Aa
treatment
ive been on ribavirin and interfeuron for a month now. my throat and tounge and gums are becoming severly raw. is this a normal side affect to hep c treatments?i already have a time tryin to eat and keep the food down, now i have 2 worry about throwing it back up through a raw throat.
"ps.....i do need to try and drink more fluids period.....i just figure no fluids is better than trying then throwing the fluid and then stomache acid and all my insides back up and making myself even more dehydrated..."
Please try to change this thinking!!! You can die from dehydration... you HAVE to replace the fluid you throw up. Just think about those acids in your stomach... if they are diluted by water, they won't be as concentrated, and won't burn your throat and mouth as much. Also, being dehydrated can cause your body to ache more.
Please try to change this thinking!!! You can die from dehydration... you HAVE to replace the fluid you throw up. Just think about those acids in your stomach... if they are diluted by water, they won't be as concentrated, and won't burn your throat and mouth as much. Also, being dehydrated can cause your body to ache more.
thank u 4 the support.....i have had a long history of clinical depression....currently on celexa and nortriptilyne...im still "sad" but at the same time i can fake a smile now as where in the past even that was impossible.....this side effects just drag me way down...and im 25 it just sux to have all this wrong with me....i guess u could say im still in the "mad" phase right after "denial".....all this lupus testing is driving my mad also....do i have it or am i just crazy and driving myself into the physical pain???? is that possible???? am i telling my body to hurt???? the docs dont want me to take NSAIDS or asprin or tylenol....so its like ok what am i supposed to ask for for all these pains muscle aches....ect.....i hate asking ne one for ne thing....but really what the hell are we supposed to take with a damaged liver???? just be in that constant pain???? thanx again to ALL for the support......ps.....i do need to try and drink more fluids period.....i just figure no fluids is better than trying then throwing the fluid and then stomache acid and all my insides back up and making myself even more dehydrated....
I know you are feeling rough and having little ones makes it that much more tougher. Try hard not to give up. Many of us here have had the same geno type as you and beat it. The tx carries a multitude of symptoms. I believe I had them all.
Depression is also one of the symptoms. Also, I see you have a little one - 4 months? The depression may be more severe since recently having a baby. Unless I missed it I didn't see that you are on anything for depression. Please see your doctor about this.
As Diane stated about "water" lots and lots of water - just keep it with you at all times. And Bill mentioned yougurt. I drank yacult daily - small drink, full of probotics. It will help you absorb your vitimins. I also made a protein drink daily. I bought myself a single hand mixer and the designer whey with fruit and fruit juice.
Hang in there Manda and remember we will give you support to help you through.
Depression is also one of the symptoms. Also, I see you have a little one - 4 months? The depression may be more severe since recently having a baby. Unless I missed it I didn't see that you are on anything for depression. Please see your doctor about this.
As Diane stated about "water" lots and lots of water - just keep it with you at all times. And Bill mentioned yougurt. I drank yacult daily - small drink, full of probotics. It will help you absorb your vitimins. I also made a protein drink daily. I bought myself a single hand mixer and the designer whey with fruit and fruit juice.
Hang in there Manda and remember we will give you support to help you through.
I'm so sorry you are having such a rough time. I'm a month ahead of you and very glad that I don't share your troubles yet. I'm wondering though, are you drinking enough water. To me, the thought of drinking water when I felt nauseas was foreign, but Nygirl7, one of the top posters on here told me to make sure I drank half my body weight in ounces each day, and I discovered that on the days I wasn't watching, I'd start feeling nauseas, and then I'd remember that I hadn't had any water in a while, drink some, and start feeling better in a few minutes. I also remember having sore gums and sore spots on my tongue on occasion, but like I said, I was drinking lots of water, and that may be why it didn't get worse.
Try increasing the water as much as you can stand, then lay still and give it a chance to get into your bloodstream. Being dehydrated from throwing up is going to make you really weak too. I know you want to be able to play with your kids, but you have to understand what kind of battle is going on inside of your body, and give it all the support it needs to win that battle, which means Momma HAS TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF MOMMA. You are being a good mother to your kids when you take care of yourself... they need you for lots of years, and when you are done with this battle and don't have to worry about it any more, you'll be glad you hung in there. I'm 1a too. Don't let yourself think glass half empty... you have to think glass half full... YOU ARE GOING TO CLEAR THE VIRUS... the future for you and your kids is worth what you are going through right now. I have decided to think this way, and sometimes that stupid voice that bugs us all will say,"yeah, and what if you don't clear it?" To which I reply, until I KNOW I didn't clear it, I will believe I WILL, and cross that bridge when I come to it.
