Hep C Discussion Forum

bauhaus76 · Senior Member

RE: New to Forum and Treatment Question.

elizabeth · Senior Member

iggle, I'm certainly not an expert on the issue, but I wouldn't think your doc would stop treatment. My husband's doc pretty much insisted that he take an anti-depressant. He told her he wasn't depressed (I think he was) but she stressed that he would become depressed and probably notice his temper becoming short or having other anger issues caused by this treatment. I think I've seen it referred to on this forum as "riba rage". She prescribed 3 different ones before he found one that he could take -- the first two knocked him out with one pill and he threw them away, but he's pretty sensitive to all drugs that way.

If you know you already have issues with depression and anxiety, I would definitely speak with the doc about it.

iggle · Senior Member

i have a long history with depression and anxiety issues, and i have a major fear of that worsening. i think it azlready has somewhat, but not enough to really become a problem for me. if it ever does, i am afraid to tell my doctor, because i don't want to have the treatment stopped because of it.

-- Edited by iggle on Saturday 23rd of June 2012 08:41:26 AM

elizabeth · Senior Member

davesf wrote:
Second runner up is when I verbally start a thought or sentence and it goes nowhere.
Me: "So, I'm going too..." Long Pause
Her: "....You're going to what?"
Me: "Huh? what are you talking about?"
Her (exasperated look): "Never mind"
Welcome to the club. Don't stop treatment; it seems to be going just fine.
All the Best, Dave

This is exactly how conversations between me and my husband go these days!

I also strongly recommend an AD. That definitely helped my husband's drug induced irritability and anger issues. Are you on any other Rx -- the triple tx can intensify the effects of other drugs. My husband had to stop his nightly tiny dose of ambien due to some "hallucinations". So now we can add not sleeping to all the fun stuff he's going through. But on the positive side, the tx drugs are apparently intensifying his bp meds and his bp hasn't been this low in years.

Good luck!

Sunrise747 · Senior Member

Last time I was on treatment (10 years ago - combo) I was on the phone with a co-worker as she babbled on about something and me thinking what an idiot she was. A moment later I was actually saying to her what I was thinking. Suddenly I "woke up" and realized what I was doing and tried to cover it up by turning it into a joke.

-- Edited by Sunrise747 on Wednesday 20th of June 2012 07:35:19 PM

chatterbox · Veteran Member

I was going to reply sooner but I spaced out...

I'm going to hang in there because today I got 8 week labs back and I'm undetectable!

JoAnneh · Guru

I had conversation and irrational thinking so bad my 1st time on tx
11 years ago and like Jill mentioned that's what scared me the most
About starting triple tx. My thinking got delusional and so foggy I couldn't remember how
To drive to common place without complete concentration and I had such a temper.
I got on Lexapro a month before tx and at week six
Doing Good but it was around 6 months when it started.
No, being out of control is scary! Changes I made:
Started AD, I go to church regularly and have gone
Public w hep c so I get a lot of love and support from my community.
Helps my spirits. I don't feel depressed either. Prayer books are so helpful and bible time too.
Hope u stay on tx.
It clears up after u finish, JoAnne

Shep · Guru

That is the one thing I would have done different--is add an anti-depressant. I have definitely not been my usual sweet self. Actually have a mean streak that I am not proud of and am learning how to apologize to people. I think an AD would have helped ease the anger, anixety and a whole lot of depression. It has been worse toward the end.

Cinnamon Girl · Guru

Hi! I can understand you feeling worried about these feelings of cognitive dysfunction, but as the others have said, it sounds like quite normal `brain fog` that a lot of people go through on tx. The fact that you didn`t have it during your previous tx attempts must make you wonder what`s happening, but try not to worry, you are not losing your mind!

Actually I think the mental and psychological sx can often be more difficult to cope with than the physical ones, that was certainly what I found when I was on tx, and it can be quite scary to feel out of control.

Something I`d like to mention is that anti-depressants are not only prescribed for depression, they can also help with anxiety and irritability, also frequent sx, so it`s something you could consider even though you say you are not actually depressed.

If you haven`t already spoken your doctor or tx nurse about how you`re feeling, I really think it would be a good idea to do so, and certainly you should tell them that this is concerning you so much that you`ve been thinking about stopping tx.

