work and combination therapy

[montanabln1]

I am in the middle of my 13th week of  therapy and also started a higher dosage of ribba(copegus) higher than my weight!
I have been working up until now and dealing with any strains on the body and would luv to hear from anyone else who is still working and perhaps on a higher dosage of ribbe to compare notes and maybe learn something in terms of dealing with such changes.
thanks,
david

[montanabln1]

hey,
think you are a star and provided me with the answers and encouragement I need and must admit gfetting close to a week of increased ria there has een so far no change in my way of acting or of thinking and am determined like you to not let it affect me and get ack to normal
thanks for all the information from everyone.

[nygirl7]

Montana

I pretty much doubled riba the entire course of treatment (was given 800 - begged for 1,000 and ended up taking between 1400/1600 randomly).  I was a geno1A and 1B and convinced myself I needed as much as I could get to beat them both. Stupidly........it makes no difference if you are a double geno and the doctor said so but I couldn't believe him. I ended up with drastic anemia (six point drop in just over one week) which was too hard for my body to handle but I only took three days off and dragged myself back in to work until the Procrit kicked in.

I did fall asleep at my desk at lunchtime and stuff like that for a while. But I was 5'7 120pounds and 1600 was WAY too much for me to handle.

I guess I'm trying to say..........you can do it, it's not always easy but mentally if you just decide you are going to do it you will.  I had NO choice I had to work for my two kids to live so I just did it. There was no other option.

You should be just fine - I would be shocked if you noticed all that much difference for just one pill.

Good luck M.

[RCM829]

My ribavirin dosage was significantly increased several weeks into treatment. The side effects certainly increased but in my case I had been severly cutback in hours at work due to economic conditions so it all kind of worked out O.K.
Further, my workplace probably suspects a medical problem and has been remarkably sympathetic.
I think it really depends on how you feel once the dose is increased and your individual work situation. Though it's prudent to take precautions now, I personally wouldn't predict a negative scenario. You may be just fine. Good luck!

[Marc1955]

I don't have specific info on increasing the riba dose but I do have general thoughts about working through treatment having gone through 72 weeks.

I think one needs to be careful depending on the way in which the treatment impacts you and the kind of work you do. What I am referring to here is not the physical impairment which can be difficult in itself, but the mental impairment. A high percentage of patients on treatment experience some sort of psychological complaint – brain fog, depression, volatility. The bottom line is that for many, one is not functioning with one's best judgment and normal emotional resilience while on treatment. I think one needs to be mindful of this and extremely careful. If you are involved with work that involves other people's safety or could compromise important matters, it's important to not ignore the fact the you are impaired. I don't necessarily think these means not working, but it is important to accept that you're not 100%. Add anti-depressants to the mix, and your judgement can really become impaired.

[newleaf09]

I worked for 6 months of TX. It worked for me because I had lots of sick days and my supervisor allowed me to take time as needed.  I always took off the entire doctor visit days and occassionaly went home at 2 or 3 to nap.  Full 40 hr. weeks were hard and made for sleepy weekends.  I would still be working but just didn't want to waste all of the sick time I had accrued.  I had a lot of side effects but working was still manageable.  Not fun, but manageable.

[Tippyclubb]

I have started a higher dose yesterday and its my 22nd week.  Higher than my weight requires. 1200mg at 132lbs.  Today I feel very light headed and dizzy.  I will keep you posted.