riba rage??

[satarina]

hi again everyone, sorry to bug you with this stuff but i'm concerned. my hubby goes for his first GI on dec. 4, and of course we're nervous.  one thing that worries me is the 'riba rage' i keep reading about on here.  we have a 5-year-old and a six-month-old. things can get pretty frustrating around our house on the best of days. do i need to be concerned about my husband's temper around the kids? i figure i can handle whatever might come at me, but they won't understand.  i was planning on working part time during the treatment to help pay for everything, but that would leave my husband alone with the kids around 3 nights a week.  he's normally a very even tempered guy, but i can't help but worry.  any advice?  thanks in advance!

[stormy456]

Hi- My husband just ended his 5th week, and has been doing fairly well until the last few days.  Because he went on an a/d before tx, he's actually been a bit easier than usual.  The last few days, though, have been challenging, and we had an episode of full blow riba rage this morning.  Completely out of character.  Waiting for a return call from dr to discuss.  I have 2 kids as well, and am less concerned about me than I am them.  Everyone is different, not sure you need to change plans in anticipation of the anger issues, but keep your eyes open.

[Tri-guy]

What I wouldn't give to be running in southern CA right now.  Spent the morning running on iced up trails with crusty snow.  Noticed in a previous post you mentioned your RBC(5) and hemoglobin(15.2).  Mine passed that at week two and are now at 4 and 12 respectively. They keep slowly dropping every week and I keep hoping they'll stabilize.  Although on the plus side my body does seem like it's adjusting and doing more with less (or a lot less with less).  Kind of like drug induced altitude training :>

[slarso]

Thanks you guys are right, the meds are very tough. I truly appreciate the concern. "Macho-itis" could get the best of me. I am keeping it careful though, riding a bit slower and out of the aero position and my friends keep close when we swim. I will now allways wear a heart rate monitor and keep it in what we call Zone 1, which is about 65% max. The vampires are sucking blood every week. I look at the RBC and Hgb count first. I guess the lower it goes the slowr I will be!
Hey Tri guy, sun and warmth is one great reason to live out here, but i am envious of you, I would like to try snow shoeing some day

[oldhippiechick67]

I agree with AKHepper, it is a BIG change for your body, these are strong strong meds, and they can wreak havoc on your red and white blood cells, so be very careful, you could pass out and thats no fun going 30 mph on a bike!  Signs of dangerously low rbcs are: dizzy, short of breath, rapid heartbeat, feeling faint, less energy, pale gums, nailbeds, and inner eyelids.
You said you are at week 3 so your counts look okay.  Hope your doc keeps testing you every 2 weeks at least for awhile.  Mine got too low at week 15, everybody is different.  Lotsa luck to ya!  OHC

[Tri-guy]

I agree in part with what ak and ohc said but I haven

[AK - Hepper]

You need to be very careful about trying to do too much on these meds. If your RBC is low your blood doesn't have as much oxygen in it, that's why your heart is having to work so much harder. You can do some real damage to your heart by trying to do too much now. I know you think because of your obviously excellent conditioning that you can just power through it, but your body just isn't the same as it was before you started all this. Maybe let your Dr. know about the higher heart rates. OK, I'm through preaching now, sounds like you're doing pretty good, overall.

[slarso]

Just got back from a ride. I broke down and wore a HRM. I am consistantly 15-20 BPM over my ironman conditioning. what was 65% is now closer to 75-80%. what was zone 1@22mph is now high zone 2.It goes to zone 3 on the smallest hill. I live on the southern Calif coast so there are allways mome hills. Very interesting how our bodies work. RBC is down so the old ticker has to work a tad harder. On the good side, I told my friend that I am getting a better cardio-vas workout than he is!

[levarameel]

I'm posting this late but wanted to get my two cents in-I raged on + off for years before TX and went for a course in Anger Management (not the movie!) as well as therapy, prayer, step work etc...I have a challenging 5 year old son who not only pushes buttons but installs them as well! In short, I feel impatience levels rising at times and waste no time using the various tools I've aquired to get it under control. Time out myself and remembering to breathe helps, for one.I would advise noone to rush into AD's and don't believe that anti-depressants are a pre-requisite to TX. Everyone's different.
                                           Lee

[odessit]

Guys, you are great! I know what it takes to run, especially on this tx. Btw, I'm 26 yo, Male, G1b, 17/48 weeks.
I started running last year and it was terrible... You know, I couldn't run steady 5K @ 20 min after 2 months worth of practice, even though 5 years ago ( 1998 ) I could easily do 20K @ 1.17 as a workout... I went to my Dr and asked him for a check up... He drew my blood and HCV we go.
Well, I wish you guys sx-fre tx and many miles on the trails! Hope to run again myself pretty soon:)

[Tri-guy]

Just got back from my swim workout.  A nice warm 78 degrees.  My only problem is with brain fog during long sets and forgetting how many laps I've done.  Oh well, just feels good to glide (slowly) back forth.

