Infergen

[hondapatches]

I started taking Infergen, last night was my first shot. I took the riboviran
and the shot at about 9:30 pm. About 2am in the morning I woke up shivering and shaking with a high fever. I took Ibeprofen 800mg my husband put ice packs on my head and neck. I took the interferon about 6 years ago but I was a non responder. I read about the infergen and decided to give it a try. My alt and ast were higher so my GI Dr. said I could try it but he really didn't think it would work because I was a non responder.
Why is the infergen making me so sick, the interferon never made me sick 6 years ago. I just breezed right through it.
Live, Love, Laugh
HondaPatches

[hondapatches]

Thankx for all your help LoneStar. Hopefully I'll be here a lot.  I am genotype 1a I'm not sure what stage or grade They haven't taken a biospy for about 5 years. I'm just going on a wing and a prayer here. I gave my shot in my leg last night and I pulled back and there was no blood but man is my leg sore today. Seems like the stomach is much better for me. I'm really glad you and others are here. Last time I was on the tx we had and still have a place for heppers to go. But not many heppers are there now, they have all been cleared and don't come back much. http://groups.msn.com/HotHeps/messages.msnw That is the website. Anyhoo going to rest now back to teaching first grade tomorrow.

[Lonestar823]

Good morning Patches.  I hope you're still sleeping sweet beneath your covers and that the sides were better last night.  I'm in New England.  I see you're in Texas.  It's eight thirty and I'm working on my second cup of coffee.  It's a beautiful morning here.  
Just found your note.  Infergen has been around for a long time.  The biggest pain of it is, that it's a daily injection.  Think I've read that they're working on a pegulated version of it.  Wouldn't that be nice?  And yes, it does seem to be marketed more to non responders.  Any advice I give you would only be what I've learned here.  I had never heard of hep c until an old friend of mine passed away from it's complications in 2003.  I begged three doctors to test me and finally one gave in.  I had it.  Now I don't.  I hope anyway.  I did my tx alone because I didn't find this board until the end.   You'll be able to team up with others just starting like sfwandwow here who just had her first shot.   It seems the buddy system really helps.
I say, try to get to undetected early as you can because the length of your tx will be shortened and I think I've read that your chances of svr are a bit better if you do.  I'd push for a four and eight week pcr so you're better able to see where you are before week 12.  If you can clear at or before week twelve you're pretty much guaranteed 48 weeks or less.  I've read that upping your riba within limits to what your body will tolerate may help you clear faster.  What kind of doctor are you seeing?  A gastro or hepatologist?  Your labs will have to be very carefully monitored .  Make sure your doctor has rescue drugs lined up too.  Mine waited to long.  What are your stats Patches?  Genotype,  biopsy results, grade? stage?  Does your son have the same genotype as you?  There doesn't seem to many infergen posts here.  I don't think there where any when I first found the board.  I used to think others shied away from me because they felt like they couldn't help me because I was "different."  Interferon is interferon.  Infergen felt just like Peg Intron did to me.  Watch for Susan400, Tallahassee, Triggertime, Captainhardass and Childangel who all have experience with Infergen.  I'm sure there are others too.  There are many here who are better educated on hep c and it's treatment than my doctor who can help you. I'm not that knowledgeable.  My only contribution would be first hand, long term experience with the infergen. ; ]  I'm not always on the board.  My husband and I have a very busy little hotel in Massachusetts and so sometimes I'm gone for weeks at a time without checking the board.  Other times I'm schlepping at home and check every five minutes. ; ]  Med help doesn't allow us to pass on email information but if you ever need to talk I think I've seen it done here something like this.  I use aol and my handle is Rebecca0823.  ; ]  Keep the faith Patches.  I'll be watching for you and so will others here.

[hondapatches]

Whoops I kinda hit enter...lol Anyway I'm so glad to hear that you cleared. I gives me hope. I need it cause my son also has the hep c He is 16 and Will have to go through treatment also. What do you mean by get undetected early. How can u get undetected early? How is infergen a killer? You mean as in dead killer? lol They only have me getting the cbc's for the first three weeks. I have looked at all the blood work papers they gave me up to 11 months, and I don't see anything about svr or viral loads, alts and or ast's. Should I make them test me at a certain month? I don't know much about this infergen. I know I took the interferon for like 10 months and didn't clear. Then the Peg was coming out so three months later I went on it for 6 months. I still didn't clear. For the last 5 year my alt and ast have been normal. Not until the last few months did it start to rise. So I decided to try the infergen. I read about on the internet, I thought it was new, but my friend who has been in cyrosis for the past 5 years goes to see a transplant Dr. at Baylor, and he said that infergen has been aroung since the 80's. What I read was that it was for non responders. My so called Dr. thinks that since I didn't clear with the other meds I won't clear, with this one, But what he doesn't know is that I have someone pretty high up watching out for me and that is the Good Lord. Anyhoo thankx for posting back to me.  I need all the info I can get.  And sfwandwow hang in there with the brain fog, it gets better by the day. Nice to meet you too.
Live, Love, Laugh
Patches

[sfwandwow]

inferon shot every friday nite for me i get chills on first shot then headache in am the ribavirin just give me brain fog for about 1-2 hr then i clear off... Its not bad at all

[Lonestar823]

Hi Patches, Yes, I lived through it. ; ]  I was a slow responder to the Peg.  Stayed on it six months then took a six month break and started the infergen.  Yup, I cleared at week 21.  Still slow.  I stayed clear for the last 52 weeks of tx and was still clear five months post.  In retrospect I think I needed more riba from the start.  It was upped from 800 to 1000 week 14 I think.  I didn't know anyone else doing it at the time.  I finished Aug. 06.  Since then I've seen others here, but only a handful. Hope they find your post.  Do everything you can to get to undetected early Patches because the long infergen tx is a killer.  I learned more here than anywhere else, just learned it too late into tx.  Really nice to meet you too.  Stay in touch, okay?

[hondapatches]

Hi Lonestar,
I am glad to hear someone else has been through that. Not to say I would wish it on anyone. Did you clear on the infergen? I am taking the daily infergen, last night was a little better fever not so high. But I did at least get a little sleep. I have to be able to sleep cause I am a school teacher, and I have to work. I'm so glad to hear you surivived.
Oh and nice to meet ya.
Live, love, Laugh
Patches

[Lonestar823]

I s'pose you were just lucky last time honda.  I've done both Peg Intron and the infergen and with both, the very first shot was the worst, just exactly as you've described.  Are you doing the daily infergen?   I did and just did my shot after I was ready for bed with one extra strength tylenol.  The sides seemed pretty much the same.  I only did the peg for six months so I can't really compare the two full term.  I was able to work for the first eight months but after that the fatique and brain fog kept me pretty close to home and my bed.  It's doable though.  I did 73 weeks and survived. ; ]  Barely.