Weird Side Effects Update

Greetings everyone.  I am feeling like total crap today.  Nauseous.  Fatigued.  Brain fog.  Keeping an eye out for symptoms of Anemia again, but I sure hope not.  Having some interesting tx side effects I wanted to share:

1.  I have pre-existing Tendonitis and (because of some bad computer habits)  it has flaired up again.  Still, I was told that Hep C tx can cause certain injuries to "wake up" again.  Has anyone had this happen?  They said it could even wake up broken bone pain.  Ouch!

2.  I recently noticed a long groove/indention on my thumbnail.  Check your nails and let me know if you have experienced this.

3.  Emotional numbness.  The anti-depressant is working.  I know this because the news of Whitney Houston's death has not fully hit me yet.  I do not handle death well and would normally be in tears, as I have followed her career.  Even though I can't wait to be off all these drugs, I guess I should be grateful that I am not depressed and overwhelmed by this sad news.

4.  Still have my Llama lashes.  This has got to be the coolest side effect ever!  They do stick together a bit at the edges, because they are so long now.  But I'm lovin' how cool they look!

Wishing you all the very best on your journeys!  I will be done with triple tx in a few more weeks.
Be blessed,
Bee :)

[orphanedhawk]

If you think about the most described side effect of  'flu like symptoms' then  waking up of past injuries fits right into that.

Our hair falls out, our skin gets strange, nails do the same.
Not odd that yours have changed. All I notice is my hair, everywhere. I'm the queen of shedding.

Enjoy your lashes.

OH

[threepaddleCurt]

Bee-

After my initial injection of PegIntron, within 2 hours any "vulnerable" bone in my body began screaming bloody murder.  I was rather expecting the cervical and lower lumbar spine to act up since there is confirmed arthritis in both locations, but what took me completely by surprise was the ring of fire that developed on my left wrist.  I had broken that wrist many moons ago, and then shattered it again in 2003 when a ladder collapsed underneath me.  The pain was almost identical to the original wrist shattering incident and I ended up rocking in a chair on the back patio for hours trying to survive it and really wishing for some morphine.  

So yea, I think past trauma can be woken up for sure!  I'm not sure about the hip pain radiating down to my thighs might mean--probably the arthritis has just advanced to my hips in the past couple years.

But oh, I am NOT looking forward to that next injection!  I'm hoping this was a one-time event and will not be as severe the next time around.  Will be doing the 600mg Motrin pre-shot and hoping for the best!

[sandysf]

Bee,

I am sorry to hear you feel like crap!  Take it from me, I am 6.5 weeks done with tx.. you will feel great soon and look back at this as a distant nightmare.  I feel really good and have no obvious symptoms left from TX other than no hair.  I keep feeling around my head and looking with a magnifying glass and no new growth!  :(  

On to SVR for you!  

[crossroadsec]

So sry you're feeling rough. Mine was BAAD a month or so ago. I'm w/ you on fatigue. I've been off of procrit and have a feeling my hgb is down too. Aches and blahs. I still laugh and enjoy my work w kiddos, but I lay in bed most mornings and give myself about 20 minutes to get out the door. I stretch n groan n hit snooze for an hour! I call it "bed yoga" haha. I'm on a cup or 2 of caffeine a day.
My joints are so stiff, but I've never had a break, so I can't identify w that.
I've had fungus on my toenails and my thumbnail is thick and the skin is splitting and won't heal. treating that w an antifungal. Still use miracle mouth for cracks around my lips too.
I've reached a point where I just let my hair go some days. I only have to wash it one day a week cause it's so dry. But like you, I'm loving the lashes!
OH! And that overly plucked look from when I went tweezer crazy as a teen? Don'tcha know they're even growing back?
I've been a little testy w/ Riba rage too. No ads, and I cried like a baby over Whitney. I cry every day over something. I've got a new "fake it til you make it" attitude that has helped.  
How many more weeks? I have 16 to go! woohoo! It wont' be long hunnyo! This will be a distant memory.  
We're doing it! Watch us go the last leg! Can you believe it?
xoxo to you, Karen:)

[1oftheclub222]

Really...your eyebrows grow in like the lashes?????  i have been trying to regrow mine since 1980, ha...that would be awsome!

[crossroadsec]

I even had to trim my eyebrows! This is a good thing. lol

[Gerbils]

Dear Bee,
I had a problem for years with the cubital tunnel and nerves that pass through them in both arms. I had surgery twice on the right but it continued to flare pre-treatment. I had the same on the left (apparently due to bowed arms) but declined the surgery because of the results on the right arm. Now have an extremely painful- to -the -touch left elbow but not the right. Right hip now hurts far worse than it ever did. Right shoulder somedays is a killer but no previous problems. Stiff -as- a- board neck sometimes now but never never before. My nails are ok and grow well. I am definitely not emotionally numb. I don't tolerate stress well (but I did before) and cry more than I ever did, even 10 weeks post tx. I am better than I was in tx though. Got Llama lashes and still have to be careful with the mascara to keep from doing a Tammy Faye Baker ( I thought she was a sweet lady but the lashes!)

Hey, OH, I thought I was the queen of shedding! :0)

Take care and SVR to all,
G

[Gerbils]

I am so sorry you feel like crap.  :0(
G

[crossroadsec]

I log on my phone but can't see to type well. It certainly is good to see all of you still going and encouraging each other. Gosh we're a bunch of lovers on this site.
Yeah. I'm crying at how sweet you all are and at what we've been through together. And I'm laughing at how easy I cry. So glad to "see" you all even tho we're all gripy about our SE.
SMHL (shakin my head laughing),
Karen :)

[suezeeque]

The only thing I can really add is...............  Jennifer Hudson had me in tears, as she did at MJ's memorial service.  ;)

And I stopped tx on January 19...

