Are you really out of it for a couple of days?

[habanerohubby]

I hear from the inteferon shot , you go down a day or two and come back , is this so?  I have not started treatment yet, VL 1,880,000  , Biopsy June 17, 2009, 45 Years Old , Male , Genome 2b. AST-78  ALT-102  Hypertension, and Vitamin D defficiency. Looks like I will be doing Inteferon/ Riboviran Combination TX, Doctor is getting pre auth. Does anyone have any feedback on using any herbal remedies along with treatment(LIV52,Milk Thistle,etc.) Thanks for the Support  Richard      God Bless

[newleaf09]

The shot never bothered me at all.  I think it depends on you and your immune system.  The reaction is to the sudden increase in interferon in your blood, makes your blood jump up and fight (well sort of).  For those who react to the shot, it tends to go away later, usually after 2-3 shots, sometimes it takes longer.  Weirdly, the reaction can pop back up months into treatment.  Try not to worry about it.  Take your tylenol and go to bed.  Drink lots of water during the days to keep the leg cramps down.  We pretty much all do the shot on Friday so we can work through treatment.

[Bethmm]

I was type 2B and now a sustained responder for over 5 years! I took my shots on Friday so that I had the weekend to rest. Yes it isn't pleasant but I assure you it is very doable. By Monday I was feeling a bit better, enough to go to work. By Wednesdays I was really feeling good. By Thursday I was trying to enjoy myself and not think too much about the fact that the next day was Friday again : ) But it helped to count down the shots each week on a calendar and to think that with each shot I was wiping out that nasty virus. The side effects can be managed pretty well, just be sure you report them to your Dr. so that you can get appropriate medical advice for each one.

[Bobby1952]

   I took herbs pre treatment with some success but I didn't take them while on treatment. I was afraid that they could possibly interfere with the Medication. Why take a chance. If tx wasn't successfull you would never know if the herbs were the cause or not.
  I was type 3a and treated successfully. I would feel some side effects from the interferon but not too much. I had more sides from the Ribavirin...low hgb. My main problems were that I became very prone to infections. I had one infection after another even tough I didn't need neupogen or anything to boost my WBC.

  Some infections were easier to deal with than others. Some of us get them others do not. But it was worth it because I am SVR. You are type 2 so you have a good chance to attain SVR.

   Thewre are some Liver friendly supplements that afe reccomended by a hepatitis researcher. Here is the link.  

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/2435  ;

Bobby

[Rockerforlife]

DO NOT TAKE HERBS WHILE ON TX....keep it simple...let the TX drugs do thier job.

[meakea]

As far as taking supplements while on treatment, I'd have to suggest that you talk to your doctor about that.  Some doctors are okay with their patients taking certain herbal supplements and some are not.  My doc said absolutely not.

[winner727]

thats about it ,for me two days .by the end of week I can do very light family type stuff . Charm said a mouthful ,very good starting out imfo    also   ,    this site has helped me continue ,when I felt like quitting .   good luck    bob

[charm27]

Welcome to the forum. Everyone reacts completely different from tx. Some people have all the symptoms and some just a few. It varies at there is no way of determining what will be till you begin.
Fore me I did 55 weeks i had started having side effects arounfd week-5. I wasnt able to do much at all thru the 55 weeks, being my HGB hovered at 10 thruout tx, and I was extremely weak, tired, and more unfortunately.

I would say I went fromt he bed to the couch .
Remember there are many people that function rather well, work throut tx .
For many like ime it was impossible to do much.
I had LOTS of hair loss, low HGB, mood swings from RIba, severe itching, and so exhausted.
You will here from many here that funnctioned VERY WELL!!
Just take one day at a time , rest when needed, and DRINK PLENTY of fluids.

Im almost 6months post tx now and all may hair is almost grown back, and my skin is almost back to normal!!
Wish you the vey best!
You found a great forum and very knowledgable people here.

Charm