Thank you for your post NYGirl!
You're right I am hypo. The docter even said I must have been borderline hypo all along even before starting the tx.
Congratulations on being SVR! I am going to insist on staying on the thyroid medicine and get if from my PCP. A lot of people I know at work both men and women take it and none of them have Hep C. I know that you have to get a TSH test done every so often to make sure you haven't gone up or down etc.
Dorsey - I am Geno type 1a or b don't really know (can't remember actually). I am on the 1200 Ribavirin a day with the weekly interferon injection (basic copeg/peg). The SOC of 48 weeks. I have 6 weeks left! I wish I had ONLY six shots. I also take 3 weekly injections of Neupogen for WBC/ANC counts and Procrit injection every other week. I am sick of taking the shots althogether but it will be over soon!
When I did research on a sluggish thyroid I did have a lot of the symptoms pre-tx so it was probably a pre-existing condition that never got properly diagnosed just like my Hep C. My PCP told me years ago that my liver function test were elevated but it wasn't anything.
Let me know what the prognosis is on your TSH test. I have seen a lot of people here that suffer from thyroid issues...
I had thyroid issues before I started treatment and was on .200 dosage. WHile finishing the last 2 months of treatment my weight started dropping (lost 17 pounds). They tested my thyroid and dropped my dosage. After Tx they had me test at 2 months post and 4 months post to see where my body regulated at. I am now down to .125. Looks like everyone can have different issues. The doctor just needs to check after you stop tx a couple times too.
Good luck
ps i developed the thyroid autoimmune problem at around week 20 I guess it was discovered at week 24 test where I was extremely hyper (TSH 0.0) and then by week 28 when I got to the Nuclear Imagine Scan I flipped around to being extremely hypo.
Just in case that helps others with a timeline. I flipped over that fast, was stifll a skeleton and the doctors were just shocked that i was a hypo. That didn't last too long the weight came back on pretty darn fast and kept going.
Shoot that figures!
I'll do it again shorter.
TeeVee - are you hypo I'm assuming? I was hyper then went hypo immediately after which is most common. Once you have this it seems to stay forever. I've been taking Synthroid 88mcg for a few years now. I was very skinny to start and then in mid-tx started gainning weight back. Turned out that is when I had flip flopped to hypo.
I take the med every day and I cannot lose any weight. In fact dieting just keeps me the same weight. Now that the weather is nice i"m hoping getting out and working out walking will be the thing that helps. I'm up 15 pounds now from my original weight. I can't seem stop. I had lost 20 pounds during tx.
After a lifetime of giving up cheeseburgers and fries and things it sucks to have this happen but I try to remember that i am SVR and don't have that crappy disease any longer and it was worth it. It was worth it. It was worth it.
I would not go off the meds too soon I"ll tell you that - I wish I could tell you opposite more than anything in the world but from my experience..........I can't imagine how much weight gain I'd have if I stopped them altogether.
The docs say "oh it will be ok as soon as you finish treatment it will go back to normal" but from my limited experience in here it rarely happens.
I pray so hard that it will for you that you have no idea.
Good luck TeeVee.
Did you have a thyroid issue before treatment?? What treatment meds are you on?? pegasis/copegasis?? I am having my 1st TSH test tomorrow and I am really concerned about this side affect of treatment!! I DO NOT want my thyroid to go out!!
Can you tell me what happened to you.... Thanks Dorsey
testing - i just made a long post and it disappeared page not found error or something