Aa
Hep C tx after effects
Hello, I'm new to this forum..I finished the 6 months of Pegintron/Rebetol, I'm a type C, the easiest to treat. My last shot was May 11th with continuation of the Rebetol capsules during that last week. Early on in treatment I developed the usual aches and irritability, but it was so intense that I considered quitting, but continued on with the help of Percocet and Celexa. Now I am still dealing with the aftereffects of the drugs. i.e. I am still experiencing major aches, like arthritis, but all over, even down to the bottoms of my feet. There is no way I could ever go back to work like this. I'm still taking the Percocet daily for these pains...my question is this: How long does is actually take to clear the meds from your system and also, should I be feeling this way still? I feel 80, can't work, and wish I had never done the treatment. It's affected the quality of my life 100% for the worse. The NP that I was seeing said I should have been fine after a week off the drugs, which is contrary to what Schering -Plough told me. The way I feel affects every aspect of my life, my relationships, my lack of work, stamina, going places, planning things, etc. I was wondering if anyone else has had a horrible time after the treatment and if so, what do we do? I wonder everyday if I am addicted to the Percocet, but I don't have any other symptoms of opiate withdrawal after not taking it for maybe 12 hours, which is the longest my body will allow me to be off of it due to the constant aching I feel all over my body. Any ideas or suggestions would be so apppreciated. I feel like I'm going crazy and the doctors don't understand...
...stillfightin
...stillfightin
Quite the handle! hahaha Sounds like me....I too had that hot flash from the neck up. I would wake with my pillow soaked. Thought I had missed that part of menopause, but with tx it came occaisionaly. You know, if I could have figured out the rhyme or reason for most of my sx I could write a best selling book. Don't waste time on it. As I always say, it's like that movie Jumanji, you never know what will happen next. Why spend time on the why of it, most eventually stops. I haven't had that happen off tx, yet.
I am now post tx 5 weeks ,geno 1a and txed for 72...I have been having issues with my thyroid for sometime now but have been complaining alot of nailbed pains..its like a hot poker being pushed down through them and they actually do feel hot..weird..it also happens to my toes, I have swelling in my ankles and fingers, my head sweats, itches and hope its just hair rejuvination..I wish you the best as this tx does stink and wonder what the repercussions are afterwards..hugs :) shelly
also...what is it with the sweats that only occur from the neck up? I noticed someone else mentioned this on this site....it's completely different from menopausal hot flashes (a sweaty scalp?!?). I think they are coming less frequently....what med causes them and why??? Some of the symptoms i had/have are sooo weird: dry eyes, flaky patches and weird skin things (most of which are gone now, thank goodness), weird infected hangnails that wouldn't heal, a big toenail that got all fungus-y and is now growing out, horrible hair loss (which i think is improving), sensitive skin so sensitive that i felt the grain of my 100% cotton sheets like it was sandpaper, the skin on my elbows incredibly painful, etc, etc!!!
Thanks for the response. I'm still learning how to navigate the site too....left another message under questions about post-trx recovery.
I was only on the trx for 24 weeks (have genotype 2) -- thank goddess! But i'm 59 years old, and have had the HCV for probably 25-30 years. And was in pretty poor shape for quite a while before trx. Was UND at 3 months post-trx, and now am starting to worry that I won't be SVR at 6 months, due to so many relapses i've read about on this forum. Yikes!
Anyhooo...glad to know that 6 mo's is the half life for the Ribavarin. Anyone know if anything alternative helps on this detox process....like maybe lymphatic massage? I'm taking Diclofenac and Tramadol for pain....but the former doesn't seem to help too much (until i stop, then the arthritis/joint pain gets worse) and the Tramadol is addictive, so i've limited it and want to get off it asap. I'm also taking the glucosamin/chondroitin/MSM stuff, but not sure whether it really helps or not. What are fentanyal patches?
pigeonca...i can't work full time either. Still not even up to half time yet, but hopefully soon! Everytime i think i'm gradually but slowly improving i seem to have a "relapse" of treatment symptoms, but i guess there is a gradual upward movement, although with downward spots along the way!
I was only on the trx for 24 weeks (have genotype 2) -- thank goddess! But i'm 59 years old, and have had the HCV for probably 25-30 years. And was in pretty poor shape for quite a while before trx. Was UND at 3 months post-trx, and now am starting to worry that I won't be SVR at 6 months, due to so many relapses i've read about on this forum. Yikes!
