Anyone have moodiness issues increasing with treatment?

[Dale_Ray]

Let me give you the stats first, male 54, 1A. Next shot is 19 with 29 left. Mild fibrosis shown in biopsy. Have been doing pretty good since week 12 and many of the sides went away but it seems that my agrivation level is increasing substantially. I am taking Pegasus / Copegus / Nupogen / Lexapro / Ambien. Seems like everything has become a irritant lately. Anyone else experiencing problems like this or have a solution. My doctor says it just goes with treatment. Dale

[Dale_Ray]

You know last week Alady1620 said she dropped taking her anti depressants and felt better because of it. I haven't heard how she was doing this week yet. I started out on Welbutron and they hyped me up so much I could shut my mind down at night. Then he moved me to these Lexapro and I sleep pretty good except for having to go to Pee about 6 or 8 times per night. So far I've sprained my ankle and almost broken my nose on those little jaunts. Nygirl calls it riba rage and I have heard a lot of people here talking about it. My wife wants me to be perfect through the pain (hips and knees) and misery. **** I wasn't perfect before treatment. Ha! Can't even walk on water. Dale

[Dale_Ray]

I know and when it hits bad I just want to be alone and let it pass but some people like to pile on about that time and I'm usually pretty capable of piling back. Then it seems I walk around like a robot monkey saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've got to find a way to deal with it though because all it really does it create more stress and as we know stress is bad right now. Just think when you take your last shot (ONLY 7 more) I'll be more than halfway to the end of my treatment. Hang in there! Dale

[cuteus]

A consult with a mental health provider can help determine if medication is needed, since it is not depression the only mood alteration some people exhibit, a hepatologist is not the best person to prescribe proper tx.
http://www.aegis.com/news/catie/2005/CATE-N20050605.html
http://jop.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/18/1/41
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/nsaid.htm

HEre is an excerpt of one study from France:
Background:

Interferon (IFN)-induced mood disorders are common and often responsible for treatment discontinuation. Most studies reported these disorders as depressive episodes and thus recommended antidepressant treatment. However, in clinical practice, patients frequently complain of irritability and hostility and cases of mania and bipolar syndromes have been reported with IFN.

Conclusions:

Our findings, showing that IFN-induced mood disorders consist of a mixture of manic/hypomanic and depressive symptoms, differ substantially from those of studies published so far identifying depression as a hallmark of IFN-induced mood disorders. They may have important therapeutic implications : when manic symptoms are prevalent, antidepressant may exacerbate these symptoms. Antipsychotic such as AMISULPRIDE should rather be used, allowing the continuation of antiviral therapy in the majority of patients.

[Dale_Ray]

Hey thanks for the encouragement. Before the treatment we went out a lot to do different things saw a new movie almost every week and did weekend get aways and I know she misses that but this is the hand we are dealt.

You are the first person to speak of the noise thing and it driving you up the wall. I have that same problem. I watch tv with it muted half the time now. I ask my wife why she is yelling at me and she says she isn't. If the dog barks I want to squeeze his little yorkie throat. Very sensitive to noises and at times flickering lights like on the tv when screens change. Just weird I guess. Dale

[can-do-man]

dale say his wife is.....Sadamn and Kadafai. She's packin plenty WMD too......Don't they all dale??? Hope things level out for ya soon.... JUST KIDDIN GALS.

Kalio says....We will be back to our old selves sooner than we think..... Not quite sure where that leaves me then. Oh well

NYgirl says.....things dont GET to me as bad as they used to....
I've noticed that also, now you just ignore me.... Glad your having a better day though.

[Mister beagle bailey]

Sorry your having it but it is common.  With me it comes and goes. Glad your almost half way done and soon all these buggers will be gone. Hope your feeling better.

Beagle

[Dale_Ray]

How did you know about the bugger problem too. That one was top secret. Ha! Thanks, Dale

[can-do-man]

says....Sorry your having it but it is common. With me it comes and goes...... Just where does it go beagle? Does it take its bag and just leave? Does it tell you when it will be back?

Help me out here , you got me all confused.

[NYgirl]

It's the Riba it makes us crazy - for real.  Haven't you heard all the RibaRage comments? It's all a big part of that. Fortunately my family KNOWS that the moodiness if resulting from a. real reasons like yeah this SUCKS and b. the compounding forces of the Riba and they just go uh oh she's in one of her moods and walk away and I complain that their breathing out loud is annoying me and if they don't stop I'll stop them for good ;-)

Sorry you're having it but it's VERY common.

How can you already be on 19 my GOD! :)

[sindog]

I take clonozapine for anxiety. I am at shot 20, also very little side effects. Have noticed the same thing, increasing anxiety. I take peg intron, ambien and Nuprogen. Maybe it's the Nuprogen, but when I get aggravated, I take an extra clonzapine. Currently I am taking 20 mg three times a day. Makes you a little lack luster, but works.

