going to start hep c treatment soon.

[geebee270]

All I have been reading is how bad the 3 meds are. the pill you take with 20 grams of fat. Does anyone have anything good to say?

[Ironpony]

Does anyone have any good stuff to say about it?

Rvr at 4 weeks for me....weight off one week post incivek...no problem with rashes and treating has made me SO much stronger! I feel like I have found myself for the first time ever!! I will carry this strength with me for the rest of my life.

Best wishes to you!
Laura

[Dee1956]

So sorry you did not know you had HCV until after it gave you lymphoma.  I have an acquaintance who also got lymphoma from HCV.
I hope you can treat as soon as possible
Good luck to you

[Advocate1955]

Check with your doctor regarding contraindications between Lexapro and whichever Hep C treatment you are planning to do.  My husband had to go off Lexapro when he began triple therapy with Incivek because Lexapro isn't recommended with Incivek.  His hepatologist switched him to Citalopram instead.
Advocate1955

[dontworry_behappy1]

Good Catch Pooh.  

[pooh55811]

Do you see a hepatologist and was he the one who prescribed the Zexapro? Or did a primary care physician prescribe it or did a psychiatrist prescribe it.

The other thing, do you mean Lexapro?
"Lexapro (escitalopram) is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Lexapro affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause depression or anxiety.
Lexapro is used to treat anxiety in adults and major depressive disorder in adults "

http://www.drugs.com/lexapro.html

Interferon can cause depression, severe depression. It does not do so in all people, but it can. It also can cause other mood changes in people such as anger or anxiety.

"Neuropsychiatric"

"Life-threatening or fatal neuropsychiatric reactions may manifest in all patients receiving therapy with Pegasys and include suicide, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, depression, relapse of drug addiction, and drug overdose. These reactions may occur in patients with and without previous psychiatric illness.

Pegasys should be used with extreme caution in all patients who report a history of depression. Neuropsychiatric adverse events observed with alpha interferon treatment include aggressive behavior, psychoses, hallucinations, bipolar disorders, and mania. Physicians should monitor all patients for evidence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms. Patients should be advised to report any sign or symptom of depression or suicidal ideation to their prescribing physicians. In severe cases, therapy should be stopped immediately and psychiatric intervention instituted "

Neuropsychiatric

Life-threatening or fatal neuropsychiatric reactions may manifest in all patients receiving therapy with Pegasys and include suicide, suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, depression, relapse of drug addiction, and drug overdose. These reactions may occur in patients with and without previous psychiatric illness.

Pegasys should be used with extreme caution in all patients who report a history of depression. Neuropsychiatric adverse events observed with alpha interferon treatment include aggressive behavior, psychoses, hallucinations, bipolar disorders, and mania. Physicians should monitor all patients for evidence of depression and other psychiatric symptoms. Patients should be advised to report any sign or symptom of depression or suicidal ideation to their prescribing physicians. In severe cases, therapy should be stopped immediately and psychiatric intervention instituted.

http://www.drugs.com/pro/pegasys.html


If you will be taking Incivek, Lexapro may not be the best choice of antidepresants:

http://www.drugs.com/interactions-check.php?drug_list=2009-0,3328-15346,1013-565,1806-1159

"Interactions between your selected drugs
escitalopram ↔ telaprevir

Applies to: Lexapro (escitalopram), Incivek (telaprevir)

MONITOR: Coadministration with telaprevir may decrease the plasma concentrations of escitalopram. The mechanism of interaction has not been described. In 13 study subjects, administration of escitalopram (10 mg once daily for 7 days) in combination with telaprevir (750 mg every 8 hours for 14 days) decreased the escitalopram peak plasma concentration (Cmax), systemic exposure (AUC) and trough plasma concentration (Cmin) by an average of 30%, 35% and 42%, respectively, compared to administration alone. Escitalopram had no significant effect on the pharmacokinetics of telaprevir.

MANAGEMENT: The possibility of diminished therapeutic effects should be considered when escitalopram is used in combination with telaprevir. Pharmacologic response to escitalopram should be closely monitored and the dosage adjusted if necessary, particularly following the initiation or discontinuation of telaprevir."

