Hepatitis C Support Group

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.

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Pain Question

Lisa3134
Lisa3134
Hi Everyone-

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. It's beautiful here in New England! I have a question:

First let me give a little background first. I've have degenerative disc disease which I've been taking Ultrum for the pain everyday for probably 4 to 5 years now. I averaged about 4-6 a day and on bad days I would take a ES Vicoden. I really tried not to take the vicoden because it made me sick to my stomach. Since hearing of the Hep C I went into panic mode and cut way back on the Utrum I take 1/2 to 1 a day for the last 2 weeks. And absolutely NO Vicoden!!
Needless to say I'm feeling every thing,

I'm in quite a bit of pain from muscle and joint pain. My ribs even hurt me These body aches are what prompted me to go to the doctors in the first place which resulted in this awful dx. Before the doctor knew what was actually wrong with me he prescribed me a muscle relaxer Ambrix. It's a time release Flexaril. It works wonderful! I sleep really well and the pain is light all day. Around 6 at night I start with the muscle aches and joint pain.

What do you guys think about this? I tried to do research to see if this was especially bad for the liver and it just says if you have liver disease consult your doctor. I find that a lot of meds have the same disclaimer. I want to be smart with meds but also have quality of life.

Does anyone out there have these constant muscle and joint aches? Can I expect them to ever go away? What do you do to control them?

Thanks for any insight you can provide on this.

Lisa
deleted_user
deleted_user
I have fibromyalgia, so I can understand chronic muscle pain. I found out it was actually my hep c that gave me fibromyalgia. Your post reminds me of my symptoms when you mention the muscle pain, especially if it's a muscle pain all over. Mine actually makes me feel physically weak (kind of like when you over-exercise) Hep c can cause fibromyaglia, and if you have it, it will make pain worse like your disc disease (my mom has disc disease too). I am just over six months on hep c treatment, been undectable since week 3, and find that getting the virus level down helped eleviate alot of my pain and no longer need pain meds (I was on Lyrica). I thought I'd mention that since it could be the cause of your pain getting worse all of the sudden.

When it comes to whether your meds are liver safe or not...have you seen a specialist yet for your hep c (either a gastroenternologist/hepalogisr or an infectious disease specialis)? He/she should be better able to tell you what meds are or aren't okay.
Lisa3134
Lisa3134
I have not seen the specialist yet, I have a appointment a week from Monday. I wish I could get my viral load down on my own. How are you handling the treatment?
deleted_user
deleted_user
I get muscle cramps and fatigue, joint pain,aches everywhere at times, almost like fibromyalgia. Won't be on treatment until after the summer. take care.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I'm actually doing better on treatment than I was with the virus. I was one who was incredibley sick from the virus. It gave me fibromyalgia (as I mentioned), made my asthma worse, and gave me super-bad depression. I am fatigued on treatment and have low red blood cells (that are starting to come up) but compared to how sick I felt before treatment I love the trade off! The treatment can cause depression too, but I'm actually less depressed on treatment and was able to cut down on my antidepressants. The longer I've been on treatment, the better I've started to feel (your body tends to adjust to the meds the longer you are on them.)

I like sharing this with people who are newly diagnosed (I wish I found it back when I was). http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/First_Steps.asp it has a pdf link that explains a lot about the disease and treatment, and then other links that can help you prepare yourself (become more organized) to help you ask the questions you want to ask for your first specialist/doctor visit.
deleted_user
deleted_user
yeah, I know how it feels to have pain and being scared to take certain things. My doctor prescribes me dilaudid oral tablets, 2mg. He finds this to be safer on the liver and more effective.

maybe you could try it! good luck! hope you feel better!