Im facing too much weakness

[alijee]

i am on treatment since 20.09.2008. After passing 2 weeks my SGPT decreased from 50 to 29 which is normal. Blood complete test is also normal and Platelets are 240000. But im feeling too much weakness. My weight has come down from 53.5 Kg to 52.5.  Sometimes i feel too much weakness that it is impossible for me to walk even 20 meters long. I am going to Doctor on 06.10.08 to show all may report and to discuss him specially for my weakness. After shot i take 2 tabs called Disproal to prevent fever which is helpfull. But on the 2nd day of my shot i feel too much weakness and tiredness. I have met with 3 persons who had done their treatment and now they are living virus free life. They all said that weakness and weight loss are general side effects of medicine. But i m not satisfied.  I think i facing too much weakness. Some time i feel heart sinking. Can anybody tell me what is it.

[merryBe]

I don't think you can improve Chemotherapy induced anemia this way.

It is true many doctors don't know as much about anemia as they should, one member in here was almost killed by her doctor putting her on iron. Her name is Alagirl, you should read her journals.

Look the simple truth is HGB is the protein in the blood, Hematocrit is the oxygen capacity, red blood cell total count also effects it all, but even if the cell count doesn't decline, (it usually does) the drops in the other two make it impossible for the blood to CARRY the iron no matter how much you eat.

Thats why you need a complete iron workup to see if you even NEED iron. You may have too much free already.

Go to this site, and read up on the CBC's and what it means, then look up iron and tranferrin etc there as well.
I'll tell you, it's a lot more complex than I thought it was.
and as I said, we have a living testament in here (Alagirl) whose doctor screwed up...and she eneded up needing multiple transfusions and being the closest to death of any member in here...in GOOD measure due to her doctors ignorance in treating anemia.
That picture should be worth a few thousand words.

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/test.html

mb

[FlGuy]

You wrote 'But i m not satisfied'.   These are powerful drugs that you are taking and while you are on treatment you may need to re-set your expectations in the area of satisfaction. You might get some practical suggestions here about what to discuss with your doctor or examples about maintaining balance while you are on treatment. But, if you also expect to begin 'living virus free life' you cannot expect to go through the next several months like a Chinese Olympic gymnast.

[scruples]

I agree with you that there are many types of anemia and excessive iron is dangerous for liver during Tx.

I have said....
"For weakness , check your Hemoglobin, if its very low (below 10) then rush to your doc and you can improve that by medicine or food like Liver, meat, Fish, Green leaf vegs etc. Shortness of Hemoglobin do causes fatigue and extreame tiredness"

Mostly Hemoglobin(Hg)  falls down during Tx , its a very common thing during Tx, and shortness of Hg DO causes weakness, m not saying thats this is the only reason but it is very common and mjor reason. My Hgb also went down and i had a lengthy discussion with my doc who's a liver specialist, according to him i should try to build my Hg by food and these types of foods ( Liver, meat, Fish, Green leaf vegs etc) should be included in my diet chart if not already included coz its better to build it by food then by medicine (procrit etc). Medicine give immediate relief but the better way is from food. I just included these thing in my food on normal basis not excessivly and now i am in wek 15/24 and my Hg ranges 11-11.5

I once again agree that my doc also strong recomended NOT TO TAKE ANY SUPPLEMENT HAVING IRON but having food like fish, liver, green leaf veg on normal basis is HIGHLY recomended during Tx.  

[merryBe]

I'm sorry but I just need to correct what Scruples said about anemia. I hope not to offend in saying this, but it must be said.

there are many forms of anemia. You cannot just eat iron rich foods to correct all types.
That is just general nutrition 101, and does not take into account special circumstances.

Also, there are a dozen common forms of anemia, one needs to know what type or combination of types one has to know how best to treat, or even if to treat.

Particularly when you are on chemo therapy, which HCV INF/RIBA therapy IS CHEMO, if you take in too much iron and there aren't blood cells present to take it up and put it to use, it will deposit in liver, brain and elsewhere and can do great damage.

the best thing is to have a complete workup of your blood (CBC panel) and of your iron panel, and then decide with your doctor whether you need a hormone like procrit to stimulate your bone marrow to produce more red blood cells, or one to stimulate white cells as well. Many, if not most of the patients coming in here end up on procrit eventually due to the length of treatment causing a serious need of it.