[sindog]

Also, anxiety is a form of depression. It's part of the  bi-polar effect of the drugs. Zoloft I understand also works better on anxiety. Lexapro is more for the down, zoloft for the up. I don't know much about bi-polar desease, but it is a side effect of tx.
Jim

[Dale_Ray]

I know can you believe that many weeks have passed so soon? I'm almost halfway there and You're a few weeks ahead of me so you can keep telling me in advance what to expect.

The problem with the moodiness thing is that it doesn't seem to bother me but my wife is getting a little thread bear. Her frustration with change in life style is stating to show through. She went from a cross between Florence Knightingale and Sister Teresa to a cross between Sadamn and Kadafai. She's packin plenty WMD too. ha! My daughter ignore me so that works out pretty well. My wife doesn't have that particular quality of letting things go. ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You seem in good spirits today I know last week was packed with stress for you. Stay out of trouble:) Dale

[dodger1]

I know exactly how you are feeling.  I have been biting my boyfriends head off almost everyday.  I want him to get out of my life right now but he won't because he says it is the medicine.  I snap and throw my daughter's math book across the room and I never used to do stuff like that.  I tried taking 3 different anti-depressants and all of them made my nausea worse so I stopped.  I get so stressed out at work also and then I apoligize after.  Sometimes I just cry real hard and then I feel better.  It has to be the riba.  I am trying to hang on for the next 7 shots but it is real hard.  Good luck to you!  Sheila

[NYgirl]

AH isn't it so true I so so understand what you mean about your wife! After time progresses on treatment it's like all of those WONDERFUL pronouncements and proclamations and undying mountains of effort that people want to help us seem to uh trickle away it becomes WHAT WHAT YOU WANT ANOTHER WATER YOU JUST HAD ONE THIS MORNING!!!!!  What do you MEAN you don't want to go to the Jones's for dinner tonight so WHAT if it's shot night!  ;-)

hahahahaha that sure is how it's been in my home!

I have to tell you that I KNOW that this Paxill has saved my life --- I'm bad enough as it is, I think they really would KILL me if I got any worse!

I never took an AD before and I have to say, maybe I always should have been on them because the anxiety I've fought all my life seems to be so much better than before...things dont GET to me as bad as they used to.

PS I am doing GREAT today. I just fully realized that it's going to be wonderful to have a new job and not have to work for someone who can't stand me. :) Little Danny DeVito clone LOL.

[NYgirl]

;-P

Right back at ya!

(I haven't been on too much I am doing EONs better now that I came in to work, faced everyone and told them how hAPPY I am to be moving over to a new position - but this weekend well I was DREADING IT).

Now i'm back to being full of p*ss and vinegar again...this weekend I felt like a fuzzy little lamb that couldn't scare anybody - and that's not me or the image I portray on tv!  ;-)

[Mister beagle bailey]

They can't make up their minds, they know I'm going home to Fl. next week for 6 days and the buggers decided to leave without me.  Have no idea when they'll be back, probably before me.

How are you all doing?  From your post can-do it seems your doing just fine. :)

              Beagle

[IwillBeatHCV]

Hello,

I am on week 42/48, taking Pegasys, Copegus, Neupogen and I can tell you that one of my worst side affect has been the irritability and mood swings (besides low white blood cell count). EVERYTHING bothers me now!! It has gotten so bad that my wife and I aren't talking. She tries to understand about my treatment but I guess I have been too much for her to handle. And at work it has been a real challenge also. Normally I would keep quiet when it wasn't appropriate to make a comment, but now if something bothers me or if some one says something to my dislike, I say the first thing that comes to mind--and it isn't always pretty. And it very odd how I can't control it. Every day I say to my self: "please control your self" , but it doesn't work. At work no one knows about my treatment and they have been wondering what has gotten into me ( God only knows what they're speculating about me :-). This will go away after treatment I hope...

[strator]

dale- You put it very well..the agitation level. I've been through a couple of family life things while on tx but they were okay. But- The little dropping something, eyes giving me problems just when I have detail work, hands and itch problems...I can be going through the day pleasantly and boom! 'Broken Shoelace Syndrome' as they call it in recovery. It's inconsistent and the last 2 weeks I have been better with it. But give me an appliance to rip apart(dryer - can man not collar type) or run out of coffee filters, have my son be nice enough to put the dishes away but one's in the wrong cabinet(normally I wouldn't care), Dad leaves the caps lock on so my password don't work and
...Full Tilt Boogie Woogie, dial 911, mother's pull your children off the streets, get the chopper here NOW!...strator's frustration cork just popped! Man. No wonder my kid's dying his hair, figures maybe I won't recognise him. I've chose not ot use Ads or anxiety stuff, for me. But I have a lot of friends to talk to when it gets outta hand. I have apologies and know how to use em. Tho that doesn't make it easier on Dad or the kid. Tell ya the truth outside the house it usually doesn't happen. Best to you through this.

