How long to get this stuff out of my system?

[want2live]

Hi everyone.

I wonder if any of the post tx folks could let me know how long it takes to get the meds out of your system after tx?

I am now 6 weeks after stopping and I still feel like the meds are in me. Achy, etc.

I am pounding water like crazy, and trying to sweat alot, to work it out.

My AST/ALT were also very high last test, how long does this take to come back down (I was well within normal ranges before tx).

Thanks!

[ringeding]

hey want2....yup i finished about the same time as you and after i got over severe sunpoisoning i felt better than i had in ages.....at week 3 and 4...however....i am also now feeling all the arthritic symptoms etc returning.  maybe it is just a matter of time i have read where people say it can take up to a year to feel 100% again...hang in there, and congrats!

NEWS FLASH....just saw a bleep on tv about an upcoming investigative special that looks at the very real contraversy and documentation that may strongly link the developement of HIV virus to being caused by man.  the trailer said that it has been linked to polio vaccines....wouldn't surprise me at all if we discover HCV was similarily 'borne' as well....i'll post name, time and station of show when i see the trailer again

kimmy

[oldhippiechick67]

Holy cow, linked to polio vaccines?? I had polio in 1954...Anyone else out there had it?? Now there is "Post Polio Syndrome", it comes back to haunt ya 20-30 yrs after the first infection.  Sounds familiar?  It can cause a lot of the same symptoms as HepC...aching fatigue muscle weakness AND brain fog!!  Ive been hit by a double whammy!!  Whaaaaaa, can I whine??!!  OHC/Auggie

[Micro2]

I am now 5 weeks post and still experiencing what I am guessing is..sides from meds. My docs are figuring 3 to 6 months for clean up. I am not sure that I will ever be the same. All my docs agree that I should continue with anti depressants, anti-anxiety' and sleep meds for a while. I am also still using procrit as the reason for stopping tx was unresolvable anemia. I did 92 weeks of Interferon and 1yr riba/w a 4 month break and then 4 more month of riba increased. Last count was around 5000. I must now wait for a new med. I feel like I have been on a ride at 6 flags for 1-1/2 yrs. No regrets. Tried hard. would do it again. Good luck to you!!

[jonihs]

I am 9 weeks post tx. and though I feel really well most of the time,I do still get a bit achy from time to time, but it seems like 1 ibuprophen takes care of it. And I seem to want to sleep alot more than before. Other than that, I have alot of the same weird food cravings as I did on tx.  Hope you feel better soon!!!!    Joni

[ringeding]

okay, i will have a full discription tommorrow for you and anyone else interested.....it will be on this wed. @ 8pm est on CBC on a canadian program called 'witness'....hope you can get this program there,if not i think there is a webcast...i'll find out.....

nite nite
kimmy

[MajNeni]

Micro2, I am so sorry your tx failed you; I wish you much better results next round.

Want2live,
I'm 5 months out after 48 weeks, and I'm still changing.  I have some Arthritis type stuff; some of it must be age related, I'm 57.  I have to address those directly.  [For example, I had a specific "new" problem in one hand, and had a quick operation that fixed it wonderfully; from a useless thumb to a nice, functional one with no residual pain,]  
Overall, I am still improving.  I'm still recovering body strength, endurance, and fitness.
On tx I found it difficult to drive; hard to concentrate, hard to notice everything, hard to respond quickly and appropriately.  This week I had two 4-hour drives and I felt just like in the old days, finally.  
I can remember more of what I read, see & hear.  My short term memory comes and goes, but it "comes" a lot more frequently now.  I have more energy, more ambition to actually do things and go places.  
For the first time since I was 15, I don't need to wear my distance vision glasses anymore - I had a cataract operation before tx, but freedom from 24/7 glasses is post-tx.  I need reading glasses, though.
My skin continues to get better.  My hair feels fuller.  I'm more aware of what's happening around me, and not detached and constantly "disconnecting" like on tx.  I can debate, deal, argue, etc.; I think my brain is still coming back more.
I weaned off Lexapro slowly in the last 2 months, and I'm doing fine; note that I stayed on it after tx for a bit.  I need a little help to get to sleep now, but I think this will be temporary; 1/2 ambien every few days is enough.  
How long till all the meds get out of your system?  I'm sure it's individual, but that's my story.  Good luck with yours.
Maj Neni

[oldhippiechick67]

Hi there!  It was great to read your progress 5 months post tx...glad you are doing so much better!  I am noticing some changes and improvements also, very slowly though, but I am only a few weeks off the Interferon Hell Train.  
Micro, wow, you are still thinking positive after ALL THAT! You rock, positive attitude is half the battle!  Take care and I wish you best of luck with the next round!