Here's a thought... when my kids were little and I didn't feel good, I'd get a blanket and lay on the floor and let them play on the blanket next to me. They seemed happy that I was there and listening to them blabber, and that I was looking at them when they looked at me. I think that knowing you are interested in them is much more important to them than your ability to actually PLAY with them... then maybe you wouldn't feel as guilty about taking care of yourself.
Hang in there... you can make it... and DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!
Try increasing the water as much as you can stand, then lay still and give it a chance to get into your bloodstream. Being dehydrated from throwing up is going to make you really weak too. I know you want to be able to play with your kids, but you have to understand what kind of battle is going on inside of your body, and give it all the support it needs to win that battle, which means Momma HAS TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF MOMMA. You are being a good mother to your kids when you take care of yourself... they need you for lots of years, and when you are done with this battle and don't have to worry about it any more, you'll be glad you hung in there. I'm 1a too. Don't let yourself think glass half empty... you have to think glass half full... YOU ARE GOING TO CLEAR THE VIRUS... the future for you and your kids is worth what you are going through right now. I have decided to think this way, and sometimes that stupid voice that bugs us all will say,"yeah, and what if you don't clear it?" To which I reply, until I KNOW I didn't clear it, I will believe I WILL, and cross that bridge when I come to it.
Here's a thought... when my kids were little and I didn't feel good, I'd get a blanket and lay on the floor and let them play on the blanket next to me. They seemed happy that I was there and listening to them blabber, and that I was looking at them when they looked at me. I think that knowing you are interested in them is much more important to them than your ability to actually PLAY with them... then maybe you wouldn't feel as guilty about taking care of yourself.
Hang in there... you can make it... and DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!
A number of HCV patients don’t have a history of IV drug use or share any other typical routes of exposure. Try not to worry yourself over how you might have contracted it; it’s much better to put your energy into getting rid of it.
You should be able to have your four month old tested for HCV antibodies when she’s 1.5 years old; short of that isn’t reliable because infants can carry maternal antibodies. If this continues to cause stress, ask the doctor if testing your child via PCR assay is indicated; it might alleviate (or confirm) your fears. Keep in mind that vertical transmission of HCV (from mother to child) is thought to be around 5%; really pretty remote, although it does occur, unfortunately.
It’s wonderful that your bloodwork is being managed by oncology/hematology; hopefully, they’ll be on top of cutting-edge management techniques. There are ‘rescue’ drugs such as the Neupogen I mentioned earlier, as well as ‘Procrit’ for red cell production should you require it. Both these drugs can greatly increase quality of life through treatment, as well as success by keeping you up to full HCV drug dose.
Try to keep your weight up as best you can; think of food as medicine, rather than something to take in for pleasure. Yogurt, ice cream are good. Try to eat things like plain white rice; it nutritious and considered a ‘neutral’ food in Asia; if you can sneak in little bits of protein, that’s good too. Maybe unseasoned chicken breast or something without too much odor or flavor might be tolerable. They make ready to eat rice now in foil packets that can be microwaved and good to eat in literally minutes. Fresh fruit is an easy fast food that doesn’t require much prep; it’s summer; think frozen green grapes :o)!\
Be well—
--Bill
You should be able to have your four month old tested for HCV antibodies when she’s 1.5 years old; short of that isn’t reliable because infants can carry maternal antibodies. If this continues to cause stress, ask the doctor if testing your child via PCR assay is indicated; it might alleviate (or confirm) your fears. Keep in mind that vertical transmission of HCV (from mother to child) is thought to be around 5%; really pretty remote, although it does occur, unfortunately.
It’s wonderful that your bloodwork is being managed by oncology/hematology; hopefully, they’ll be on top of cutting-edge management techniques. There are ‘rescue’ drugs such as the Neupogen I mentioned earlier, as well as ‘Procrit’ for red cell production should you require it. Both these drugs can greatly increase quality of life through treatment, as well as success by keeping you up to full HCV drug dose.
