Aa
Mood change…
I started my treatment with viral load more than 5 million. First shot of Pegasus was horrible, I don’t have another word to explain it… I started feel the reaction after 2 hours… Now I’m on my 26th week, and Motrin is my best friend on my weekends. My viral load dropped to 14 - at least here some good news. The bad news is my mood. The situation at home is not looking good – constant “fights” with my wife, our girls (we have 2 beautiful daughters) see that and they started fight each other. We are trying to stop them – who is right, who is not… Oh, God… This is like snow ball – getting bigger and bigger. I think I’m just losing control… or already lost it… Yesterday after another scene my wife told me she wants to get divorce… I know that I’m the only one who is responsible for this situation, I wish I can control myself better….
Finally I’m DONE with my treatment. My last shot was on June12. Today is 10th day since I took my last medication… Feels G-O-O-O-D!!! Live is in color again. Just waiting for the blood tests…
I am at week 32 of 48. I made sure I spoke with my entire family prior to treatment so they understood. I will not bore you with all the details but I also had some bad anger rage issues come up beginning around week 8. It was not good. I also resisted the AD's or anything else as I did not want them. I have strong opinions on the over prescribing of meds in today's society...anyway. My doctor basically told me AD's or your coming off treatment. They made a huge difference. The anger rage is caused by the interferon as mentioned earlier. He also put me on Xanax, which I did not want either.
Bottom line is this is a well documented side effect. It effects some worse than others.It can effect a significant portion, but not all, patients. I will also add that this treatment if you read over the archives has had a negative effect on a lot of peoples relationships, they just did not survive it. This is very real what you are experiencing. Family support and understanding is key. Not to mention when you get angry retreat to a neutral place and stay away from them. I find that works best.
My doctor, who is the Director of Hepatology at University of Pennsylvania, when he saw my 2 sons with me went out of his way (I was not scheduled to see him that day just the PA) and sat them down. He said "listen if your Daddy gets angry, grumpy, yells at you or anything you need to understand that it is the medicine that is causing it, it is not your daddy and tell your mommy what I said too OK". That was really nice of him to do and my boys really appreciated hearing it.
This treatment is hard on entire families. It is important to have a support network at home. In my opinion it is critical. Make sure your wife reads this too and tell ehr to come here and ask questions or just be a a fly on the wall. It is important to understand what is happening. This treatment is not an easy one. Many doctors even do not fully understand the severity of this medicine.
Here are some links if you are interested in technical information about it.
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/52351?pageNumber=1
The quotes below are from a continuing education course for health care professionals.
"Antiviral treatment with interferon, as well as chronic HCV infection itself, can be associated with several central nervous system changes, notably fatigue, anhedonia, depression, irritability, cognitive disturbances, psychotic symptoms, delirious syndromes, relapse in alcohol or drug abuse, or suicidal thoughts and attempts.[20,21] Psychiatric adverse events may lead to dose reduction and treatment discontinuation affecting the efficacy of interferon-based therapy. In addition, the patient’s quality of life may be markedly reduced during treatment. Therefore, management of psychiatric events and cooperation with an experienced psychiatrist are crucial for treatment success.
In recent years, interest in mood changes associated with interferon treatment of chronic HCV infection has increased. Between 1991 and 1995, only 11 papers on the subject of hepatitis C/interferon/depression were available in the PubMed database; the number of papers increased from 1996-2000 to 35, and from 2001-2006, the number increased to 149. More than 360 papers were published from 2001-2006 on the subject of interferon/depression in all patients."
Irritability
"Irritability is a difficult-to-treat symptom of interferon use and may be associated with the coexistence of multiple problems. A systematic psychiatric examination is recommended for sleep disturbances, mania, depression, psychosis, or worsening of agitation and impulsivity in patients with personality disorders. As a first step, sleeping disorders should be carefully evaluated and treated when possible. If irritability is thought to be a symptom of depression, antidepressants (eg, SSRIs or mirtazapine) should be given. Whether irritability is a form of “mixed-mood state,” typically observed in patients with bipolar affective disorders, is currently under discussion.[33] During a mixed state, depressive and manic symptoms may appear at the same time and the patient may respond better to treatment with mood stabilizers (eg, valproate) or antipsychotics (eg, amisulpride, risperidone, quetiapine, or perazine). In some cases, short-term treatment with tranquillizers, such as benzodiazepines, might become necessary. However, the risks and benefits should be carefully weighed in patients with methadone drug addiction. Discontinuation of HCV treatment is recommended if irritability is complicated by aggressive behavior."
Bottom line is this is a well documented side effect. It effects some worse than others.It can effect a significant portion, but not all, patients. I will also add that this treatment if you read over the archives has had a negative effect on a lot of peoples relationships, they just did not survive it. This is very real what you are experiencing. Family support and understanding is key. Not to mention when you get angry retreat to a neutral place and stay away from them. I find that works best.
