hub's side effects - physical or mental?

[juli4591]

good morning to everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read my post.  My husband is in week three of triple therapy with incivek.  He's had issues with rash, (which is currently under control ) as well as tiredness, shortness of breath,etc - a lot of things that seem to pop up and change daily and that many of you have posted about. My biggest concern is that he feels like this treatment is poisoning him and that it is going to kill him before the hepC does.  He treated once before with interferon/riba and responded well but relapsed.
Have any of you experienced this overwhelming feeling that you won't survive the treatment? This morning he had a very difficult time taking the Incivek, almost feeling that is was suicidal to take the pills. He is 58, has early cirrhosis but never had any symptoms/side effects from the hepc. He is taking welbutrin 2x a day as part of his regimen.If anyone can offer an encouraging word or advice I would surely appreciate it.  This is such a scary process, and how can you know what to be alarmed about and what to try to work through? Thanks.

[BoceprevirGal]

  Well, I treated for 28 weeks, with the other protease inhibitor, Victrelis, and I did not take any antidepressants. But I did have the exact same feeling that your husband is describing. I was terrified the whole time I treated, so afraqid it would give me a terrible, life threatening infection.  Towards the end of my Treatment, I did catch the 24 hr flu, 3 times. I would wake up at 4 am, with a horrible head-ache, and have to rush to the bath-room, I felt extremely poisoned.
   What I did to make myself feel better, was I was very careful with my health. I avoided indoor crowded places, full of coughing babies, etc. And I avoided restaurant food, and I stopped riding my bike, I was so frail and dizzy. I treated mysef with kid-gloves, yeah, I was very worried.
  I did manage ot obtain SVR, so tell your husband to hang in there, and treat his symptoms as they come. Once the 12 wks of Incivek areover, he should feel much less poisoned. My Victrelis "sentence" was fpr 24 weeks!

[coeric]

lots of great advice from the previous posters.   my experience is that the emotional side effects got worse after stopping the incivek.   hopefully he has a treatment team that will address his mental/emotional side effects.   i used marijuana liberally through treatment,  but i may have also benefitted from antidepressants.  
blessings
eric

[orphanedhawk]

Well you husband is right, he is poisoning himself and hopefully the poison will kill the virus.

It's not easy and one big side effect is the mental one. It's important to try and exercise, get out in the fresh air, and stay as upbeat as possible. Remember, it's just for a period of time and it will end.

However, he should have a good support team treating him. He should be able to contact someone to help reassure him or to be alert incase real problems do occur, as they can. Tx is tough.

Good luck

[Idyllic]

I was on Wellbutrin during treatment with Incivek. It stopped the deep, black hole depression I was afraid that might be triggered and even the feelings of doom and all that. Having said that I honestly believe Incivek comes with its own share of malaise and saps the ability to feel pleasure or interest. I can't explain it and of course there are no studies to support this but that is what I think. It lifted within days after I was finished with Incivek.

The thing is I don't know what stage of fibrosis you husband is or his history with psychoactive medication or possible prior experience with depression. Treating again comes with its share of fear and doubt whether all this is going to work and we are taking these heavy duty meds (again) for nothing. It can be overwhelming without support from others. I am glad you are on line doing this and I also think it would actually help your hubby if he were to participate. My husband wouldn't if he were treating. It just wouldn't be his nature. He would read and understand the basics but that is about it.

The thing is lots of us who treated before thought we knew what to expect with Triple and I for one was shocked when I realized what a "game changer" is for the whole treatment experience. The first time I treated I could work and even traveled. I thought Triple would be like that. So, there is that shocker to contend with.

Lastly in my opinion Wellbutrin does zero for anxiety and some people think there is a difference between the brand name and the generic. I discovered I did not need a 2X day dose and one dose of the 150 was enough for me. It was an efficacious therapeutic dose and worked better than a higher dose. I take a few other meds unrelated to Hepatitis C so it could be how they were metabolized - just thought I would throw that out there.

** You know your hubby better than anyone and I hope after reading some of our experiences you can determine what is what. I hope you do mention this to the doctor and I hope this works out. I honestly think Incivek could be a huge factor though

[juli4591]

Thanks for the information on the drugs used to help your husband's symptoms.  especially the insomnia, which has begun to rear its ugly head. it always helps to know what is helping others get some relief.

[juli4591]

Thank you everyone for your comments! So appreciated.  i am making notes to take to our next drs appointment. Reidmusic, your side effects sound very similar to hubs.  It truly is day to day, sometimes minute to minute.  Hub is better this afternoon and is determined to soldier on. INteresting about the Welbutrin dontworry_behappy - I will talk with dr about that.  I think if we get good results from his week 4 labs next week, it will make a difference - like he is winning this war raging inside of him.  So thankful he doesn't have to go to work through this. Cheflady, good tip on counting down the weeks. I hope thatfinishing the incivek will make a difference also.  thanks again for your help  - I'll be hanging around here for the next few months and hope I can be a help to others too.