[Sam Hall]

Did you have athritic problems pre tx? Iseem to bee getting stiffer and stiffer by the day(joints that is)also ikeep over exerting myself pysically and become bedridden. Started to notice billirubin iches again also really low tolerance to stress.Oh and bt the way if your horse could talk do yo think he'd have an opinion about being castrated?
Sam

[CCgirl]

I have been off 12 weeks now, and waiting for my heptimax results:)I feel mostly good but still have joint pain in my ankles at night, muscle pains, and my eyelids are swelling on and off . I get fatigued easy which I am usually a ball of energy. I continue to feel this unexplainable weird feeling all over my body like a tingling and mild ringing in the ears.I also think its going to take the full 6 months to get this all out of my body.. anyone feeling 100% after TX would love to hear their timeline.

[OkieJim]

I'm coming up on 4 month post. Feeling much better now. The meds can take upto 3 months to clear out from the body. First the interferon leaves in about a month and the riba hangs in for 3 months. As far as the SX. It depends and each individual and what happened during TX. I now feels my aches and pains are just age related and not from TX. The riba and DNA changes take up to 6 months  that is why the inclosed literature states not to get prenate for at least 6 month post TX. This is what I think I remember other will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Galen]

I feel great at 9 months post-tx but the first month was almost as bad as tx for me.  My stomach problems actually got worse for a while.  I would say that I really started feeling better at just about 6 weeks.  Now I feel better than ever and love life!

[cuteus]

Wow! you still getting the eyelid thing?, mine finally went away after months of recurring, after the cipro i took for UTI.  I really think it was some bacteremia and the cipro took care of it at the blood level. I am now on week 53 and no lid swelling for 2 or 3 months now.
hope yours gets better.

[Galen]

To be honest, I wasn't having any physical symptoms of HCV before tx.  The only one I had was psychological - fear of the disease, fear of what it could do to me, fear that others wouldn't want me anymore, that someone would find out, and so on.  When I decided to treat, I made the decision that if I told only a few people then more would find out and probably find out erroneous information to boot.  So, I told everyone.  I'm a hairdresser and I told all my clients, the people I work with and anyone else who wandered into my sphere.  I educated them and asked for their understanding and help.  That was always a hard thing for me to do- ask for help and share of myself.  Now, it seems second nature and the biggest change for me post-tx is a freedom of self I never had or expected to have.  I am so much happier with my own lot in life and have a sense of serenity that I never had before.  So, is my health better now?  I would say a resounding YES because our health is far more influenced by our minds than we know.  Hope you all find it, too.
Galen

[Showboat]

I finished 48/48 second week of May....I feel great TODAY..I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow. SOME of my sx came back with a vengence for a short while, and then left one by one.  My riba rash came back on my arm only -thank goodness...drives me nuts, my fatigue lingered for another month, brain fog seemed worse than while on tx, and the good ole riba rage came back.....(it had a couple of months hiatus) my anemia lingered another month...............................but the most annoying sx was just like *****GALEN***** said. I had the worst stomach and digestive problems for almost the whole time after finishing my meds.  I never had the stomach bloating and discomfort before or while on meds.  I found this disturbing, as I wondered if I was going to continue always like that.  My stomach just started to settle in the last week.....and I started jogging again two weeks ago......well, I am actually walking/jogging, but can now jog longer and have more endurance with each new day.   My breathing has really improved.  I am starting to sing again.  I had an upper respiratory infection most of tx, and am still coughing up some yucky yellow stuff.......but what an improvement in the last week.  I almost feel back to my old self finally.  I try to do some light weight lifting and yoga and stretching to get my muscles back up to speed.  I never realized how atrophied my muscle tone got until after tx was done. It was a shock for me to actually realize and feel my muscle weakness.  I did not notice some of the minor aches and pains during tx because I was almost always lying down and doing alot of sleeping.  I had quite a bit of temporary joint pain after tx (about 3 weeks) especially in my wrists and my right knee....but as someone stated above, my ibuprophen took that ache away.  I still have a bit of brain fog, and hate to say that I use it as an excuse with my hubby quite a bit....:>)
My good news is that I think I found my pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow..........This had been my 3rd attempt at tx...and I think that the "third time is a charm"
Good Blessings to all.....Peace

