SX--Open Thread

[Califia]

Is it odd that at the end of 12 weeks, a couple of days before shot nite, I should be having a replay of the fullout response of Week 1?   I feel like I've been bitten by a flu bug these last couple days.   Running a temperature, the whole works.   Stories, anyone?

[Califia]

Nice to get a break once in a while.

[Califia]

Can't comment on the viral mechanism, but I have read repeatedly that ribavirin is known to exacerbate outbreaks.   Not the most scientific reference, but see the Combo Guide ( http://www.hepcsurvivalguide.org/comboguide.htm )  for starters.

[BobK]

Isn't the herpes virus, like the chicken pox virus herpes zoster, a virus that incorporates into the genome of specific cells.  Once incorporated there coem events which result in the transcribing of viral factors from the genomic DNA. this activity leads to the outbreaks seen in shingles and I imagine genital and oral herpes infection.  I do not think that these outbreaks are the direct result of viral activity but rather from the activation of viral sequences which for the most part remain formant within the genomic DNA once incorporated....but I may be wrong here so someone might want to check out the mechanism of the herpes virus outbreaks.  I do know that this is true of shingle outbreaks.

Thanks for asking Scott and yes I am feeling very good if not a bit overwhelmed with my green sturgeon experiment that is at its midpoint.

take care,
BobK

[Califia]

Worth crawling out of bed to check in and find these new comments.    You _would_ think that interferon would be an effective magic bullet against anything that moved, but then how do we account for severe herpes flares while on the combo (specifically riba-induced, these).   And we do know that lowered WBC's invite bacterial infections.
   I'm back to thinking that I'm merely in the throes of a prolonged siege of side effects and am determined to put the most positive spin on each new @#*&$@&^ eruption of physical distress.   Custom made hair shirt, anyone?

[honey1616]

I agree with Bob said,,,,It could happen but for the most part I think unlikely.  My dr said this year,,,I would probably not catch anything flu, colds etc with the meds I'm on..

[cuteus]

hum...bob and scott have good points, maybe the it "gets easier" with time has more to do with the awareness of the unpredictability...now you know that you don't know how you are going to feel from moment to moment. That realization makes it easier to deal with "the flavor of the month side". surprises are tougher to handle. once you are passed certain time in tx, the sides seem to be the same, in different strengths, so by then you have learned how to tx the sides, and reach for that bottle of goodies at the first sign.

[BobK]

Firstly antibiotics will have no effect on a virus...elimiantion and neutralization is only accomplished by your own immune system...if they did (antibiotics that is) have an effect you would see antibiotic treatment for a variety of diseases...hcv, HIV, ect.

Now my doc once told me that whoever tells you that side effects get easier with treatment duration is lying!!  In my own case I found it impossible to predict how I would feel on a week by week basis. Sometimes I was very up and feeling as good as possible while on treatment and other times I was steamrolled. The only thing you can count on is the lack of consistency in how you feel from day-to-day.

You guys are both taking interferon and I find the likelyhood of a viral infection (flu that is) pretty unlikely.....your immune systems are pretty revved up to fight viral infections at the moment!

good luck,
BobK

[Lynne5477]

Same here with me.  Once I got passed the 3-month mark, I've done pretty well with the sx; except for them sneaking back in on me from time to time.  Just finished my last shot last Thursday pm and last pills this week.  Wk 46 ran fever and chills, wk 47 felt better than I had in some wks, wk 48 ran a slight fever and was chilled.............go figure.  Guess I was just getting too anxious to get finished.
  Anyway, just know that you'll still have good wks and bad wks from time to time.  Good luck with your tx.

[layla]

I didn't have any sx's until about the 3rd month. That really got my hopes up but they were dashed pretty quickly after that. LL

[ringeding]

hey there, hope you managed to see your doc today....this virus..flu....is a wicked one and moves in faster in us it seems...your indications would be apparent really quickly as it gets worse fast....hot, cold, clammy feeling, then slight sore or irritated throat etc....seems that these anti biotics MAY be begginning to work on me a bit....i should know by tommorrow....hope you don't have this and that maybe it just is the tx meds wrestling the hep....keep me posted please....feel better!!!

kimmy

p.s.
personally, i think i have sher to thank for mine...she got it first and passed it on to me through the phone lines the little brat, come mer sher...let me give yah kiss and give this back to you...hahaha

[Califia]

Thanks for all the feedback and well wishes.  Tx is an ever-splendid thing, but I'm beginning to think that I'm dealing with yet another viral entity here, right along with Kimmy.   Someone please take those  "Viruses Welcome Here" signs off our front doors, please!

[Amerabrit]

I'm on week 33, sometimes I feel as though there's nothing worng with me and other times I feel as though I have the flu?    The good news is, the sx don't seem to last too long..  The worst of it for me are the sx associated with severe anemia;  fatigue, shorness of breath, headaches...blah, bah, blah:)   I'm lucky though, because it's all manageable.
Feel better soon...

[DonL]

I felt worse starting around week 35 than I did all thru. I had gotten used to the feeling of aches etc. but at 35 and beyond, I felt feverish and much more affected mentally, so much so that I started to worry that my HCV had bounced back. It truly is a crapshoot.

[ringeding]

hi all....just a reminder, we tend to adjust quickly to putting the blame for most of what we feel while on tx on the meds and tx......just to let you know there is a wicked flu virus going around right now, and on tx our immune systems can be more comparmised then normal espeacially when your white count is low.  i was feeling 'hot and cold' hot and cold' hot and cold for several days(blamed it on menopause) and then friday clammy and slight sore throat....i woke up saturday very weak, fluish, slight fever and sore throat way worse and went immediately to the on call doctor ....she gave me the mother of all anti-biotics to kick this bugs butt, as still being not 100% yet i didn't want to risk this getting way out of hand quickly..she did say this new flu virus can turn to pnomonia spl?...so please keep in mind if you are feeling flu like symptoms, that seem 'out of the norm' for you see your doc, just to be safe.....hope this is not what you have possibly picked up califia

hope everyone has been well.... have a good week
kimmy

[Docsgold]

I felt absolutely wonderful in my 12th week.  I got good news that week--undetected!  Everything that could go right, went right (just forgot to buy a lotto ticket--probably could have retired on that run of luck).  I had been kinda hoping in my 10th & 11th week that tx wouldn't work and the doc would stop tx.  Have since found out many people have this wishful thought.

I never know how I am going to feel.  Usually just able to trudge on, Thurs/Fri seem to be the best days--then I start the cycle over again with a shot Fri nite.  I have learned to deal with the rashes, sinusitis, short temper, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue & hair loss.  Tried to convince myself I would be lucky to just have to deal with these sides and nothing else until 4/15/05--yup I can do it.  Just about the times I tell myself that, something new pops up.  Now it is right shoulder and left calf pain that comes and goes.  

I am grateful for a good support system and that, overall, I have been able to work, go to school, and try to eradicate this bug at the same time.  Often times I read these many posts and realize I am not really that bad off and try to stop complaining.  

Thanks everyone for sharing stories, information, side effects, solutions and funny stories.

[honey1616]

Odd?...No,,,Random, Yes LOL  I did same thing at 3 months,,,just about time you thought you were just feeling daily crud and getting use to it,,,All the sudden,,Aches & Pains and yes fever. I have had some of those and been under covers shaking.  Then it let up and about 6 month mark,,,Bad flu symptoms only again and now I'm back in the clear so you just can't depend on anything being definite on these meds.  Hope you get to feeling better soon Califia as you will probably see,,,,about time you almost feel like throwing in towel,,,Brighter days are back!  LOL Its a tease,,,ya know?  Take care Lady!