relapse after infergen

[jennylynne102]

What are the symptoms that you've relapsed after treatment? I was on infergen and ribavirin for 1 year. My doctor says he thinks I'm done after seeing my bloodwork after 2 weeks eot. everything was negative and normal. I still am having symptom like flu like symptoms, vision changes.

[banarep]

reemeber that ribavirin stays in the system a long time and you body needs lots of time to readjust.  DD is correct, the only thing that matters is the lab work

[DoubleDose]

Only the ongoing blood testing will give you the answers you seek!  Your three month PCR will give you the best early predictor of success, even though the six month and one year tests will provide final confirmation.  Symptoms after tx mean NOTHING!!!!!  I, and many others, have suffered nasty, ongoing symptoms after tx ended, fully thinking that we had relapsed for sure....but only to discover that most of us were completely undetected, and had achieved SVR.  In fact, I think that it may be more normal for SVR's to experience post-tx symptoms, than not.

I certainly was sure I had relapsed, and had every nasty symptom you can name, especially from three weeks after EOT, until about one year.  Not that the sx are all gone, but they have changed, and in many ways I feel better now (at 6 years SVR), while I believe that I have developed a form of 'autoimmune disease' after all the interferon that I consumed during two long, high dose tx'es.  

Just pay attention to your labs, and you will get your answers.  Do not be thrown off, or fearful due to symptoms, or feeling lousy....it is commonplace for SVR's and in and of itself, signifies NOTHING in particular.

Good Luck to you!!!!  Get that SVR!!!

DoubleDose