started antidepressents today

[mrbill]

first i would like to apologize to all that i am obviously offending by posting my concerned questions. i am asking these questions cause, i feel there are people out there that can help. i honestly didnt think it would offend and get on peoples nerves like it seems to be from my last post. yes i am an anxious person, even prior to the hepc thing and thats why i made an appointment to finnally deal with it, before finding out about the viral load. i'm sorry but, having all that blood work, shocking news, and waiting for results is a lil nerve wrecking. i am trying, believe me. i went for an ultrasound this morning, then straight to the psyc doc for my first appointment. i explained everything and gave him the paper from my doc that explained about peg/ribivarin sides. i told him specifically, i am short tempered and worry alot about things, plus depression, off and on. he said as far as the anxiety, he thinks its the diagnose of hepc and its normal. he is wrong. if he doesnt help soon, i will see someone else, plain and simple. as far as the outburst of temper, he said maybe next visit, in 2 weeks we will deal with that, maybe he said, he give me valium, or some antiseezure drug that helps.  although, i never had seezures, he said it works for tempers. as far as depression, he gave me 100mg tablets of WELLBUTRIN. he instructed i take 1 in the morn, and 1 at night, then after a week, 2 in the morn, and 1 at night. he said, he didnt wanna load me up on pills incase i have some side effect, he wouldnt be able to tell what its from. i hope everyone is well.
GODBLESS
Bill

[willing]

I was a mess for my first 4 months; exhausted, suicidal, lots of skin problems, infections that refused to clear up, etc, etc. Now at week 26 and life's been pretty good for about two months. Let's enjoy it while it lasts - from a number of posts it sounds like there's more thrills at the end of the ride...

[shebee]

aw, Mr. Bill....

This forum is here for you as it has been for me.  We whine here, cry here, and share our joys.

We also get answers...answers that we don't often get from our doctors.

I was so thankful to find this forum!  When hubby was told that he had hepC, (after seeing several doctors,) we thought that he was going to die, the children, and me, too!  What hell we went through.  Can you believe that I even started planning funerals? (that's the practical side of me.)

Everyone on this forum was wonderful and got me up to speed in just a few days.  

May you never have to go through hell,
Shebee

[minneapolis]

i felt great for the first 4 months. then sporatic problems, then at about 30 weeks i hit the wall and went on neupogen and procrit and vioxx, and vicodan for worse joint pain. and now with 4 shots to go i just plain feel like ****. i am missing about 12-16 hours of work a week. the heat and humidity at work just wears me out and makes me feel ill. so i get the heat thing. who knows. batten down the hatches and trip off the ride. i got to go find a vacant spot for this procrit. lynn

[Tweetie2]

Hey Mr Bill, as for the valium...I would ask questions to the doc. They are GOOD for an immediate response to the anxiety but are very addicting. I take xanax, even MORE addicting and can be deadly to kick the habit later (seizures) so I cut it down to just when I absolutely needed it. I've had doctors tell me that I shouldn't put ANYTHING thru my liver if I can help it. Of course, they're not living this hell either. I have the short temper thing too but have mellowed over the past 2 yrs and the doc's probably right about the diagnose causing it. The HepC doc will probably be of better help with the anxiety and outbursts of anger and the related meds. If he's good at what he does, he'll know what you're going thru and prescribe accordingly. I have finally decided to STOP worrying so much about something I can't control, it was (and is) tearing me up to the point of driving my husband crazy (he's been wonderful), along with everyone I know, whining about what was wrong with me. I had to finnally tell myself that I need to calm down and eat good foods, don't stress so much and be kind to myself.
Give yourself a break and calm down....we're all together here!

[doll face]

Wellbutin (weight gain) remeron (was always tired, and if I forgot to take it watch out) zoloft ( seems to work the best for me with least amount of sides) I have tried them all, just keep looking till you find the one that works the best for you. But don't give up till you do I would never be able to make it through the tx without the antidepressants.Good luck.

[tuna]

Thanks for the info. No I havent tried any of the ad's you mentioned, as for now my sides are very mild and I'm doing good except sat &Sun after shot lots of body aches.

[latrobe]

prozac   zoloft  paxil  celexa...the are the ssri's that seem to have some effect on anxiety as well as depressiion. of course a lot of times if you can beat the depression the anxiety also diminishes. have you tried any of these?
best,
-m.

