long term after effects post interferon

[jem43]

My last interferon injection was 12 months ago. I feel tired, lethargic, my bones ache in the morning esp in my feet. I'm in bed asleep by 10-30....and now i've developed a fissula, a perenanal abcess. My doctor thinks it may be because since the interfeon my immune system is v.low to warding off infections.
Are these symptoms shared by others.

[lookbehindyou]

My father and my mother who were so happy in the beginning because I treated the virus and they visited me with merry faces to ask if i need anything and how i was doing...   after treatment i tried everything to get back to life and happy again and nothing helped. i can't continue to look in the sad and tired eyes of my father and my mother who are so  sad to see their only son deteriorate...  I have to end it, then they can find peace i guess.

[Bruin1903]

So glad that you are not having side effects from the new drugs. Sending best wishes to you for success and an easy passage. I was lucky enough to clear with the old regime in 2014 but also have had long term side effects.
thank you for posting your story , all the best .. simon

[FreedomMK]

I had long-term effects after the first interferon/ribavirin treatment in 2003 and the second peginterferon/ribivirin treatment in 2012.

After the first treatment in 2003, I had little energy for a few years. After having been very socially active and physically fit between 1997 and 2003, I didn't go out much and gained about 40 pounds from lack of activity. I became depressed after a few months on treatment, and the depression continued for six months after the end of treatment. I had low libido after the first treatment, especially for the first several months.

Since the first treatment, several activities I previously had excelled at such as snooker, I'm no longer very good at. I became less competent in my work, and had to try extra hard to do well. My ability to give a presentation isn't the same as before, because I'm somewhat forgetful and stumble over my words from time to time.

There was a strange kind of rash I had before the first treatment, which came back and remained for a week or so about every six months for a few years after the first treatment, in exactly the same place.

During the second treatment in 2012 for 28 weeks, I had much more severe side effects than during the first, but the after effects were virtually the same: depression, forgetfulness/confusion by times, lessening of cognition/reduced skills. However, I lost 40 pounds during the second treatment, and since 2012 I've have been somewhat more physically active, keeping the weight-gain down to just 20 pounds since 2012.

I failed to achieve SVR after those two treatments, but right now I'm on a Merck clinical trial without interferon (grazoprevir, MK-3682, and MK-8408 plus ribavirin for 16 weeks). So far, there seems to be no side effects whatsoever from the first three drugs. The ribavirin side effects of dry skin, easily tiring from low RBC, and sleep disturbance seem not so severe and much easier to deal with without the far worse psychological side effects of interferon.

I'm very thankful for these new drugs, which I understand also have better success rates than interferon for people with cirrhosis like myself.

[scottie24]

Very common

[Bruin1903]

agree. I am  glad that this drug is being superseded. I finished treatment
21 Months ago and cleared the virus. I too have been trying every route.
My Magnesium, Vit B12, and Vitamin D were low post treatment..Addressing this has helped a bit as has juicing, no gluten, no dairy no sugar. But as you remark, nothing really dents and the Medical profession does not know how to address it.....I actually had more energy on treatment than when I ceased.
It was at about 3 months after stopping treatment that I  realised that the interferon had caused irreversible damage. I am still reaching for health as it is the only game in town but aside from getting enough rest and eating healthily I am not sure what can practically be done. All the best to you Simon

[lookbehindyou]

Curcumin helps tremendously but it has a dark side... also you have to look at the bioavailability which is low in most products. Curcuflex is good. 3 capsules a day are sufficient.

[1Localidea]

I treated for Hep c in 2001. I never read the side effects. I was really really really sick the first month. I took matters into my own hands and did what I thought was best. I had had the disease since 1982 and asked to be tested for it. I did a workout every morning called the Body Flex and 8 minutes of Tae bo when I did that and drank AT LEAST 5 glasses of water I was good, had energy and went to work every day. When I did not drink the water I was completely exhausted. I played with my theory through the whole year of treatment. I was a heroin addict and caught the disease from whomever as I was a patient junkie who went last and I never looked as the needle went into my arm. Imagine my surprise when I had to inject myself and there was no high! OY! Delivered 3 children disease free as I carried the disease. My husband who thank god was a alcoholic so that saved my life. Was never a big drinker and if one whiskey sour was gonna get me sick the next day. Why bother! Because of his alcoholism.. we did not happily drink and I attribute my yucky feeling to that... I am very lucky. Very lucky. I am clean in more ways than one. Don't give up. Watch The Secret on Netflix and The Strangest Secret on You Tube... Drink water and any kind of workout. The Body Flex is perfect. Greer Childers its breathing and tightening. Awesome!