Long term side effects of interferon

[cwar]

Hi
Can anyone tell me what the long term side effects of interferon /ribavarin are?  Thank you very much. My hubby just finished weeks and I am wondering which sides will be here to stay and which ones I can expect to leave.

[Trinity4]

Did you get an SVR for all your trouble or is the cirhotic liver still and issue?

[liverjim700]

I completed Interferon/Ribavirin treatment 18 months ago. While on the 48 week treatment it effected my thyroid, therefore gaining weight instead od loosing as most do. I won't go into treatment effects except to say it was extremly harsh & challanging on me & it caused me to become anemic, i beleive the doctor really had to cook me with the drugs to have a chance as i was 1a geno type (the hardest) & i was already in chirrosis/flibrosis stage with disabling symptoms. Even after after treatment & getting my thyroid sabilized i continue to have extreme fatigue requiring me to have rest alot/sleep. I can't get past this extreme fatigue that haunts me. I drink alot of pure water/exercise/rest/digestive colon cleaners/Fiber/Milk Thistle herb for the liver/sleep apenea sleeping machine/magnetic therapy/testosterone patches & avoid stress thru a spiritual lifestyle. I feel like i have mono or some type of infection in my body. I've been thru all kinds of blood tests/scans & trials for desease, infections, gland levels & still can't find anything that causes this extreme fatigue. i am lost at this point as all my blood levels are all normal. I need any suggestions, please. I did get approved for disability...Help  

[olgee]

I was on interferon in 2002. Treatment was stopped after six months, because the doctor said it was not having the desired effect. I assume not causing the viral load to drop. I'm sure that the chronic fatigue was not existent before my treatment.. I've heard people discuss problems with swallowing and tenderness in the mouth, but I can't verify this. I will say that I feel that I have never been the same since treatment. It's hard to prove, but I'm convinced.

[Trinity4]

I don't think there is any particular post tx side effect a person can expect to have after stopping antiviral treatment.  Everyone is different and many do not experience any long term side effects.  It takes a few months for the drugs to leave the body.  Interferon leaves the system within a few weeks but some experience what is known as interferon hangover and the fatigue and malaise can linger for months.

Most say they can tell a difference after a couple of weeks of stopping the treatment.  I sure did and not saying I was 100 percent but certainly feeling much better. Blood values usually return to normal within a couple of months so the only thing your husband can expect is to feel better each day as he regains his strength.  Each of us hit the "back to normal" range at different levels and different times so take it one day at time and don't raise the bar too high until he's given himself a chance to recover.

Sorry your hubby had to stop treatment.  The newer drugs will be here next year with the hopes we will all have a better chance at achieving SVR.

Trinity