Oxycotin and Hepatitis

[chickychic]

   My husband was diagnosed recently with Hepatitis C.  He had a liver biopsy done yesterday and is currently taking oxycotin to help with the pain.  He said that this should be okay, but I am worried about it because I know that alot of drugs will hurt the liver.  Can anyone tell me if this is okay for him or if he should quit taking them?

[nygirl7]

That part of the conversation is very very old........

[Rockerforlife]

OXYCONTIN IS HEROIN.....HILL BILLY STYLE.... its just legalized smack.

[nygirl7]

IF you have had a biopsy and it shows that you do not have too much liver damage it is possible that the doctor could agree to 'watch and wait'.  That would require you to have another biopsy in a few years to make sure that your liver damage has not progressed too far and become too late to save your liver.

If you have not had a biopsy it's really sort of impossible to tell where you stand on this. With Geno2 sometimes older fashion doctors don't do the biopsy but that is when they have decided to have the patient do treatment.

I can't understand how any doctor though could determine not to treat without first finding out how much liver damage you already have.

Did you have the biopsy?

[dyna7]

I have hemp c. My doctor said some people with my type/level do not take the meds as long as the test keep showing the same levels.  I would rather not take the meds if this is true, but could I get rid of it if I did?  What kind of side effects should be expected?  How about Mike Thistle?  Any advise/knowledge would be great!!  

Thanks

[fretboard]

Hey apology accepted already, we're good.  take care

[fretboard]

Ok, were good.  Your information is probably correct for the average person who never had an opiate abuse issue but, oh well no sense in repeating myself.  As long as were good that's fine with me.  Obviously I took the fretboy remark incorrectly.  God Bless

[fretboard]

Fretboy?  Cute, I hope you've simmered down a bit.  My post was strictly my opinion as a recovering opiate addict.  I will not take any morphine derivitive drugs period.  Yes I do believe that they replicate the HCV virus.  Someone else said that "Almost any Prescribed medication is liver friendly", not to a person with HepC.  I couldn't even get something to treat my high cholesterol level as that stuff affects the liver.  Also, I couldn't even get Lamisil tablets as those are also "unfriendly" to the liver.  Quit smoking tablets, I can't get them.  There are a lot of television commercials for various drugs that say specifically, if you have liver disease this medication is not advisable for you to use or something to that affect.  My doctors know about my history with opiate abuse really well and I thought I mentioned my drug history in my post.  I answered chickychic's question and I went on and talked about my own experiences.  This is an open forum and people express their opinions on it, just because your opinion doesn't agree with mine that's ok we can still get along.  At this point all I can say to you is sorry I went a bit overboard but I am passionate about opiate drug abuse, peace.  God Bless, I've posted some links below.  later    


http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/full/167/5/1189

http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/reprint/167/5/1189.pdf

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051029093825.htm

[reddawg]

I had a laproscopic biobsy with an additional 2 needle biopsies at the same time. It was very uncomfortable, not real pain. No pain medication wanted or needed.
Some people are just pain intolerant. Some are using pain to get drugs.
Almost any Prescribed medication is liver friendly. But if someone starts taking oxycotin continually and increasing dosage, it will damage the liver.

[chickychic]

Thanks so much for all of your help.  Like I said before this is new to me and I don't know a whole lot about it.  I am so glad that I found this place so I can talk to people who can relate and who knows more about it than probably most doctors... God Bless you all!