Anyhooo...glad to know that 6 mo's is the half life for the Ribavarin. Anyone know if anything alternative helps on this detox process....like maybe lymphatic massage? I'm taking Diclofenac and Tramadol for pain....but the former doesn't seem to help too much (until i stop, then the arthritis/joint pain gets worse) and the Tramadol is addictive, so i've limited it and want to get off it asap. I'm also taking the glucosamin/chondroitin/MSM stuff, but not sure whether it really helps or not. What are fentanyal patches?
pigeonca...i can't work full time either. Still not even up to half time yet, but hopefully soon! Everytime i think i'm gradually but slowly improving i seem to have a "relapse" of treatment symptoms, but i guess there is a gradual upward movement, although with downward spots along the way!
I'm 5 months post tx and still experiencing enough fatigue that I can't work full-time yet. But as I look back, this week is better than 3 weeks ago, which was better than 3 weeks before that. Improvement is gradual, but there's definitely an upward curve.
I too had horrible muscle and bone pain after tx. I am six mos. post now, but relapsed unfortunately. I went to a rhematologist and was on fentanyal patches for months for the pain. I begin testing them by using for 4-5 days, instead of 3. Now I am off of them for the past few weeks, no problems stopping fortunately. I still take codiene for headaches etc. but that is not as strong as the percocet or fentanyal. Hope you get relief soon!
I'm almost 6 months post treatment, and new to this forum too. I am wondering the same thing....when will I be feeling up to "par" again. I'm trying to be back at work, and even with only being scheduled half time, I have to check out of work once or twice a week, with what I can only call "detox" symptoms....although they may be something else I guess. Lots of aches and pains (the treatment seems to have exacerbated the relatively mild arthritis I had pre-treatment, although a Rheumatologist told me he didn't think I had RA, even with high ANA and high Rheumatoid factor), lots of headaches/migraines, still quite nauseous, some dizziness, and incredible fatigue. My boss wants to know when I will be able to come back full time, or at least part time and consistently -- and so do I!!! Will I ever (assuming I stay clear -- I'm almost there) feel BETTER than I did pre treatment (I had it for 25-30 years)? Help!!
Thanks for being here,
whinybutwell
Thanks for being here,
whinybutwell
Wendy - tons of stuff...
But again --- around month 5 I was feeling great!
OK - not GREAT --- like Tony the Tiger... But better... And if this cold weren't kicking my butt - I'd feel fantastic today. It's a slow crawl from hell --- but you do get there.
Hugs,
Meki
But again --- around month 5 I was feeling great!
OK - not GREAT --- like Tony the Tiger... But better... And if this cold weren't kicking my butt - I'd feel fantastic today. It's a slow crawl from hell --- but you do get there.
Hugs,
Meki
thanks for all your input! When I posted this the other night, I wrote that I was a type C...duh. I meant to say genotype 3, I never got any a,b, or any other letter attached to it. I am also a stage 3 with bridging fibrosis, but not cirrohsis (darn spelling) yet. I am awaiting the 6 month post tx labs in November of 2007. So far I was a quick responder, non detectable at 4 weeks. That was a killer treatment though..wow. Just the other day I went into my primary doctors office and brought in some stuff I found on the web of other people's aches and pains from interferon. I really wanted off the tylenol (how absurd to put percocet with tylenol) part of the percocet, so he gave me straight up Oxycodone with no other pain reliever in it. I take 15 mg pills and divide them so I can take 3 a day, for a total of 15mgs per day. I sometimes go over that though...it's still hard to get up and get moving without them. Good to know there are archives to search, I haven't learn to navigate the site yet, but I'm working on it. Thanks for the welcome..
Wendy
Wendy
Hi there stillfight'n:
I have to tell you, I had a pretty tolerable time of treatment until the last 3 months. My aches and pains got really bad with severe swellilng, redness and a feeling of warmth in my hands, knees, ankles and feet. The first episode occurred in my hands. It landed me in the emergency room and then to an orthopedist where removable plaster casts were put on both of my hands. This was 2 months before I finished tx and I was diagnosed with Gout. I also saw a rheumatologist but declined testing for arthritis as I only had 6 weeks of treatment left and did not want to get pulled off.
The second episoed occurred 1 week after I finished treatment and again I landed in the ER with the same symptoms in my hands, ankles and 1 knee. I received an injection of a medrol dose pak and a pain medication. I was seen by the rheumatolosist again within 24 hours, blood was taken and a week later I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
It has to be taken into consideration thought that I had a predisposition for RA to begin with. My mother had it so severely that she was in a wheelchair and her mother had it as well. After a little bit of research it was also discovered that I had tested for a positive Rheumatoid Factor back in 2002. If you read the information insert that comes with PegIntron it will tell you that the incidence of auto-immune disorders such as RA and Lupus are less than 1%. It's a rare occurrence but it can happen.
