Best Way to Treat Psychiatric Symptoms on TX

[BoceprevirGal]

What methods have you found most helpful, in dealing with psychiatric or "mood" problems, that have developed while you were on TX for your Hep C?

[ceanothus]

You left out one obvious choice: I was already on AD, but upped the dosage during tx. For the other options: yes to on-line support group (this forum), yes to asking for more support from family and friends, yes to spending more time with pets.

[Gerbils]

There is one other issue. :0) It won't let you give two answers. I started an AD just prior to treatment so it would be in my system and I think of the people on this site as an online support group (a really awesome one!). I couldn't choose between the two.
G

[BoceprevirGal]

Doh...I had that up there at first, also!  Thanks for answering the poll, it kind of cheered me up, to post it. I chose communicating with other Heppers, to smoking the Medical Pot.  I quit a daily pot smoking habit (on and off from the time I was a teen, until 2 months ago), it was just a personal decision I made.
But it left me open to dealing with alot of buried emotions, so I think I may go to a local 12 step program~

[brianmo]

My dogs. They got me up and off the couch. Second, the forum.  If I had to do tx again I would seriously consider pot. I have never liked it, have not tried it for 35 years but would consider it.  

[BoceprevirGal]

Thanks, Gerbils. Yes, I think, out of all the On-Line Support Groups, that this one is the best, because of these reasons: it has been on-line, a very long time ( I think I saw a post from 2005 in archives?), there is always a few of us on-line, and that really helps! And last but not least, I am amazed at the amount of time the other members are willing to give, in order to answer our questions..they take the time out to post the links, and share their personal experiences, so I wanted to ad a special thanks to everybody on here, who contributes : D

[BoceprevirGal]

Great answer, Mo!  After getting depressed this morning, I went to the pet store, and bought my little dog his favorite chicken jerky treats, and felt immediately better!
  The Medical Marajuana would be something I might use for my aches, the next day, after my Interferon shot, (havent had to yet), but I would have to wait until my kids were asleep, because I would be afraid they would notice my glazed eyes/removed behavior (they are at that 10~12 yrs age)
   But by the time I put them to bed, I'm asleep myself~

[fretboard]

When I go through tx the first thing I'm gonna do is get hooked up with a good therapist who deals with cancer patients or at least patients who are on difficult drugs.  The whole idea is to talk to people who are going through the same thing you are so in that respect this forum is the number 1 pit stop.  

Personally, I wouldn't be able to get that much support from my family simply because they are ignorant when it comes to HepC and anything that goes with it.  Outside HepC group would be great!.

[Idyllic]

Wow, this is really sweet about how use of ... "other" kinds of drugs or self-medicating isn't mentioned. Even the Marijuana is "medical."

A few of the options apply to me however I can really relate to what brianmo says about dogs. There are so many things I am blowing off and letting fall by the wayside but my dogs is one thing that literally makes me *make* myself fight giving in to apathy and fatigue.

[nygirl7]

Personally I prefer medical heroin.  I dont know why it's not been suggested yet that would REALLY get rid of pains and aches!  ;)

[Peter2012]

Right now I'm in my 13th week of treatment. I've had mild psychiatric symtoms, including some very strange and upsetting dreams, especially the night and day after the peg injection.

I believe it's best to relax and get through it, and if possible to NOT resort to psychiatric drugs. This is my second treatment, the first time I didn't know what to expect, but this this time I'm as well-prepared as possible.

In 2003 on rebetron I ran into some problems with being irritable, overly sensitive and easily angered at work and elsewhere. I felt vulnerable because I was in a weakened state and less able to defend myself verbally or physically. I was very annoyed by the way some people snickered at my being unable to walk quickly because of the low hemoglobin.

This time, I'm just staying at home most of the time during the second half of treatment, and staying off work until the end of treatment.    

[uncledudeness]

now it all seems like a blur to me; 4 months after i treated. but i kept on telling myself that it will be over soon and when it is i'll be free of it......(Dr. Phil looks at me and says "how's that working out for ya".....and i hit him in the head with a snow shovel....i used to say the worse i felt, the more the drugs are working for me, and i still feel that way...so use what you have to beat it; the pain, the nausea the stinkin rash, the insomnia, the fatigue and all the rest to keep yourself moving forward.

when it's over it will be well worth it...you'll have your life back.

btw, i chose the support group....

[nygirl7]

and i hit him in the head with a snow shovel"


LOL he deserves it for all the misinformation he put out there about us!!!!!!!!

You have killed me that was a great one.

[orphanedhawk]

Getting out in the fresh air, taking a walk, looking at the~~sky always lifts my spirits.
During tx, I forced myself off the couch and out the door almost daily.
I truly believe the best defensive we have against the side effects is physical movement.