[honey1616]

Whew...(((((HUGS))))  I'm so happy for you and can't think of a more deserving person!  You put in your time and now its time for you to enjoy! Yes,,,I can already tell with the little bit of exercising that I am doing,,,when this whole thing is over,,,I will definitely need a good major workout!  Can't wait to be at the end of the rainbow with you at that wonderful pot of gold! Keep posting and keep telling us how good it is!

[CCgirl]

Yes I stillhave the eye thing! I have noticed that being in the sun even with sunscreen and sun glasses they swell up , however they also swell for no reason but the sun really gets it going. I have an sppointment with a new eye doctor in 2 weeks. When I find out what it is I will post for sure so that when the next person that comes along gets this they will know what to do right away. Hope all is well with you.

[MajNeni]

Hi, there, and glad to hear you're doing pretty well after tx.  I forgot, I had a creepy thing with swollen eye lids after tx.  It was ugly and upsetting, too, especially one persistent round swelling in the inside corner, size of a pencil eraser; that's what sent me back to the eye doc.
Warm compresses really helped; eye doc had me doing them for up to 15 minutes 2-3 times a day.  None of the meds I tried - from my PCP, then my eye doc, then my allergist - helped much.  Eye doc recommended simple petroleum jelly on the skin around the eyes, but not in the eyes; that was at least soothing.  Eventually the swollen lids faded away, perhaps 3 1/2  months post tx.  Now my lids are often dry and itchy, and sometimes I still "need" the vaseline. (Artificial tears helped me a lot, too, and I still need those; in fact I need the ones w/o preservatives; lots of people are sensitive to the preservatives in eye drop meds.)  
Hope these remedies help.
By the way, many hours in front of a computer monitor can also cause eye strain, blurry vision, and dryness.
Maj Neni

[honey1616]

I agree with Chev,,,,Your post is a beautiful thing!!  You have turned about a disease that when finding out about is scary into a life changing reason and a positive one at that!!  I pray that we all grow more after dealing with this!  Thanks for your posts!

I also have noticed now at the 6 month mark,,,My eyes are feeling drier etc and one eye has been swollen just in corner. Of course,,,I'm sure it has alot to do with meds but as Majneni pointed out,,,,,For the most part I have been on computer more then I have ever been and sure that plays a big role in it also..

[Ella Mackenzie]

I did treatment for the same reasons as you. I promised not to tell anyone etiher but as it turned out, I needed to. sometimes I fell so exposed and fear certain people look at me differently but oh welllll. Ijust pray I stay clear after tx.
Good luck to you and thanks for the inspiring post
Ella

[honey1616]

Well,,,you have me not knowing what to say as that is the sweetest thing you just said!!  I told you before,,,You have a way about you that makes everyone here feel so special,,,like we all stand out! Thank you!  I'm so happy you are at the end but,,,honestly,,,I have been a little misty eyed over it also! Maybe a little selfish on my part but afraid as you feel better and better,,,of course you will be moving on (which,,,don't get me wrong,,I wouldn't have it any other way) I guess like all everyone here,,,we all enjoy your postings, your GREAT stories,,and of course your sense of humor!!  Thanks so much for being there for me and being my friend!  You are the BEST!!

[Showboat]

Galen.....you expressed that so well.......you are right, there is so much more than just the physical things........sometimes it can be so surprising to see who understands and stands beside us, and who runs the other way.  I, too, feel like I have grown much through this tx.....I do know that I cannot allow to let certain behaviors and negative people stay in my life and "space"....life is just too short, and beautiful. :>)

Honey.....Thank you, Sweetie.....you sure are a special person.  You sure made my day. :>)