Struggling 5 wks into tx

[carolhab]

Help!!!  I am new to this forum, and I so admire all of your courage and stories...  I am in week 5/48 (only!) I posted before with headaches, and got some ideas, thanks.. but it seems every day I am facing increasingly debilitating sides, now its feeling nauseaus(sp?), super fatigue, chills, and just a dull headache that never stops... and the interferon fog is... (what was I saying?) oh yes, well, quite foggy...     I keep hoping that I am feeling the brunt of it at this stage, and things will get better...  I find the medical field at times is not so sympathetic, and likes to just throw more meds for sides - I don't want to be a walking pharmacy...  last night I felt so sick, I just could not stomuch those riba's..  my question is, if I miss a dose, how serious the impact to the tx? Have toher people skipped doses now and then?  On top of it all, I gave birth to a big painful cyst in my groin area (a minor skin infection side, har har), and now have to take antibiotics.. man, I am glad I didn't know it would be this bad, I probably wouldn't have done the tx...  I have spent the last three days in bed... I guess I am just venting!!  I hope I can make it, and be able to help others through this... my other question is - my doc says after 1 to 2 mo, the body adjusts and sides get better.. ya think??? thanks everybody!!!!

[carolhab]

thanks Jane_s - you are right -it's so easy to spiral down...  I will check into Panadol - I googled it and it sounds like it might address the sides I am having the past two days...  I have also noticed that getting up and moving around seems to help with the queasiness..  I will hang in there and take 1 day at a time.......and pray a lot!!!!
sammy

[Jane_s]

I think it is hard to know how side effects effect people as we all have different tolerance levels to different things. Personally I don't remember what it is like to feel well (week 34/48) but have NEVER let that get on top of me. I have weathered the rash, the aches and pains, the lack of energy, the breathlessness and the nausea and have continued on with as normal a life as possible. Panadol is a great friend of mine at the moment! I refuse to feel sorry for myself (OK there are moments when I do) and make myself do things such as socialise no matter how much I don't want to just to keep some normailty in my life. I'm not saying this is a solution for everyone but my feeling is if you feel sorry for yourself then you are going to have a miserable time through the treatment and I'm not that sort of person. I do believe that a positive attitude is a great help!

[cuteus]

make sure that your hemoglobin is not too  far below the low normal range.  You seem to be at

[Sunag]

Hi:

I am sorry you are going through this. But hang in there, and it will get better. My first 7 weeks were the worst, the sides were beyond anything i have experienced before. But right after my 8th shot, the intensity of the sides reduced, and after 12th, the sides were much much milder. Fatigue is persistant though.

I did miss 2 shots at a time, due to low Hemoglobin and low WBC levels. Completed only 20/24, and the doctor advised me to stop taking Interferon. I am not sure, if this is ok, but the risks out weigh the benefits in my situation i guess.

You will get better, and when you have a better day, and some time to spare, hop on to the forum, vent out your frustrations, share your pain, and read the other stories which will give you hope and inspiration to fight it out.

take care
Sunag

[Dirac]

drink fluids.. a lot of fluids.. keep up the good fight. think of it like this, you are in week 5, seven weeks from now you will do your first pcr and you will know then what will happen. when the undetectable result comes finally you will be able to fight all these side effects of the drugs. I wish you the best of luck.

[carolhab]

Thanks everyone - today is a bit better... I think part of the problem is that the sides vary so much, and come and go at first, it's hard to know what kind of meds to get..  I pray things will level off.. thanks for all your advice and kind words.. I will definatley be watching and involved in this forum!!!... This is my support group
Peace and Love
Sammy

[cuteus]

wow! thanks for the link, what technology!  the only thing you need is a monitor, I think. which you can get refurbished quite inexpensively. What a nice break for Apple lovers...

[annainitaly]

aaaaaah cuteus,
just read an article about the NEW MINI MAC !!! lovely !!!
and affordable, at long last...  sure it'll be my next one as soon as this pc I got will have done its time (they don't take much, I've heard).
how are you cutie ?
hugs from anna

[cuteus]

I have not seen it! I did hear that they are unveiling something at the Macworld expo in San Francisco this week. I can't wait!
I went to the Expo in Manhattan and it was very entertaining.
You stay well and as happy as possible ;-]

[annainitaly]

http://www.repubblica.it/

scroll the page until you find the article:

"Il Mac Mini a 500 dollari un'altra rivoluzione Apple"

and click on "foto"

don't we all need some frivolous stuff, every now and then !!!

[annainitaly]

welcome sammy ! hope you get better and better
anna

[scruffy]

I agree with Lynne-after 10 weeks my initially bad physical sides changed.However I did get quite deep into depression after that.I did'nt take antidepressants and that was risky.Not everyone gets like that though. Good Luck to you. Frank

[Lynne5477]

My first 8-10 wks were the worst for me.  Had really bad headaches til the dr prescribed Imitrex.  They seemed to help me with the nausea, too (probably caused primarily from the headaches).  I remember it being tough to eat enough....I seemed to only be able to handle small amts of food at any one time.  But I kept track of my food to make sure I was eating enough so as not to lose any more weight.
  
I guess my body finally got accustomed to the meds b/c sometime in the 3rd month I quit getting the sick feelings after shot day.  Don't get me wrong......every now and again the sx would sneak up on me and I'd have a bad wkend.

I was very tired all the time.  Everything was a chore but I still managed to get some walking and light exercise in almost daily.  I think that helped me handle the fatigue and other sx.

Good luck to you.  It will get better.
BTW, I completed 48 wks in mid-Sept this past year.