre tx.
the tx meds can do a number on your mental health in terms of depression and/or anxiety, dependent upon your brain chemistry. And it seems to be the interferon. I don't know as much about whether or not the triples exacerbate the problem.
Different ad's are good for different issues. As someone else suggested, I think lexapro is a really good ad for help with anxiety. And I've taken them all. Don't let them give you wellbutrin, that will just ratchet it up if you have anxiety issues (it's great though for people who don't have anxiety and who feel kind of apathetic - it helps them to get out of bed, basically). Buspar also works for some people with anxiety, but it has a tendency to cause fatigue and doesn't agree with everyone, as you see above.
I talked to my Hep C doc and discontinued the antihistamines right away. That helped a lot. I still have some anxiety but I think I can deal. Before I started treatment my Effexor dose was increased from 225 mg 1xday to 150 mg 2x day. That seems to be helping. I thought I'd let you know how things worked out and thank everyone who replied. It helps knowing I'm not going through this alone.
Sherry
I felt what you are describing once last week. It was early in the morning, before I'd left for work. I also noticed I had the shakes pretty bad. But it passed. :)
I am on 400 milligrams of welbutrin and still anxious, I mean I can feel that I am calmer but guess because I am a type A person I am just geared to jump out of my skin. I can't take any kind of cold meds or antihistamines or benadryl that stuff makes me climb the walls. researchmonkey I am always the b**tch don't mean to be and the pms makes it worse as well. Can't wait to see how I react to the tx...karen smoke a few for me, it has been since May 4th that I had a cigarette, Oh Lord I could tear the top of a pack and light the whole thing, look like a train coming through. That would be good for an snl skit.
I guess when it gets too bad and if I dont get too anemic I could get the ax and chop wood to get some of that out of my system. Sorry I am rambling, scoleman I guess you can see you are not alone with this.. just vent here like everyone else and they will help you through it. anne
"I work in a lab and have to be exacting in my work or I get erroneous results."
I sure hope you don't work at Quest - haha. Focusing on challenging tasks and engaging in thoughtful conversations can be a challenge when the mind is in a foggy state. Maybe use a lot of post-it notes as reminders and jot notes down, but this isn't unusual with these meds. I did notice that after a period of adjustment, that foggy feeling doesn't seem so bad.
I do notice that when I take zyrtec I get a little hyper and jumpy, so I take Claritin instead. The antihistamines could also be adding to this.
Before I tx in 2008 the doc told me to get on AD's because the tx would make me anxious. It is true, it made me very anxious. I am grateful the doc said to get on it before tx or I don't know where I would have landed. Even with the AD's I was anxious, if you can it is a good idea to take AD/s or some kind of anxiety med like xanax which is for anxiety
As my doc said, we have to do what we have to do to get you through tx, we will wean you off after you finish. That is what we did, of course now I am starting tx in a week and feeling really anxious without the meds, it is probably anticipation, I hope so, or maybe the earthquake and the hurricane ha ha They say weather can affect your moods, just kidding
Good luck
D
lol. We're a funny bunch. We totally need an SNL skit devoted to this crew. haha. Karen :)
Yes, I have been quite a b**ch the entire time. Of course, it's relative. I probably was just as bad before.
I can't take ANY ads. Dr tried me on buspar and I cleaned hoise for 24 hours straight. Welbutrin made me feel fine but again, no sleep. They gave me ambien n I had horrible headaches. This was the year prior to diagnosis. So I'm sunk. Refused all meds n took my itchy self to the store at 3 am n bought cigarettes. Don't judge me. 5 or so a day n I'm maintaining fine. It's gotta be seratonin. Dr said we cam deal w it when I finish tx. I may try a patch. That's my ugly little week. I have to be nice. Those students don't want a crazed teacher who scratches all the time n yells. I'm soo down on myself for it. Still working out. Sigh. Karen
I just commented on another thread that the pre-treatment anxiety is over once you do the first shot. Sounds like I am way off base. For some people the anxiety must be dealt with through medication. Is this the first time you have treated? I do think there is about a 12 week adjustment period that your body has to go through. We are assaulting it with some very strong chemicals and it takes some time but (maybe unfortunately) treatment will start to seem like the norm. I have only just started and find that my water craving is great. Instead of sipping, I drink glasses at a time and that seems to help.
I have a friend who takes antihistamines and it can make her bounce off the wall. Then add the ribavirin and that causes edgeness - anger in some. Your job sounds demanding -- just hang in there. Croacking and starting over -- let's leave that for another day.
frjiole
I started to get the physical anxiety after just recently . I now take a Valium 1/2 hour before dosing with Riba and incivek and it works fine. I don't know if it is for everyone though. It can be addictive and I'm not working so I can go back to sleep if it makes me to tired, but I couldn't take the physical anxiety. It makes you feel like you want to jump out of you skin.
More physical then mental. I feel much better now. I do sleep allot
hahhaha!!!! No you aren't any crazier than me...oh wait...that isn't saying much LOL I have cried, screamed, threatened to kill, threatened to leave, threatened to make others leave LOL I feel like I am going to jump out of my skin sometimes. Better see if the Doc will give you something before you grow Frankenstein there ;)
So I'm not crazy? :) At times I feel close to my normal self and at times it's a roller coaster. Focussing at work is especially hard. I work in a lab and have to be exacting in my work or I get erroneous results. Today I couldn't remember what I fed the cell culture I'm growing. I guess it'll either hang in there and live or croak and I'll start it over. Thanks, dixiechicdana.
I took Lexapro for anxiety and it worked like a charm 20 mg.
mary
uhhhh yeah. My Dr had to put me on anti anxiety meds. Unfortunately, he put me on bruspar which made me sicker than the treatment does so I am back to anxious bitchy Dana LOL