[geebee270]

Hi all.
       Went to the Dr.and walk away with Zexapro. I'm waiting for the meds. I guess I'm waiting for the meeds seems like it back loged he said. He said I need this stuff to have time to get in my body. Am I going to go nuts on the meds. My insurance wont pay for them. Has this happen you wait for the call. They are so busy. They think you ned mind help. Has this happen to any body.  I'm so confuse or everyone has it and I can't start yet. I think it must be all about the money.What am I waiting for. Dr. said he has so maney people needing it.

[geebee270]

yes the worst kind more people have nhl. Its harder to treat so many types.b-cell nonaggrsive t-cell aggsive the list goes on and on

[geebee270]

Hi babs824,  I am more scared of the hep-c than the cancer. It wont let me gain weight and Im tired all the time. The cancer is gone right now but wont let me heal. he will give me a bio. but even my cancer doctor said you have to get it out of your blood or the cancer will come back. Like it did before. My other cancer doctor just wanted to give me more and more chemo he didnt know about stem cell transplants didnt even talk about hep-c I had to go to the best to get treated right.

[dontworry_behappy1]

Hi There,
Is your lymphoma - non hodgkin's lymphoma?

[orphanedhawk]

Thanks for the post~ I had no idea.

Geebee~ wishing you the best of luck in beating the virus.

[pooh55811]

Actually, it seems to me that Hep C, all by itself, causes way more damage and way more medical problems, especially auto-immune disorders, than Interferon ever thought of causing. That article mostly refers to the diseases and disorders that are caused by Hep C. There is some reference to Interferon aggravated disorders, but that article mainly discusses diseases that are caused by Hep C itself.

I have already had Hep C induced systemic vasculitis and was very ill from that. My blood glucose is creeping up and I think that is the Hep C. In fact, I am sure it is the Hep C causing that. Personally, even though it is recognized that Hep C causes or exacerbates many diseases and disorders, I do not think people fully appreciate how much it affects those diseases. People get so concerned about the side effects of Interferon they forget that Hep C itself is wreaking havoc on their bodies, not just their livers.

I was diagnosed last July. I started treatment in late Sept. Treatment was/is no picnic, but it was/is doable. I would do it again in a heart beat. (Well, I am still on treatment (48 weeks), LOL.)

If I was in your situation, I would definitely treat too. Hopefully, treatment will help address the lymphoma.

Best of luck. Keep us posted. We love success stories.

[babs824]

yikes gee bee u have been thru soooo much already. these hurdles may make treatment seem easier on an emotional level at least. i had chemo for breast ca some years before treatment and i believe i was better prepared. if u can do a marrow transplant u are a strong person. but as oh says please find out the precise status of your liver before undergoing treatment. your doctors should provide this thru a biopsy. best of luck, babs

[geebee270]

Hi pooh,  I found a lot on the vets that got hep-c in the war in the 1970s and they had a high rate of lymphoma it a blood cancer and my hep-c has to go. Im not going in blind. your right it can cause a lot of bad stuff. So I wish I could wait but Im going with my Doctors on this one.

[pooh55811]

This article does mention that Hep C can cause Lymphoma (as well as a myriad of other diseases):

"Patients with viral and autoimmune hepatitis are at increased risk for developing several different autoimmune disorders.

Several different autoimmune diseases are known to occur in persons with viral and autoimmune hepatitis. Patients with hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C are at risk for developing autoimmune hepatitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Patients with hepatitis B and C are also at risk for developing conditions of autoimmune glomerulonephritis, vasculitis, and cryoglobulinemia, which is described later in this article. Both vitiligo and Behcet's disease are considered to be extrahepatic (affecting organs other than the liver) manifestations in patients with hepatitis C. In addition, patients using interferon therapy for hepatitis B or C are at risk for developing several different autoimmune disorders such as autoimmune thyroid disease and multiple sclerosis.

