Rangers I thought you said you were done? lol *sigh* Louie sends his best :^)

Well this well intentioned discussion has deteriorated to cu cu so I will lift myself out of it and get on with a nice weekend.
Thank you to those that had something worthwhile to contribute! :^)

Just my 2 cents worth... There are several people who posted here who were able to get into some of the trials w/o interferon. It seems their sides were considerably milder in comparison to people who did SOC, and the duration of treatment was much shorter- 12 weeks if I remember correctly. Now, they were not a walk in the park- some people had issues with nausea, stomach aches, and I remember one who was anemic.
Speaking for myself- who DID do 24 weeks of SOC over 8 months ago, my vision in my right eye is comprimised- I now have macular degeneration. I have neuropathy in my hands and feet, arthritis in most of my large joints, and I am still tired- all the time, not to mention my anxiety and depression that have intesified. Still don't know if I am SVR, as I am awaiting the second round of lab results. You would think that I am 60 years old- I'm only 44.
I think there is a lot of damage interferon can do to people. Similar to allergies, for lack of better terminology. Sort of like a peanut allergy- some people get a tickle in their throat while others can die.
Threads such as this help make a better informed patient, in my opinion. Hell, had I listened to just my doctor, I would have thought that SOC was a piece of cake, and I was over-reacting when I felt like hell for 6 months.
I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter, however, there are no scare tactics being used... Just opinions backed by articles.

Lpbrit 2 years post tx. Relasped to boot. Same problem with neuropathy in my feet. Started week 3 of tx. Some days I don't feel anything but most days it's a pain in the ass. It's getting a little better but after 2 years its here to stay. Stiff sore mussels hurting all that shit. Like you said Bones made it sound like a cake walk. Tx wasn't nothing compared to post tx. Peace

I am grateful for all who've posted honestly about their experience with interferon - the good and the bad. I was going to do triple tx but after extensive reading I came to the conclusion that my fragile mental health may not survive interferon. So I spent many months scouring the internet looking for an alternative which I ultimately found. I am eternally grateful for those who spent time and energy sharing their experiences so that I could make an informed decision.

Information is power.

I think everyone's opinion should be welcome here. No need for people to feel it necessary to back off if they've got a different viewpoint.

No one should be censored.

My feelings regarding how this thread went awry are simply put this way...

If you don't like what someone posted then don't continue to read it! It's called "Free Will" which is supposed to make us different from savage instinctive beasts!!! There's also the "Ignore" button one can use as well...

Now I know that I'm one of the last persons to infer that I know how to use forum etiquette because I'm guilty of going off in here from time to time before...

But my outlook on that has changed for the better by trying to meet my own personal goal of trying to be a "nice person" in here and so far it's working because some of the stuff I wanted to write in this post was excluded in order to reach that goal! ;>)

Btw, Ever since I have been here which is some time (2009) now that I think about it... Never once did I read anything from Kramer A.K.A Louie that was in any way acting as if he knew it all because after all, he learns as much about the stuff he finds to post once the discussion starts with other folks who are interested in that specific topic also...

So to say the things that were said @ Kramer about being someone who has a crystal ball, etc. was very disingenuous to say the least!!!

And like Hep Cat said in the previous post: "No one should be censored here." which are my sentiments exactly and the main reason why I joined this group in the first place!!!

If I had something like that to say to another person in here, I would send them what I think in a personal message instead but the again, that's just me. ;>)

Respectfully,
Henry

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to post regarding the topic of this thread... Whoooops!!!

Anywho, I don't have much to add but, after long term exposure and I mean long term tx with interferon, my body has been decimated to say the least and I can no longer tolerate it...

There are many folks I know personally who have also treated and they all have lingering effects years afterwards from it...

Although, there are also some folks that go through tx with only mild symptoms of a slight cold and once they clear, they're good to go...

But if anyone thinks that some folks are driven to be so scared of what they read in here regarding the horrifying effects some have experienced during tx mainly because of the interferon, then I say balderdash to that!!!

Because if that were the case, then just about everyone would stop eating or drinking, or taking anything at all based on what they read about it online!!! I mean C'mon now!!! Really??? that's not the reality I live in! :>) :>) :>)Hahahahaha!!!

Respectfully,
Henry

Regarding censoring, I appreciate the fact that this is a more open-minded forum. I am a member of another forum with an aging, narrow-minded and petty moderator, and cannot even post a news article link with out getting insulted and bashed. As long as people are respectful of others, the more info the better in my opinion. We all have the power to ignore. Regarding interferon, I appreciate the honest discussion about sides. So many docs have wanted me to do that over the years, and it was only because of people posting their experiences that I resisted. I always suffered from depression and just knew that one would do me in, one way or another.