Anyone have weight probs. on Interferon?

[hippiechick1961]

I am 5 months in the year long (48wk) treatment type 1A strain of HepC.
This treatment has kicked my *** ssoooooooooooo damn BAD!
I was already underwieght when I started back in Dec. on the Interferon. I am 5'8 tall and SKINNY. Not to mention I was just coming off relapse of heroin, so my body was not healthy enough [probably] in the first place. As I started the treatment I noticed vary quickly my appetite just diminished so fast and I could barely chew and swallow food, i was grossed out by smells, textures, and tastes of ALL foods. Starting weight of about 126 ( when a decent weight of 135 or 140) lbs. i am now at 114 lbs. I look like the poster-child of Anorexia nervosa!!! Literally!!!
My doc,as of tues. May 3rd has abrubtly taken me off the treatment because of this.
So hopefully I will be back to a fairly good weight in the next 90 days or so and can resume a treatment if need be
So if there is anyone out there who can share their experience, strength, and hope on HepC treatment, it would be much appreciated!
Thank you,
~Hippiechick1961~

[susan400]

On the regular SOC (or Infergen/RIBA), I always lost weight.  My last two treatments were in clinical trials and the mix was different.  The last time I treated was in July of 2008 and it was in the Debio-025/Pegasys/Riba  (trial), mix of meds.  I didn't lose weight on that mix, for whatever reason?    The trial prior to that was the Pegasys/Telaprevir trial (no Riba group) and I didn't lose weight on that mix either.  I think that possible reason is that on both of those trials, I was kicked out at the 5 week mark since I didn't clear at the week 4 blood draw.  I didn't have it in my system long enough to cause the weight to drop by any measureable amount.  I currently, am not heavy by any stretch of the imagination.  I'm a normal to low weight for my height, 5'7".  I workout at the gym regularly and have been trying to, for the past almost 3 yrs., build up more muscle mass so that I can repair some of the damage I did to my body with doing 10 treatments.  I am hoping to retreat at some point in the future, should the opportunity arise with a GOOD treatment.  Susan400

[Junebug812]

I too am sorry to hear you had to stop tx. I have lost weight on tx as well. I'm 5'9 and now weigh 131 lbs, which is still healthy for me. I lost 15 lbs at one point during tx but am slowly getting some weight back. I'm on week 22 of 24.

It does sound as though it was a good idea to stop. 114 lbs is not healthy and I can't imagine how difficult it is to handle the other sx without a healthy weight to back one up.

Best of luck and keep us posted.
June

[babs824]

sorry u had to stop tx but sounds wise under the circumstances. i wonder if it would not be wise for u to take a 6 month break and get your health back in order. i believe one should be in as good a state of health as possible before starting and am quite surprised that docs dont recommend that. this disease is rarely so virulent that 6 mos  will make a huge difference. quite different from cancer. have u had a biopsy and what were the results? we thin females usually should put a bit of extra healthy weight on so this includes eating right and the dreaded word exercise. if u are in tip top shape you will likely tolerate treatment better. i am not a medical person but it seems logical and it worked for me at age 64. i completed tx a few months ago. it was not fun but cant say it kicked my butt. my virus is currently undetected and i feel great. i wonder if the new meds would be worth waiting for and taking time to get your addiction and weight fully stable. all the best, babs824