Interferon is an immune system chemical known as a cytokine. Normally, when the immune system responds to viral infection, it produces adequate interferon, which promotes recovery from infection. However, in certain infections including hepatitis B and hepatitis C, the immune system becomes overwhelmed and is unable to produce adequate interferon. Consequently, therapies containing interferon alpha or pegylated interferon alpha are effective therapies for hepatitis. Because interferon stimulates the immune system, it's a well known autoimmune disease trigger. Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and multiple sclerosis are common occurrences in patients using interferon therapy for viral hepatitis.

As many as 40 percent of patients with chronic hepatitis C go on to develop cryoglobulinemia, a condition of elevated cryoglobulin levels. Cryoglobulin proteins precipitate, forming solid compounds in cold temperatures. When patients with cryoglobulinemia are exposed to the cold their blood vessels become clogged and inflamed, which causes a condition of palpable purpura (characterized by small purple bruises), which causes bleeding into the skin. About half of all patients with hepatitis C and cryoglobulinemia experience symptoms.

Patients with cyroglublinemia may develop type I, type II, type III or essential mixed cryoglobulinemia. Patients with type I cryoglobulinemia develop increased blood viscosity and are at risk for lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and Waldenstrom's macroglublinemia. Patients with type II and type III cryoglobulinemia are more likely to develop vasculitis, purpura, kidney disease and peripheral neuropathy. Patients with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia are more likely to have vasculitis involving the smaller blood vessels of the skin, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract with symptoms of hyperpigmentation, muscle pain, itching, ulcerations, arthritis and fatigue.

Besides purpura, patients may develop kidney problems such as glomerulonephritis, peripheral neuropathy, Sjogren's syndrome, and arthritic symptoms. Furthermore, patients with chronic hepatitis C and cryoglobulinemia have a higher risk for liver disease that progresses to cirrhosis. Interferon may help reduce this progression. And although interferon is known to trigger autoimmune disease development, patients with hepatitis and extrahepatic autoimmune manifestations such as cryoglobulinemia or vasculitis show improvement in these extrahepatic manifestations when they use interferon therapy. Chronic hepatitis C is also associated with pain syndromes including fibromyalgia."

http://suite101.com/article/autoimmune-diseases-and-hepatitis-a5134

[orphanedhawk]

I have no experience with lymphoma or cancer. I've never heard of lymphoma going hand in hand with hep C but I've never had cause to look into it.
I know that liver cancer can come from advanced cirrhosis caused by hep C.

What I know is hep c  lives in the blood and can create huge damage in our livers.
Of course your doctors know you have hep C, it shows up on your blood tests.

What you have written here doesn't explain anything about the actual condition of your liver and whether there is fibrosis or cirrhosis and at what stage.
There are doctors who want to treat  hep C whenever they find it present whether there is liver damage or not.

For you to be fully educated prior to undergoing treatment, I'd think you'd want to know the condition of your liver.

We've had people on this forum, who had no liver damage, did the treatment based solely on their doctor's advice and regretted it.
Long term side effects are a possibility of the treatment, which you should be aware of. Most of us, do not have them, but some who have, were angry that they did treatment without being fully informed.

It is far from being unreasonable for you to ask you doctors  whether they think there is fibrosis or cirrhosis.

I think everyone should be as fully informed as possible prior to beginning treatment, and for that matter, about all aspects of their health care.
Afterall it is our bodies, and our lives.

It's wonderful that you trust your doctors. This is important.

Best of luck~

.

[geebee270]

Hi, I started with lymphoma cancer it came back after 6 months. Then a stem cell transplant. They did studies i have seen them that hep-c and lymphoma go hand and hand. My liver doctor and cancer doctor said i have to get the hep-c under control because of my cancer.Im at one of the best hospital people come from all over the U.S.and the world its the university of Arizona a teaching hospital so I trust them.  They gave me pet scan and could see the liver and then a mri and could see the liver. they said i didnt need a biopsy because they know its in my blood like the lymphoma is a blood cancer. I  have to go with that now that my cancer is gone and they want to get started on the hep-c fast.

