IM ALSO ON THIS TREATMENT, IT CAUSES MY BACK TO HURT REALLY BAD,I DONT LIKE GIVING MYSELF THE INJECTIONS,ITS GETTING HARDER AND HARDER. I HAVE BEEN HAVING ALOT OF TROUBLE WITH LEFT LEG, I CAN STAND ON IT FOR 10 MINUTES AND ITS TOTALLY NUMB FROM MY KNEE TO MY HIP.THEY SAY THAT ITS PART OF THE SIDE EFFECTS

Will your Dr give you pain pills. They make the pain so much more tolerable. There are plenty of info out there on this side effect and what can be done to make it more tolerable.
http://www.liverfoundation.org/db/articles/1017
How can I reduce the unpleasant side effects of my hepatitis treatment?
Your doctor might give you special advice or medicines to help you reduce (or manage) the side effects from your treatment. Other side effects might go away by themselves, or become less unpleasant with time.

In the meantime, here are some ways that you can help yourself feel better


* Drink plenty of clear liquids. Try to drink between 8 and 10 glasses of water or another clear liquid every day. Increase this amount if you are vomiting.
* Avoid drinks that have alcohol, caffeine (coffee, cola and strong tea) or lots of sugar (most soft drinks).
* Try to get plenty of sleep at night. Take short naps during the day.
* Eat small, nutritious meals. Crackers, clear sodas and ginger ale can help settle your stomach. Greasy, high fat foods (including most \"fast food\") can make you feel worse. Try to eat even if you are not very hungry.
* Exercise lightly. Walking and lifting light weights are good exercises while you are on treatment.
* Take your medicine before you go to bed, so that you can sleep through the side effects.
* Take any pain relievers recommended by your doctor. Taking a pain reliever about a half hour before your interferon injection can help make the side effects less severe. Don\'t take any pain reliever, however, unless your doctor says it\'s okay.
* Avoid situations or \"triggers\" that make you feel worse, such as loud noises, bright lights, strong odors and/or skipped meals.
* Don\'t color or perm your hair until after your treatment is finished.
* Don\'t use harsh detergents or soaps that might irritate your skin. If you need suggestions, ask your doctor.
* Simple, unscented lotions can help dry, itchy skin. If taking ribavirin gives you a rash, benadryl lotion might help.

I did 6 months of peg-intron and i was a non responder.

i have been on in for 13 weeks and definitly wanted to quit numerous times, but if it does work than its worth it. what works for me is drink lots of raz-berry tea and water. if i don\'t feel like eating then i drink boost or milkshakes-high in calories. when i eat i eat what i want. granted if i eat HOT SPICEY Foods i feel crappy. but besides that i eat whatever- seem to crave seafood alot but oh well! The rash issue is definitly an annoyance! I have patches scattered on my body of dry itchy, sore skin. My head where my hair is thinning is extremely itchy!! It seems when i double up on centrum multi-vitamins for a while i feel extremely better.

The first 2 or 3 months that I was on this treatment, along with ribavirin, I was so sick I wanted to quit. I hurt all the time, had no memory or concentration, but all of a sudden the symptoms went away for the most part and I feel almost normal again. I still have back pain, but I\'ve had that a lot longer than Hep C. I take pain pills for that and a muscle relaxer. All in all, it has helped a lot. My viral load is almost non existant after 4 months of treatment. It started at over 2,000,000. I feel very fortunate that it worked for me.

I was on Pegasys plus ribaviron for 12 weeks last spring- I was a \"non-responder\". I had no side effects for the first three weeks, then started getting a lot of muscle and joint pain, nausea, and migraine headaches. These were severe for a few weeks, then the headaches stopped and the other symptoms lessened. I felt fatigued throughout the 12 weeks.
I am back on treatmentt now (six weeks). This time with Peg-Intron plus ribaviron. The side effects started from the first day this time- nausea, vomiting, joint pain, muscle weakness, and fatigue. Except for feeling weak and tired all of the other unpleasant side effects have gone away! I don\'t have much appetite, but I no longer feel nauseated. I\'m somewhat sensitive to smells, but the good side of that is that I\'ve cut way down on smoking, and I only smoke outside! My skin is dry, but that has always been a problem for me. I asked for a good hypoallergenic moisturizer for Christmas.
I have had some depression this time around, but that has improved as the physical side effects have reduced. My liver enzymes have dropped back into the normal range and my doctor says that is an encouraging sign.

ohhh I am so thrilled. Been on peg and rib for 16 weeks and my viral count just came back!! It has dropped from 27 million to ONLY 350!!! 350, thats it. my doctor was thrilled to! Becareful though cause I recently got an infection and my white count dropped dramatically. I just got that nulesta shot today to boost my white cells. Thank god this is paying off and I am not hopeless.

Thank you for the link. *hugs*

bump

I'm on interferon only until the drug VX950 is FDA approved.
The shots are not bad, I try to make them go in deep to keep the rash / bruising down.
I have had no side effects from the treatment.
Pegylated interferon seems better than regular interferon. The regular is easier to build up a tolerance to. Pegylated's molecular composition is more like the way antifreeze molecules look. It seems to also be more time released rather than the half life effect regular interferon has.
I think it is very effective.

I was on peg and riba for 6 months, I was a "slow responder" and had to stop due to drastic sides, low red, white and platelets, and giant platelets. Severe depression, skin issues, nausea, bowel issues and cried all the time. Now, according to my doc, my thyroid crashed and I have to take meds to replace what the thyroid produced. My blood is still as low as when I quit (over a month ago), I am still depressed and my skin is an itchy, red, mess. My hair is falling out and I also have basal cell carcinoma, not sure if the tx for hep caused this or not....sure hope something comes along to treat the hep that does not cause other serious med problems.

bump!

I did the 3 shots a week with ribs regular interferon alfab, cleared for 6 years now geno 2a

woop!

I did buy the book and also go to the weekend. It was good for porn. I was doing very well and forgiving my husband for porn. It wasn't the real thing, compared to a love and sexual affair! We really loved each other very much then. He was so sorry.
Then came the BIGGIE. He also went to Everymans Battle by the same group- New life ministries. WRONG!! They tell the men along w/ porn advice to go home and tell your wife ALL sexual secrets for honesty & intgegriety with your self and ALL details she asks. She has a right to know!!! It does not say this in the book. My husbands affair was 13-15 yrs ago. I didn't know then and I never would have found out now!!!I, my husband and our 47 yr. marriage are destroyed.
And the weekend- costs $ 1175-
I will not now buy anything from Stephen
Arterburn or anyone associated w/ New lIfe Ministries.