Re: possible probelms with discontinuing treatment...?

[Guest guest]

Hi, . You may want to talk to your dr about the shortness of breath asap. I had some shortness of breath while on tx, but not enough to worry about. I just rested more and was ok. But, if yours is severe, You might need to call your dr. Below is some info. that I found online this morning. It might help you determine what is important enough to report to your dr. They may be able to reduce your tx for a time to deal with the problems. Try not to worry until you hear from the dr. God be with you, hugs, VickieGWhat medication should I avoid when I am taking PEGASYS and COPEGUS?

You should not take didanosine with COPEGUS. Talk to your doctor about all

medications that you are taking.

What are the possible side effects?

The most common side effects of PEGASYS and COPEGUS are:

Flu-like symptoms (including

fever, chills, muscle aches, joint pain, headaches)TirednessUpset stomach (like nausea,

taste changes, diarrhea)Blood sugar problems (may

lead to diabetes)Redness and swelling at

injection siteSkin problems (like rash, dry

or itchy skin) Hair loss (temporary)Trouble sleeping

The most serious side effects of PEGASYS and COPEGUS are:

Risks to pregnanciesMental health problems (such

as irritability, depression, anxiety, aggressiveness, trouble with drug

addiction or overdose, thoughts about suicide, suicide attempts, suicide,

thoughts about homicide, and hallucinations) Blood problems (like a drop

in blood cells leading to increased risk for infections, bleeding and/or

heart or circulatory problems)Infections (which sometimes

cause death)Lung problems (like trouble

breathing, pneumonia)Eye problems (like blurred

vision, loss of vision)Autoimmune problems (such as

psoriasis, thyroid problems)Heart problems (including

chest pain and, rarely, a heart attack)Rash with fever or blisters Liver problems (rarely, liver

function worsens). Patients with both the hepatitis C virus and HIV can

have an increased chance of having liver failure during PEGASYS treatment.

Change in a blood test that measures liver inflammation occurs more often

in patients with hepatitis B. If you have a rise in this blood test you

may need to be watched more closely with additional blood tests.

Tell your doctor immediately if you think you or your partner may be

pregnant or if any of these symptoms occur.

To: HepatitisCSupportGroupForDummies Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 5:48:08 AMSubject: possible probelms with discontinuing treatment...?

I am having severe fatigue already, hard time breathing, catching my

breath, if it happens I have to discontinue treatment, will my body

make more antibodies against , wait a minute, will the virus become

stronger if I cannot finish treatment, will it be immune now to the

meds I have taken if I don't finish?

Curious,

Catron

[Guest guest]

Hi ~~

When I was on tx the early part of this year being short of breath became an issue for me, along with increased fatigue. In my case, my hemoglobin (red blood cells) was low and when this happens you have less oxygen in the blood and this caused the symptoms. The way they treated this was to give me Procrit, which is an additional shot that I would do on an average of once a week. It is a shot you do yourself in addition to the Pegasys shot. They would regulate how often I would use it based on weekly blood labs. Sometimes it was once a week, sometimes I could skip a week and sometimes I would have to do the Procrit shot every 5 days. When my hemoglobin count would go back up the troubling symptoms would go away. I was able to successfully complete my 6 months of tx.

So, if you haven't had your labs done very recently, you might tell you doctor your symptoms and ask if he feels like a CBC with differential test would be appropriate to see about your hemoglobin count. Even if you have had your labs done recently, you still should tell your doctor about your symptoms as it could be caused by another side effect that they can treat and keep you on tx.

As to your other questions, I don't have qualified answers so maybe someone else in the group can help you with those.

Best of luck,

Subject: possible probelms with discontinuing treatment...?To: HepatitisCSupportGroupForDummies Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 5:48 AM

I am having severe fatigue already, hard time breathing, catching my breath, if it happens I have to discontinue treatment, will my body make more antibodies against , wait a minute, will the virus become stronger if I cannot finish treatment, will it be immune now to the meds I have taken if I don't finish? Curious, Catron

[Guest guest]

Hi

I am on shot #14 and just started with those problems last week. Feel

like dog poo ALL the time now...so very very tired. Also so hot! I

put ice packs on my face at night. I too would just love to give it

all up but I made my choice and I too can be a bull headed stubborn

mule once I have done that Nothing will get me off this treatment.

If not for my Doberman puppies training, housebreaking, ear clip,

socializing,etc etc etc I would lay in bed all day.

My biggest problem is my husband who is like a raging bull with anger

at who knows what. We are in Marriage counseling and he in private

therapy so we shall see. If it cannot be fixed I will move in with my

sister in the frozen North Brrrrr...now that would really stink!!!!

I will not allow him or anyone else to jeopardize reaching SVR.

Just another Dragon Fighter now

ESLD w/complications

Geno 3a

viral load <10 which is a big fat ZERO

>

> I am having severe fatigue already, hard time breathing, catching

my

> breath, if it happens I have to discontinue treatment, will my body

> make more antibodies against , wait a minute, will the virus become

> stronger if I cannot finish treatment, will it be immune now to the

> meds I have taken if I don't finish?

> Curious,

> Catron

>

[Guest guest]

-, can I ask what the ESLD stands for? I too am Geno 3a and last

viral load test a year ago was 69,000. I'm tired all the time, have a

lot of aches 7 pains but otherwise don't think the Hep is causing much

else except occasional " brain farts " .....Debbie2-- In

HepatitisCSupportGroupForDummies , " "

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[Guest guest]

ESLD = End Stage Liver Disease. I've been in ESLD for approx 8 years now. SuZieWhy do croutons come in airtight packages, aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

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> ESLD w/complications

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[Guest guest]

You all give me hope....Debbie

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> Subject: Re: possible probelms

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> Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2008, 8:46 AM

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[Guest guest]

,

Don't quit. I had that too. Just check with the doc first. But that is part of it all. You can make it! Sometimes I would just sit and cry because I was so tired of being tired. I would go to the gym and huff and puff, barley lifting any weight at all, and I would cry. I am done now and it is all worth my health. Good luck!

Hoku

To: HepatitisCSupportGroupForDummies Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2008 1:48:08 AMSubject: possible probelms with discontinuing treatment...?

I am having severe fatigue already, hard time breathing, catching my breath, if it happens I have to discontinue treatment, will my body make more antibodies against , wait a minute, will the virus become stronger if I cannot finish treatment, will it be immune now to the meds I have taken if I don't finish? Curious, Catron