rash

[start2]

how bad is the rask to deal with, are you able to work?

[Advocate1955]

If you're talking about the rash that is a side effect from Incivek, here is some information that I posted in my journal containing recommendations from many members of this forum:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/333004/Incivek--Ideas-for-Managing-Rash
Advocate1955

[pooh55811]

If your husband is on Incivek, let us know if he gets rectal/anal problems and we will chime in with treatments for them. One important thing is to keep the stools firm, not hard as a rock, but firm. The soft and/or loose stools really exacerbate the rectal/anal issues. If he is on Incivek, buy (in advance) Prep. H suppositories, Prep. H cream, Huggies baby wipes with aloe (to keep the outer rectum sparkling clean), loperimide to firm up the stools if they are soft or loose. You really do not want to be without that stuff if he gets the fire diarrhea. It took me two trial and error tries of exceptionally severe pain (most do not get the severe pain) to figure out the stools have to be firm. Firming them up  seems counterintuitive since Incivek cause hemorrhoids, but I found the firmer the stools (within reason) the better. I had no fire diarrhea as long as I kept those stools firm.

Keep us posted and I wish him and you the best.

By the way, frijole has made a spreadsheet and is keeping stats and would love to have your husbands stats. She has them posted on her profile (under the photo section) and you can look at all of them (4 pages now). There are about 100 of us on the pages, I think. I think the stats are quite encouraging and also informative. Here is her page:

http://www.medhelp.org/personal_pages/user/223152

She wants the following information:
*Genotype
*Pretreatment Viral Load,
*Whether he is treatment naive, if he treated before, and what his status is - relapser, nonresponder, break through
*Liver biopsy results
*Start date
*Which drugs he is taking

*After he is on treatment, she would like the results of all his VL tests and results (not just 2 log drop) and if he agets anemic, how low the hemoglobin got and how it is being treated.  
*What are his side effects, if severe.

You can post the info on this thread (addressed to frijole):

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/TREATMENT-UPDATES/show/1656986

or you can PM her.

[start2]

Thqankyou so much for your information and supporrt.  It is actually my husband who is going to start treatment with all three, has had tx with peg and interferon in the past, partial minimal response..have been waiting for telapavir to be fda approval.

[crossroadsec]

Welcome! I tries steroid cream n gold bond. Cheap Vaseline intensive care even works now. My rash was worse during telaprevir. I didn't have to miss work, but the hot weather months were awful. I hope yours gets better. Let your dr know if it's all over or gets worse. Some have had a real bad time w it. Karen :)

[belle19]

when i started tx i got a rash on my trunk.  i used gold bond lotion (the green bottle with the red cap).  it works for me and 1/2 benadryl at bedtime.  good luck and welcome to the forum.  belle

[start2]

Thanks

[pooh55811]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Everyone is different. Some people experience only mild symptoms and others have more problems. Also, while you may have some side effects, most likely you will not have all of them.

As far as working goes, again, everyone is different. There are many people on the forum who have continued to work during tratment. Personally, I don't think I could work in my regular job during treatment. My job was very demanding physically and mentally. Since I get exceptionally tired (to the point of having to lie down right away or I feel like I will pass out) and really have to rest after about 3 - 4 hours of being out of the house, I know I could not handle a full time job. I am retired so I am not working during treatment, but, like I said, many on the forum are.

You did not mention which drugs you will be taking. Both Riba and Incivek can cause a rash.However, some people do not get a rash. Others get a mild rash or a moderate rash. A few get a more serious rash. I would recommend getting a tube of over the counter hydrocortisone to have on hand when you start treatment and also some over the counter benadryl. You really want to have those things in the house if you start to itch at 2 am. (Clear these with your doctor, but they should be okay.)

If you start to itch or get a rash, no matter how small, get on it right away with the benadryl and the hydrocortisone cream. That is one thing I have learned while on treatment. Get on the side effects immediately or they could/will spin out of control. They seem to snowball if you do not get on them right away. If the hydrocortisone and benadryl do not work, get a prescription from your doctor. I was usuing hydrocortisone and benadryl and that worked well for about 10 weeks. Then I got a much worse rash which did not respond to hydrocortisone cream. It  really got worse fast and the red bumps were piling up on each other. Finally, I got a prescription for fluocinonide ointment and that worked, but because the rash had such a head start by the time my doctor ordered the ointment, it took about a week to even make a dent in it and two weeks to finally get it under control. It is still there, but now it is manageable.

Sorry I cannot give you a better answer, but one does not know which side effects one will get until one starts treatment.

One thing to do is to time your injections so you have a couple days rest between the injections and going to work. Many people do their injections on Friday evening.

[1oftheclub222]

are you having a rash from treatment?  Everyone is different, but it seems most people find ways to deal with it and still work.

If you put the word rash into the search box at the top of the screen, it will probably bring a bunch of posts that talk about this.  it has been talked about alot on here.