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Avatar universal

Treatment Withdrawal

Hi All,

I finished tx a little over a week ago and have been feeling worse than on tx!  First I got a real flu (the first in 15 years) with all the body aches, etc. Now I am having complete sleeplessness, moodiness, much like when I first started tx (although the irritability never seemed to go away).  I was finally able to give up the sleeping meds towards the end of tx because I was able to sleep on my own again.  I am also experiencing more of the neck and upper back pain with terrible headaches.

So, I was thinking . . . going cold turkey off the riba could produce these effects?  I know that you are never supposed to go off an AD or anti-anxiety quickly due to the rebound effects.  The meds caused such sleeplessness, anxiety, mood swings, etc., much like an AD so it would make sense that this is happening now.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and for how long?  

-cbee
31 Responses
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Avatar universal
Can't help you there. My lashes were so long during tx they hit my glasses and got in my eyes. Sorry Calif, they also return to normal. sad smile. Hee, frank
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Avatar universal
I'm not giving up the long lashes and that's final!
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Avatar universal
On the eyebrow thing, my father had these wiry, beastly eyebrows, and during his last few years, I would occasionally try to trim and tame the things, always thanking God I'D never wind up with those nasty old man brows.... Guess what? ? Mine started to do that BEFORE tx. I haven't noticed any SUDDEN growth yet, but I think I'm destined toward the Groucho look even post tx.
Cal/Lai/cb
Glad to hear that the end has arrived for you all and I'm saying my prayers for ya!
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Avatar universal
I had ONE eyebrow acting up during tx, we called them Spock eyebrows then (MR. not DR). I guess Groucho  can take the honor this time. With the first term we were able to modify to describe the "condition", spockified, spockification, etc. How is the Groucho term going to be used? grouchy eyebrows? hum, that might work.
Enjoy them and the LONG eyelashes, they wont stay after Tx.
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Avatar universal
I've done the weaning off/withdrawal thing every time I've come off my meds and yet, I still take several months to get the meds out of my system enough to be able to say that I feel normal again.  

Susan
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Avatar universal
Well, obviously it's not a chick thing.  Maybe a a few of us have a wolfish gene or two that becomes activated.  But wait,  we're cat people!   How can this be?  This mad science experiment has obviously gone too far!

Frank, I may be channeling a bit of Chev right now, but I swear if I had a single friend in Minnesota I'd hook you right up....     :)



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Avatar universal
Yes the Groucho eyebrows will quickly disappear! My eyebrows grew dark from center toward nose and very coarse during tx. After tx they quickly regained normal color and texture. I called my tx brows devil brows. The devil brows plus the pissed off look made me look somewhat deranged I thought. You will be your normal lovely self-hair, skin,smile and disposition. No worry. frank
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Avatar universal
Hold up, you mean now my eyebrows are going to take on a mind of their own? And I am going to look older??? Yikes! That's all I friggin need...and then my hair should fall out on top of it all...??...oye...But you say you bounce back and become normal once again??? Please tell me you return to normal...
Cin
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Avatar universal
You know, I am a survivor from that last graduating class of MH--joined them late and remained after the majority of them had finished tx. Back in the old days, my child, which is to say only just a few months ago that could have been years,  there was always much talk about hair or the lack of it and eyebrows suddenly going vertical.   And not only on the full moon, either.  It seems to be an overnight phenomenon.  You wake up, confront the mirror for the first time, and go into shock:  What the f-----!       One thing I've noticed, tho':  as much as you experience accelerated aging while on tx, and boy is it horrifying to fast forward and get a glimpse of yourself in the debility of old age, most of it reverses itself even while  you're still on.   I had never looked my age before until this treatment, and there was a point  when....oh well, never mind.   It's still too close.  But thanks be the goddess,  the bad dream ends.   After only three days without swallowing riba, my dear friend Peg (1b, late 50s, treated for 72 weeks) actually looked like she'd spent a year at a spa.   A whole brand new woman.

I guess I was so busy looking at her smile that I forgot to notice her eyebrows.

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Avatar universal
I'd consider it an honor to share that broom.
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Avatar universal
No withdrawals here.  My biggest problem was my impatience to get all my energy back.  It came back very fast.......I just wanted it NOW and it took a few wks.  Felt better and better every day off the meds.

Good luck to you.
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Avatar universal
I don't believe tapering off these drugs is a very common practice.  

As Eisbein mentioned, riba has long half life, so the taper here is built-in.

As far as peg goes, I've heard of "withdrawal" anecdotally, and even think I've experienced it myself sometimes on day 7, but personally, I will follow standard protocol and make my last full shot, my last shot.

