"I just yell at the newscasters on TV"
hahahahahaha! I did that too. Sitll do!
jd
If you look back later I think you'll realize that you are anxious now rather than depressed, and why shouldn't you be? A bit of that will stick with you until you start hopefully getting positive PCR results back.
About half the people who take interferon will develop some kind of mood disturbance, either depression or anger. Which one you get depends on who you are, I think. I started getting irritable after about 6 weeks.
I started celexa and it made me fat, anorgasmic and overly calm (I answered everything with "I don't know" or "I don't care"). Went off that one to wellbutrin, prescribed by an idiot because that is the wrong family of AD's for irritability. It made me insomniac paranoid and enraged. If you try one and it ruins your sleep, switch right away, it won't get better. Xanax did the same. I finally went back to a cousin of Celexa which was Lexipro. Tried a full dose (10 mg) and it was okay, then started to worry that it was dragging down my platelets and went to a half dose (5 mgs) and it's working just fine. I'm not sedated, annoying things still are a bit annoying, but do not enrage me...in other words I function perfectly normally on 5 mg. Lexapro. It was a rough journey to find the right one but I am still married and still working without wanting to scream at everybody (I just yell at the newscasters on TV).
Sleep: Be sure and take your ribivirin evening dose by 5 in the afternoon. It can keep you awake if you take it at bedtime. Basic guidelines allow up to 200 mgs of benedryl (sominex). Start low and work up until it does the trick.
I also have a prescription for ambien, which works for me but I rarely take it unless I've been sleep deprived for a few days and want to catch up. Ambien is the sleep aid that makes people drive to McDonalds and eat while they are asleep if they take it continuously for a long time.
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stonewall611
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Member since Apr 2009
Mood: stonewall611 is ...
Hi, I would try to find a doctor that can talk to you so that you understand. This site is full of people who understand what you are going through. I thought that I could wait to treat my hep c and really was scared from watching a good friend of mine do treatment. I'm sure you have heard the stories of how difficult treatment is but if I could go back in time I would do it in a minute. I'm diabetic,obese,with high blood pressure and cirrhosis so I have to watch everything I do. The weight seems to be my biggest issue now because If I don't loose weight I can't get a liver transplant. I was worried about work and I had given up on diets and felt hopeless so I understand what you are going through. I take an anti-depressant and I believe that it helps. Acceptance of your disease is a good first step. Try to stay positive. Surround yourself with people that understand and get through 1 day at a time. I would treat the hep c as soon as possible. After you clear the virus you can live a long wonderful life. the longer you wait to treat the worse things can get. My doctors have told me that because of my other problems that I can't start treatment yet. Now I'm racing the clock hoping my liver doesn't quit on me before I can loose weight and try to either treat or transplant my liver. I also take a sleeping pill to help me sleep. With all of this stuff hitting you it is normal not to be able to sleep. Again find a doctor that cares enough to talk to you and who wants to help you get better. Also if you see more than 1 doctor keep all of them up to date with what the others are doing. It's like a team approach. They say 2 heads are better than 1 and have found in my case it works good. Sorry so long winded. Hang in there, there is hope. You can recover.
I wanted to do without AD's but by week 12, I started coming unglued every day after work. I started on 20 mg Celexa and found that to be too much, but I tolerated 1/2 dose well. My mood swings have balanced out and my evenings are much better. Except for maybe a little more dry mouth issues, I've had no problems on the lower dose.
For anxiety I take the occasional ativan (lorazepam). Exercise helps a lot. I did 48 weeks of treatment without ADs - but I did not have depression, just anxiety. I was offered Effexor before I started tx, but decided to wait and see if I developed depression I never did so I'm glad not to have to deal with the extra meds.
Best of luck!
jd
You've got two separate issues (or maybe three) – HCV can cause psychological alterations, the treatment can cause them as well, and it sounds in your case that you're currently dealing with garden-variety anxiety based on receiving this alarming news. For the garden variety anxiety part, I'd get a few valiums (diazapam) from your doctor. Many folks like xanax, but it is addictive and it's a little easier to manage the valium.
Regarding the treatment – the interferon can effect the serotonin in the brain and cause depression. Many HCV patients take ADs to alleviate these symptoms. I took Celexa which seems quite popular. However, as you probably know, the ADs are not without their own side effects. In my case, the Celexa made me happier and less stressed, but I think it also added to my lethargy and mental fog, since these are side effects of that AD. Some people recommend going on an AD before you start treatment but I'm not so sure. There are many people who never experience these side effects.
I think most patients undergoing treatment find that their doctors become veritable drug pushers and are more than willing to prescribe sleeping aids and ADs.
If you do not currently do so, I strongly encourage you to develop a fairly intense regular exercise program as a way to relax and alleviate stress. It will make you much healthier and has no bad side effects. Also the better shape you are in, the better chances the treatment has of working. Once you start treatment, exercise is one of the most important ways to moderate side effects. It's good to have a routine in place before you start. That will make it easier to continue once you start treatment. I don't know where you live, but in the East the weather is perfect now for taking up jogging.
Good luck!