My doctor, who is the Director of Hepatology at University of Pennsylvania, when he saw my 2 sons with me went out of his way (I was not scheduled to see him that day just the PA) and sat them down. He said "listen if your Daddy gets angry, grumpy, yells at you or anything you need to understand that it is the medicine that is causing it, it is not your daddy and tell your mommy what I said too OK". That was really nice of him to do and my boys really appreciated hearing it.
This treatment is hard on entire families. It is important to have a support network at home. In my opinion it is critical. Make sure your wife reads this too and tell ehr to come here and ask questions or just be a a fly on the wall. It is important to understand what is happening. This treatment is not an easy one. Many doctors even do not fully understand the severity of this medicine.
Here are some links if you are interested in technical information about it.
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/52351?pageNumber=1
The quotes below are from a continuing education course for health care professionals.
"Antiviral treatment with interferon, as well as chronic HCV infection itself, can be associated with several central nervous system changes, notably fatigue, anhedonia, depression, irritability, cognitive disturbances, psychotic symptoms, delirious syndromes, relapse in alcohol or drug abuse, or suicidal thoughts and attempts.[20,21] Psychiatric adverse events may lead to dose reduction and treatment discontinuation affecting the efficacy of interferon-based therapy. In addition, the patient’s quality of life may be markedly reduced during treatment. Therefore, management of psychiatric events and cooperation with an experienced psychiatrist are crucial for treatment success.
In recent years, interest in mood changes associated with interferon treatment of chronic HCV infection has increased. Between 1991 and 1995, only 11 papers on the subject of hepatitis C/interferon/depression were available in the PubMed database; the number of papers increased from 1996-2000 to 35, and from 2001-2006, the number increased to 149. More than 360 papers were published from 2001-2006 on the subject of interferon/depression in all patients."
Irritability
"Irritability is a difficult-to-treat symptom of interferon use and may be associated with the coexistence of multiple problems. A systematic psychiatric examination is recommended for sleep disturbances, mania, depression, psychosis, or worsening of agitation and impulsivity in patients with personality disorders. As a first step, sleeping disorders should be carefully evaluated and treated when possible. If irritability is thought to be a symptom of depression, antidepressants (eg, SSRIs or mirtazapine) should be given. Whether irritability is a form of “mixed-mood state,” typically observed in patients with bipolar affective disorders, is currently under discussion.[33] During a mixed state, depressive and manic symptoms may appear at the same time and the patient may respond better to treatment with mood stabilizers (eg, valproate) or antipsychotics (eg, amisulpride, risperidone, quetiapine, or perazine). In some cases, short-term treatment with tranquillizers, such as benzodiazepines, might become necessary. However, the risks and benefits should be carefully weighed in patients with methadone drug addiction. Discontinuation of HCV treatment is recommended if irritability is complicated by aggressive behavior."
You'll probably find two schools of thought on OTC pain relievers, but many Drs. recommend Tylenol while on treatment. I can take up to 2000 mg per day OR half the adult dosage of Advil...NO aspirin. I take one Tylenol PM on shot night just to be on the safe side.
Glad to hear that things are going better for you and your wife.......Pam
Glad to hear that things are going better for you and your wife.......Pam
I was a raving lunatic until I got on AD's. I resisted but they really did make a huge difference. I alternate between a half pill one day and a whole the next (5/10mg). It does take awhile for them to kick in tho.
My husband has gotten real good at tuning me out when I'm saying something he doesn't want to hear, but was happy when I started being "nice" again.
Good Luck
My husband has gotten real good at tuning me out when I'm saying something he doesn't want to hear, but was happy when I started being "nice" again.
Good Luck
This virus is a really personal issue. It can be difficult to have other people around and to expect them to understand. I'm lucky that I'm in a situation where I live by myself but can have friends over when I'm feeling lonely. I think minimized social interaction helps me the best. I just don't have the patience to deal with people....I keep finding faults in people and wanting to bite their heads off and teach them a lesson for being such a dumba$$. (hopefully that captures the irritibility and anger I often feel in traffic, hahaha)
Hmm, interesting, but looks like we have two different opinions. My doctor didn’t tell me anything about what medication is the best Motrin or Tylenol, she said – what is best works for you… I had Motrin at home and since that I’m taking it. On other hand – my wife is going to the medical college, and they actually learning liver diseases now. So the teacher told them that Tylenol is not good for the liver, especially when you are on the treatment. Anybody has something regarding this?
Next time I’m going to my doctor – I will ask her about it.
Next time I’m going to my doctor – I will ask her about it.
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