Aa
kinda depressed
I am almost done with the triple therapy treatment - 5 weeks to go (out of 24) and I just now started feeling kinda depressed, overreacting, really sad. Up until now I've had just periodic crying jags but have felt a lot of hope too. Has anyone had this happen with them? Don't anti depressants take a while to work? And I'm almost done. Yay! I would do this all over again, believe me. I'm just confused about this dark funk I'm in and what to do about it (if anything).
Hey there, saw your question and yes, I had similar problems on tx. It does get better. I am so glad you have spoken to your doctor. We are all different and react differently to tx. It is not a one size fits all.
I hope you are feeling better.
I hope you are feeling better.
Thanks everyone. I did talk to my doctor yesterday. He showed me what is going on (in my life) and how the meds are making me more emotional. Now I don't feel so crazy (at least today). It feels good to hear you all talk about how emotional you are getting and I can expect this to be a ride for a while. I'm learning to PAUSE quite a bit before I react :) And I need to stop reading into things that AREN'T THERE. Thanks so much for your help. It really means a lot to hear from people who REALLY understand how this feels...... I hope I can give back like you guys are once I'm done with this....
together we can:)
together we can:)
Hey guys, she never said anything about feeling suicidal.
Maybe we should ask her how she feels?
When I went ballistic, crying and ranting at my hepatology appointment, I was shocked when the issue of suicide came up.
I knew I was being emotional, caused by the meds, and yes depressed.
But for me, the idea of giving up means lying on a hot beach somewhere.
Suicide ? Not me.
And we don't know about uriah, only she knows.
Maybe we should ask her how she feels?
When I went ballistic, crying and ranting at my hepatology appointment, I was shocked when the issue of suicide came up.
I knew I was being emotional, caused by the meds, and yes depressed.
But for me, the idea of giving up means lying on a hot beach somewhere.
Suicide ? Not me.
And we don't know about uriah, only she knows.
Having had suicidal ideation brought on by treatment and life situations, don't wait to talk to your doctor about what you are experiencing. It took my son calling my doctor directly because I was hiding my fears from my doctor. Not a good plan.
I concur with suezeeque.
See your doctor ASAP or call your doctor ASAP and tell him, her how you are feeling. Then you can discuss options and make a joint decision on how to preoceed.
Depression can be serious and potentialy life threatening. It is not something to ignore or let go.
From:
http://www.drugs.com/pro/pegasys.html#S5
Neuropsychiatric side effects:
"Life-threatening or fatal neuropsychiatric reactions may manifest in all patients receiving therapy with Pegasys and include suicide, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, depression, relapse of drug addiction, and drug overdose. These reactions may occur in patients with and without previous psychiatric illness.
Pegasys should be used with extreme caution in all patients who report a history of depression. Neuropsychiatric adverse events observed with alpha interferon treatment include aggressive behavior, psychoses, hallucinations, bipolar disorders, and mania. Physicians should monitor all patients for evidence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms. Patients should be advised to report any sign or symptom of depression or suicidal ideation to their prescribing physicians. In severe cases, therapy should be stopped immediately and psychiatric intervention instituted "
See your doctor ASAP or call your doctor ASAP and tell him, her how you are feeling. Then you can discuss options and make a joint decision on how to preoceed.
Depression can be serious and potentialy life threatening. It is not something to ignore or let go.
From:
http://www.drugs.com/pro/pegasys.html#S5
Neuropsychiatric side effects:
"Life-threatening or fatal neuropsychiatric reactions may manifest in all patients receiving therapy with Pegasys and include suicide, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, depression, relapse of drug addiction, and drug overdose. These reactions may occur in patients with and without previous psychiatric illness.
Pegasys should be used with extreme caution in all patients who report a history of depression. Neuropsychiatric adverse events observed with alpha interferon treatment include aggressive behavior, psychoses, hallucinations, bipolar disorders, and mania. Physicians should monitor all patients for evidence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms. Patients should be advised to report any sign or symptom of depression or suicidal ideation to their prescribing physicians. In severe cases, therapy should be stopped immediately and psychiatric intervention instituted "
Interferon is KNOWN to cause mental problems. Let's go with what's known here and not try to guess...
uriah1, please see your doctor. Explain how you're feeling. It's fairly common to experience what you're going through while treating with interferon. With only 5 weeks to go, it may or may not be a good idea to start on ADs. But the side effects of treatment drugs don't disappear immediately after you finish... It does take a bit of time to get back to 'normal'.
uriah1, please see your doctor. Explain how you're feeling. It's fairly common to experience what you're going through while treating with interferon. With only 5 weeks to go, it may or may not be a good idea to start on ADs. But the side effects of treatment drugs don't disappear immediately after you finish... It does take a bit of time to get back to 'normal'.