"Withdrawal" be d*mn. When I've finished my weeks, I'm FINISHED with this stuff. :)

-- Jim
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Avatar universal
you counted the ribas? holy canoli!
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Avatar universal
Jim, Lynn, Susan thank you so much for your thoughts.  I tend to try to prepare myself for the worst possible scenario, and need to hear from a few folks who have a different way of looking at things.. and some experience...keeps me from going off a cliff with it!  I've got a week to decide, but I'll probably just stop.

Califia...it just jelled with me.  One more week to your last shot!  Ooooh...you must be starting to feel a little happy inside.  4 weeks away from the end, I was mean, mad, nasty, grumpy, but when it was only 1 wk away from the last shot, glimmers of joy began to reach me.  I sure hope you get the forever goods, it's been so very long for you, I can't even imagine...

Laika

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Avatar universal
Hey, when i finished tx, in about a week, i felt like i was on speed or something....wired to the max just on "LIFE"........tx is  sort of a fog to me.  Still trying to located things i put away to be in a safe place...
I never felt sick  b4 tx and mentally and physically i feel much better than i did b4 taking the drugs......
Now that i am undetectable i feel like i have a new lease on life.........Hang in there all you newbies, tx is doable...
Lov all you guys........DEB  :)
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Avatar universal
well...it was an estimate.  24 wks X 35 per wk.  But I actually missed at least 5 doses during due to the dense fog.

I have decided to stay on with the Lexapro for awhile in case it may help with withdrawal symptoms.  It seems like it would help with sleeplessness.  Also, stopping the other drugs all at once is enough of a body shock.

I have a shot of Peg and some riba left over.  I could do half a shot, then a quarter and another quarter and do the same kind of thing with the riba.

There have been some interesting inputs on this thread about tapering off ... I'd love to hear from others.

Laika
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Avatar universal
Thanks so much for your well wishes.   How odd a transition time this is after 60 weeks of poison, which is nothing compared to many of the folks here who accomplished 72+.  

FYI, the nurse was concerned about my recent blood loss (Vicious Plant Syndrome)  and I assume that's why she wanted to chuck the riba.   Bad idea, I think, but this is the nurse who thinks I'm nuts for having insisted on extending tx.   Of course, if she'd bother to actually read the research I provide her with we'd probably be meeting more often on the same page.  You know how THAT goes.

Hope you're feeling relatively well today.  



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Avatar universal
Califia
I think Groucho Marx eyebrows are an age thing. Are you saying you think they are tx related????  If I don't dab mine down in the mirror every so often, they poke right up.  I see it a lot in elderly men.  Not so much in women, but I think they probably poke them down too.  Hairspray?????

When I was waiting for my GI one day, an elderly lady came in.  She had missed an early appointment and they were fitting her in.  She proceeded to pull out her little mirror and twizers in the waiting room and pull out her chin hairs.  Pleeeeeeeeeeeease may I never go there!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kathy
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Avatar universal
If memory serves me, riba half life is around 100 hours but traces can remain in your system up to six months. That's why they want you to wait 6 months before having unprotected sex.

Not sure what your nurse is up to with the riba, but it seems  that if you treat (for example) 48 weeks, then you treat 48 weeks. That means you take the riba for a week after your last shot. Maybe someone has different info.

Congratulations of finishing tx! Keep popping by from time to time.

-- Jim



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Avatar universal
Too bad you're not getting off easy.  Thanks to your warning, which I deeply appreciate, I'm going to try tapering off the riba this coming week as I do the last shot:  maybe a 200 mg reduction each day.   I'm wishing you the best as you have one last wrestle with the demon lover.
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Avatar universal
I didn't have withdrawals, I was just so glad to finally stop taking that ****.
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Avatar universal
I went through quite a bit of withdrawal symptoms, insomnia, etc., whenever I stop my treatment drugs.  The last time it took me about 5 mon. before my sleep started working again.  I also was very hyper and ate everything in sight.  I got a bad cold about a month off of treatment.  I think these withdrawal symptoms are fairly normal.

Susan
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Avatar universal
I'm 1 week post tx, I feel like i'm going thru withdrawals too. Nerves are shot so bad it feels like my insides are shaking. I was on prozac the last 3 or 4 months quit them too, that might be whats causing it. I got my appetite back though.

Monte
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Avatar universal
Oh boy can I relate to this!!! I got so depressed. I almost felt safe on tx. I had most of the sides but made it through with alot of help from Procrit, anti depresson pills, Tylenol PM, xanax and LOTS of water. But after tx, you really go through some thing else and it must be because of all the meds you were on but I am one year post tx, virus free and feel great. So, just like tx, just hang in there and it will all come together for you. Lots of hope.
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