i cant continue tx more

[alijee]

i have finished my 7th week. i get 3 shot in week and 1200 mg riba / day. Before tx weight was 53 kg and now is 48 kg. After 5 weeks hgb was 12.8.  My problem is weakness. My weight is going down. i cant stand for 3 minutes. I m affraid that i will have to discontinue tx but i dont want to stopp tx. I know weakness is general side effects of tx but it unbearable for me as im already too weak. Doc gave me vidaylin-T and arcaion for weakness. they help me little. Depression is also my problem. i try to take ADs but they make me dizzy, nausia and loss of appetite. help help plz help.
last night i had chest pain. i could not breathe in full due to that pain. if i take breathe half in it is ok. whenever i take breathe in full pain starts. Some times it is at left side.

[alijee]

yes i will try to my best. thnk you very much. i feel some times worst becuase i m not on ADs. Ads make me dizzy nauseatic and lazzy.

[scruples]

nice to see that you are feeling well now... keep it up... May Allah bless you with complete health.

Dont loose hear and DONT GIVE UP. we have to kill this monster and inshAllah we will

[alijee]

hi all who gave me response. Thank you all. i m feeling better today than yesterday. yesterday was very bad day for me. i cried first time on my tx. it was very bad. i thougt i was dying due to tx. I have prepare myself to get start 8th week today.

to mkp13

my hgb at the start of tx was 14.2 after two weeks 14.5 after four week 14.7 after 5 weeks 14.8 and now i dont know where is it running.

to Force

thank you very much for daily quotes. it will really help me.


to Jankar

i talked to doc for high dose of riba on 29.10.08. he said that it is usefull for svr. and he will give me as long as i cant bear this and will down the dose when hemo will go at 10


to Scruples.

thank scruples. i try a lot to eat well but i have to eat with great care and choice. because i have diarhea problem.

[Force]

I am going to try to find motivational quotes for you daily to keep you positive!

Today's

"If you strike me down (Hep C), I will become more powerful, than you can possibly imagine." -Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ep. IV  

The Force be with you!

[Xenigma]

You know, instead of quitting tx, maybe just drop one of your riba pills and see if that helps.  I don't advocate doing that, but in your situation one less pill is better than no tx at all. I know you want to continue but are finding it hard.
I would also check your heart and lungs.  Not being able to take a deep breath is concerning.

[mkp13]

I've found that weakness comes more from rapid decline in hemoglobin than the absolute level.  If you drop a bunch in a week or two, you feel VERY weak.  But once it stabilizes the lower level becomes just fine.  I don't know where you started, so it's hard to tell the rate of decline.  I went from 13.3 down to 9.6 over a couple of months, but the drop from 13.3 to 10.2 in 2-3 weeks is what felt awful.  Now that I'm used to it, steady at around 10 feels OK.

BUT...
You should be measuring hemoglobin every week or two for the first couple of months because it can drop fast.  I'm most worried about the chest pain thing.  Heart problems are one of the rare side-effects of treatment.  I'd consider that level of pain to be an emergency and would call my doc immediately.

Good luck.

[desrt]

Both IFN alpha 2a and IFN alpha 2b come in pegylated and non-pegylated forms. Non-PEG only has a half-life of about 8 hours (I think) and is hardly ever used if PEG is available/affordable. There is also 'Consensus IFN' which is only available as a non-PEG.

[jankar]

I though Alpha 2b was a pegylated interferon?  I take Pegylated interferon alpha-2a - 180 mcg every week on a Friday night. I also take 1200 mg riba per day and I weigh 75 kg's.  I think you could drop the riba as a first step to sorting this out - it seems you are taking too much.  Ask your doctor why you are taking that much.  One step at a time - you have gone so far, I think endurance is the key and never give up - you will get better - we know we have better days and bad days.  Drink lots of water, try to eat well and just rest as much as you can.  The less I do when I feel bad, the more I can cope that day and the one after.  When I was feeling dizzy and ill, my doctor was taking regular blood tests to check hgb - weekly at least and on the end of the phone.  The dizziness kind of went away, sort of.  Maybe I am managing better?

[desrt]

Non-pegylated IFN is a harsh treatment. It sounds like you are taking way too much ribavirin - 1200 mg is what I was taking at 100 kg. You should be having your blood checked more often - just because your hgb was 12.8 two weeks ago is no indication of what it is now. You'll have to stick with the IFN to have a chance at clearing  -  non-peg isn't the best IFN under the best circumstances. I would get the hgb checked immediately.

[NancyPF]

I was told by my hepatologist not to take St. John's Wort while on tx.  Not sure how accurate that is.  Anybody know?

Nancy

[fretboard]

Since I've heard you mention depression before, it makes me wonder how much your depression is messing with your head.  I suggest you get some amino acids.  Trust me on this, amino acids work wonders for depression.  Personally I've never tried St. John's Wort yet, but I have a book on it and it certainly praises it's affect on depression as well.  Also, no sx's with the amino acids, I mean from the aminos. lol Make sure you buy ones without iron.  Amino acids are made to cure anything from making your mind more alert, eyesight to pain in your joints.  I’ve been taking aminos for a long time, off and on for well over 5 years.  good luck and God Bless.

[scruples]

Hgb of 12.8 is not bad at all. Belive me its not bad at all. i used to be hovering around 11 and most ppl go down to 10. In pak normally ppl have hgb of 12.5 to 13 ( even not on tx) you are not so anemic, the weakness may be due to inappropirate food. Just remember taht your body needs more energy during tx then ever before. Increaase your food (healthy one) even you dont want to eat it. take it as meds. take rest and take sufficient water. Just eat something immediately after or just before the shot. how you are taking your riba ... are you taking it with food having fat, if not then you are the one who is increasing sx... its really harsh to take riba without fatty food,,, (it really kills me).... take juices and avoid un-necessary meds.

[alijee]

i take interferon alpha 2b  3 MIU three times in a week. perhaps it is called standard interferon.

Doc advised me for blood test and check up after 9 weeks. i have finished my 7 week today. Dont know what will happen in next 2 weeks. i dont believe i will manage to take medicine 2 weeks more.

[koala68]

It is not uncommon to loose weight during treatment. At 12.8 your hgb is still ok, but you should make sure it does not drop too low. Regular blood tests to monitor this are important. If your doctor see it drop too much, he could prescribe you the rescue drugs but I am not sure if Vidaylin-T and arcaion are what you need here. We usually get neupogen/procrit. From what I understand it can take several days before they start to help.
If I remember well, the typical weight based Ribavirin dose is around 15 mg/Kg so you are well above this even when you started at 53Kg. How much interferon do you get at each shot? Otherwise, you might want to consider lowering the Interferon/Riba intake to prevent you from having to interrupt your treatment completely.
Good luck!