HYPER, ANTSY, UP ALL NIGHT LONG, IRRITABLE..POST TX

[darcar]

HELP!
my bf..has been on interferon / ribavirin for 3 years straight...he is now off of it only two weeks and his moods are all over the place.
before he was always sleeping..now he is very hyper, talks alot, cant sleep all night long,
restless.
he is on 20mg paxil a day..and also smokes alot of pot to calm him down..but he doesnt seem any mellower to me..especially since he stopped the interferon/ ribavirin.
Has anyone experienced this?
is this normal?
he was on tx once before and then off it years before for six months but then the virus came back and he had to go back on it again.
He doesnt remember if he was like this the last time around when he was off the meds.
What is going on..
please help.
thanks !
Darcar

[darcar]

well..thats a given..
YEP..HE IS A VERY LUCKY GUY..HAVING ME AS HIS GIRLFRIEND...
LOL

nah..really..i just care about him...and its that simple.
when he is suffering , i know he cant help alot of it.
And sure he made bad choices back in his rocknroll 20's ..but whatever.
he is still a human being..a heart and soul..good or bad..
love isnt just being there in the good times.
its hard to be there for me at times..but learning and understanding this helps me alot..
as do alot of people here..
thanks thanks thanks! big hugs and have a great weekend.

[jmjm530]

I was hoping there was a reasonable explanation for the three years of treatment, and the fact that he had cirrhosis explains it to some extent. Hopefully, the three years on the drugs not only will give him SVR (cure) but will also have regressed his liver damage. You're bf is a very lucky guy having you as a gf. I agree with "ala" that ADs often have to be adjusted, be it dosage or brand name.

All the best,

-- Jim

[alagirl]

He might find a different antidepressant helpful too.  They aren't a one size fits all.  He really needs to let his doc know how he is in order to check with him/her about some tx for his symptoms.

[darcar]

his tryglycerides spiked over 1000 !

not 100  ..

[darcar]

hi Jim.
thanks sooo much for that reply.
my bf, has indeed been on inter/ riba.. for 3 years straight.
he is geno 1a and has cirrhosis, diagnosed by liver biopsy.
he was on paxil only 10mg a day ..but then it was upped this summer to 20mg.
he has never needed procrit .
most of his symptoms were the flulike, feverish, exhaustion, irritability, abdominal,
skin rashes whilst on the treatment.
yes 3 years is a long time but his gastro in nyc is supposed to be one of the best.
Also, this past summer his tryglycerides spiked over 100 so he was put on Tricor for that .
He has only come off the int/ rib for about two weeks and this anxiousness/ not sleeping change seems to have started with the switch.
im a nurse, but not very knowledgeable in HepC , and thats why i came here, ..i know that often the best answers are from the people who are going thru it themselves.
nobody will ever know better than you guys here..and i respect your wisdom / experience in dealing with this disease and treatment.
As a nurse, i do know that for certain,and dont dare underestimate that he is probably having major hormonal shifts and readjustments in his chemistry ..
and yes, im sure it will take alot of time to normalize again.
both drugs are very powerful , with plenty of side effects ..so i really do think it is mostly about this .
of course, the pot is probably not helping either.
thanks jim.
your post really helped alot.
as did all of the others too!!
thanks guys and gals.
u r the best!
:-)

[alagirl]

true