Fatigue Questions Needed

[hippygem]

For the last 2 years I have been working with an ex-psychologist who is also HCV+ on the symptoms of Hepatitis C, we are currently on the symptom 'Fatigue'.
We are nearing the end, and the summary/introduction is now in process.
A few years ago I posted in all the forums around the world, asking question relating to fatigue, these will also be included in the Final Analysis, at a later date.

Our questions to YOU is:

If you have fatigue, what is the most important 5 questions YOU would like to have answered by that research?[b]
Please[b] DO NOT include any questions regarding the treatment of fatigue or what can be taken to help it.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

If you can't come up with 5 questions, thats ok, any amount will do.
In advance, thanks for your help.

[proud48]

I would love to read this Analysis. How can I find it?
I would like to know the reason fatigue is so bad with HCV? Is it the virus that makes the body weak or is anything to do with brain chemicals or hormones?
proud48

BTW: I have completed the 48 wks of tx and still have the symptom "fatigue" more than before.

[Kristina538]

1.  Is B12 deficiency particularly related to HVC patients?   (once a lack of this vitamin was identified in me and prescribed, it assisted fatigue).   Why don't the medical teams automatically test all HVC patients for Vitamin D and B12 deficiencies?    Are these deficiencies caused by constant HVC attack on the liver?

2.  Fatigue seemed to appear quickly, with no apparent cause (feeling like a drop in blood sugar, although blood sugar was stable).   I noticed this after having HVC about 15 years and more restrictions were placed on what I was able to achieve (I could not rely on my body to continue tramping, kayaking etc as I sometimes had to 'pull out').  All bloodwork was normal when tested.  What else can cause this (apart from blood sugar)?  

3.  Sometimes fatigue was related to difficult sleeping patterns.   How does HVC and the liver affect sleep?

4.  With HVC I never seemed to wake up feel refreshed, despite diet, exercise or sleep patterns;  is this consistent with HVC?

5.   Which comes first with HVC;  depression then fatigue or fatigue then depression?   Or are both likely to have other factors to their cause?

6.   Diet has played a big part in my state of wellness.  Why isn't the medical profession more proactive with advocating a HVC diet and supplements to assist in keeping HVC inflammation minimal?

[lalapple]

i have fatigue, and sometimes feel like i have a hard time catching my breath when i stand up too much, blurry vision, faint feeling when i'm in dry, hot, un-fresh air such as in the packed malls, inside buildings esp during winter when they have excessive heat turned on.  i want to know if this is due to my hemoglobin being around 10.5 since tx, or if it's due to me being out of shape from lack of exercise.  i usually sit down drink some water and take a breather, before i stand up again, that seems to help so far.  but i'm tired to doing it so often in dance class, it's embarrassing sometimes.

[CMcH]

Fatigue is it from low RBC not being able to transport O2 the muscles?
Is it from changes in the mitochondrial reactions
Is it an autoimmune type of reaction from the body fighting itself
The meds seem to have a scotch and burn policy causing system breakdowns.
How long will it last and what percentage of people recover from it.

[hippygem]

Thanks for everyones responses, much appreciated.

Proud48 - The analysis/research has not been completed yet, hopefully within the next couple of months.
I will put a link here in Medhelp or in my profile once it is completed.

Thanks for your interest and responses.

Cheers

[jmjm530]

it appears you're getting a mix of comments, some regarding HCV related fatigue and some regarding HCV treatment related fatigue which is caused by the treatment drugs. You probably should ask people which one they're talking about to make your study more accurate.

personally, I had a certain fatigue level prior to treatment, and about the same fatigue level posttreatment. That leads me to believe that either (1) the pretreatment fatigue had nothing to do with HCV; or (2) (if you adhere to the persistent virus theory that I don't) that treatment had no effect on the fatigue. in either case, this appears to be borne out in studies an anecdotal reports that suggest that treatment in the majority of cases has no effect on fatigue.

so the question I have, is there really a cause and effect relationship between HCV ad fatigue or is it more of an association based on lifestyle and sociological factors? I see this as an important question because all too often people make a treatment decision primarily based on feeling fatigued, only to treat and find out that even after SVR there just is fatigued, perhaps even more fatigued, then ever.

Also, if you have a link to any of your previous poll data, please post.

Regards

Jim

[comeagain]

I´ve been infected probably 36 years and been having fatigue for +25 years.
I know that because already back then I had problems staying awake at work thought it was something wrong with my psysical person, that i was born weaker or something.

question 1. Has apnea something to do with it and can apnea appear because of HCV infection?

2.What part has the metabolism in this, both before and after tx? How does HCV effect the metabolism and how does interferon effect it?

3. Can you sort of shock the metabolism back to normal by a lots of exersice ( walking)and exclude carbons in your food fore a while, as mremeet here on forum seems to have succeded in doing? Also have a friend here in sweden how seems to have done that hes now top 10 his age categori (+ 40 hes 52) in sweden running 21km and 30 km races hes been SVR 3years.

4. The same as Kristina which came first the egg or the hen ( depression verces fatigue)?

5.Do we heppers need to be (live) more healthier than the avarage population?
Think the answer to the last one is obvious but its often the obvious we tend to forget.
So Im asking that primarily so you can publish that in your valuation of fatigue.

Hippygem how very good of you and your friend to do this kind of work.

Best regards to both of you!!

ca

[CockSparrow]

CA - Has apnea something to do with it and can apnea appear because of HCV infection?

Yes and No.
Sleep Apnea has to do with Insulin Resistance. So its only kinda related to HCV infection.

CS

[hippygem]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions, as I said, we are still working on this, and your questions are going to help in the final stages.

Jim - I dont have a link to the post data, we are also using that information in the 'paper', I am just collecting the information for the final process.  I will be posting the link to the work we are doing when it is all finished.  We are up to 30,000 words at the moment, and that is just in the tables with the studies we have researched and comments.  Its getting big, and fatigue was a big one to take on first, Im not looking forward to 'depression'.

Comeagain, thanks for your kind words, its nice to hear.

If anyone wants to add to this post, go ahead, we wont be ready to use it for a couple of more weeks.

Cheers

Linda

[comeagain]

Thx for that information that motivates me to check if I´m IR even if I will receive SVR.
Ok I suppose i could have been IR but the annihilation of the virus could correct it, is that so?

ca