Aa
Ribavirin
Ok just blame it on being distracted! I usally take my ribavirin in the morning (at work) and at dinner (at home) I didn't realize it but I was one pill short (I take 6 a day) this morning at work.
Make it up at dinner or not or not is the quesiton.
Dare I ask the next question? Has anyone ever felt better while on treatment then before treatment. I know from what I read here a crazy quesiton. But I would swear that I felt better on Saturday (finishing week 7 of tx) then I have in a long time. Now I know the amazing weather and having a chance to be out side working on my garden, very very slowly, might have had something to do with it.
anyway shot 8 tonight.
Make it up at dinner or not or not is the quesiton.
Dare I ask the next question? Has anyone ever felt better while on treatment then before treatment. I know from what I read here a crazy quesiton. But I would swear that I felt better on Saturday (finishing week 7 of tx) then I have in a long time. Now I know the amazing weather and having a chance to be out side working on my garden, very very slowly, might have had something to do with it.
anyway shot 8 tonight.
LOL sounds like you understand me perfectly well then....thinking has NEVER been my strong suit either! :)
It's great that tx is going so well , so far. Any week , or day for that matter , of easy going sx is one less that you have to worry about. However , this combo treatment is a very fickle treatment and can show it's ugly side at any time. It may continue to go well for you , but there is really no way to predict whats going to happen , bad or good.
Hang in there.
Hang in there.
Hopefully, your decision to treat wasn't based solely on your fatigue, but more on other factors such as the amount of liver damage you have.
While everyone reacts differently, don't count on feeling better during treatment as the vast majority of people feel worse to one degree or another.
As to post treatment, again do not count on feeling better than before you started treating. It's possible, but many never regain their pre-tx health and often report more fatigue, and other symptons such as memory loss, joint pains, and thyroid problems to name a few.
What successful treatment will do however, is first kill the virus and second, it will greatly reduce the chance that your liver damage will increase. In fact, it may even reduce any liver damage you have.
Sorry if I somewhat dampened your expectations, but I think it important that people have realistic expectations as to what treatment can and cannot do *before* they treat.
-- Jim
While everyone reacts differently, don't count on feeling better during treatment as the vast majority of people feel worse to one degree or another.
As to post treatment, again do not count on feeling better than before you started treating. It's possible, but many never regain their pre-tx health and often report more fatigue, and other symptons such as memory loss, joint pains, and thyroid problems to name a few.
What successful treatment will do however, is first kill the virus and second, it will greatly reduce the chance that your liver damage will increase. In fact, it may even reduce any liver damage you have.
Sorry if I somewhat dampened your expectations, but I think it important that people have realistic expectations as to what treatment can and cannot do *before* they treat.
-- Jim
Maybe your case is different, but in general most people do not feel better during treatment and that includes the many people that have complained of chronic fatigue prior to treatment, which happens to be a significant number, since chronic fatigue and Hep C often go together.
Also, based on anecdotal reports of those here and on other sites, more people seem to report feeling worse after treatment than before they started treating.
Someone -- I think TnHepGuy -- put it very well. They said not to expect anything to be different after treatment other than the virus will be gone. I'll just add that while some may feel better than before tx, it appears an equal if not larger number of people will feel worse with sides such as more fatigue, diminished mental facualties, joint and skin problems, thyroid disorders, etc.
BTW I also had more less fatigue intially on treatment and I attribute that to the stimulant effect of the ribavirin. Of course, later my anemia and other complications cancelled that out in spades.
Again -- and some others will disagree -- treat primarily to stop or regress liver damage. As to the other stuff, you may feel better post tx, you may not.
-- Jim
Also, based on anecdotal reports of those here and on other sites, more people seem to report feeling worse after treatment than before they started treating.
Someone -- I think TnHepGuy -- put it very well. They said not to expect anything to be different after treatment other than the virus will be gone. I'll just add that while some may feel better than before tx, it appears an equal if not larger number of people will feel worse with sides such as more fatigue, diminished mental facualties, joint and skin problems, thyroid disorders, etc.
