Depression - Update from earlier today

[peanut43611]

Saw my HMO he prescribed Zolof to start & did complete blood work right there. My depression/mood swings (crying, angry, frustrated, no motivation, ect...) Doc said are very likely to be after effects of my treatment, as I have had symptoms for quite sometime now & didn't seek treatment until now. Unfortunately, it takes about 4 wks until the med begins to really work. I'm glad I finally started to address the issues I've been having & that I came back to this forum. Everyone here is always so helpful & understanding :)

[nygirl7]

I was amazed at how many others are going through the same thing & way longer after their treatments."


Actually when you stop and realize how many people have successfully treated and never had any post tx side effects you can see that that number would be hundreds of times higher than the few who were left with serious problems.  Most problems will resolve in time.

And quite honestly, if you have ever watched someone die of end stage liver disease - any subsequent 'side effects' are totally and completely worth dealing with.

And you definitely positively are the only person I ever heard of who heard crickets - I had ringing from anemia and my anemia was pretty darn bad but I never heard anything except the high pitch ringing. Certainly, no bugs ;)

[peanut43611]

The "crickets" were very temporary and was only during treatment, I was hospitalized overnight, my treatment was temporarily stopped & so did the crickets. No ringing, trust me it was crickets, it was a hallucination due to the meds.

I started my AD last night, pushing myself to exercise, monitoring my diet, starting a multi-vitamins & waiting on my blood work to come back today hopefully.

There's a thread posted by lostpass entitled "post hep c treatment side effects" I was amazed at how many others are going through the same thing & way longer after their treatments.

Thanks everyone for all your great input!!!

[Diane12855]

I started noticing improvement withing the first week of starting my ADs, so as  in everything with this stuff, everybody is different.

If your crickets sounded like a bunch of crickets out in your yard... while you were in your house... I've been calling that ringing in the ears and I've had that off and on since starting tx. I hope Trish isn't right about that lasting even after tx because sometimes it gets so loud that I have a hard time understanding what people are saying if the TV is on....

I'm glad your doctor ordered a bunch of blood work. Might as well check for a bunch of stuff at once.

Diane

[Trish77]

With regards to you hearing "crickets".  Is it at all possible this was more a ringing in your ears?  This is also something that can happen to folks on treatment. For some, unfortunately, it remains permanent.  A fellow in my Hep C support group experienced this while on treatment and unfortunately it's remained after treatment.

[Trish77]

peanut / babs,

If you read did a search for depression on this forum, you would find a number of threads from folks who experienced post-treatment depression including myself.  

babs, It was not because we were sad we weren't getting attention anymore and it was not because we suddenly had to face issues that treatment allowed us to avoid.  Quite a few of us were fine heading into treatment and some of us, including me, didn't have any depression while ON treatment but it hit us unexpectedly AFTER treatment.  This is also well documented in cancer patients after chemotherapy as well.   I think that's important to note, for the sake of those who have experienced this and for those coming off treatment who will experience this.  It seems to be yet another side effect of treatment for some people - as with other side effects, some people get them and some don't.  

It's also valid to look at what other physical issues might be at play - babs mentioned thyroid which is a not uncommon after-effect from treatment and if you haven't had any testing for thyroid issues, that's a good place to start.  Possible it's hormonal, I haven't seen any women talking about that, but HAVE seen men posting who were found to be low testosterone after treatment and that can definitely contribute to depression - so wouldn't seem to be too much of a stretch to consider that it impacts women's hormones in the same way.

peanut - it's possible this is a leftover from your treatment that was never properly addressed.   As I've mentioned, you would not be alone in the fact that treatment drugs may have affected you in this way.  Regardless, it's important that you get this treated.  I went on meds for four months and that was enough for me to weather my own storm and pull out of it.  I consider myself lucky as I know others have fought longer battles with this.

Good luck, peanut.

Trish

[peanut43611]

I went through treatment for only 6 months and I am 45. Yes, hormonal issues can be at work. I had a complete Hysterectomy at 33 due to cervical cancer, so I'm aware & through alot of those symptoms. The treatment could've triggered something hormonal though. The blood work should show any thyroid or other condition that could be damaged. My Dr. said it is "likely" not for sure, but he has known me for a long time and knows there hasn't been any depression or anything like this pre-treatment. During my treatment (4th month) I had a what I call a "psychotic episode" where I began hearing things, actually hearing crickets. I find it funny now, but not at the time! Was taken off treatment for a few days and it stopped. Hep Dr. said it was normal for patience to experience something like that. I don't know what all is going on now, it was only my HMO I saw today, not my Hep Doc. He is treating the symptoms right now, and we can tell more once the blood work is in. Who knows maybe I'm just crazy lol But we know our own bodies & minds & I haven't been right since treatment. Went from a huge high flying on top of the world right after treatment to a gradual decline into anger & depression. Postpartum Treatment Blues could be it, makes sense. Thanks everyone for your thoughts & concerns, I love this forum :)

[HectorSF]

Yes, unfortunately it does take time to work BUT you are on your way! Despite feeling as bad as you do you pulled yourself together and are taking care of yourself. Pat yourself on your back for overcoming inertia and following through. With an attitude like take, you will get to the down of your issues and get them treated.

Congratulations!

Hectorsf

[Trinity4]

Well said babs.  Not to say that is what happened with peanut but I agree with your thoughts about the postpartum treatment blues and the big time reality check that comes blazing back after treatment ends.  Fortunately, that didn't happen with me but I''ve seen those who have struggled with that very thing.  

Trinity

[babs824]

i agree with nygirl and wonder if some hormonal issues could have been precipitated by the treatment. of course thyroid frequently has changes too which u will know when blood work is done. when we are in treatment it can give a strong sense goal and raison d'etre. there can be a let down when all the attention around treatment ends and we get back to real life "now what" questions. maybe there were some things we were able to put off during treatment or even some people we could put off. now our very legit excuse fades. we all have stuff on the back burner as it were...maybe some of this is surfacing...
wishing you a full recovery in every way, babs

[nygirl7]

Peanut how long did you do treatment for?  How old are you? I only ask that (in a general sense you dont have to say exactly) cause i was wondering if perhaps it could possibly be something else.

I just can't see how it's the interferon - that would have left your body long ago. The riba serum concentrate should be almost nothing at this point.  So my question is did he say WHY he thinks it has something to do with treatment after effects?  That would be good to know in the future.

Anyways - glad you got the AD they can really be a life saver and hopefully it wont take the full 4 weeks and your system will respond quickly to it!