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Week Six of 3 med tx/ALL ALONE
Hi everybody, I hope that you all can help/understand exactly what I am going through right now on this tx. I am on Peg-interferon 2b/Ribavirin and Victrelis. I feel very strange, for lack of a better word. I have zero liver damage right now and I am hoping that I am not putting myself and my family members through absolute hell all for nothing. I have become depressed and irritable. I hope that this does not cause me to get divorced. I have NO sex drive and I also have zero desire to even cook meals for myself never mind my family. I feel so alone and my hope is that someone here can help me through this right now. Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the advice, yes I have also become a homebody as well. I just wish I could force myself to exercise, but I have no desire to be seen in public honestly. I know I would not work out at home, no motivation :( Hopefully the AD will start to help me. Since it also makes people sleepy it has already helped because before I just could never sleep & weeks of that will make a person miserable w/out being on this tx. I want to thank you for your friendship & understanding~I truly appreciate everyone here. This forum has already been a life saver!!!! Thank you for that! :)
Thanks my friend! We all deserve a great life, no matter our past indiscretions! I feel very fortunate to have found this forum & couldn't be happier to chat with other that know what I am going through right now, I feel so much love & care from everyone on here, so thank you so much for your kind words, understanding & friendship. I truly needed this!!! Thanks so so much!!!!! Cherie :)
Thanks for your support & understanding. Also all of the info, I am already feeling much less like a deserted island, all alone & riddled with guilt by the things I used to do that I just cannot or do not want to do anymore. I even HATE talking to my mom or dad on the phone, and they are in CT (I am in NC) so my mom really worries about me & calls more often than usual and it takes everything I have to pick up the phone when it rings and she's on the other end. My mom is my best friend & I have zero desire to talk to her, I get aggravated & agitated by her & this makes me feel lousy. I love her & I know that she's only trying to help but....well you said it all...everything you posted about is exactly what I feel like 90% of the time. Thanks for the understanding & friendship it is so appreciated! Cherie
just remember to get up and at least walk around outside. it helps to get some exercise or the sx will feel worse. and also drink LOTS of water! that's very important. i forced myself to work out 3x/weekly and i was glad i did. my sx were minimal thru out the 48 weeks. best wishes. belle
Wow! You sound EXACTLY the way I feel right now. I don't even want to do ANYTHING AT ALL! Not talking on the phone, being out in public gives me panic attacks & cooking/cleaning forget it. My husband is angry with me because he works 10-12 hr days & doesn't understand why almost 4-5 days out of the week that I just CANNOT make him dinner or do the dishes. It ***** because he makes me feel like s**t & worthless. It makes me very sad. I wish he could understand a little bit. I know he's tired after a full day of work & I'm so lucky to not have to work right now, cause I just would not be able to hold a job. He says he can see how I feel terrible but could I plz just do this or that...no he truly doesn't get it, but he's HCV+ too & 1 day if my tx works he wants to do it too, maybe then he'll get it. Never mind the insomnia & depression, I have gone days w/out a shower cause I feel like I just don't care to, or it's too much work to even wash up. That's pretty bad. Sorry for the lengthy post but I am in desperate need of understanding. On Friday I & started Remeron & beside it being an antidepressant it's also a sleep aid and since I have gotten a few nights of decent sleep I feel a little bit better already...thank God! Thanks for "listening" to my rant! I truly appreciate the support & friendship from someone that KNOWS!!! :)
Cherie, welcome to the forum. You are among friends here and lots of good advice. Since many have already gone through what you are experiencing, it helps to guide you down the path which can be overwhelming at times.
The first months of trt were a major period of adjustment for me. There were times when I didn't understand my own behavior with some major mood swings. These meds are do alter your mood in addition to making you feel like crap, so there's a lot going on for you to adjust to. My wife was not able to recognize this since I looked normal. I expected her to understand how I felt, but realized that wasn't possible. Although I was in no mood to do it, I had to explain how I felt until she understood what was going on inside. I wanted to escape deep inside the "man cave" and be left alone, but that wasn't the way to deal with this, since my trt lasted for 48 wks. Fortunately, she was able to recognize and understand these moods, and things actually began to taper off for me as I adjusted to the new norm.
As mentioned by swimmer, try to do some for of exercise if you feel up to it. It helped me tremendously. It can be as simple as a short walk, but getting up off the couch and getting some fresh air really does help. But only if you have the energy to do it. Once this trt is over you will feel normal again, so keep your eye on the finish line and take this day by day. If we can do it, you can too. Best of luck to you.
