interferon and ribavarin treatment

[happyhepper]

Hello out there all you heppers - tell me - does anyone feel okay on this medicine??? I am due to startg combination therapy in March and I would love to hear from all those that feel okay!!!
Happy New Year to you all and lots o love

[jalibear]

I went through six months of PegIntron/Rebetol.  It was pretty awful, but I am "undetectable" six months after treatment, so I guess it was worth it. The problem I'm having is that I can't bounce back. I am working three days a week and doing some other stuff, but I can't do much without getting exhausted and even sick. Doctors haven't been much help in this area, any suggestions??

[lucille1013]

hi-i've read comments here from time to time.i am genotype 2b and completed 6 mos of tx 1 mo. ago. i first want to warn those of you offering leftover prescriptions to others that this is illegal (even though it may seem to be the morally correct choice to make).if anyone with the power or the mean spirit wanted to they could likely get you in alot of trouble.the other thing is that i was wondering how those of you who finished tx feel/felt afterward-did you ever get back to your self as you remembered it to be? did the symptoms you may have attributed to hep c ever go away or diminish? I feel more energetic little by little, but am still falling asleep  at odd times-can't read for 10 min. without falling to sleep- this is definitely a side effect to the meds for me as i never had this problem before. i've had hep c for 30 years-was diagnosed with autoimmune thyroid disease 26 years ago, fibromyalgia 9 years ago,have always had trouble with fatigue but also trouble sleeping.now i sleep $ sleep and can't seem to get anything done- also seem to have lost some confidence and pleasure in living.i've been depressed on and off my whole life, yet did well throughout tx in that department, thank god. now i feel depressed and unable to get back into life. anyone else feel like this?

[psychdoc]

I finished tx two months ago and it was kinda like a ride through hell. The good news is that I had so much brain fog that I only remember some of it. Tx is doable but it really helps to have a supportive doctor an staff as well as family support. There were several times that I thought I would not make it but I took it a few minutes at a time. I worked part time and took about three week off totally to deal with sides. I know there are some folks who glide through this tx. I wasn't one of them but I used the support on this site for my help in sticking to it.
My doctor's philosophy was to give me something for any side effect that I could not handle. If I got addicted to a medication, he said I could deal with it after tx. He wanted to give me the best chance to attain SVR. Ambien can be addictive but it is not addictive like the benzodiazepine class. It also has a shorter half life so you don't feel groggy in the am. I was also on Vicodin for severe headaches and joint pain, atarax for itching, Flexaril for muscle relaxation, Lexapro for depression and Ambien for sleep. Since tx I am only on the ambien 5 mg, lexapro and an occasional prn medication. I plan to slowly get off the meds next month.
Luck to both of you, Love
Barb

[berlynn]

Sure...I thought I submitted it once about a month ago but....who knows what I did exactly.

Let's see...I am female..geno type 1...do ya have to know my age??.....just kidding...I'm 46. I live in AZ and I'm taking pegasys, riba, effexor, and neupogen ...oh and I just had shot 30/48  two days ago.. Thanks for including me. berlynn

[oldhippiechick67]

I dont have your info on my website, do you want to be included?
I need your age, state, meds u r taking, what week of tx and genotype.  Thanks!  OHC

[berlynn]

Happyhepper, I seem to be one of the few who had little to no bad sides in the beginning. My only side in the beginning was tiredness...(i had quite a bit of that before tx)I did not really notice any difference from shot night to any other. One thing though...I could never be sure what days would be my "tired"days...so it made it kinda hard to make plans...each week was different. After a while I started having the joint aches...especially in my right elbow...but this was still bearable. Most of my aches and pains have been in my neck and shoulders....I got a hand held back massager for Christmas and it has worked wonders in working out the knots.. I think that my worst sx's have been recently since my WBC went way down and the doc put me on Neupogen... I started getting really bad head aches and now I am speeding and full of energy one minute and then in the next... I feel flattened by the "TRUCK".
If the neupogen keeps me on tx and lets me finish the whole thing out...then it's well worth it.

Truthfully, you are going to hear more complaining about sides on this site because we can... it's one of the few places we can go to and let off steam and complain about how we feel cause people here can empathize and most know exactly how we feel... most often our loved ones at home can't really understand what we are feeling.. Take care, berlynn