[slarso]

Odessit, tri guy is right the distance work helps. I am 52 and a long time runner/tri athlete. after three weeks I can still crank out the miles only much slower, maybe a min/mile over 6-8 miles. Running is much harder than swimming or biking, especially the hills, they kick my but. Swimming seems the least effected, maybe due to the leg mucesles being so big the need more O2. I always feel better after I go out and do something. I am keeping a log of my RBC and HEmoglobin. So far they are in the middle of the scale 5.0 and 15.2. I am trying to find a food or natural solution that will stimulate RBC. I am very lucky that I have several training partners who will walk/crawl with me if necessary. Keep trying to take some short walks, it is good to be out side and the sun is good for our heads

steve

[Tri-guy]

The 1/2 was the Whistlestop in Ashland WI in mid Oct with my time being around 2 hours.  Started out with my sister who was having a bad day and told me to take off after a couple of miles.  Had I run it all by myself I think I would have come in around the mid 1:50's.  My PB is in the low 1:30

[Revenire]

RIBA-RAGE example ...

Today while my wife was in the grocery store I was waiting for her in the lot; I was in park -- not moving. A car, in a parking space, just starts backing up toward me. I hit the horn. The horn didn't alert the driver, or it alerted her but she just decided to keep on backing into me (we were about a foot apart), which she did. I got out and was very cordial, exchanged insurance companies etc. It was AFTER we departed that I flipped out and was EXTREMELY agitated -- even though she accepted full responsibility and her insurance company will be taking care of it. I was beyond myself. I was cursing driving home and sulked for a good hour over it. It felt HUGE even though the damage to the plastic bumper amounted to some deep scratches in the paint.

I chalk it up to 2 days after the Pegasys shot, forgetting if I took my morning Ribavarin and then taking 2 more.

I am telling you that sometimes this *&$# can make me see things awfully strange.

[odessit]

Wow! 1/2 marathon? Could you tell me your time? (and PB please!)
I was running 5 years ago, nothing longer than 3K:))
PBs: 1.5K = 4m, 1K = 2.30, 800m = 1.54...
Now I'm week 17 Pegasys/Copegus, my HGB dropped to 10 something... Hard to walk fast, not even talking about running:(

[cindee]

I am 4 wks post tx. For rage and boy did I get it...I am not proud of it ...but I did slap my husband of less than a yr, when he told me I was acting like a b****. It ended up breaking his tooth and that cost us $400.00. I called my shrink and she put me on Zyprexa. Actually I didn't take it long../I learned to control my rage. Be sure he is put on antidepressant a few wks or longer before he starts treatment (tx). And discuss w/ your doctor about a nerve pill. Best wishes and do remember every body has different sx (side effects)some worse than others. I used my wonderful General Prat. for infections and just regular check ups. He's the one who diag. the Hep C...I went in because I had been VERY tired and sleeping alot. I have an exceptional liver DR. He has been so caring and always has as much time as we needed together. And my shrink is precious!!!! So you guys hang in there. and Prayers @ Love to YOU ALL> this is the best place you could have come to. Cindee  
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[Space Coast]

I'm taking lexapro (AD) and it seems to work, then again, this treatment is weird ****, so I just step back when I feel it coming on! Got into it with some people at work when I first started! That was not pretty!! #36 this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tri-guy]

60 degree water? Yikees!  When to comes to swimming in water I like it nice and warm.  I live in Minnesota and our lake surfaces are starting to get a little hard right now.  My normal running trails are full of snow and ice after last weekend so I'll be going for my first snowshoe run of the season this afternoon, which will be real interesting.  As long as you don't have any great expectations I would think a Int'l or Oly distance would be real do-able.  Did 1/2 marathon my fourth week of tx and I was amazed at how the crowd and competition got me juiced up (Even ended up finishing in mid pack).  Definitely go for it!

[slarso]

satarina, the rage is weird. I get it and am aware of it  (usually) and just go to a "time out" For me it does not last very long, maybe only 10 min or so. As you can tell, it is different for all of us. This is a great forum for Hepc, welcome, plenty of great folks and info here

tri guy, just got back from a mile ocean swim, Nothing like 60 degree water to clear the old head! felt pretty good. I have a wild idea that i could limp through an oly!

[hph5477]

Keep in mind that everyone is different and reacts differently to the meds.  I haven't experienced any riba rage yet; just did shot 7/48 this morning.  Each time the doc asks if I'm getting irritable, I let my spouse answer and he has said "no" each time so far.  I haven't been depressed other than the first couple wks of treatment and that was due more to the constant headache I had than anything else.
I have experienced some other sx with 3 of my shots but they all passed within a day or less.
If your husband is pretty even-tempered now, and doesn't get depressed easily, he will probably be fine.  
You should try not to worry; just go with the flow as it comes.  Otherwise, I think the worrying tends to affect the state of mind; making a person more irritable, scared, angry, etc. which affects those around you as well.

Good luck to you both during your husband's tx; and may he have many days with no sx.