[merryBe]

No Susie, I know you didn't make that remark....was just venting in case who made it was still around...and to let the questioner know we don't all think like that...
I know what you are saying is standard...it's what my clinic told me...

here's just one example of why I think there's more to all this than they are letting on:

Morphine inhibits intrahepatic interferon- alpha expression and enhances complete hepatitis C virus replication.Li Y, Ye L, Peng JS, Wang CQ, Luo GX, Zhang T, Wan Q, Ho WZ.
Division of Allergy and Immunology, Joseph Stokes, Jr., Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Heroin addicts are a high-risk group for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the development of chronic HCV disease. We thus examined whether morphine, the active metabolite of heroin, has the ability to inhibit intrahepatic interferon (IFN)- alpha expression, facilitating HCV replication in human hepatocytes. Morphine inhibited intrahepatic IFN- alpha expression, which was associated with an increase in HCV replication in hepatocytes. Moreover, morphine compromised the anti-HCV effect of recombinant IFN- alpha . Investigation of the mechanism responsible for the morphine action revealed that morphine inhibited expression of IFN regulatory factor 5 in the hepatocytes. In addition, morphine suppressed the expression of p38, an important signal-transducing molecule involved in IFN- alpha -mediated anti-HCV activity. These findings indicate that morphine plays a cofactor role in facilitating HCV persistence in human hepatocytes.


fretboard, thanks for give info like this in the past, I never knew anyone had...but posted it here last month.

I think it may help folks to reevaluate their need until it becomes absolutely needful.
Even with a spinal cord injury I've reduced my intake from 8-10 pills to one a day...
abd my suspicion, since I only drank a couple of years in mid-thirties....is that my advanced fibrosis MAY BE advanced BECAUSE they put me on painkillers following the accident. In fact, I'm convinced that first the vicodin and then the tramadol may have advanced it the way canibanol does....

[fretboard]

Taking any kind of morphine or it's derivitives, including Oxycontin replicates the HCV virus.  This is what I've read and I've posted this information a couple other times before.  Methadone is a much better way to go as it is considered to be "liver friendly" and I hope nobody here needs to take anything for pain.  I do and it's no fun, it's just something I do to deal with the constant throbbing, itching, tingling and never ending pain that I have from advanced osteo-arthritis in my upper back and neck.  The arthritis is the direct result of a car accident I was in, in 1982, I had broken my leg and they did a terrible job at UCD, well my leg is a little bowed and as a result it is almost a half inch shorter than the other.  I'm glad for your post for two reasons it's educational for some and it takes me back to an appointment I just had at UCD at the beginning of this month.  I was there to see about getting into one of their HepC treatment studies.  Without mentioning the doctors name, I will say that he is not the Chief.  When he found out I was on methadone, he said it would be hard to place me in some of the studies.  I could tell that he was reacting to the name of the drug rather than the reason I'm on it.  The nurse I spoke to was a bit more compassionate and she agreed that I will not go for a study that takes me off any of my drugs period.  The doctor said to me, "why don't you get on oxycontin?  I told him, I said for one I don't want to be on oxycontin because of my history with drugs and two, doesn't oxycontin replicate the HCV virus?  Well he said he didn't know, it didn't surprise me as alot of doctors don't know.  At the end of my overly long posts, I'm gonna try to place a link to one of our last discussions on this subject just for informational purposes.  The last thing I will add is what my ex-brother-in-law told me on the telephone as he was on his deathbed in Oregon, this was 3 or 4 years ago.  He said that he hadn't had a drink for 8 years, I said well Allan why don't you tell me what happened, I said we both most likely got HepC around the same time period and I asked him if he had been treated.  He said that a few years before he was diagnosed as having only a few weeks to live he met a doctor and the doctor had put him on morphine to treat the pain he was getting from HepC, we didn't go into where the pain was.  He said that he was feeling so good from all the pills he was taking that he didn't realize what was happening.  He said that he was taking care of his sick Mother and he knew he had HepC and he had tried the SOC but he was a non-responder.  He continued on his morphine drugs, we didn't get into details as I was talking to a long time friend who knew that I had a history with drugs and I felt that he was sharing something with me that was very private and he even asked me not to mention it to my sister and I said I wouldn't and I never have.  Anyways, it was his belief that if he would have continued his life without the morphine, his health wouldn't have deteriorated so quickly.  Well, what do you know, exactly what he told me then, is exactly what is being discovered now.  Here's the link to one of our threads about it.  Just so everyone knows you can Google anything.  God Bless

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/449884?post_id=post_2572676