Other than that, turning off the news, turning up the music, watching comedies, coming here to vent, mj gets my mind off myself, letting it out in my drawings.
Actually, I avoided most of my friends because of my irritability.

[BoceprevirGal]

Yes, I have the same problem. I feel like some of the casual aquaintences I know (who also have knowledge that I am on treatment) can sense that I am in a weakened state ( I'm usually very strong and athletic) and have picked this time to bicker with me.
   I am on triple tx, plus two weeks on Procrit...I noticed the other day, while struggling to keep my temper, while this guy was bugging me, that my heart was beating stronger then usual, and quicker, so I am being more cautious who I spend time talking with...all this at a local neighborhood coffee-shop~

[BoceprevirGal]

Lol@ "heavy pain meds"...but who wants to itch and puke anyway?

[Jillybean65]

I live in a mj state and doctor had me get my card.  Here's the problem - I went and picked up some edibles and nobody gave me any information on what to do (having never done it before).  I came home and ate the whole da#@ brownie - yah, quit laughing, it was horrible!

My daughter got off the bus at 3 and walked in and I told her, "Mom did a dumb thing."  She stomped around and asked if I had eated and taken my meds yet.  I told her, "No."  She then fed me as I laid there all wigged out for a couple of hours - THEN I ended up walking around my property in circles (thankfully no neighbors could see) for about 2 more hours and when people talked to me I, yah, pointless.  

When I went back to my doctor and he asked about it I just told him, never again doc.  We'll just stick to the AD and nausea meds.  I told the doctor that they should really print some directions with those things because now I'm to afraid to try it again! lol

[Dee1956]

Hey there, like Gerbils I could not choose between the AD's and on line support so I chose the on line support as my number 1 followed closely by any medical means to help me......hey NYgirl, where do you get medical heroin?....hmmmm 72 weeks?

[Dee1956]

Pretty funny, thanks for sharing

Bo, thanks for the poll

[his3707]

I started on an ad, didnt do much that I can say, switched to another, didnt do much that I can say. switched to zyprexa for mental disorders, made me worse that I could tell.  I ended up on nothing chemical and just delt with it the last 3 months.  I did get two kittens that helped me sooo much.  And of course this forum has been my daily emotional support.  Asked for help from family but didnt get much. But we;re all still here.   My so called friends local didnt do much. They have their own problems.  I had a few long distant friends that were there for me several times.  

[Advocate1955]

My husband's NP started him on Lexapro in 2007 before the first treatment, added Trazodone to the Lexapro in 2010 in the middle of second treatment, and switched Lexapro to Citalopram prior to starting triple tx.  Each worked well each time.
Advocate1955

[desrt]

Exercise can actually be a workable substitute for SSRI type ADs for some people. Trouble is, to actually make changes in your brain chemistry, it has to be done for set amounts of time and certain intervals. For someone on Procrit, 40-45 minutes of brisk, non-stop walking 3 or 4 times a week may not be an option.

12 step can be good, if you can find the right group. No NA near where I live, so I made the 200 mile round trip to an AA group three times a week. Those poor winos probably learned more about IFN than they wanted, but they were good support.

I found prayer helpful, especally in dealing with road rage.

Marx Brothers movies. For those times my ex decided she just had to drop off a 4, 7, and 12 year old the day after shot day.

[jules2551]

Where is the part about taking your psyche meds on time just like the other Hep C meds.

[BoceprevirGal]

Yes, that's true about the exercise: At first, I was still able to slowly walk my little dog, but now that I have had my second Procrit shot, I have developed a weakness in my right thigh, where it connects to the hip socket, and I fear it will colapse if I limp along with it...this is the last straw!  No, wait..it's not, I am only 9 weeks into treatment, so as they say in A.A., "more shall be revealed!"
   Hey, good for you, to make the long trip, to get your support.  I am afraid, if I show up at A.A., that I will scare the winos, with my chalky white face, with the dark cirlces (maybe from low platelets?) But...I am thinking of going to an N.A. meeting, and I can use my face and story, to scare young people, who think they might want to carry their drug problems a little furthur!

[BoceprevirGal]

Oh, hahahhh... I havent been able to do other kinds of drugs, like pills, since I caught this Hep C, 20 years ago! But before the Hep, I can remember there being pills I liked, like Valium, etc.(hard on the liver, I'm sure)
    Who knows what I would uncover, if I asked people what they used for their physically painful symptoms? I'm like an Ostrich, with my head in the sand, because last time I took a Tylenol, for a flu I was coming down with, right before my TX began, I ended up writhing on the bed, with roving cramps in my muscles!
   My husband had his right leg amputated in a motorcycle accident, years ago, and I have noticed that none of those pills (Norco, etc) that the Doctor prescribers to him, seem to help much, I guess because of tolerance issues~