Side affects comparison

[Petey7]

Diagnosed with Hep C in March and MAY be getting around to starting "treatment" next month. Was originally going to wait for more "humane" treatment but might go ahead and try it. I owe it to others....anyway. I was wondering if anyone has also had to deal with other chemotherapy in the past and how the side affects compare to pegylated interferons. I have gone through CHOP chemo for non Hodgkins lymphoma and thought maybe someone here could compare the two. NOT looking forward to a year or more of self imposed misery nor the prospect of losing all my hair again. The chemo for the lymphoma would have been a relative breeze if not for my appearance of always "looking" sick. Thanks in advance for any info. Oh.....I am male, 50 yrs, genotype 1A, viral load around 6,000,000 in March and they said "significant" fibrosis.

[Minttwist]

More than likely it's biological with a little environmental factors in the mix.

[DebbieDo]

Just wondering about the sides!  Does it depend on the persons health how they react to treatment......or what

[Galen]

It's a **** shoot.  No predicting ahead of time.  Sorry

[oldhippiechick67]

Welcome to the forum and hop on the Pegasys/PegIntron Express...we are all here to help any way we can.  

Petey, good to hear you are getting in next week to speak to the nurse (dr too busy to see patients? lol, kiddin) and hopefully she will get some Rx's for you to get filled if needed for the sides.  Maybe even give you some free samples so you can try um out first...doesnt hurt to ask!  Like others have said, maybe tx for HepC will be easier than the chemo, maybe not.  It fascinates me how some can go through it with barely a problem, work as usual etc, and others, like me, wasted and washed out! All kindsa sides, woe is me!  hahahaha,
gotta laugh, its good for the soul.  Best to you Petey !!  

Haleys Comet, I'm 54 too, but no biker chick here.  I am lucky if I can get on a mule these days!  Best to you and keep poppin in!      OHC67

[Petey7]

Thank you all for replying so quickly. Just found out today after I posted that a date has been set to talk to the nurse about starting treatment. The doctor is a very well known and respected gastro/hepatic guy but very hard to contact and doesn't seem to be used to patients who have done their own research and are not ready to blindly follow along. One thing I will be sure of, especially after lurking here and listening, is to make sure I have plenty of medication to "try" to counter some of the more unpleasant side affects BEFORE starting anything. From what most here have said it sounds like Pegasys is the way to go. I hope I don't have to fight to make sure they are using that instead of Pegintron. The doctor also mentioned a trial  where they are using Procrit on all patients right from the start and I may go into that. Apprehensive to say the least.

[haleys comet]

am just starting tx,will do my first shot sat pegintron 120mcg once a week and rebetol 400mg every morning and 600mg every evening.my viral load one says 10125000(hcv rna pcr) then the next one under that says 3752000 (hcv rna pcr)
wbc 3.7
hct 41
eosinophil 0.9
total bilirubin 1.22
alt/sgpt 122
ast/sgot 61
ferritin 297
genotype 2b
liver biopsy mild inflamation
i have already had so much help from reading the posts on this board. i had no idea where to start and would not have been reading these labs off if i hadnt read that it was a good idea to have all this info on hand.So on sat i will take my first injection at home with my sister with me. I will let you all know how i do and what my sides are(if any)hope to keep a positive attitude.I am a 54 yr old lady harley rider with 6 grandkids...ride a road king...thank you all for your help...
a friend of mine was at a conference on depression and was given info on antidepressants good for anger..paxil was one.i will get more info and post it on my next visit

[Dirac]

I can't do comparison here but I will tell you
my experience with side effectso of peg-intron and
ribavirin therapy. It was not that scary, I had
48 weeks of treatment and did not miss one day of work.
I was not completely fine of course but I was so scared
before I started  that I have been
feeling great during the treatment itself.
I wish you the best of luck.

[GI.PA]

I have had a few patient who had been treated for cancers (not related to their liver or hep c) who then were put on treatment for Hep C.  Comparison..none.  Full blown chemo is by far worse than the hep c treatment.  Just my 2 cents from my three patients in this situation.

Gi.PA

[Martee]

There is a woman at the support group I went to last time in the same situation. She had just gone through chemo for breast cancer and said the same thing, the chemo was a breeze compared to the treatment. It really depends on the person. This is my forth month on treatment, and I've had a couple of little problems here and there, but I get up every morning, go to work, and still do my household chores. I'm on Procrit right now.

[lackalustre]

everyone reacts differently.  i have a friend who completed chemo for breast cancer then went on to do the PEG/riba for hepc.  she said the chemo was much easier.   just make sure you get on an antidepressant and meds to deal with side effects if needed and keep up the fight.