Feeling lousy !!!

[punkey77]

Hi, I am still having flaky skin & dry hair, extreme lethargy, tired & irritable all the time, super uncoordinated, never was before & some sores inside my mouth & on my lips. I am 65 & I worry my age may make my symptoms worse!! I must also say I looked pretty good for my age prior to the tx and I look in the mirror now & look 10 yrs older!!
None of the Dr's I have seen {including my current Dr.} ever did a complete, thorough physical exam & I feel no support from them, so I do not call & tell them any of the symptoms I'm having.
My fear, like one person mentioned, is that I may have something secondary possibly brewing & would never know it. I also do not want to be an alarmist, but because I feel so lousy all the time, I am a little frightened & thought seriously about discontinuing the meds. Silly I know & I am going to keep on taking them but I have to say This really isn't fun & the possibility of it not being cured it after the EOT is a little disturbing.

[brendaelk65]

I am 10 weeks since EOT with sol/oly. At the first of the 12 week tx I was feeling so great, got some energy back and even moved to a new place. Then it kind of flattened out. I will have a 12 week after tx viral load on Feb, 3rd. I so hope it is good news. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia at the same time. I have been so achey since the weather changed to winter. I too have such dry skin and bruise so easily and basically feel bad sometimes. They say hep c will trigger fibromyalgia when it starts to show symptoms, you can read this if you like:     http://www.hepatitiscentral.com/news/hepatitis_c_and_12/ Good luck to us all and one day I hope we all get back to our former selves!

[patra_]

Punk:

"The coordination issue is more like being clumsy (was always a little clumsy}, not as quick as I had been & slight muscle weakness ( was the champ of opening jars} now not so much"
            ====================================

That described me to a tee while on the meds, after my HMG started dropping!  
I am 6 wks Post EOT today, and I have been back to opening ALMOST all jars, etc that I could do before!  The clumsiness, too.  Same thing - I was always a little clumsy before tx but really so during!  I laid it all down to the Riba doing its job and took precautions (walker, so I wouldn't fall and break something" etc.) and went on.   Walker is back in the attic.  Those symptoms do get better, BUT SEE YOUR HEPA -  he/she needs to know and needs to check you out just in case...       Pat

[keepingOnkeepingOn]

I'd say it's worry that is zapping your looks and energy. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Nothing worthwhile is easy. The drugs are not a cake walk like some like to believe. They kick butt. When treatment is all done, you will slowly get your looks and vitality back. This virus is ravaging the body regardless of what anyone says at any stage. It's in battle right now so stay the course and ride it out. You'll be glad you did. Don't worry about tomorrow or reaching SVR. Stay in the moment and give yourself a chance. So you feel like sh*t. Let it be. Roll with it. Your PCP is the one to get a complete physical from. Give them a call. No one holds our hand. We basically do tx alone. Accept it. You have this board to come to. Don't give up just because the fight seems so solo. The emotional aspect of tx is not often talked about. Too bad too. So just ride it out for the prize in the end. You can do it. You are strong. Stay the course.

[punkey77]

Thanks, I just want to thank everyone for their support!! Without you guys this might almost be unbearable, but I will see it through!!!

Primary Care physician is a great idea if you can find one! My ins does not require me to have one, but about a yr ago I found one near my home & was a little concerned about the heavy Russian accent because it was a little difficult to understand him, but he seemed nice so I took a chance for my annual physical & boy I was more than a little surprised to see the receptionist was almost totally unintelligible!! I could not understand more than 10 words she spoke. They did not weigh me, measure my height or take a urine sample. The Dr. did take blood but he used such a big needle, I was black & blue for a week!! I had a primary Care DR. for over 10 yrs, but he retired. It is almost impossible to find a Dr. that is competent who has a good staff to back him up, which is just as important.

You have convinced me to call the Dr. I am seeing for the Hep C & tell him my symptoms & concerns.  

The coordination issue is more like being clumsy (was always a little clumsy}, not as quick as I had been & slight muscle weakness ( was the champ of opening jars} now not so much!

[punkey77]

Thanks, I just want to thank everyone for their support!! Without you guys this might almost be unbearable, but I will see it through!!!

Primary Care physician is a great idea if you can find one! My ins does not require me to have one, but about a yr ago I found one near my home & was a little concerned about the heavy Russian accent because it was a little difficult to understand him, but he seemed nice so I took a chance for my annual physical & boy I was more than a little surprised to see the receptionist was almost totally unintelligible!! I could not understand more than 10 words she spoke. They did not weigh me, measure my height or take a urine sample. The Dr. did take blood but he used such a big needle, I was black & blue for a week!! I had a primary Care DR. for over 10 yrs, but he retired. It is almost impossible to find a Dr. that is competent who has a good staff to back him up, which is just as important.

You have convinced me to call the Dr. I am seeing for the Hep C & tell him my symptoms & concerns.  

The coordination issue is more like being clumsy (was always a little clumsy}, not as quick as I had been & slight muscle weakness ( was the champ of opening jars} now not so much!

[hepc4Sandi]

So, you are half way through Tx now, right? Yes, get your mouth looked at as thrush can happen when your system is out of balance. Eating yogurt can help with that also. Are you eating enough? Getting some good oils? Drinking enough water? The skin and hair issues will clear up after Tx, make sure you keep both moisturized. I found baby oil worked good for skin, and argon oil for hair. Though I lost some hair after Tx, and what I didn't lose was damaged.

Yes, let your doctor know your other symptoms, you don't want stop Tx. I found I had better luck corresponding with the nurse of my hepatologist.

[dontworry_behappy1]

Have you gone to see your Primary Care Doctor for you symptoms.  You are right that not everything is hep c related.  But I do find that your hep c specialist only wants to treat you for hep c absent any other issues.  So you should see your Primary Care Doctor.  You could have thrush in your mouth,
an infection from being run down.  Treatment effects everyone differently.
But there is relief for the symptoms your having.  No your age and looking older from treatment is common.  Been there.  One of the medications your taking has had the same effects on many people.  What concerns me is the super uncoordinated symptom.   You should see your Primary Care Doctor and get something for your mouth, skin and let them know your feeling unstable.   No its not fun.   But you can do this.  This hep c treatment stuff can be very difficult.  

Hang in there and let us know what happens