Week 3 and Extremely Tired

[divadeb]

I take my shot on Friday, and this weekend really kicked my butt; so tired I could barely stand up not to mention flu symptoms and nausea.  Does this get better as the treatment goes on?  Or worse?  I'm starting to worry if I'll be able to keep my job; I'm in a high pressure sales position.  Also, had a few crying spells and that is just NOT ME!  I have been on Cymbalta for years, so maybe I should tell my doc it's not working during treatment and he can make an adjustment.  Any feedback is appreciated, thanks.

[newleaf09]

You and the doctor will be looking at your bloodwork for hgb, neutrophils and platelets, the most important ones to keep up with.  Plus all the other CBC, liver panel things.  Ask for a copy of the bloodwork to take home.  Also ask him to explain anything you are unclear about.  He'll do it.  Take a notebook and pencil if you need to.

He will have your starting counts and your current counts to look at.  Depending on how high your hgb was to start, it may take a while to get down below 10, the level where it needs to be attended to with either a rescue med like procrit, or a reduction of your riba dose.  If you have insurance to cover the procrit, definitely do that instead of dose reduction.  You need to keep on full riba as much as possible for TX succes.  Low HGB is the only thing you will actually feel, but low neutrophils can also be corrected with another rescue med.  Low platelets are addressed with interferon dose reduction (no rescue meds for that).  You should be fine for a while longer without worrying. just feels crummy.

[divadeb]

Thanks for all the comments.  If you would have asked me yesterday, I would have said "I can't do this" and then today, I feel normal.  One question; how will I know if my hgb drops?  I have an appointment with doc after one month treatment, and bloodwork.  Will I know more about these things after my appointments?  I really appreciate all your help, best to you all.

[divadeb]

Thanks for the comment; it's comforting to know I'm not alone.  Today, work was good and I actually feel better than I've felt in a while.  I guess I'll learn to take it one day at a time and appreciate the good days more than ever.

[newleaf09]

My hgb started to drop at 3 weeks.  Odd thing is that your hemoglobin may even still be within normal range.  It's the drop from normal that feels so exhausting.  Expect breathlessness, also, since hgb is the oxygen carrying cell. After a few months most folks blood stabilizes.  Levels will be pretty low, but stop making drastic drops.

It feels the worst at the beginning while it is dropping from normal.  Later, you'll be even lower but you get a little more used to it, or maybe by then you've adjusted your activities to something closer to wahat you can manage.

There was a study that correlated low hgb to a strong reponse to riba.  That's a good indicator, lousy as you feel now.  Hang in there.

[meakea]

Yes, Divadeb, for most it does get better after a while.  It took until about week 12 for me to feel like I wasn't going to fall over with every step I took.  I have been working full time from day one but it wasn't at all easy those first 3 months.  It has gotten better and I have adjusted to the much slower pace that I have to adhere to.

I'm currently in week 41 of 48 and I'm just kind of slowly pacing along (a snail's pace but still a pace).

I did, however, use my accrued vacation days to take every Monday off for the first few months of treatment. That way I took my shots on Friday night and I had until Tuesday to get myself feeling a bit better before I went back to work.  After my vacation ran out I went back to 5 days a week and I've continued with that (with a few half days off here and there for doc appts and a just few days when I was just too "bleck" to go to work).

I didn't have any disability payments to fall back on so it was either work and get paid or don't work and then don't get paid so I was determined to work because I don't like not getting paid.  

[winner727]

It does get better ,just not right away.Im on shot 16 this tuesday. I have to say it has gotten almost uneventful .thats just my experience .actually I heard the end {48 wks}  somtimes brings back the" nastys"    my hard wks were 1   4    6 and 7   and  11 .other than that ,not too bad . you can do it ! your not suffering alone !        bob

[Wilful1]

I was quite tired at the beginning of tx.  I started last July and am sure slept through that month and August lol.  HCA is correct when he says this tx is a rollercoaster ride.  What were issues at the beginning of tx changed as time went on; however, being easily fatigued stayed with me but not like at the beginning.  There were days I felt pretty good and that was usually toward the end of the week when the interferon began to wear off.  Pace yourself and listen to your body.
Best wishes
Wilful

[HCA]

The effects of treatment are very unpredictable,so no one can say if yours will get better or worse.
You can feel like death in the morning and almost normal in the evening of the same day-it's a roller coaster.
I also worked in direct sales for many years and have done treatment so I understand the challenge.
If it gets too much you just have to surrender to the treatment,you cant do the impossible.
You may find ,as mentioned that things improve,so go day by day and don't stress.
Health is the priority.