[beeblessed]

OH -- I have been fortunate not to be losing much hair.

Three Paddle -- Haven't seen you before, Welcome!  I understand what you mean about Arthritis, as I have it too.  Sorry about the wrist.  Ouch!!  Hope you do considerably better on your next injection.

Sandy -- Thanks for the encouragement!  I use Pantene and it has made my hair the strongest ever, even through tx.

Gerbils -- It's amazing how much we rely on our elbows until they hurt.  LOL about the Tammy Faye mascara prevention :)  I have 4 more weeks to go and hope the Llama lashes will stick around.

Crossroads -- I have been trying to grow my eyebrows out but they just won't cooperate.  LOVE your description of "bed yoga!!"  Hope your nails and hair return to normal after tx.

1of theclub -- Funny how eyebrows will grow back in the wrong areas but not where they give one that 'perfect' look.

Suezee -- OMG!  I totally forgot Jennifer sang at MJ's funeral!

Thanks for chiming in everyone!  Because of brain fog and fatigue, it took me a good half hour to write this, so I hope it makes sense and hope I didn't leave anyone out.

Hugs, Bee :)

[frijole]

Week 24 was last week and possible the worst week of my tx so far.  I thought I had a really rough reaction to a new batch of PegInterferon.  Bone achey (achy) and sore all over and even woke up dizzy and had to go back to bed after pill taking on Sunday.  Woke up Monday with my chest hurting so bad I called my regular doctor for a check-up.  I thought it was the anemia.  Pulse was 102 from shallow breathing.  Doctor couldn't find anything but finally Thursday they called me back with results of the chest xray and said I had pneumonia.  For the last 7 days I have been on antibiotics and feel human again.  But before the dx, when I thought these were all sx from the treatment drugs, I was really questioning my ability to treat 48 weeks.

Other than that, the dry mouth has been bad lately and the TicTacs that usually help have a wang to them.  In fact everything I taste has a wang to it.  Hair still falling out and hard to work with.  My beauty operator commented on my lovely long lashes, but they are so light, I can hardly see them.  She trimmed my Groucho Marx eyebrows.  The itching seems to have subsided some thank goodness.

And Yes Bee, I have grooves on all my fingernails and have been noticing too that they are very pale except for a darker red ring up near the top, right before the white of the nails.  It is like a flush of color just under the whites.

Fortunately week 25 is better than 24.  At least the countdown has begun and the weeks left are less than the  weeks completed.

[working dog]

hi bee...i just looked at my nails...and they all have groves in them...post tx i feel really good and i don't expect to feel 100 percent until up to 2 years...i hope in a few months at 6 months post i'll be very close to 100 percent...i'm also fine with a few sides as long as they aren't real bad...even for good as long as i beat this hep...all in all i'm really happy with the way i feel..i just ran into a friend of mine that went through tx (soc) last year and is svr feeling great but during tx he was a mess and his wife left him...things will get better soon...good luck....billy

[rockymoe]

I am still having all the sides you are. Right now the anemia is real bad.
Eating isn't one of my things, food either has no taste, a bad taste or I can't stand the texture.
It is encourging that we have less time to tx, but I still find it brutal! BUT I am UND and that is worth it.

[brianmo]

I am so glad you posted this. I was in my doctors office last week having this same conversation about old injuries not healing while on treatment. i figured going into treatment it would be a good time for me to take care of shoulder tend. from swimming and inflam in foot from running which in the past a few weeks off always cleared these up. I went into PT for weeks while on tx and was getting no results then my husband said I bet the drugs your on are preventing your joints and ligaments from healing!! Bingo!! that was it. I stopped PT, talked to doctor and she could not give me a scientific answer but I am sure that is what is happening.  I am hoping after I am off all drugs they injuries will heal.

The Llama Lashes, the best thing about treatment!!  I love mine and can't tell you how much attention they get which I am glad because it takes attention off the fact I have lost about 70% of my hair!! I also am trimming my eyebrows for the first time in my life, have not had to shave legs for months.

I do shot 22 tomorrow and the metal taste in mouth as let up, itching has calmed down somewhat but still a pain in the ***. I now have scabs on my scalp from all the itching!  MY taste buds are normal as of a few weeks ago, smells are normal and I still cry easy.   7 more shots to go and I am done.  UND since week 4. Hope it stays that way for life.

Yes, grooves in fingernails.

MO

[beeblessed]

Frijole --  Geez, sorry to hear about the Pneumonia!  Thanks for chiming in.

Working Dog --  Oh wow!  Thanks for looking.  I wonder if our nails will get back to normal?  Glad you are still on the upswing and you still have the best attitude.  Sorry to hear about your friend.  That bites.

Rocky --  Sorry about the Anemia!

Mo -- See, this is why I post.  I can almost always find someone who can relate, no matter how weird the sides, so I do not feel alone!!  The bad taste.....chew Dentyne Pure (or Pur) gum.  It helps in a pinch.  Biotene is just nasty to me.

Thanks!  I have been sick for 3 days with nausea.  Finally spoke to my nurse today.  She determined I need to change my breakfast to something heavier and to make Zofran be the first medicine of the day, and to take another one before leaving work.  So, because I don't have time to cook in the morning, I think I will go bad to peanutbutter and jelly, as the bread should help.  The meds have just saturated my system and my body is kind of rebelling.  4 more weeks.......thank the good Lord.  Bee :)