All the best of luck to you, keep in touch and let us know how it goes. smile

~ Jill xx

gsx1250fa · Veteran Member

I actually never had any cognitive problems the first 2 treatment attempts (ribavirin/interferon). It wasn't until this 3rd tx with victrelis added into the mix that I have been experiencing this. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for all the response folks.

news · Guru

My biggest brain fog issue has been opening a browser and forgetting what I wanted to look for. Or getting dressed and walking out to the car, but forgetting what I came for. Or going out to the car without getting dressed. My family and co-workers have gotten accustomed to a certain degree of "spaciness" from me. I just coast through life without a care in the world. Wait, what am I doing here? Who are you people? Alan

gsx1250fa · Veteran Member

Thanks. I just don't want to be in a wheel chair with a drool cup connected to my mouth unable to process a sentence in 1 year..."but the hep c is cured". lol

Shep · Guru

Yea Brain Fog is... oops forgot what I was gonna say! My darling daughter just shakes her head and laughs a lot and calls me grandma. Her grandma--my mother --is quite wacky and I am beginning to resemble her in that way. The other thing was my brain fog was at it's worst when my thyroid went totally out of control. Make sure your doc checks that regularly for you,

davesf · Senior Member

Oh that's definitely just part of treatment. The side effect list calls it "trouble concentrating." Here we call it brain fog or increased stupidity.

My wife's favorite is when she has direct eye contact with me and I still wander off/look aside while she's in mid sentence without even realizing.

Second runner up is when I verbally start a thought or sentence and it goes nowhere.

Me: "So, I'm going too..." Long Pause

Her: "....You're going to what?"

Me: "Huh? what are you talking about?"

Her (exasperated look): "Never mind"

Welcome to the club. Don't stop treatment; it seems to be going just fine.

All the Best, Dave

Kellyw · Senior Member

I did that all the time even before tx ;-D

gsx1250fa · Veteran Member

Thanks. Actually the physical side affects (tingling, headaches,vision,occasional vomiting,aching muscles etc.) don't bother/worry me. I can handle those. When something starts to affect me mentally I get a bit concerned. I am not depressed. I am always quite upbeat. It's when I stop in the middle of a sentence because I forget what I am talking about or what I'm saying has me a little concerned. And concerns the person I am talking to. LOL

Margo · Senior Member

I also experience some tingling, interferon does damage nerves. You should definitely take some antidepressants, they do help. Remember it's all temporary but you should not ignore the side effects and try to deal with them ASAP.

gsx1250fa · Veteran Member

Thanks folks. I will continue to fight the good fight...as long as I don't wind up in the state mental hospital :) rgds

AlexNY · Veteran Member

look, i dont think u should do that , get some meds like antipsychotics or antidepressants. u can do it, dont quit, tx isnt that long, trust me

jrc · Senior Member

pm me if u wanna talk to someone who has gone through this tx

jrc · Senior Member

I had the same exact things and didnt discontinue tx, i would incourage you to continue

gsx1250fa · Veteran Member

Hi Folks. New to the forum, but not to Hep C and treatment. I went on the ribavirin/interferon 2 yrs ago only to be taken off 4 months later as my viral load didn't drop below the mandatory threshold count to continue. I attempted treatment again (ribavirin/interferon) 1 year ago with the same results being taken off the treatment after 2 months. I Started my 3rd attempt 7 weeks ago on Triple Tx with Victrelis/ribavirin/interferon all at once. The First month was OK/normal for treatment side affects. Starting my 5th week I started having psychotic (only word to describe) battles daily like I was losing my mind. I will lose my train of though in the middle of a sentence and not know what I was even talking about. Hard to describe. On top of that my nervous system (nerves) seem to be affected as I am having tingling down my forearms into my hands. I can take the tingling...but the affects on my mind/brain reached an overwhelming state last night and I decided to discontinue treatment today. I am very capable of enduring side affects...but not losing my mind (cognitive thinking). Any suggestions or has anybody had experience with this? thks so much

Greg · Guru

HI, qsx1250fa,

I think you are so brave to have another go at this for the third time, don't let it beat you. We all have felt exactly the same way as you during treatment. Have a read of my blog, I was in a fetal position for months during treatment.

Hang in there, you have evryone on this site in your corner. I know Alex is right get some AD's they do really help.

Your in our thoughts,
Greg

-- Edited by Greg on Monday 18th of June 2012 10:14:46 PM

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