Cuteus- You mentioned in another thread about the relation between depression/anxiety and the fatigue. I really think that's a big part of it. In fact I was talking to my recovery mentor who doesn't have hep but has been through prostrate cancer, tx for nueropathy(sp), and treated for chronic fatigue. He says when they first tried to help him with the fatigue even the Yale Docs said they weren't sure whether the fatigue causes the depression or vice a versa. I had a lot of fatigue before tx, and it was only after I learned about hep and the liver that I stopped beating myself up that I had no motivation. It still gets to me but accepting that naps are part of the process and healing, and informing my family of that has helped. I still feel fairly overwhelmed when I wake up, but epxerience has shown me that after I get rolling, have some java, get busy, then the feeling goes away for awhile. It comes back but at least I know its not forever.
Getting rid of the fatigue was probably the determining factor in my choosing to treat-even if it's not a guarantee. Thanks for reminding me because if I watch my diet, get my rest, and do the best I can to manage the skin problems, I have a better day. The agitation level isn't so likely to cause an outburst. Figure if I get rid of this fatigue- a lot of the mental doubts may go away.

Can Do Man- I was beginning to wonder if you were back on your old shelves.

Hey! I think I finished my taxes, course my best thinkin got me arrested for 'pool hoppin' at 17.

Everybody curl your lips, between us maybe we can get a smile rollin,
Don

[jmjm530]

From studies with cancer patients on Interferon, Dr. Andrew Miller suggests two types of anti-depressants may be needed for those treating with interferon. Specifically mood/cognitive disorders to be treated with serotonim uptake inhibitors like Zoloft and the neuro-vegetative disorders (lethargy) to be treated with another class of anti-depressants.

From Projects In Knowledge. See Page 3. Dr. Andrew Miller
http://www.projectsinknowledge.com/Init/G/1700/1700-TxReporter.pdf

Also in the news regarding depression and HCV treatment:
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2006/032106_a.html
--------------------------------

Depression, Hep C, Relatives and Friends:

Week 1: "Just tell us anything we can do. We're here for you. Anytime. Anything."

Week 10: "Can I call you back tomorrow, can't talk now. "

Week 20: Sorry I haven't returned your calls. Really been busy with stuff.

Week 50: ------------------------------------------- LOL


###

[Dale_Ray]

Don at least I've reached a point where I kill only the insignificant people who bother me. You know the ones within reach at the point I go from sane to insane in a nano second. You know faster than three gods could skin a minnow. Hand in there we will survive and then I told my wife it was vacation time and I would leave her a forwarding address. Dale

[Dale_Ray]

You hit the nail on the head with your weekly schdule. A old man once told me that at the end of your life you could count your true friends on your fingers. Funny I never talked to him much after that comment. Dale

[jmjm530]

LOL

Or...What do you call a friend in need?
Answer: A pest.

-----------------------------

Anyone remember the very funny scene, in I believe the movie Network. One of the characters was talking on the phone about a relationship where I guess he was dumped for being too needy.
He says to his friend, something like -- "So why can't needy be sexy"

[Mister beagle bailey]

How are you doing today?  Hope all is well, you know what I mean.  How is you new position going?

Beagle :)

[cuteus]

for many yrs I tried to understand the mild, persistent depression-like state I was living with. I could not seem to enjoy the good things in life like going for a stroll on the boardwalk by the beach, one of my favorites.
I started analyzing what could be at work, and what I decided was that, if you are experiencing a chronic, debilitating condition, such as chronic pain on a daily basis, you are utilizing a lot of mental energy to "deal" with it during your waking hours, much like hanging on to a rope for long periods of time, what little energy you might have is been used to the limit sometimes. If you add more "wt", even if it is a feather, it is going to feel like a ton of bricks on your tired arms(in our case, our mental disposition) and it might be just enough for you to let go of the ropes and fall. That silly event might cause us to snap as if we were hit by a catastrophic event because we did not have any energy to spare on the unexpected "wt". This in turn will cause us more distress and depression.
If we can receive a reprieve of the pain and discomfort with effective medications, our attitude might improve significantly.
This little theory of mine was confirmed when tx ended and I decided to go for an epidural for my back since all aches seemed to intensify for a few months post tx.  The 5 wk reprieve changed my mental outlook immensely.
  
Now that Califia has shared the amazing recovery due to b 12, (I wish I would have known that at my EOT), many here can benefit from that experience and perhaps keep an eye on severe nerve related pain.
I am sure to ask for a panel on possible deficiencies next time I see the PCP, and invest on the b complex I used to take prior to hep c diagnosis. The problem is that I read niacin is not good for the liver...and all complexes have it. Anyone has an opinion on this b vitamin?
anyway, tell your loved ones that there is life after tx, and it is good for the majority of us.