Attitude

[Dennis_]

Does anyone else have an incredibly short temper for the smallest issue ?  I hear that this is normal with this tx but cannot believe how mean I am.  This is not me.  How do you curb it ?  Just a little ?  Please ?  I mean, I came with an attitude but this ??  This is ridiculus.  

[gizmoesgirl]

I am on week 12 of tx and I am taking an antidepressant because my GI doctor recommended it.  Thank god he did because even with the meds I still find myself blowing up and getting angry all the time.  It's outrageous!!!!  I definately seem to like being alone and quite right now.  This way I don't upset anyone or hurt their feelings although it is hard to be alone soetimes with a husband and child!  Good luck with this and keep your head up.  if you are not onmeds for this yet definately get some they kind of help

Take care

[HARRYBEADS]

Not me, I'm calm as hell, it's everyone else!!!

Harry

[spcecst2]

Skip the ativan and go throw that laptop off the balcony!!!!!!!!!!!! And as it crashes into the ground yell "I'm not gonna take this sh$t no more"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Liz50]

Riba Rage is very real and very scary for the families of patients//Walrus said last night "Guess I really never had any riba rage" and I about passed out from shock...yeah, he DID have it and was not pleasant to live with for a long time until he began AD's. He just didn't see it in himself. I was seriously considering going elsewhere to live, his comments had me in tears a lot...and I KNEW it was the drugs. Now he's too sick to care, he barely can make it to work, much less be "raging" about anything. I think the Celexa just makes him calm enough to not care about much of anything, plus the low henatocrit....we have only one kid at home and she's never really here...so at least we don't have to worry about little ones. The grandkids just think Papa sleeps all the time...or is "hibernating" as one granddaughter thinks. Better than hollering at people, I guess. OR chucking a laptop off a balcony!! (I wish Walrus had enough energy to take a vacation---good for you, jd!)
Liz

[jdwithhcv]

Ok, while posting the above my internet connection crashed and it irked me so much I nearly threw my husband's laptop off the balcony of our lovely Mexican resort hotel.  Guess I'll take an ativan and give myself a timeout!

jd

[jdwithhcv]

You are not alone.  Some days I hardly know myself.  I find ativan most helpful.  I'm not taking a/d drugs myself because I just can't risk the side effects.  Like you I'm a very grateful cancer survivor and I had a really nightmarish drug withdrawal after tx for that so when I researched the anti-depressants and discovered how hard they can be to kick I decided to forego them.  Besides, its not depression I'm experiencing, its anxiety.  Ativan helps with that and I can take it as needed.

I have a very loving and supportive partner, which helps a great deal.  I need a lot of solitude on days when my attitude is bad so I indulge my need for alone time.  I also do my best to exercise a LOT of self-control.  I believe we, as cancer survivors, have a real leg up on many folks.  We have already faced a lot of our demons and don't let ourselves sweat the small stuff too much.  

Some days you just won't be fit company for anybody, but at least you know that.  Ask your doctor for some ativan.  Marijuana is also very helpful.

Good luck and keep on posting - it helps so much to vent and everybody here understands!

jd

[wyntre9]

Only now, after starting wellbutrin at week 59 or so (Now at week 62) do i realize how absolutely psychotic I have been for the past year!  My problem is that I moved 8 months ago and I am so out-of-my-mind that I may already have ruined my chances of finding friends in this teeny-tiny country town.  I have gone off on many local stores, clerks, my local doctor - and since they didn't know me before TX I guess they assume that's how i am.  Everyone knows everyone here so it may be a problem.  I've been branded the eccentric b!tch in the community!

My local Dr. and his nurses and office staff all think I'm demented.  But the wellbutrin has helped a lot.  I should have been taking it for the past year instead of the past month.

[l-horn]

The general response to this from people on tx is 'no and go fu/ck yourself.'

It's quite the paradox.

[Dennis_]

Be careful.  Please know that while it is valiant to try to do it without the medical "help" of the ADs or lexapro and such, it is very dangerous to be chemically depressed.  A little controlled tantrum is only where it begins.  Chemical depression or anger can be deadly.  You are my new friend and I am worried if you are fighting something that may help you.  Read these posts and see how many of the people on here have surrendered to the medical "help" and find that it has allowed them to continue the treatment right into being undetectable and save their life.  I could go on but I do not want to cross a line.  Just be careful with how strong you try to be.  We are not supermen and women.  

[spcecst2]

You can do it without! Just don't let yourself slip into depression it can come on fast! Myself I like feeling alive and when I did the lexapro it made me feel like I was just there!!!! Of course so does the treatment!! A little controled tantrum is OK!! Keep up the fight you'll be fine!!!!

