post interferon treatment

[adam718]

have developed severe, chronic and acute back pain same day i finished the interferon/ribivarin two weeks ago which has become completely debilitating. my viral load was undetectable 3x and alt was normal with ast slighty elevated at end of treatment.  seems pain is coming from behind liver and radiating all over back. have been prescribed percocets for pain but am clean and sober for twenty years so side effects and withdrawal are a nightmare and pain comes back once percs wear off so problem still persists. went to acupuncturist yday and whenever he put the needles on liver points it hurt severely. does anyone know anything about this? this is going  on for two weeks continously with no end in sight.  have been to hospital 5x and no one knows anything- cat scan and mri don't indicate anything any advice will do adam ***@****

[newleaf09]

You can continue to have side effects from interferon for months after stopping the meds.  It alters your immune system and interferes with other systems and takes 6 months for the body to creep back to normal function.  It can cause signs of alarming problems that are not really there, just systems acting up in confusion.  Makes it really hard to tell what needs medical attention and what needs to be ignored and tolerated until more time has passed.

I was on IFN/riba for 7 months and a PI was added in for 6 of those 7.  After 6 months on TX  I developed all kinds of bizarre things, like OTC drug allergy, sun allergy and peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage that affects extremities).  After TX stopped, I had a recurrence of peripheral neuropathy and developed terrible pain in one knee that came for a few days, then went and returned as it pleased.  It took 10 weeks off of treament meds for all to sraighten out and for new, crazy things to stop popping up.  

If there is a reason for you to have back pain (strain, bone spurs, degenerated discs, etc., you know your own body) get it checked out.  An X-ray from a good orthopedist who knows how to read it is worth its weight in gold.  If not, ride it out.  It will straighten out when you have some more distance from the treatment meds.