Aa
Intro and thoughts
This is my 2nd try with Interferon treatment. I was a non-responder 10 years ago to the double treatment. I am in week 14 of triple therapy.. Only 30 more weeks to go. All I can say is Hallelujah that I'm done with Incivik. I don't know if it's an age thing (I'm 57) but this time around I'm having a lot more side effects and the whole eating so much fat was way disgusting. Especially hard for those of us that are lactose intolerant and have no gall bladder. We can't eat cheese (dairy) or nuts which are both a great source for fat. Personally right now I don't care if I see another avacado the rest of my life LOL!
I seem to be a poster child for the bullet points of side effects. Got the rash, anemia - 2 blood transfusions (I'm on Procrit), Even the Pegasys is making me ill for 24 hours. Lot's of headaches, fatigue, achey and general blah blah feeling. I've also been effected by the dreaded Interferon fog....my thinking just seems muddled way to frequently. Right now dropped down to 600mg of Riba until hbc is steady. Procrit doesn't work very quickly and I bounce around from 8.5 to 9.5 week to week. At least I'm not dropping down to 6 like a few months ago. I'm on week 7 of that.
The GOOD NEWS is that I have had my last 2 viral loads show negative so it's working. That's the fist time in 17 years I've heard that. Since I was a non-responder before I have to stay on treatment the full 11 months, darn it!
WATER WATER WATER is so important I can't stress that enough. I know going from a bottle or 2 a day to 6-8 bottles can be overwhelming but it really makes a difference. Crystal Light counts as water! I know we get fatigued but if you can force your self to take a walk every day (weather permitting) or work out in some way it really helps.
Another thing is if you are prone to depression to make sure you have someone that will keep you in check and knows the symptoms of depression. They can get confused with fatigue but it's something you want to be aware of.
I love that they have the pro-click Pegasys now....pain and stress free shot. Not like the Procrit...ouch that medicine is thick as syrup and hurts going in!
Thanks for allowing me to join up!
I seem to be a poster child for the bullet points of side effects. Got the rash, anemia - 2 blood transfusions (I'm on Procrit), Even the Pegasys is making me ill for 24 hours. Lot's of headaches, fatigue, achey and general blah blah feeling. I've also been effected by the dreaded Interferon fog....my thinking just seems muddled way to frequently. Right now dropped down to 600mg of Riba until hbc is steady. Procrit doesn't work very quickly and I bounce around from 8.5 to 9.5 week to week. At least I'm not dropping down to 6 like a few months ago. I'm on week 7 of that.
The GOOD NEWS is that I have had my last 2 viral loads show negative so it's working. That's the fist time in 17 years I've heard that. Since I was a non-responder before I have to stay on treatment the full 11 months, darn it!
WATER WATER WATER is so important I can't stress that enough. I know going from a bottle or 2 a day to 6-8 bottles can be overwhelming but it really makes a difference. Crystal Light counts as water! I know we get fatigued but if you can force your self to take a walk every day (weather permitting) or work out in some way it really helps.
Another thing is if you are prone to depression to make sure you have someone that will keep you in check and knows the symptoms of depression. They can get confused with fatigue but it's something you want to be aware of.
I love that they have the pro-click Pegasys now....pain and stress free shot. Not like the Procrit...ouch that medicine is thick as syrup and hurts going in!
Thanks for allowing me to join up!
Welcome to the forum. Be sure to post often. Sounds like you made it through the roughest part already. Congrats to you! Stay the course!
Advocate1955
Advocate1955
I have had the same stage of damage for over 115 years now (when I first started getting biopsies). I'm told the reason mine hasn't progressed even with the virus is because I don't drink any alcohol anymore which speeds up the damage process. In addition I discuss with any Dr's (my condition) before accepting any new prescriptions to make sure they are not hard on the liver.
I'm cirrhotic, but fortunately my liver has stayed fully compensated (hooray!), so as long as I don't develop HCC I won't have to worry about a transplant - thanks to successfully beating the damn virus! My doctor says I'll have to see him every six months forever, but he's confident the visits will all be very boring. Sounds great to me.
Thanks for reply friends.
Pooh was UND at week 6 cuz the lab lost my results and had to go back but thinking would of been UND at 4 weeks. Can't wait for 6 mos to see if I'm SVR even though I have to continue full term it's a good sign. Actually feeling loads better since my intro, that Incivik is probably almost out of my system now.....hurray!
ceanothus: I'm not full blown chirrhosis just the stage before that I think it's called Bridging Fibrosis. Are you a candidate for liver transplant?
Hey do any of you have hemotoma's on your liver? Is yes any of yours increasing? Is there a treatment that you know of?
Enjoying reading all the threads and gaining knowledge. Feels good to know it's a "we" thing and not a "me" thing!
Pooh was UND at week 6 cuz the lab lost my results and had to go back but thinking would of been UND at 4 weeks. Can't wait for 6 mos to see if I'm SVR even though I have to continue full term it's a good sign. Actually feeling loads better since my intro, that Incivik is probably almost out of my system now.....hurray!
ceanothus: I'm not full blown chirrhosis just the stage before that I think it's called Bridging Fibrosis. Are you a candidate for liver transplant?
Hey do any of you have hemotoma's on your liver? Is yes any of yours increasing? Is there a treatment that you know of?
Enjoying reading all the threads and gaining knowledge. Feels good to know it's a "we" thing and not a "me" thing!
Another welcome! Congratulations on finishing the Incivek and on getting to UND! It's a wonderful accomplishment, and before long will be eclipsed by more wonderful news. I'm like Pooh: had to treat for 48 weeks and had a pretty rough time with it, but achieved SVR. All's well that ends well, and getting to SVR is just incredibly wonderful after having had the virus for about 30 years, with cirrhosis for the last 9 years, and having failed REI previous treatment attempts. I hope you will soon be joining us in SVR!
Welcome to the forum.
Glad to hear you are UNDETECTABLE. (Were you UND at week 4 or week 8, just curious.)
Sorry to hear you are having so many side effects. Hopefully some of them will ease up a little now that you are done with Incivek. Hope your hemoglobin stabilizes soon so you can increase your Ribavirin back up to the recommended dosage.
I had to do 48 weeks too (DET at week 4) abd it was a long haul, but it was worth it. I did attain SVR.
Here's wishing that the rest of Tx is easier and that you attain SVR.
Glad to hear you are UNDETECTABLE. (Were you UND at week 4 or week 8, just curious.)
Sorry to hear you are having so many side effects. Hopefully some of them will ease up a little now that you are done with Incivek. Hope your hemoglobin stabilizes soon so you can increase your Ribavirin back up to the recommended dosage.
I had to do 48 weeks too (DET at week 4) abd it was a long haul, but it was worth it. I did attain SVR.
Here's wishing that the rest of Tx is easier and that you attain SVR.
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