[oldhippiechick67]

Thanks for your well wishes, and Lynn Mpls, you crack me up...your sister yawning "oh Im so TIRED"  I can relate.  I am only on shot 5. Hopi & Tuna, I am 54 (if I had known I was gonna live this long I woulda taken better care of myself!) I was living large in MPLS 67-70, out to SanFran/SanRafael in the 70s I hitch-hiked out there (OMG cant believe I did that). Then I ended up in AZ in 73 I think, where I still am.  I called the mail order pharmacy where I get my meds from and told the girl I had a question for the pharmacist about my Pegasys.  She said "thats a flying horse"  I said ya, I kno, but its also a medication.  Good Grief Charlie Brown.  I'm gonna pad my wall so when I knock my head against it, it wont hurt so much LOL!!

[tuna]

What antidepressents address the anxiety/panic side of depression? I've used xanax its great for anxiety but tends to be addictive,I was taken off ad's as I tended to have anxiety attacks when I took them. I have xanax for emergency's. thanks.

[cmurphy]

Sorry you are having such a tough time.  Keep your eye on the prize and take it one day at a time.

[hopiangel]

Yep, I remember it all clearly now.  If that is possible after tx.  I had a hard time, but I finally got Depakote and Ambien from the shrink.  Then the regular Dr. gave me Fiorinal for the headaches and pain.  All in all, I was more comfortable at that point than I was prior to taking those particular meds.  It helped with the sides a little.  At least I got sleep with the Ambien and keep a lid on the rage with Depakote.  Truthfully, the Fiorinal didn't touch any pain. But just like you, the Dr. said he just didn't want to give me codeine with the Fiorinal anymore. What is their problem???????  I mean really..At my age (60), MAKE ME COMFORTABLE!  That's where I was at then.  I never posed a problem  when I took codeine before!  Idiots.  Anyway, brain fog and all, hang in there, it'll pay off. They wouldn't give my husband anything! My husband has been virus undetectable for 3 yrs and me for 4 months now off tx.
Bless you  *hopiangel*

[lizzee]

My  Dr.. gave me ativan for my anxiety. Helped me alot.
Everything will be ok........just have to take things as they come. If they do..lets hope not!
I know u r nervous..I can remember being a nervous wreck. Kept telling myself, I have to do this, for my health.
Lize

[oldhippiechick67]

sorry thought I could edit it before I posted it (brain fog!)  I meant to add the "dr you sent me to you moron "  lol, gads I felt like crying.  And then he says he hates to give me any narcotics for my headaches, try Tylenol.  OMG I have, I HAVE!!you #*($#*$(@#%&!! You told me Motrin was bad for my liver, my GI said to take it 3 times a day 800mg if needed!!  Its NOT HELPING, I feel like my head is in a VICE most of my waking hrs.  I feel like I'm on an amusement park ride spinning and spinning and it wont STOP!     Sorry for ranting, Im just so exasperated with them!  If I was that bad at my job I woulda been fired long ago...and yet they keep making $ giving bad advice.    They get to live in nice houses and drive nice cars and  are AFRAID to give lil ol me some flippin codeine fer **** sakes!!       All for now, I gotta go lay down, that wore me out!  hugs to all!  OHC67

[tuna]

I had to laugh at your postto mrbill/ooops I thought I was the only who got statements from docs like that!!!! Hope all works out for you. I'm on #4 and doing pretty good now.The wait'in and the list of sides is as far as I'm concerened the worst part. Best to all.ohc67 where are you from? like your name I'm 57 and I guess I could be called a old hippie, spent a lot of time in Topanga Cny in the L.A. area in the 60's.

[harley dude]

Sorry Mr. Bill I'm breaking in with a question to everyone. Ok, My first 4 weeks were awful, so awful my daily routine was wake up from bed and go straight to the couch, then straight from the couch back to bed. Could not even think about working, now the fith week I started feeling better, the 6th week I was doing yard work 6 hours a day,(my house and yard looks great), I wasn't even feeling bad after my shots. I went back to work (I work outdoors in LA. and it is hot as hell right now) and that didn't even bother me, my sides are barely noticeable now, What do ya'll think is really going on. -- HD

[hopiangel]

Sounds like you are one of the lucky ones like my husband.  The sides improved after a time for him too.  Mine stayed the same for the whole time.  Yep, old hippies never die.  It's amazing how many of us still ride and have had this ghastly disease.  Hep C is so weird.  I got it 30 yrs. ago!  Last year it popped up!  It's in "remission" now, or virus undetectable as my doctor says. Hang in there and live life......ride.  *hopiangel*

[AK - Hepper]

Mr. Bill, you don't need to apologize for posting, you have livened things up around here quite a bit. Keep it up!

