red spot on cheek

[mrvacation]

I am a 53 year old man with Genotype 2B Hepatitis C, and my viral load was 1,630,000 IU per ml at start of treatment..  I had applied for life insurance in 1994 and found out then.  At that time, I did a 6 month treatment of Intron-A without riboviron and it made my ALT and AST loads in the normal range for years but did not clear the virus.
I am now in my 8th week of Pegasys 180 mcg and Ribasphere 1200 mg daily, and I started on Wellbutrin 100 mg but just started on 150 mg yesterday.  At my 4 week lab, my WBC was 2.0, Neutrophils were .1.0, my AST was 30 and my ALT was 48.  I do have  brain fog and fight daily to do my job.  I feel bad on the Friday night of injection, sleep off and on all weekend, and have been told that I am cranky and demanding by my wife.
I have a red spot on both sides of my check, near my eye, and they don't seem to respond to cortaid ointment.  No one at my job knows I have Hep C or that I am doing the treatment, but they keep asking about that spot.  Has anyone else had facial redness or spots during treatment?  
I am not scheduled to see my doctor again until first of January, and am looking forward to my 12th week lab for the HCV PCR.  Did most doctors wait until third month to re-test for viral load?  

[epiphiny]

I also got red spots around the same time in treatment and they were very slow to heal and disappear.  I had one right near the tear duct on my left eye, one on my cheek, one by my nose (which comes back now and then). On tx we are more prone to infection and small wounds take longer to heal.  I eventually tried an antibiotic cream and that seemed to help, also I have a cream that has hydrocortisone and antibods that was quite helpful.

To be honest tho, it was ultimately time that was the real solution.  If you don't want to tell people about the tx you could say you are on a liver cleansing type diet as that causes red spots when the body detoxes and can make you feel unwell.  Although I don't know if people spend 6 months on the liver cleansing diet!  Or you could say you are on chemo and leave it at that.

I am not sure of the protocols with Geno 2 (supposed to be the easiest to clear, btw) but the older protocols for 2 & 3 were test VL at week 12.  A lot more doctors are testing earlier these days, and you could request an earlier test if you wanted one.

All the best for your treatment!

Epi.

[Kristina538]

I developed a 'red spot' on my cheek early in tx (it looked as though someone had put a spot on my face with a marker and wasn't raised)...  It stayed some weeks and has now faded.    I had another on my arm which is also gone.

I also did the monotherapy in 1994 with the same lowered enzyme results but no SVR... apparently only 10-15% of people cleared with that tx!!!   I'm a G3a and in my 20th week of tx.  

Weeks 5-9 were the hardest for me as far as brain fog (I was functioning with a bubble around my head);   paracetamol helped heaps as I realised that I was in a state of 'mild discomfort' which made me more stressed (plus lots of water).     It all still happens but not to the same extent, and my partner has commented on how much better I am than in the first few months (I still have not so good days and weeks but I know it's going to pass!!)   Good luck to you both;  you've hit the 2 month mark which is huge and time should start going just a little faster now...

[Bill1954]

Hopefully you’ll resolve the virus during this course of treatment; genotype 2 patients currently have about an eighty percent chance of achieving SVR (Sustained Viral Response) with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

It would be a good idea to check viral load for response at four weeks, but with genotype 2, might not be as critical as genotyope 1.

The redness on your cheeks could be due to any number of reasons; treatment related or not. In the context of significant liver disease alone, spider angioma can be a sign of cirrhosis, and  is usually found on upper portions of the body; torso, upper arms, face, etc. Without knowledge of your liver condition it’s very hard to say.

Best bet is to consult with your treatment doctor, and seek his advice. If he can’t diagnose, a referral to a dermatologist might be in order.

Good luck with your treatment and results, and best wishes—

Bill

[lapis]

I'm in 5th week of tx.  No red spots on face yet : )

Maybe try applying Virgin Coconut Oil or even Castor Oil (found in laxative section of drug store or in skin care section of health food store) in case the red spots are from dryness.  Couldn't hurt, might help!

lapis