Five months post tx

[omyst]

Hi all; haven't posted in awhile, we have moved and have been offline at home. I wish everyone well and have thought of you often.

I was still undetectable at 4 mos post. I have been feeling much better and getting stronger. I have been able to do a bunch of mountain biking recently. I have found that post tx exercise has been critically important even more so than usual. My energy level has been better than in years. The HCV had crept into my life so very slowly that I didn't even know how sick I was. The only time I felt well in the days prior to tx was when I was biking or hiking. Now I can enjoy more of my life, I have more energy for my 13 yr old daughter and my wife.

I still have the "Brain Fog", I am a computer programmer and this has been difficult for me. I forget what I was just doing and what I was trying to do next. I am not able to communicate technically with people as I was before. I have recently heard this phrase all to often "I have no idea what you are talking about" so I have taken up the philosophy "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

It is not that I have lost the "mental horsepower", it is more like the transmission is slipping a bit. During tx I had a rare but very brutal sx (Trigeminal Neuralgia) it knocked me out on disability. I laid back, read nothing and let the "transmission" rust up. If I had it to do over I would try and do some brain exercise regularly.

Take care

duel geno 4b/4c
age 56 Male
pre tx vl 1.1mil
48 wks
<10 at 4wks
pegasys 1200

[MissMiss]

Very encouraging that you are doing well post tx.  I finished mid August and still have plenty of the brain fog which you describe so well.  Pre-tx (4 yrs+) I was also dx'd with TN.  I always questioned that dx and would be very interested in how yours came to be.  During tx too?  How is it now?  I am leaving for the day so can't post again.  If you prefer you can always reach me at use the power (no spaces) at the yahoo site.  

Good luck and I hope remaining sx's blow away with the wind!  Have a good day.

miss

[couldn't think of a nickname]

congratulations, and I am so glad to hear that you are not suffering post-tx also.
It is always good to hear that.

[NYgirl]

Wow that is awesome (except for old BrainDrain)!  I didn't realize you were a combo geno too...in all the time you were posting it never occured to me!

So..you see...you can TWO congrats - cause you killed off two of the creeps!   ;)

Congrats!!!!
  
                   Congrats!!!!

[GoofyDad]

I'm in a tech field too. I'm about 7 mos post, and my brain isn't yet running on all cylinders. But I think it may eventually get pretty close. I'm better now than I was at 5 mos, so as long as it's moving forward, I'm feeling optimistic.

How are your bowels? Forseegood is taking a survey.

[Kalio1]

I was having brain fog prior to treating in addition to having it even more on IFN. I wonder if the virus itself caused some brain damage to us. Obviously the IFN causes this, maybe the virus does too. Just a thought.

[friole]

Congrats on still being UND and getting your computer hooked back up!  I hear ya on the fog -- (I am 8 weeks post) seems like I got some bad habits during tx of just farting around at my desk (now Goof - that is not for forsee's survey) and am having a hard time wanting to focus.

It's the old use it or lose it.

[lat36]

Hi omyst. I work in a similar field and notice the same kind of thing, especially the short term memory problem, forgetting what I was doing for a minute. I know I wasn't like this before treatment. Finished 48 weeks six months ago (33yo male, geno 1a), waiting on the PCR. One thing I have noticed is that (for me) there have been some periods where it's not as bad, and then others when I actually get quite worried about it. I'm still hoping that it'll just resolve itself. Took me quite a while to start feeling normal again when treatment finished, so maybe this will be the same.
Would like to any thoughts on this from the others. Best of luck with your next PCR.

[Tater-ToT]

WoW, Thanks For Sharing....there's quite a few of us computer folks in here these days, only I don't think I qualify anymore... I think I am in a semi-sort-of-retirement stage...

I got so far behind, I feel like there is no catching up, & in this feild everything is consistantly changing, & everything you USED To Know is antiquated within 6 months... so you either keep up, or get left behind... I personaly feel OVER-WHELMED when I try to do ANYTHING computer related! I Short Out!

I can relate to this post (in more ways than one)..

Combo here, still clear 4 months post tx, also in the tech feild & I kind of feel like goofers describes... like I am mis-firing & missing a cylender.... it's MUCHO MUCH better than what it was during TX, but still not up to par, & where I would like it to be... I guess the brain takes a little longer to bounce back from than some of the rest of the stuff!

I have a theory on this... (It's called OVER Stimulation)
Think about this.....
Ya know before we even went thru this... it seems that folks that work with their hands would get tired from their physical work & be exhausted & sleep well at night.... but folks that work with their brains for a living, can't just shut it off, we lay there at night tossing & turning, & resolving issues in our minds... ect... so maybe instead of EXERCISING the brain... we need to find a way to relax the brain instead..????

I too found that physical exercise is a very important factor post tx, it helps with the atrophy I developed & helps to fight off the post TX weight gains that will quickly sneak up on you!

But... How do we fix our brains..??? What's the solution..?? Or Is It forever gone thus leaving us disabled to a certain degree... Hummm, Inquiring minds want to know!!!

It's always nice to know that others are having to contend with similarities!
:)

[GoofyDad]

Problems with over-stimulation? Looking out for an extra firing cylinder? Seems fishdoc had a friend with similar problems. Lot of it going around I guess, though I never seem to run into it.....

[Tater-ToT]

LoL... You always make me laugh!!!
;)

[omyst]

My bowels would probably not be a good indicator, I had ulcerative colitis and J-pouch surgery. My wife ( a Nurse ) likes to say I am medically a Martian. I have done very well with this though.

Here's to hoping the mist clears, I still need a few years before I'm able to log off and disappear into the mountains.

I do think there is truth to getting better

All in all, I'm a lot better off, at least so far

My thoughts and prayers will always be with you.

[pigeonca]

I find your trigeminal neuralgia very interesting because about thirty years ago, around the time apparently that I acquired hcv, I suffered from TN terribly.  Tegretol had just been invented then, and it did work for me, but the side effects were just horrible.  Fortunately I only had to take it for a few months.  Had a few flares of TN over the next decade or so, and finally found accupuncture to be effective.  Since the mid-eighties I've had a few buzzings in my face but no full-on neuralgia.  Whenever I felt it coming on, I'd go to the accupuncturist, who kept it at bay.

Since nobody knows what caused the neuralgia, I wonder if it was the result of hcv.

[Moniker]

I'm about four months post tx now. I'm feeling very well too. Exercise has helped me a lot; I've joined a gym and I exercise on the machines two or three times a week. I do feel very good now, have a lot of energy, all the tx sides are gone except for some brain fog.
Bob