Treatment week 11 - side effects

[lyrainoxford]

Am I normal??  I just began my 11th week of treatment - 2 more weeks of Incivek!  But I am finding that I seem to be more worn out as the weeks go on.  Is this normal?  I stay tired, I have difficulty getting motivated because I get so exhausted doing normal daily activities.  Is this all in my mind???  I work M-F and I haven't missed a day to side effects yet.  I have to push myself very hard just to make it to work and get through the day.  By the time work is over, I'm exhausted.  On the weekends, the week has worn me out so much that I can barely get out of my house.  I'm beginning to feel like this is all in my head and I'm feeling pretty worthless.  Someone please tell me if this is a normal response or if I'm truly going crazy.  I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakdown.

[lyrainoxford]

Thanks to everyone who has responded.

Bee - I cannot believe you recognized my screen name!  I read the books when I was about 17 and it has been my preferred screen name ever since!  One day, I plan to have a little girl and her name will be Lyra - it has been decided since I first got my hands on the books!  
I understand what you mean about the To-Do list!  I make one almost every weekend and can cross maybe two things off.  I finally realized that my former one DAY to do list must now be my one WEEK list.  If I can cross off one or two every day, eventually, I'll get there!

ceanothus - less fatigued!  I cannot imagine how the rest of you must feel if I am less fatigued.  According to the experiences being shared, however, I know that I must be.  And for that, I know that I am lucky.  But my heart goes out to anyone because there are days that I feel I can barely go on.  I cannot imagine how tough it must be for you.  I do not know anyone's age on this forum but when I went in for treatment and my biopsy, the doctors and nurses seemed almost in shock that I was 27 and being treated for hepatitis.  I know that I am lucky that I caught it and had the opportunity to do something about it at such a young age. I know that I am the reason that I have this disease - I made a mistake - but I am so blessed to have an opportunity to try and reverse it.  I have made many life changes in the last five years and I know that they are all for the better.

No matter how tough it is to make changes and go through treatment - the one thing that i know is that it is all worth it! :)

[Dee1956]

You are normal, please do not think otherwise
When I tx back in 2008 I would go to work, come home, go to bed and start it all over.  On the weekends, I would stay in bed only getting up to get ready for another day at work.  Took my shots on Fridays and did miss Mondays however I really admire you for working through Incivek, I could not have done that which I just finished
Hang in there everyone is here for you
Dee

[ceanothus]

Oh boy, I got pretty riled up reading your first message- how dare your doctor belittle your fatigue? But then my mood was soothed by reading all the other indignant responses! It got everyone kind of riled up  

Everything you are experiencing is normal except you may be  LESS fatigued than most of us (maybe because you are younger than most of us). I've had all of your symptoms plus wheezing along with that cough, severe nausea during the Incivek phase, rashes from Incivek and a different one from Ribavirin, severe night sweats, low white blood cells, low platelets, and now I'm just starting to get low red blood cells.  I don't work and don't even feel safe driving very far on my own because of a lack of alertness. I feel very happy just to accomplish a single one-hour project each day, but I am thrilled to be in tx and that it has made the virus UND in my blood for the last few months. For a patient who already has cirrhosis, this is a real lifesaver!

I do hope your upcoming therapy appt. helps you get a grip on the problem of feeling worthless when you can't be as productive as you are accustomed to being. That is one of the hardest things that we all have to grapple with - whether the fatigue is from tx or from the liver disease itself as it becomes more advanced. You can get through the physical part of tx much more easily if you aren't beating yourself up emotionally, so watch that tendency carefully, and check in with the forum frequently. This is an amazingly wonderful group of people here! Good luck. 

[beeblessed]

Welcome Lyra!  Love your screen name :)  Loved the books.  What you describe is almost EXACTLY how I felt during this entire process.  Trust me, you are Not alone.  I feel entirely lazy because I have a list of things to do every weekend, but I am lucky if I get to 2 chores.  Normally, I am the multitasker at work and at home, every day.  During tx, that all changed and became a huge challenge.  I thought there was something wrong with me, thought I was being a wimp.  This forum helps tremendously.

Do listen to your body through the rest of this and know that when you come outthe other side, your energy (mental and physical) will return.

Bee

[80mecheng]

I am on Vic, Interferon and Riba and have had the same issues.  By week 18 my hemoglobin had dropped to 9.2 and I ended up on Procrit which frankly has only helped a little and made weekend nausea worse.  I have worked from hom for the last 6 weeks but take at least one sick day per week dealing with side effects.I asked my doctor about it since I thought I would feel better with at least the modest hmg improvement and he stated Interferon is the likely source.  Hang in there and communicate with your doctor what you are going thru.

[crossroadsec]

I got depressed on weekends. Shot on Friday n the fatigue is awful. My grandkids have quit asking if I'm getting off the couch. I watch a lot of Disney channel n cry. BUT... Week 37 w 11 to go. I look like **** n my labs r a mess. But I'm still kicking. Believe me. We get it. Feel the love n buckle your seatbelt. It cam be a wild ride. Sooo worth it. Karen :)
Oh. Spring break! 9 days off work!!! Zzzzz haha