Side effects

[chiara104]

Hello Dr. D.!

I began tx on July 29th... I have completed day 3 of Peg-Int/Riba tx. I have not had any side effects yet. I have heard that some people are lucky and do not have any... Is there are correlation between presence of side effects and efficacy of tx? Just wondering...

Thanking you in advance for taking the time to answer my question.

Chiara

[Shanaenae]

Hi chiara, I am not here to answer your Q for the Doc, just wanted to share my treatment experience with you. I was on treatment for 48 weeks (Hep C genotype 1b). I had very minimal, hardly any side effects. (Small head aches, itchy skin sometimes, little irritability, sometimes tired) My experience was so good, which is much different than most you hear about. I was clear at 4 wks, 12 wks, 24 wks, & 48 wks. I was also still Undetectable 6 months post treatment. I go in in Sept for my 1 1/2 year post VL test. So treatment was successful for myself and like i said, i had hardly ANY side effects. There were times i felt better on treatment than off. I know very strange, but each body is different and each person can handle different things. So don't get discurraged and think that treatment is NOT working just because your side effects are minimal. Be thankful and stay positive that you will reach SVR. The mind can do amazing things. I would wake up every morning with the thought of NO SIDE EFFECTS, going to be a great day and I will feel good and have energy to get me through the day and most of the time it worked! I think i took like 5 days off of work the entire 48 weeks.

Keep us updated!

[Douglas Dieterich, MD]

There is a rumor floating around about the lack of side effects correlating with the lack of efficacy, but as you can see above it is only a rumor. We actually took a quick look at our records and there does not seem to be any correlation. The  comment above reinforces the power of positive thinking so keep up that positivity and go get that virus! DTD

[mike716]

Sure is nice to read a post like yours above once in a while. Thanks!

Mike