If you just start pouring in iron rich foods, with LIVER disease present, you can actually DO GREAT harm to your liver. In fact liver deposits in the liver are one of the things they grade for on a liver biopsy. Iron is a heavy metal, when carried in the blood cells it helps carry oxygen to each cell, when there are no cells to carry it, or not enough, it deposits iron molecules in tissue and begins to oxydize the surrounding tissue, causing free radical cells (cancerous cells damaged by too much oxidizing) to begin to form.

Ergo too much iron in the liver is a contributor to liver cancer, this a very real danger for HCV patients who have a much higher rate of liver cancer than the general populace.

Ergo each patient needs help from their hepatologist to work out the best plan to stay well, and the normal advice of "just eat iron rich things" which may work just fine in a person without liver disease, DOES NOT apply in this instance and is in fact dangerously generalized advice for the well patient...not the liver patient.

I'm sure Scruples meant well, but there is more to anemia, and to liver disease than meets the eye or is covered in a general knowledge of nutrition.
mb

[scruples]

Dear just try to figure out / count the time period between the shot and when tiredness start . By this you will be able to pass through that tiredness time during your sleep by altering the shot time. To me , tiredness begins almost 8-11 hours after shot. I have changed my shot timing and now i take shot around 13:00 or 14:00 at noon and my tiredness period usually pass through during my sleep.

During Tx you have to keep a aclose check on your Sx and body reactions and you can cut down Sx by changing minor things . One more advice take your Riba with food having fats, its scientifically proven that taking Riba with food enriched with fats reduces Riba Sx a lot.

For weakness , check your Hemoglobin, if its very low (below 10) then rush to your doc and you can improve that by medicine or food like Liver, meat, Fish, Green leaf vegs etc. Shortness of Hemoglobin do causes fatigue and extreame tiredness.

One last thing, try Callpol tablet (paracetamol) for reducing increase in body temp and pain/aches, This is one of the best for reducing Tx caused Sx.

[alijee]

hi

thnk you very much dear to give me more useful information drinking water. i feel much thirst the day after shot and drink water very much. i will talk to my doctor today night. thanks thanks thanks

[alijee]

hi

thnks you very much dear to give me more useful information about thyroid. i did not know before it. i will talk to my doctor today night. thanks thanks thanks

[epiphiny]

I also feel weak and tired for a few days after my shot and try to rest as much as possible during that time.  I find it peaks on the third day and after that I start to feel better incrementally and I almost feel normal when I get to shot day again.

I have also found that it lessened in it's severity as my body became adjusted to the medication and to my lowered levels of Hemoglobin.  At first it is quite a shock to the body and and our immune system and it's the speed at which the levels and weight drop that makes us feel dangerously out of control.

As merryBe says get the doctors to check on your levels.  I do not know if there are rescue drugs available in Pakistan but you could ask your Doc about those as well.

Try to keep well hydrated as the meds suck the water out of your body, and the body is made up of 70% water and needs the correct amount to be able to carry out it's necessary functions.  A good guideline is to drink half your body weight in ounces daily.  So, for example, if you weigh 140lbs you would drink 75 ounces of water per day.  Still water, not aerated.

With regards to feeling as though your heart is sinking, do you think you might be becoming depressed or overly anxious?  This is also a side effect of the treatment and can be managed very effectively with appropriate anti-depressant medication.  Once again, please ask your doctor about this.  Many people undergoing treatment are also using ADs to manage those emotional side effects.

All the best to you

[merryBe]

everyone tends to feel sick and weak the first day or two after taking the shot. That's why most people who work MON-Fri will take their shot friday night, so they can rest in bed over the weekend.

If your Hemoglobin/hematocrit and platelets are ok, the next place to have the doctors check is usually the thyroid. The thyroid can get very out of whack, and this can lead to much weakness and exaustion. It's something that is regularly checked here in the states, but you may have to ask for the test in Pakistan. It''s not an expensive test, and if you need to be on thyroid medicine while on treatment, you will feel much better. Left untreated thyroid conditions can be life threatening.

mb