I had the same problem. The emotional stuff does not musts stop when tx stops, it takes a while. I ended up going on Prozac. The doc said ad meds often made you tired which I already was from tx and that many had told her they had more energy with Prozac, although it seemed more of a trend with female patients. It helped a lot and I had some improvements in a week. Of course B28's post on mania now scared the poo out of me, good to know.
I also read, after I started the meds, that reducing interferon to I think it was 130 was a practice for treating the depression. Ii think that was on the interferon site but can't remember. I probably would have asked my doc about that if I had kown. It was not suggested to me though.
Hope you talk to your doc. I am glad I did not just try to ride it out, so far.
I also read, after I started the meds, that reducing interferon to I think it was 130 was a practice for treating the depression. Ii think that was on the interferon site but can't remember. I probably would have asked my doc about that if I had kown. It was not suggested to me though.
Hope you talk to your doc. I am glad I did not just try to ride it out, so far.
Well, before 1996, the medical profession had not been prescribing "antidepressants" in the SSRI category. Since Prozac came on the market ( and other SSRI's followed)..Bipolar Disorder has increased by 800%, and now that itis being prescribe to children, we are seeing Bipolar Disorder in a much younger population: children. It was barely ever seen, before age 16~18 yrs, until the Docs began prescribing the AD"s...
So, if a person suffered from clinical depression BEFORE treatment began, then yeah, they will need to have their psych meds lined up beofre treatment, but if they never had a problem with depression, before this situation, then I would be more apt to believe that the depressions was caused by the tense situation, and not form the meds.
it's hard to tell sometime, if the depression is form the tough situation, or from the meds, this is my point- AD's can be dangerous, and they are specifically known for being hard on the liver.
So, if a person suffered from clinical depression BEFORE treatment began, then yeah, they will need to have their psych meds lined up beofre treatment, but if they never had a problem with depression, before this situation, then I would be more apt to believe that the depressions was caused by the tense situation, and not form the meds.
it's hard to tell sometime, if the depression is form the tough situation, or from the meds, this is my point- AD's can be dangerous, and they are specifically known for being hard on the liver.
'Doesn't the idea of going thru this incredibly tough treatment, and then, the idea of having the viral load come back, horrify you? "
How is your saying this helpful to the poster?
Please, we understand you are on tx, but try to think of the other person before posting.
If you want to discuss your own personal fears, there's a journal space you can go to and type to your heart's content.
Personally, despite depression and crying jags during tx, I finished last week, am post tp, happy, and not terrified of anything !
How is your saying this helpful to the poster?
Please, we understand you are on tx, but try to think of the other person before posting.
If you want to discuss your own personal fears, there's a journal space you can go to and type to your heart's content.
Personally, despite depression and crying jags during tx, I finished last week, am post tp, happy, and not terrified of anything !
My faith in Doctors has been shaken, considering the fact that my Primary Care Physician never saw any of the warning signs, that my liver was in trouble: my ALT/AST being 400/500 respectively....me losing fist sized chunks of blood, during my monthly cycle....me having night sweats, all thru-out the day, resulting in a continual rash....me being ubable to handle any kind of hot weather, menaing 80 degrees or above, would mean me waking up with heat-stroke (and I had been perfectly all my life, until last year, and going to the same Doctors office, that knew I had Hep C, for years and years.
So, although I went to the Doctor, and complained about these symptoms, she never once thought it had to do with my Hep C. I found out something was wrong (low platelettes) when I tried to participate in a research study, and was unable to participate, due to my elevated ALT/AST, and a FibroSure test that told me I had stage 4 cirrhosis....
Having 4 relatives that have dealt with depression, one being my daughter, who is in the mental hospital right now, I'd say I have a fairly good grip on antidepressant medicines. She was prescribed Prozac for her depression when she was 16 yrs old, which triggered a mania, and she has been in and out of themental hospital for the last 4 yrs now. So I try to warn people to be carefulk with AD's if they have a family history of Biploar Disorder. Many people have Bipolar Disorder for at least 20 yrs, before they get a diagnosis for it, and many have it, are diagnosed by a docotr, and still dont think they have it, but AD's can trigger Bipolar Mania, and once it's triggered, it's a life-long disease....
So, although I went to the Doctor, and complained about these symptoms, she never once thought it had to do with my Hep C. I found out something was wrong (low platelettes) when I tried to participate in a research study, and was unable to participate, due to my elevated ALT/AST, and a FibroSure test that told me I had stage 4 cirrhosis....