[orphanedhawk]

I'm confused. What do you mean it looks good on the MRI ?
Have you had a biopsy ? Do you know what stage of fibrosis you have ?
Are you seeing a hepatologist, a specialist in liver disease ?

MRIs are not used to tell the extent of liver damage, at least not to my knowledge.

Just because you have hep C doesn't mean you have liver damage. If your liver is healthy, there is no reason to jump into treatment, especially not now when better treatment is looking so good in clinical trials.

[geebee270]

Hi My liver looks good on the mri. but it makes my lymphoma come back. I had so much chemo its my only way out. They didnt tell me this till I was in the hospital getting a stem cell transplant. a liver doctor came in and said the hep-c gave me cancer. my cancer doctor said its important to get it out of my body so i can gain weight and wont be so tired and to be safe. I go on the 19th to see how bad my blood is. I just hope they give me a little more time its been 7 months since the stem cell transplant.

[Dee1956]

The good thing that came out for me is that I am UND at 4 months and continue to get better every day.  I was lucky.
I did have severe side effects and I did come here for help and understanding; as no one outside of those treating has a clue as to what we are experiencing.  My doctor told me that the worse the scarring and fibrosis the worse the side effects so it is the reason I had such a hard time.  Saying that, now that I am on the other side, I am so glad that I treated.  It was my last chance before decompensated cirrhosis and as Hector says, that makes HCV look benign in comparison.  
I hope that you treat as soon as you can.

[orphanedhawk]

Lets see, anything good to say  ?
Although I didn't do the triple tx, hep C almost killed me.
Post transplant, I did the treatment so it wouldn't take out my new liver.
We do the treatment to save our livers.
Hep C is the number one reason for liver transplantation in the US. Hep C now kills more people in the US than AIDs.

And as others have mentioned, those no complaints don't post very often.

[geebee270]

Hi pooh, I have taken clonazepam the whole time I was fighting lymphma and still on it and pain meds. Im going to ask the liver Doctor for all the things i think i will need. He doesnt speak real good english i hope they had  me off to a nurse. I love my cancer doctor but this liver guy not so much

[hope4hepc]

I'm on 3x as well, just finished the incivek 3 1/2 wks ago. I think I've gotten almost all the symptoms, it's life altering. The anemia, nausea inflammation. Oxygen deprivation is one of the worst, can't breath,coughing fits, can't think and respiratory distress. Makes trying to function in a normal compacity impossible. I. Have passed out 3 times and the last time I hit my head and had concussion and spent night in ER. I feel fuzzy headed and non social most of the time now. I'm trying to keep my job but harder by the day with the fatigue and " brain fog". When I saw my Dr after my concussion the only he said was you are doing so well, undetected viral load, and said just need to be careful and take it easy. I have to work so I can maintain my insurance to stay on treatment. I know it will be worth it in the long run, but this has been hardest thing in my life. I used to be very active, hiking, riding, working out and can't do any of it now. I get winded and dizzy just climbing stairs and walking. The cough is real bad, and hard to find anything that works. And my hair is also falling out really bad, very depressing. Any suggestions for any of the symptoms would be greatly appreciated

[threepaddleCurt]

I didn't do Incivik, but probably otherwise I was the poster boy boy for getting just about every side possibly.  

You know what?  It's worth it.  I've been Und since week eight (Vic protocol) and am heading into week sixteen, with a significant reduction of my personal gifts from HCV....no flooding night sweats, reduction of headaches from incapacitating to merely severe, and there are days I actually can think again.

I personally have hope now that attaining SVR will mean I can have a normal life again.  So the treatment may be the ***** from hell and back again.  I'm probably going to have to do Procriet and some platelet transfusions in the near future, although I keep dodging the bullet week to week right now.  All that doesn't matter, it's just what one has to do.

My goal is to beat this virus into submission and be able to have a real life again. Just because I Drew the "Max side effects" card doesn't mean anyone else will.  Statistically, my experience means you are likely to have an easier go with treatment.

Would I do this again?  absolutely!