HD, I started to feel a little better after about 4 weeks but I sure wouldn't have been up to doing yard work, especially in all that heat down there. Sometimes I'll have a pretty decent week and think I'm gonna start coasting, then I get slammed again like last week. I had one good day last week, Thursday, the rest was screwed.Don't seem to be able to put 2 good weeks together in a row for some reason. This stuff is just totally unpredictable.

[giddyup]

Just thought I'd let you know that I met with my doctor this week and he gave me ativan Instead of valium. He said it's an  anti-anxiety pill that is not processed in the liver as much as valium. He also said that welbutrin would not need to be lowered gradually because it stays in your system longer then paxil.

[oldhippiechick67]

The ultrasound tech probably has a good idea what the test shows, but they are not allowed to give you the diagnosis or what they see, that is the Docs job.  Hope the Wellbutrin helps.  I know how frustrating it is to get a dr that doesnt know squat.  Both my GP and Hep/GI doc have blown my mind by not knowing my history or what to do with me...for instance, the Hep dr told me to go see my GP about the nose bleeds, (which is probly caused by the tx meds) so I go to him and he says "maybe you should go see an ENT dr about that" and I said well its probly caused by the tx meds....he said "Oh what are you having tx for?"   DOOHHH!  I said Hep C   He said "Uh how long does that last?"  I said  "48 weeks!"  Him - "maybe we should ck your platelets"  I said "Just had them ck'd by the GI dr  "Oh who are you seeing?"   Grrrrrr  - felt like saying the one you MORON!!  I cant believe I am paying you !!  I may as well be talking to the bag lady  for all the good you are doing me!

[minneapolis]

are you sure you are ready to start treatment. you got to be serious with your dr about how you feel. you got to have your head together. i have used this forum as a sounding board (sorry to those who had to read it) though never let anyone at work or home get to me until this weekend when my sister called and started yawning, talking about she was tired. i think i said something like, you want tired i'll tell you about tired, week 43 is tired. anyway, get your head together.   lynn

[fullofhope]

I am in the same situation you are right now...panic mode.  I understand where you are coming from in every post and feel your pain, as I am sure everyone here does.

Don't stop expressing yourself or your questions, because there are many people on these posts (old and new) that can benefit.  You just might find something in your quest for knowledge that someone hasn't come across yet - you might open the floor about a topic that one of us either didn't want to initiate or were afraid to.

Mikesimon is a wonderful source of information - I am new here - but if it was his post - I am certain he meant only to let you know that you are not alone in the way you feel and perhaps help you get by the "panic" trap and move on towards your recovery.

I get into those modes where I feel like I can deal with this and the sooner I get on treatment the better - I will just have to do what I have to do.  Then there are those days where the doom feeling overpowers and I need immediate answers and reassurance.

I am waiting for my blood results for the viral load and liver enzyme tests...and the closer I get to the appointment the more obsessed I become and I am finding it harder and harder to concentrate on work.

If you want to talk to me you can e-mail me at ***@****

[layla]

I can cetainly sympathise with having a lot of question. I still think somewhere in the back of my head if I keep asking questions someone is going to tell me "hey it's no probem, here is the answer for the cure which fits everyone". I keep rereading the same sites thinking I must have missed that part. Drives me nuts sometimes. I wish there was only one answer( and that it was always positive) It's all overwhelming at times but like the others said after awhile it will settle down but there is no magic answer soemone can give you, only the known facts at the time and support. I find if I keep busy doing something to keep my mind off from HCV that helps too.

[mrbill]

he did metion something like that for anxiety. i did forgot to ask him if wellbutrin has any effect once you stop. i would guess they gradually take you off it. i am sorry about jumping the gun,thinking  i might have aggitated anyone in my questions. another part of my problems is taking things wrong. GOD i'm a mess. the doc said, just think of lance armstrong and how he overcame all odds. i thought that was a good point. the ultrasound was kinda weird, completley painless though. she said i gotta wait again for results. i thought they can see right there on the screen. i am glad i lost some weight though, cause when they rub that jelly on your belly with the wand like thingie, i would have really felt and looked pregnant, if they did this 6months ago. lol.
GODBLESS
Bill

[latrobe]

if mmike was bothered by your post he would clearly state that. he's trying to help. try not to read into it. he's post was clear, and sympathetic. actully if you were botherinng anyone here you'd hear it loud and clear.

it doesnt sound like the psych doctor you saw wasnt listening to you very well.  there are many folks that  find wellbutrin just fine for treatment. give it a try and see. there are antidepressants that address the anxiety/panic part of depression. the wellbutrin is an okay palce to start. as wiht many of the sertoni uptake drugs, it won't work over night. be patient.

have you tried xanac for the anxiety?
-m.