BTW I also had more less fatigue intially on treatment and I attribute that to the stimulant effect of the ribavirin. Of course, later my anemia and other complications cancelled that out in spades.
Again -- and some others will disagree -- treat primarily to stop or regress liver damage. As to the other stuff, you may feel better post tx, you may not.
-- Jim
Jim,
Have there been any long range studies to gage post treatment side effects? I understand how it can take months for these drugs to leave our systems and there for not feeling any better for months after one has finshed tx but what have you read about 6 months later, a year later and so on.
I think this line of question began and when I asked if anyone has ever felt better while on treatment. I put it out there for two reasons one was Saturday just happened to be one of my better days in a long while, including pre-treatment. Like I said maybe it was the weather, maybe it was having a few days off from work, maybe it was my daughter deciding what college she is going to. Not important it just got me thinking, not my strong suit as I mentioned in a prior post, the other reason I put it out there is I find that my body looks forward to it's next shot odd I know. That could easly be from my past experince with needles who the hell knows.
Have there been any long range studies to gage post treatment side effects? I understand how it can take months for these drugs to leave our systems and there for not feeling any better for months after one has finshed tx but what have you read about 6 months later, a year later and so on.
I think this line of question began and when I asked if anyone has ever felt better while on treatment. I put it out there for two reasons one was Saturday just happened to be one of my better days in a long while, including pre-treatment. Like I said maybe it was the weather, maybe it was having a few days off from work, maybe it was my daughter deciding what college she is going to. Not important it just got me thinking, not my strong suit as I mentioned in a prior post, the other reason I put it out there is I find that my body looks forward to it's next shot odd I know. That could easly be from my past experince with needles who the hell knows.
Time,
Very few studies if any on the long term side effects of treatment. This isn't surprising, since most studies are sponsored by drug companies and after investing literally billions in these drugs for FDA approval, I don't suppose much motivation in for them in double-checking their safety. Recent articles scrutinizing the FDA seem to support this. Post tx sides reported here recently include
fatigue, muscle/joint pain, thyroid problems, lupus-like skin conditions and other autoimmune issues. My NP also warned me that treatment often causes kidney problems as well.
Kalio,
I understand your experience is different, but after reading hundreds of posts here and in other discussion groups, almost everyone feels worse during treatment than before. And again, many if not most, also list pre-treatment fatigue as a sympton. Chronic fatigue/depression and Hep C have been linked for a long time. I addressed post treatment above in the post to Timedog.
Personally, for me it's too early to say one way or another, but while I feel 1000% better than during treatment, I don't think I can say I feel better than pre-treatment. I feel like I've aged about ten years both physically and mentally. Hopefully this will be reversible but in any event I feel given the amount of liver damage I had, there really was no choice.
-- Jim
Very few studies if any on the long term side effects of treatment. This isn't surprising, since most studies are sponsored by drug companies and after investing literally billions in these drugs for FDA approval, I don't suppose much motivation in for them in double-checking their safety. Recent articles scrutinizing the FDA seem to support this. Post tx sides reported here recently include
fatigue, muscle/joint pain, thyroid problems, lupus-like skin conditions and other autoimmune issues. My NP also warned me that treatment often causes kidney problems as well.
Kalio,
I understand your experience is different, but after reading hundreds of posts here and in other discussion groups, almost everyone feels worse during treatment than before. And again, many if not most, also list pre-treatment fatigue as a sympton. Chronic fatigue/depression and Hep C have been linked for a long time. I addressed post treatment above in the post to Timedog.
Personally, for me it's too early to say one way or another, but while I feel 1000% better than during treatment, I don't think I can say I feel better than pre-treatment. I feel like I've aged about ten years both physically and mentally. Hopefully this will be reversible but in any event I feel given the amount of liver damage I had, there really was no choice.
-- Jim
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