[FloridaMouse]

I think I can do this without the Lexapro.  my tantrum seemed to be an isolated incident and I haven't lost my temper since.  When I feel myself getting edgy I sit down and take a lot of deep breaths.  So far my husband still loves me.  

Mouse

[spcecst2]

If you take the Lexapro, be careful when you come off and don't stop to fast I did cold turkey and that was a big mistake! Also when I first started taking them I use to get some strange dizzy feelings! I'm not taking them this round!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also it takes a couple of weeks to get used to taking them (and they start working) so if you think you need them start now!!!!!! Last time I took them I started a month before treatment!!

[Andiamo1]

Warnings and Contraindications

Anemia associated with the use of REBETOL in combination with interferon alfa-2b (REBETRON Combination Therapy) may exacerbate symptoms of coronary disease or deteriorate cardiac function. It is advised that complete blood counts (CBC) be obtained at baseline and at weeks 2 and 4 of therapy or more frequently if clinically indicated. The most common adverse experiences associated with REBETRON Combination Therapy are “flu-like” symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, myalgia and fever, which appear to decrease in severity as treatment continues. Severe psychiatric adverse events, including depression, psychoses, aggressive behavior, hallucinations, violent behavior (suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, suicides), and rare instances of homicidal ideation have occurred during combination REBETOL/INTRON A therapy, both in patients with and without a previous psychiatric disorder.

[sldb]

My hep asked me if i had any psych issues, i responded honestly with no .well i have been told by those closest to my that for 96 wks i was borderline  intolerable. Never heard of riba rage til i found medhelp post tx.  To be honest i didnt even recognize  the mean behavior i was sharing with the people closest to me. I have apologized.

[scratchinghead]

I'm not on treatment. But I know I get uptight if I'm not getting my exercise, no matter how small. It's a tough call I hear to be on tx and trying to get exercise at the same time. I have no proven answers.

[Dennis_]

Needless to say I don't know what it feels like to have PMS but I know what its like to be on the other side of PMS.  My wife has riba rage WITHOUT her medication because of PMS ... lol ... she calls it PMDD ... but I think that is a different forum.  

[Dennis_]

Exactly !!  

[medicmommy]

Hey, thanks for asking about this! I'm getting ready to start tx myself, and it is wonderful to have so much advice posted BEFORE I start...I especially like the idea of sitting the family down (and in my case my work family too) and giving them a "heads up"...It's hard for me to imagine being like that, as I'm always the happy, optimistic person...But, if brief PMS episodes are any indication of riba madness, the "Dragon Lady" may be lurking in the shadows...LOL...Hang in there!

[Anonymous225]

Yeh...Why!!!????  Wanna make something of it???

[orphanedhawk]

Not only did I have uncontrollable emotional outbursts but there were a couple of downright tantrums that left me wondering where they came from.
  And yes, those of us who have done tx should help the newbies     Good luck

[Dennis_]

Thank you so much for your comments.  I just started tx Jan 11 and this is so great to be able to both commiserate and celebrate.  I hope that I can help someone else when they come in like you guys have helped me.  The only word I can think of now is GRATEFUL.  

[IAmTheWalrus]

I'm with alagirl on this. I am pretty morose, but I lack the energy to get really angry. My friends and family are protected by my low hemo counts! I started without ADs but started them around week 10. I am glad I did. It has made the madness easier to bear.

DEBRA: Frickin A Hooray is right! Way to go. Green with envy, but SO glad for you!

Brent

[dandyeasy]

I only have 12 days left on tx and I did not have  riba rage until around week 12. The last 3 months I have been an absolute psycho nut case. I can't wait for this to be over. My coworkers who do not know think I've gone crazy. I bite my tongue all day just to make sure I don't get fired.

Riba rage is real. I didn't take any a/d but "maybe" it would have helped.
Who cares  at this point.....I have one shot left and last pill on Feb 25th

FRICKIN HOORAY is all I can say, like a c section or prison date release. I thank God daily for being 2b with only 24 weeks to treat.

Good luck to all of you. DEBRA

[alagirl]

Oh yeah, plus I ramped up on antidepressants prior to beginning treatment, moving up to 300 mg of wellbutrin xl and 20mg lexapro and increased topamax now to 400mg, which helps my migraines but is supposed to help as a mood stabilizer.  I've had a lot of tx medical issues, but I think that's helpes me handle all of them with less anxiety and just kind of go with it.