I was dx last May with hep c, 1a. I, too, have had a long history with mood disorders, but my doctor told me that he has some patients who never had histories of emotional problems and ended up with them while on tx, and some patients who have histories of emotional disorders who do quite fine. I'm in the latter group, although, that is not to say that I don't have weepy days. For me it is a cyclic week, starting with flu-like symptoms, moving through weepy days to grumpy days, and then a few good days where I feel like myself-almost lol.
Best wishes to you.
Wilful
Thank you Rain. I will see some other doctors. I will try some more meds for my mental issues. Sure is nice to know another person understands whats it is all about.
Dany,
The first Doc I was sent to when I was diagnosed was horrible. He came into the room, Hadnt even received my files from my reg doc and sat down and begin to talk. He talked and talked and talked. Then he asked me one question, Do you or have you suffered from depression. I said I was treated for depression and anxiety from 1997- 1999 because I watched my father have a heart attack and die in my car. He blankly looked at me and said then I will not treat you for Hep C. I said well I had a few questions I wanted to ask and he said Look I know what I am talking about here and you do not. Let me do the talking. I stood up and walked out. I am not going to be told to shut up by a doctor that doesnt even have my files and has no intention on treating me or even trying to help me understand.
I guess my point is.. find a Doc that you feel comfy with. Whatever he tells you make sure to ask here and do a lot of research online. I had my doc start me on Antidepressants before my treatment because I dont want to wait to find out if I am going ot NEED them or not. Thats just not a chance Im willing to take.
Good luck and God Bless
I would like to take a slightly different approach here then most of the people on this forum because I believe depression can be a life threatening illness and believe it needs to be dealt with first and then you can tackle Hep C.
You say you are bipolar and are suffering from depression. I assume you mean you are going through a long depressive episode. That you are not cycling through the highs and are stuck in a depressive state?
Bipolar disorder is an illness with large hereditary factors that affects your moods it has nothing to do with Hep C or thinking happy thoughts and other similar myths.
“I can not be treated for the hep c because I suffer from depression.” I assume your doctor told you this because Interferon, one of the drugs used in hep C treatment, can cause and bring on a depressive episode? This is true but if you get your bipolar illness under control you can do Hep C treatment (you just need to be closely monitored) should you choose to.
You ask what you can do-
1. You need to get your bipolar illness under control. For most people there is no reason to be suffering with depression. The current treatments for bipolar illness do work for most people. You should have your meds dosage changed or you need different meds. If your current doctor is not able to help you then you should look for help elsewhere. Please don’t continue to suffer. I know it is difficult to deal with the medical system and doctors when you are depressed. But try to gather your strength and then follow through until you find the right meds to control your bipolar illness. As you know controlling your moods takes more than the right meds you must adjust your lifestyle, be aware of changes in one's energy, mood, sleep and eating behaviors, to control the things in life that might start a mood swing.
The Hep C condition won’t change in a month or even a year usually unless you have advance liver disease. So concentrate on getting your moods stabilized. Then you can take on the Hep C treatment or not.
2. Getting tested for your genotype and having a liver biopsy can be done concurrently with stabilizing your moods so that when you are feeling better you have the data you need in order to choose whether you should/want to treat your Hep C sometime soon or wait for the newer more effective meds that will be available in the next few years.
I had suffered with depression for decades. Now I have my depression under control and I was able to try treatment for 3 months in 2008 (although it did not work for me) without becoming depressed. I did start taking anti-depressants just in case I need them 6 weeks before starting treatment. Also there is a lot of information available now for managing depression while being treated for the HepC virus.
Of course you feel sick and tired. Depression can make life seem empty, bleak, and hopeless. Once you start to feel better you can manage your Hep C too.
Take it one day, hour, minute at a time. Hang in there. Life does get better.
Best of Luck!
Hectorsf
I noticed in your profile that you also suffer from being bipolar which is an issue to factor in before treating.
When you say, "I cannot treat because of depression", is this your own assessment or have you been to a liver specialist (hepatologist) and/or a psychiatrist to discuss this issue. Did they both concur. I intentionally left family doctors and gastroenterologists out of this because neither is current on treatments and personally I would not seek their opinion on this issue.
As "Lalapple" suggests, many here take ADs prior to treatment, but I suspect you are already on some drugs? Bottom line is that you have to get the best advice out there before making the decision and then weigh the relative risks versus rewards.
What your genotype is and how much liver damage you have (stage of biopsy) should also factor into any decision. If you have little liver damage, then you could arguably wait for shorter, better treatments. If you have more significant liver damage, then you might want to weight the risk/reward equation differently.
-- Jim
some of us here are on antidepressants during tx, i was about to be on it too, but decided not to bc i fear it would be hard to get off once i start. tx has a lot of hardships, some from unfamiliar grounds, i felt like i lost part of myself in tx, i lost interest in some things i used to love. but when i chose to start tx, it was for the purpose of having a better future and possibly for better health. i'm 19 and have a long way to go,, don't want a virus to hamper my potentials you know? so everytime i'm sad, i try to tell myself that there are still people in the world who are in worse situations and need my prayers. then i forget myself and stopped feeling sorry for myself.
it is so important to have a positive attitude towards tx. and if you feel like you can't do it by yourself, join a community. we are a community here and hope, support, inspirations, encouragement, and amazing happens here everyday.
best of luck