any suggestions for constant headachesbesides tylenol,it dont help

[PRINCESS5121]

i am almost on week 3 of treatment.24 weeks of peg injections and ribavirin.i have given my self 3 shots so far and for the last 3 days i have had bad headaches all through the day and bad at night,keeping me awake.anyne reccomed a prescription drug i could ask my dr for ? i just cant take anything with caffeine,due to a heart problem.anyone know of a good med to ask for ? i getting discouraged and will be doing my 4th shot monday......have to trest for 24 weeks.genotype 2.i guess i should be happy for just 24 weeks, but after the chills,joint pains,muscle aches,i feel so beat up,i want to stop treatment,but im trying to hang in there.thanks for anyone who gives me any suggestions.happy holidays all...........

[sfbaygirl]

I guess I forgot to push the post comment!  I hate when that happens.  I had awful headaches during tx.  Actually have had them my whole life, but when menopause hit they subsided.  I took/take Fioricet/ codiene and it is made for headaches. Really helps and hope you can ask your Dr. about getting some.  These have tylenol and butabital.  I have talked to a few on tx that used them.  I doubt I could have made it through tx without them.  Good luck!

[nygirl7]

My doc has no problem with me taking limited amounts of any of the OTCs like that either.  I guess they figure if we could traverse the roads of treatment and get SVR trying to do all things correctly that we're finally grown ups or something.

I had a BAD Advil habit before treatment - worse than smoking even - but it was the only thing that helped my headaches.  Thankfully now that I've tapered them off the headaches have as well.  I feel SO SO bad for anyone who gets them - just agony.

[MYS]

Have you tried putting a bag of frozen peas on your head and lying down in a dark room?  

Neupogen is for Neutropenia - low WBC and ANC, Procrit is for anemia.  It sounds like you have Neutropenia by US standards - avoid all germy people, don't shake hands with anyone, carry antibiotic hand wash stuff around with you.  When you talk to your doctor, ask him about getting Neupogen.  Most insurance companies will approve this quickly, getting Procrit sometimes requires a big fight, but you don't seem to need that.

All the best,
MYS

[jmjm530]

I'm on Advil and Alleve right now ror muscle pain and that's OK with my doc. His problem was not taking NSADs like Advil on treatment because I believe of the low platelet count. Of course I'm not a girl.

-- Jim

[nygirl7]

I've had bad problems with neurological issues since I broke my back in '93 and oftentimes nothing works for me better than the advil - not even the demerol in the hospital for them (but if I'm in the hospital they are already bad).

Advil is an anti-inflammatory and that helps release pressure on the nerve endings or something - there are many presription types of AIs I know we aren't supposed to load up on them but when you are confronted with such agony...there really isn't much you can do.

I took them when I absolutely needed to.  Sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

[jmjm530]

Just to give you an idea about what my liver specialist thought about NSAIDs, like Aspirin, during treatment -- at one point we were discussing supplemental testosterone and even anabolic steroids because of my treatment-induced anorexia which threatened to take me off the treatment drugs. If needed, he was prepared to use those drugs, but still would not permit me to take aspirin.

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

Ala: I'm a little surprised that docs would be telling people with liver issues to take tylenol and ibuprofen?
-----------------------------
Hi Ala,

Haven't seen you around lately and hopefully you've been feeling better.

Tylenol is what many leading hepatologists prefer for those on treatment.

In fact, many liver specialists, including mine,  do not not allowed aspirin or other NSAIDs (Advil, Alleve) I assume  because of the low platelet counts many of us have during treatment.

As to morphine, etc, -- one thing to keep in mind is liver toxicity although not sure how compares with other drugs. The other is that many who treat have had substance abuse problems in the past. And lastly, this study suggests that morphine may play a part in HCV viral replication and should not be used on treatment:
http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/102260194.html

I think going to a pain clinic is a good idea for those who cannot get relief otherwise, but I also think all drugs should be run by an experienced liver specialist for anyone with HCV, especially on treatment.

Personally, I think less pain killers is better on treatment to give the liver all the rest possible just about all pain meds have some liver toxicity. Start simple with low doses of Tylenol and only move up after discussing with an experienced liver specialist.

Happy New Year everyone!

-- Jim

[alagirl]

I take topamax for my migraines as well.  200 mg a day.  When I first started taking it, the first four or five years, I think it worked better for me than it does now.  Sometimes I get something that works well, but becomes less effective over time.  Still though, I wanted to see if it was still advantageous to take the topamax, so I went off of it, and suddenly had many more migraines.  I immediately went back on the medication.  So at least I know its worthwhile to continue with the prescription.  It does help.  

[alagirl]

You guys are kidding me.  You called your docs and said, hey doc, I'm having excruciating bone pain from my CHEMOTHERAPY and this mind-numbing amount of PROCRIT I must take every week such that I can barely move, and the guy said, "Take a tylenol, and call me in the morning, at which point I'll advise you to take some ibuprofen?"  

