update- and TnHepGuy

[doll face]

This is my second week off of tx and thought I would update you on my recovery.

The first week went really good (probably because I was in Cancun for 5 days)but since I have been home, I seem to be getting worse. My bones hurt more now than when on tx, my skin and hair are drier than ever and the brain fog is getting thicker. I hope this doesn't last too much longer,starting to wish I was still doing my shots (okay maybe not)I guess after 72 straight weeks of feeling like a got ran over by a truck,it will take some time to recover.

Has anyone heard from TnHepGuy?  I know that his dad was having problems and that he was going to go there to help out but I haven't heard from him since he left. He was having a really hard time with his own sides before he left and I am concerned about him. If anyone hears from him tell him to email me when he gets a chance.

Tn Guy- If you get a chance to read this my prayers are with you and your family.

[lackalustre]

ive been off tx. for over a year, am clear but have been very slow to get back to norm.     ive talked to people who have taken 2 years to regain their mental  and physical health.  everyones different. our age, our quality of life before tx. and etc.    some days are better than some. and some days i feel totally normal for some of the day but  this stuff lets you know  you took some powerful stuff!!!!  all in all im grateful.

[PhilaGuy]

Wow, I'm so sorry you're feeling crappy, but your post was good for me to hear.  I've had much the same experience.  I completed treatment about 4 weeks ago (24/24), and felt fine afterwards.  Then about a week or two after my last shot, I started feeling really weird...very dizzy with tons of brain fog just rolling in.  It was worse than when I was on treatment (which really wasn't bad at all).  Luckily, I'm feeling much better now and hoping for the "all clear" in January!  Best of luck to you!

[doll face]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences with me. This is much harder for me to go through than the tx was. It seems on top of everything I have pulled all the muscles in the left side of my back somehow and having muscle spasams.I told my husband last night that I wanted to go back on the interferon because it didn't hurt so bad then.

But...I will continue to take it easy and get through this also.I know it will get better but right now it doesn't feel like it.

I hope all of you are doing well. Thanks again.

[Amerabrit]

I'm sorry to read you are having health issues..  I hope your body sorts itself out as soon as possible and you can put HCV behind you, for good!  If you speak to David (TnHepGuy), please give him my best also, I have noticed his absence:(

[cuteus]

me too! first week I was good, this week is  ugh! so I sneaked a half dose of IFN, just for the heck of it.  My NP sais it will take about 4 wks for the IFN to be out of my system, and about 5 months for the riba. I just hope most of the pre tx aches leave for good or diminish considerably. so far so good on my thyroid, still low on hgb, so the IFN should not make it worse, if I remember correctly. neutrophils came back up on their own before end of tx.
All I want is not to feel worse than pre tx, not much to ask.

[layla]

The hair and brain fog was terrible right after tx but it ended up being my thyroid meds needed an increase. I've since had two increase. As for my other sx from tx they did not start going away until a full month after finishing tx. Hang in there, it will happen. LL

[DoubleDose]

Your situation is very similar to what I experienced.  About 10 days to two weeks after finishing tx I went from feeling incredibly great, to feeling like I was being bombarded from all directions.  My joints, especially neck and back hurt more deeply than ever before.  My energy level went from sky high to almost zero, and my stomach and eyes both began bothering me more than ever in the past.  That was 13 months ago, after finishing tx, and I was sure that I had relapsed.  Fortunately all follow up PCR's showed 'undetectable', and I was lucky to have achieved SVR....BUT..at a price.  The after-effects of therapy still linger, though much less than the first six months after tx.  I still have frequent joint and muscle pain, my stamina is not yet up to normal levels, but is improving.  I frequently feel unmotivated, or slightly depressed....where on therapy I felt very motivated for some reason.  The biggest ongoing issue for me is extreme dry-eye, and eye irritation problems.  I also feel lots of neck and shoulder pains, but some of that is possibly due to pre-existing skeletal condition that I have had for years.  It just feels lots worse after tx.  

I still do not have great stamina when running or exercising, which I DID have, to a good degree, during the years before therapy.  I have also been placed on Synthroid, for a mildly slow or 'hypo' thyroid due to the effects of tx.  I feel slightly better as a result, but honestly the thyroid medication has not accomplished as much as I had hoped.  I have brought my TSH level down to near 1.0, from the 6 to 8 range after tx.

Hang in there, and don't expect overnight changes, even though you may end up SVR.  I think that the interferon causes some BIG changes, that may take a long time to fade away.  Let's just hope that they DO fade away.  I still feel much better having eradicated the virus.  I think you will too.  Also, my post-tx problems are slowly improving overall.    Good luck!

Doubledose

[Micro2]

I have been off tx now for 25 weeks(after 92 weeks of tx). The first 4-6 weeks I actually felt worse. Things are getting better but at a snails pace. Docs are working with me. I still am unable to work. Expectations are at least 6 more months to a year. This is only my story as many have recovered much sooner. I pray that yours will be soon also. Good luck!!!