My advice, even though technically it takes 6 months to recover from the treatment, have things checked out to be safe. RA does most of it's damage within the first year of striking. I am so greatful that my GI was insistant that I get this followed up with and that I didn't wait wait. I am now 5 months post treatment and still suffering from the joint pain and swelling but have not had anymore of those severe attacks since they got me on RA meds right away.
Good luck to you and if you would like to talk to me more about this my email address is missymouse at bellsouth dot net.
Mouse
genotype 1a, Stage 3, Grade 3
Finished 48 weeks of tx on 4/13/07
Hoping for SVR on September 20, 2007
I have to tell you, I had a pretty tolerable time of treatment until the last 3 months. My aches and pains got really bad with severe swellilng, redness and a feeling of warmth in my hands, knees, ankles and feet. The first episode occurred in my hands. It landed me in the emergency room and then to an orthopedist where removable plaster casts were put on both of my hands. This was 2 months before I finished tx and I was diagnosed with Gout. I also saw a rheumatologist but declined testing for arthritis as I only had 6 weeks of treatment left and did not want to get pulled off.
The second episoed occurred 1 week after I finished treatment and again I landed in the ER with the same symptoms in my hands, ankles and 1 knee. I received an injection of a medrol dose pak and a pain medication. I was seen by the rheumatolosist again within 24 hours, blood was taken and a week later I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
It has to be taken into consideration thought that I had a predisposition for RA to begin with. My mother had it so severely that she was in a wheelchair and her mother had it as well. After a little bit of research it was also discovered that I had tested for a positive Rheumatoid Factor back in 2002. If you read the information insert that comes with PegIntron it will tell you that the incidence of auto-immune disorders such as RA and Lupus are less than 1%. It's a rare occurrence but it can happen.
My advice, even though technically it takes 6 months to recover from the treatment, have things checked out to be safe. RA does most of it's damage within the first year of striking. I am so greatful that my GI was insistant that I get this followed up with and that I didn't wait wait. I am now 5 months post treatment and still suffering from the joint pain and swelling but have not had anymore of those severe attacks since they got me on RA meds right away.
Good luck to you and if you would like to talk to me more about this my email address is missymouse at bellsouth dot net.
Mouse
genotype 1a, Stage 3, Grade 3
Finished 48 weeks of tx on 4/13/07
Hoping for SVR on September 20, 2007
LMAO --- Well welcome to the board stillfightin...
Don't feel bad --- it has taken me about 6 months post tx to see the light shining down at the end of the tunnel.
Almost exactly the same boat as you're in --- except I force myself to work.
Read the forum --- take the time --- you will be ok... It takes a little while - but you're going to be alright.
Read POST TX questions --- read the answers --- you'll see... It DOES get better. Keep hanging on there.
I don't have a lot of time right now to post to you----but wanted you to know that I understand EXACTLY where you're coming from --- and if you'll read a couple of posts you'll see that a lot of us are or were exactly where you are now.
IT DOES CHANGE... it's just VERY gradual. It took months to put the chemotherapy into your body --- your body has to work to get it out.
Type C? HepC has many genotypes: 1a- 2a- 3a, etc. But you'll know if you're UND or SVR.
By the way - I'm right there with you on the Percocet. But I'm weaning myself off of them slowly - replacing them with advil or something --- trying to stay away from the heavier drugs that are harder on the liver --- just to take the edge off...
It does get better - hang on to that thought. OK?
Hugs - nice to meet you -- stick around - you'll love this board... Great info - great people and an excellent community.
Meki
Don't feel bad --- it has taken me about 6 months post tx to see the light shining down at the end of the tunnel.
Almost exactly the same boat as you're in --- except I force myself to work.
Read the forum --- take the time --- you will be ok... It takes a little while - but you're going to be alright.
Read POST TX questions --- read the answers --- you'll see... It DOES get better. Keep hanging on there.
I don't have a lot of time right now to post to you----but wanted you to know that I understand EXACTLY where you're coming from --- and if you'll read a couple of posts you'll see that a lot of us are or were exactly where you are now.
IT DOES CHANGE... it's just VERY gradual. It took months to put the chemotherapy into your body --- your body has to work to get it out.
Type C? HepC has many genotypes: 1a- 2a- 3a, etc. But you'll know if you're UND or SVR.
By the way - I'm right there with you on the Percocet. But I'm weaning myself off of them slowly - replacing them with advil or something --- trying to stay away from the heavier drugs that are harder on the liver --- just to take the edge off...
It does get better - hang on to that thought. OK?
Hugs - nice to meet you -- stick around - you'll love this board... Great info - great people and an excellent community.
Meki
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