I asked my doctor for a referral to a good pain management physician before I began treatment.  I already have migraines, and had been toying with the idea of going to a pain management physician anyway, but either right before or right after tx, I decided to ask for help.  We have a couple of disreputable places that are pretty much "pain mills" in our county, so I made sure to get recommendations from a few physicians as to a reputable physician in this area with a pain management practice, and every single one of them gave me the name of the same guy.  I really like him, and he does the best he can for me, really only my legs bother me that much anymore, nothing seems to help there - but hey! you have to have something to complain about ;)

I'm a little surprised that docs would be telling people with liver issues to take tylenol and ibuprofen?  Is that normal?  At any rate, I have 15mg morphine pills I can take for bone pain, and if I have a migraine, and I haven't had many lately, I have demerol pills.  I take a fair amount of zofran and phenergan for nausea.  I have had some pretty big issues with nausea unfortunately.

[PRINCESS5121]

HI Lady...  :)  i went to a neuroligist for headaches i use to get about a yr and half ago.werent migranes to me, but she said u dont have to have serious pain to be migranes.she told me to take vitamin b complex 2 times a day.within 1 week, they 90% went away.until..........TREATMENT !!! now i must be getting migranes,b/c last night i didnt even want to get up from bed to run to the bathroom as myhead felt like a concrete block ! im callin dr tomorrow,and asking to see his partner instead,and see if i can get in for a visit and a sit down.this guy im seeing now just assumes i know all about hcv and side effects and what to expect.but i am going to ask about headache meds from my neuroligist and make sure i tell her i have hcv genotype 2,so she wont prescribe something bad for my liver.good luck to you as well.im in NJ and need to know if anone else lives in south jersey who can recommend me a real dr !

[Lady Lauri]

  I am with you on these *&%$#@% headaches....on my 3rd day of one now. Never in my life had 3-4 day headaches, don't even want to talk or move my head!   I want that answer too! I have Vicoprofen, but when 2 won't touch it (within a few hours) I won't do more, so what to do????  That and the leg pain... :{.........don't like doing drugs but morphine sounds good about now! (kidding!!)

                                                                                 LL

[PRINCESS5121]

all pain killer are bad for your liver,but at times if a dr prescribes them,i guess he would have to know the condition of your liver,best way from liver biopsy.are you treating for HCV?and merrybe,thanks.i have a heart condition which i cant have caffeine anyway.thankyou for your input.now i just got back labs today.24 days into treatment and WBC 2.1...norm is 4.0-11.0 !!  RBC is good.dr wont be in till monday.how professional......any suggestions ? is procrit for low WBC or RBC or both or either or ?

[toughluck]

Does percocet harm your liver

[merryBe]

a lot of folks don't know how much pop can effect their head capillaries. Sugar or sugaless you still are getting caffiene in 3/4 of all the pop out there....there are other allergens in pops all well, chemicals our immune systems don't like. Even the "green tea extract" everyone thinks is so healthy is usually loaded with caffiene.

some of us are highly sensitive to this, especially while on Riba. I made an exception, and had 1/3 of a cup of coffee chistmas at noon.........and was only able to fall asleep 8 hrs after normal bedtime....

so you'd be well advised to check all sources hidden or realized for caffiene, it is known as a headache inducer.

[dancegirl54]

I get migraines(I am not yet tx) and take medication sometimes for that - I also buy the migraine ice patches and cut them in smaller strips. If you are home and not out and about they can be incredibly pain relieving

[PRINCESS5121]

thankyou,and water it is from here on in................im doing a bit better with headaches with more water intake.i just have cronic fatigue now like im fighting to stay awake as if i took a sleeping pill......thanks all

[B-bunch]

I use Naproxen or Naprosyn.  It works great and is not effecting my liver. Ask your Doc. I use 500mg twice a day. It makes you a little drowsy but that goes away and so does the headache and muscle aches.

[sillymanxyz]

I found that vicoprofen takes care of all those aches and pains, including headaches.  The drawback is that you have to ween yourself off them when tx is over.  My nurse was hesitant to give it to me, but the doctor said ok.   I started using it because of severe sciatica type leg pains and I used it for most of the time I was doing Peg and Riba.  When that treatment was over I weened myself off of it.  This time (Infergen and Riba) he prescribed it right up front.  My legs and back were really hurting this morning so when I got up I took one and now I'm ok.  Just a thought, since plain old ibuprofen or acetominaphen didn't work for me.

[orleans]

Hey, Topmax is an anti-convulsant sometimes used as a migraine preventative not appropriate in this case I think. There are general pain meds that might help, ie opiates etc. jerry

[PRINCESS5121]

thankyou so much for all your replys.i was so happy when i got up this morning too see people really care.thankyou so much.i get no support at home.but i think ill get it her,and ill sure be helping back as well................thankyou  !!

[loosenup]

Hi princess.  I also alternate with tylenol and advil, but have heard a prescription called topomax (sp?) helps.  I don't know any of the risks with it, but it might be worth asking your doctor.  Hang in there, it will all be worth it in the end.
Diana

[orleans]

Hey, I was hoping that you would get more feed back. I have delayed treatment twice because of my concern over headaches. I have migraines. Imitrex works for me but one can not take it daily. jerry

[kcrandy]

princess sorry this was meant for you.  still having brain fog issues.  :O)

[kcrandy]

tylenol and or ibupropen  ( especially ) taken with your shot helped me too but i also was taking tramadol too.