Having 4 relatives that have dealt with depression, one being my daughter, who is in the mental hospital right now, I'd say I have a fairly good grip on antidepressant medicines. She was prescribed Prozac for her depression when she was 16 yrs old, which triggered a mania, and she has been in and out of themental hospital for the last 4 yrs now. So I try to warn people to be carefulk with AD's if they have a family history of Biploar Disorder. Many people have Bipolar Disorder for at least 20 yrs, before they get a diagnosis for it, and many have it, are diagnosed by a docotr, and still dont think they have it, but AD's can trigger Bipolar Mania, and once it's triggered, it's a life-long disease....
I am all for giving people support, but being on treatment and feeling bad does not give any one a blank check to say what they want here.
I have been on tx for 31 wks, was not UND at 4 wks so I know all about the stress of tx, I believe in published facts and stats, I also believe that diagnoses should be left to the experts that went to school for years to be able to do so.
I said "I think"...and then described my personal experience, with being depressed while on this treatment. Are you implyingm, that thinking about the virus returning onus, is NOT anxiety provoking, Guy? Or are you just kicking me, while I'm feeling down....thanks for the support : .(.. Just what I need, after a nice Interferon shot...nawt
"I also think some of your depression might be the anxiety"
Are you a doctor ? Do you have any credentials that would qualify you to diagnose people over the internet ?
Are you a doctor ? Do you have any credentials that would qualify you to diagnose people over the internet ?
Actually, I have noticed some antidepressants, like Abilify, actually have taken as long as 6 weeks, to work on a family member, but that was for bipolar mania, not depression. Wellbutrin may take only 3 weeks.
I also think some of your depression might be the anxiety, of knowing that, after yu are finished with your tx, that you will have to have yr viral load taken again, at 3 months, and 6 months, in order to see if your undetected viral load will be sustained. Doesn't the idea of going thru this incredibly tough treatment, and then, the idea of having the viral load come back, horrify you? I know it causes me to worry, that's for sure! For instance, I noticed I was crying ALL the time, while awaiting the results of my 4 week viral load. I was terrified that I might be a "non-responder"! When my viral load came back UND, and ther anemia set in, I knew that my body was super-responding to the meds, and my crying also stopped. I had thoughtit was the meds, butit was my anxiety!
Right now, you may be feeling protected, because you know that the meds kill the virus, but in 5 weeks, your body will be on it's own..no more meds...that is a frightening situation for anyone to think about~
I also think some of your depression might be the anxiety, of knowing that, after yu are finished with your tx, that you will have to have yr viral load taken again, at 3 months, and 6 months, in order to see if your undetected viral load will be sustained. Doesn't the idea of going thru this incredibly tough treatment, and then, the idea of having the viral load come back, horrify you? I know it causes me to worry, that's for sure! For instance, I noticed I was crying ALL the time, while awaiting the results of my 4 week viral load. I was terrified that I might be a "non-responder"! When my viral load came back UND, and ther anemia set in, I knew that my body was super-responding to the meds, and my crying also stopped. I had thoughtit was the meds, butit was my anxiety!
Right now, you may be feeling protected, because you know that the meds kill the virus, but in 5 weeks, your body will be on it's own..no more meds...that is a frightening situation for anyone to think about~
Antidepressants do take a couple of weeks to start working. But, as Anne said, the depression and emotional feelings may not go away as soon as you are off treatment.
It would be best to discuss this with your doctor and reach a decision based on your mutual discussion.
It would be best to discuss this with your doctor and reach a decision based on your mutual discussion.
It takes about twoto three weeks to get the full effects from AD. I would advise you to go on them only if you are so depressed you are having suicidal thoughts. Be sure to let family,friends and your Doc know how you are feeling ,so others can help you through the next 5 wks. It is hard! I am on AD and I have had some days that I was really depressed. I think I have to much thinking time on my hands.
Good luck... hang in there
Good luck... hang in there
I felt like that and started tx on ad but still had crying jags and was emotional. Been done now for 5 weeks this friday and still get emotional. hang in there and talk to the doc...anne
Yes. It can hit at anytime.
And ADs take a couple weeks to kick in.
If you feel you can deal with it for another 5 weeks or so, then I'd stay away from the ADs and just keep reminding myself that the reason I'm down is because of the meds.
Tell people, if need be, that you're on meds that make you emotional.
BTW: My doc wanted to put my on ADs when I had 6 weeks left. I refused and he lowered my interferon dosage, which worked for me. However, I'm a very small med sensitive person, not recommending this to anyone else, but it did work.
And ADs take a couple weeks to kick in.
If you feel you can deal with it for another 5 weeks or so, then I'd stay away from the ADs and just keep reminding myself that the reason I'm down is because of the meds.
Tell people, if need be, that you're on meds that make you emotional.
BTW: My doc wanted to put my on ADs when I had 6 weeks left. I refused and he lowered my interferon dosage, which worked for me. However, I'm a very small med sensitive person, not recommending this to anyone else, but it did work.
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