side effects

[DaBronxMom]

Hi I just started treatment.  Yesterday was my first shot and pills. I took the 1st pill in the morning and felt fine. I took the Pegasys shot and the second pill (ribapac) last night around 7 fell asleep and woke around 1am Freezing.  No amount of blankets would help.  My teeth were actually chattering!  Later on I got very hot and a low grade fever and uncontrollable thirst. I woke this morning with aches and pains and have been experiencing a headache on and off all day that is when I am not SLEEPING. Honestly I am not complaining especially since I had expected much worse.  My question is do the symptoms change or/and get worse as treatment continues. I would assume they do get worse since the meds build up in your body.  I have 3 kids ages 16,11,and 7.  My husband and I have explained what to expect the best we could but I really don't want my kids to see mom sick all the time. My son just called and asked if I could drive him and some friends to the ice skating rink and I sadly had to tell him to ask dad.  I heard a bit of sadness in his voice (he is 11) since he and my other children know that mom is always the one to go to for things.Thankfully my husband agreed to drive them but I feel guilty because I know hubby is not going to pick up the slack when it comes to the kids and I am sure that they know this too. I know everyone reacts differently but I would worry less if I knew what to expect.I have read all the phamplets but I want advice from someone who is or went through it not from some drug company. I will appreciate Any help or  advice .
A little background:  I have had Hep c for over 20 years.  My Genotype is 2b and my viral load is a high 14,000,000.  My liver biopsy came back stage or level 2(not sure how it is worded)  I am taking 1800mcg Pegasys and 1200ml ribapac, 600ml 2x a day.  I was told that I probably would need to be treated for a min of 6months but I found out yesterday from my pharmacist that Dr. called in 11 refills.  This is a bit of a blow because the one thing I kept telling myself is its is only 6 months not 12!! Dr. wants me to take a blood test for viral load ,CBC and CMP 1 week after my first injection. I thought this is a bit early to expect my viral load to go down and when I questioned him what if it does not go down all he say is "IT WILL".  Has anyone else been tested 1 week after first injection? Did viral load go down? Well I guess I have said and asked enough so I will say good night and wish everyone a GREAT TOMORROW.
DaBronxMom

[babs824]

welcome to u and sounds like a normal start. as u will see so many of us have different sx at different times. follow a few journals and u will see the disparity. it is great to test early as the guys said to get a better understanding of how u are responding to meds. sounds like a very thorough doc. as for length of tx he many be hoping for best and planning for worst in case insurance has issues. i am 2b and just finished 24 weeks. so far clear of virus waiting for the 24 wk results. feel free to ask me specifics as our stats are quite similar. dont forget to take riba with fat containing food for best absorbtion and to drink plenty of water to be more comfortable. your kids will have to understand they too will have to make a few sacrifices for mommys long term health. i believe if u present it properly most kids even teenagers have a natural desire to be helpful and compassionate. dont feel guilty when u must take care of yourself and never let it derail your tx. all the best, babs

[GoofyDad]

My understanding is that early viral declines can be very telling re success statistics for GTs 2 & 3. The problem is there's probably not a great deal of data for 1 week draws , but it sounds like your doc has a good handle on it. Also best to get 48 weeks lined up - it's easy to stop at 24. If he lined up 24, there could be issues when extending to 48. Your doc sounds like da' man to me - even if he could be more communicative.  

Drink lots of water - some of your symptoms sound like dehydration.

Good luck.  

[FlGuy]

At some point you will appreciate the 1 week viral load test. For it to be most meaningful, take it the day of your second Pegasys shot but before the shot.  Your viral load will most certainly be significantly reduced when you hear the result.  Keep up the med schedule with those shots and pills, it's important.

[Bill1954]

You’re initial injection experience sounds pretty typical; I treated for quite a while, and only got sick like that the first time(s). The second and third injections shouldn’t be nearly as pronounced; although as time wears on, you’ll likely experience fatigue, perhaps some anxiety/depression, etc. Probably the safest thing to leave you with is that you can expect the side effects to change from week to week.

If it’s possible to catch a break with this disease, you’ve done it by contracting genotype 2. GT-2 patients respond very well with 24 weeks therapy; I believe the statistical odds of success are around 80-85% of achieving SVR (sustained viral response)*

I’d be quite surprised to hear if your doctor ordered anything in addition to 24 weeks for your genotype, particularly for a treatment-naïve patient. Perhaps if you had a history of relapse longer therapy duration would be warranted.

Don’t be concerned about viral load; we’ve had patients report viral load in excess of 50,000,000 who responded well and achieved long term success. Testing viral load at 1 week into therapy is a bit aggressive, but no harm will come of it, and it can offer you valuable data you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Good luck to you, and welcome to the discussion group,

Bill


*See this link for acronyms:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/Common-Hepatitis-C-Acronyms/show/3?cid=65