The first months of trt were a major period of adjustment for me. There were times when I didn't understand my own behavior with some major mood swings. These meds are do alter your mood in addition to making you feel like crap, so there's a lot going on for you to adjust to. My wife was not able to recognize this since I looked normal. I expected her to understand how I felt, but realized that wasn't possible. Although I was in no mood to do it, I had to explain how I felt until she understood what was going on inside. I wanted to escape deep inside the "man cave" and be left alone, but that wasn't the way to deal with this, since my trt lasted for 48 wks. Fortunately, she was able to recognize and understand these moods, and things actually began to taper off for me as I adjusted to the new norm.
As mentioned by swimmer, try to do some for of exercise if you feel up to it. It helped me tremendously. It can be as simple as a short walk, but getting up off the couch and getting some fresh air really does help. But only if you have the energy to do it. Once this trt is over you will feel normal again, so keep your eye on the finish line and take this day by day. If we can do it, you can too. Best of luck to you.
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Your symptoms are very common side effects of Hepatitis C treatment. Interferon and Ribavirin cause numerous side effects and the Victrelis adds even more side effects.
The symptoms that you mentioned ... depression, irritability, lack of motivation, lack of sex drive ... are all side effects from the medications. Other common side effects include fatigue, no energy, inability to concentrate, brain fog, flu like symptoms, aches, pains, headaches, dry mouth, nausea, gastrointestinal problems, rash, itching, gum problems, chills, dizziness, weakness, and many other side effects.
If you are feeling depressed please contact your doctor and let your doctor know you are feeling depressed. Interferon can cause severe depression in some people and mild depression in others. Your doctor should be able to refer to a psychiatrist for an urgent evaluation to determine if you need antidepressants and, if you need them, which AD would be best for you to take. Do not ignore this depression as Interferon can cause people to become very depressed, even to the point of being suicidal, so it is important to get an evaluation ASAP and treatment if indicated. The psychiatrist can also evaluate your irritability, which can also be a symptom of depression (and a side effect of the Hep C treatment drugs).
As far as your other symptoms, there is not much you can do about the sex drive while you are on the drugs. It is a side effect and should resolves by itself after you finish treatment. Or, it may resolve during treatment. Some of these side effects come and go.
As far as fatigue and no motivation, that is from the drugs. You just have to slow down and try to do the best you can while treating with these drugs. You will feel better after finishing the drugs.
The fatigue and no motivation can be worsened by anemia so be sure to keep a very close eye on your hemoglobin and other blood counts. You should have complete blood counts at least every 2 weeks and more often if your blood counts are low.
It sounds like your family has no idea what you are going through and how debilitating this treatment is. Can you sit down and talk frankly with your family and let them know how debilitating this treatment is, how sick you are, and how bad you feel. Is there anyone who understands who can sit with you while you try to help your family understand that you are sick. Anyone who can give you some support and back you up. Your family needs to understand that treatment is very difficult and that you need to focus on treatment so that you will be cured. They should be helping you attain a cure. Perhaps you could let them read the responses you receive in this thread.
If they still do not understand or will not support you in this treatment, then please know that we do understand and we will try to help you get through treatment as much as we can. You are 6 weeks into treatment. That is a very good start. We will support you and help you. Just post any time you need help or have questions or just need to vent.
(Just for the record, several of us did take antidepressants during treatment with very good effect.)
ADVERSE REACTIONS
PEGASYS alone or in combination with COPEGUS causes a broad variety of serious adverse reactions (see BOX WARNING and WARNINGS). In all studies, one or more serious adverse reactions occurred in 10% of patients receiving PEGASYS alone or in combination with COPEGUS.
The most common life-threatening or fatal events induced or aggravated by PEGASYS and COPEGUS were depression, suicide, relapse of drug abuse/overdose, and bacterial infections; each occurred at a frequency of <1%.
Nearly all patients in clinical trials experienced one or more adverse events. The most commonly reported adverse reactions were psychiatric reactions, including depression, irritability, anxiety, and flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, pyrexia, myalgia, headache, and rigors.
.....
http://www.druglib.com/druginfo/pegasys/side-effects_adverse-reactions/
Please visit the forum often. We will respond to your questions and give you support as you go through treatment.
Best of luck.