[copyman]

i also was in pain after my biopsy. this pain was "referred" pain in my shoulder & neck. the pain was right after the BX and was severe enough that my doc gave me a shot of Dilaudid. there was no more pain after that, just all smiles :-)

[ClippedWings]

Not all biopsies are the same.  I had a lathroscopic biopsy done and I was in considerable pain afterwards and was also prescribed an opiate.  I think the recurring battle cry that a biopsy never hurts is overstated.  How many have each of us had? One, maybe two? Three?  Whatever the number I don't think anyone has sufficient experience to tell someone that a biopsy never hurts.   If the guy is in pain he is in pain.  If he had an exploratory, comparatively invasive procedure like mine done, I bet he is in enough pain to require some heavy medications.
CW

[merryBe]

you know, I heard opiates were liver friendly in here too...

but that is proving false. pubmed has a new study on morphine and fibrosis, and on tramadol my enzymes doubled...
so I just researched the oxy, the vicodin, and all the rest...as they relate to the liver AND fibrosis and/or HCV....and the more I read......the more scared I got.

SO, so far, the literature is suggesting more increase in fibrotic activity,
I'd be reluctant to say any pain medication is "liver friendly" at this point.

Even though everyone keeps parading that same tired standard "two grams a day of tylenol is safe for liver patients"....I am very suspicious of such blanket statements.
First of all, without knowing what grade and stage of damage a person has, 2 grams can be as toxic to a liver patient as to a newborn....and secondly, the more you know...
the less you'll trust all the mother's little helpers.

there shouldn't be much pain after a liver biopsy unless someone botched it a hit a rib...which would be odd but is not unheard of.

I think it was rude of someone to say "once a junkie" to you however...as they have no idea what state your husband is in, or if something was nicked that could bring on pain or even splinting. Nevertheless, my advice is stay off as much pain meds as you can, whenever you can, if you want to save your liver. NEVER use them in conjuction with alcohol as this greatly intensifies the damage of both the alcohol AND the drug on the liver.....Use small doses and cut back as soon as possible after any event such as surgery/injury.
Buy a good pill cutter and half or even quarter your pills. (those that are not time released.....Often a half dose will take the edge off even serious pain and keep the chance of dependancy down.
hope that helps, and that he  gets well soon.
maryB

[vincenos]

im sorry  i mis raed your post  ok let me get this straight  the dr gave oxy for post biopsy pain.? ?? if so thats  a joke no way should he have givin a drug like that  i did not have any pain from my biopsy and if there was somthing is wrong i think every1 can contest there biopsy was pretty painless i just remember alot of pressure and clicking  my 2 cents  sorry  for the mis understanding

[joachim2007]

the important thing is probably to have the doctor in the loop (who knows about his health status and the safety profile of the prescribed medication)

i had 2 biopsies so far, at first i was not offered any meds, seconds i was. but i rejected because in case something is going wrong, i actually want my nerves to feel it.

btw, i hope the pain is fading away as we speak, and press my thumbs that the results will be favorable.

[vincenos]

my gi said that ms-contin which i beleive is simialar to oxy contin he said that is is not harmful to the liver if it is needded for my  chronic pain

[toughluck]

Oxycontin is so addictive I know of people who were given this for severe pain and couldn't stop after the pain was gone, like they say once a junkie always a junkie.

[nygirl7]

He should not really be having pain from the biopsy - the liver does NOT have any nerves inside to hurt.  In fact it's really just like getting a shot.  We've all had it and 99.999% of us have been fine right after it.

If he is having PAIN from the biopsy than perhaps something is very wrong and should be checked out.  A dull pain might be normal but nothing causing anyone to need an Oxy.


Honestly he should take as little of them as possible - tryin to live a liver healthy life style is very important to anyone with HepC.  But if he needs them he needs them.  Still...I wouldn't advise taking them on a regular basis - just like you wouldn't want to take Advil or Tylenol or something every six or eight hours.

Good luck, this is a great resource for anyone learning about HepC.  The more you know the better the odds of beating the disease.