Try to keep your weight up as best you can; think of food as medicine, rather than something to take in for pleasure. Yogurt, ice cream are good. Try to eat things like plain white rice; it nutritious and considered a ‘neutral’ food in Asia; if you can sneak in little bits of protein, that’s good too. Maybe unseasoned chicken breast or something without too much odor or flavor might be tolerable. They make ready to eat rice now in foil packets that can be microwaved and good to eat in literally minutes. Fresh fruit is an easy fast food that doesn’t require much prep; it’s summer; think frozen green grapes :o)!\
Be well—
--Bill
thank u again for your time, support, and answers. it is all greatly appreciated. i do have wonderful doctors. i go to my family doc several times a month. she runs labs and tests on me nonstop to try and figure out what else is wrong with me. she is the one who discovered my hep c...i was breast feeding my one month old and developed mastitus... but everything hurt....my legs have been hurting for years. ive never had energy...im anemic and she was concerned. i had had a negative hep c test in sept 09 at a prenatal visit...then in march when they done a liver panel and hep test it was positive...its so frustrating....ive never injected drugs or received blood...i did live a "wild" lifestyle in my teens...drinking and being promiscuous....im terrified i passed hep c onto my 4 month old through breestfeeding because at the time i had no idea!!! im so depressed and just dont know about anything anymore...on top of my family dr i go to an oncologist once a week for my injection and labs...my viral load was not very very high i guess because its a fairly early infection...around 6,000 or so...but thank U once again for your time and support and answers....
Yes, unfortunately hair loss (alopecia) affects may of us during interferon treatment. The good thing is that it’s temporary, and it’ll grow back after therapy is finished. You might also get some graying or changes in texture and color; it is temporary, though. It won’t fall out in clumps like with cancer chemo, but it tends to thin; sometimes by up to 40-50%.
The values on your blood test to monitor that measure your immune system (white cells) are called ‘absolute neutrofils’. If these approach .50, they will most likely discuss intervention, either with dose reduction of interferon, or by introducing ‘Neupogen’, which stimulates bone marrow production of white cells. The later is preferable in terms of treatment success.
Try to keep going as long as you possibly can. As a genotype 1 patient, you have around 45-50% chance of success with the current treatment; your odds are drastically reduced if you don’t complete a full course of therapy. Have you had a viral load test yet? If you haven’t had one at four weeks, you’ll certainly get one at 90 days. These results can give you really good incentive to keep at it.
I know, it’s hard; I treated two times for a total of 152 weeks, but was finally successful.
Good luck, and welcome again—
Bill
The values on your blood test to monitor that measure your immune system (white cells) are called ‘absolute neutrofils’. If these approach .50, they will most likely discuss intervention, either with dose reduction of interferon, or by introducing ‘Neupogen’, which stimulates bone marrow production of white cells. The later is preferable in terms of treatment success.
Try to keep going as long as you possibly can. As a genotype 1 patient, you have around 45-50% chance of success with the current treatment; your odds are drastically reduced if you don’t complete a full course of therapy. Have you had a viral load test yet? If you haven’t had one at four weeks, you’ll certainly get one at 90 days. These results can give you really good incentive to keep at it.
I know, it’s hard; I treated two times for a total of 152 weeks, but was finally successful.
Good luck, and welcome again—
Bill
thanx a bunch for your answer. my white blood cells were actually elevated slightly about a week ago. i hadnt even thought of that causing this though. just one more side effect for me!! i honestly think im going to give up the treatment at month 3. i have type 1a. its a 50-50 shot. a year of all this and it might not even be worth it. i have 3 young children and all i want to do is play with them and that just impossible right now for me. i do try to srink an ensure or 2 a day because there have been times i have went 3 days without food. ive dropped 15 lbs in one month. this is just frustrating. thank you....is hair loss also a symptom??? or could that be connected to my positive lupus test????
Hi there, and welcome to the forum.
Yeah, you might have developed an infection as a result of suppressed white blood cells. Fungal, thrush-type stuff is somewhat common. Ask your doctor about it, they might prescribe a swish-and-swallow solution called ‘magic mouth wash’ that can help.
Also important will be to make sure your blood is being adequately monitored; how often do they send you for labs? Interferon can suppress both red and white blood cells, leading to an increased risk for infections and other problems.
Can you manage fruit/yogurt smoothies, or even stuff like Boost, that can be bought at the store? Some of us practically lived on ice cream through treatment, because it was palatable.
Be sure to tell your doctor about this, it’s most likely manageable.
Good luck—
--Bill
Yeah, you might have developed an infection as a result of suppressed white blood cells. Fungal, thrush-type stuff is somewhat common. Ask your doctor about it, they might prescribe a swish-and-swallow solution called ‘magic mouth wash’ that can help.
Also important will be to make sure your blood is being adequately monitored; how often do they send you for labs? Interferon can suppress both red and white blood cells, leading to an increased risk for infections and other problems.
Can you manage fruit/yogurt smoothies, or even stuff like Boost, that can be bought at the store? Some of us practically lived on ice cream through treatment, because it was palatable.
Be sure to tell your doctor about this, it’s most likely manageable.
Good luck—
--Bill
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