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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Hepatitis / March 2008Pre-tx. symptoms?
Hi, Every year I get a cold around Txsgiving, this year was no different, but by Xmas I was still tired, and went to the dr. who gave me antibiotics, after my symptoms were not reduced after 30 days and 3 different antibiotics he tested for hep-c and bingo. But besides fatigue, I have symptoms that the dr.s are saying are not hcv related: primarily:slight dizziness (a form of nausea?) and headaches Anybody here have these symptoms prior to tx? Also, I found out my viral load is 6m. whatever that means, and the biopsy is done, but won't know results for 2 more weeks. Hope you are well and feeling better (I know; stupid saying huh.) TC > Hi, > Every year I get a cold around Txsgiving, this year was no [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > huh.) > TC Hi TC I think we established that dizziness and headaches are definitely symptoms of chronic hep-c. Have you tried upping your water intake yet? I think you'll find that does help some, but the virus takes so much out of you that you will be exhausted and feel like crap til sometime after you finish treatment. A viral load of 6m is not unusual -- a little on the high side but mine was over 9m and by week 12 of tx, I was testing negative for the virus, and have been testing neg ever since. I think the numbers fluctuate anyway, so they are not a good indicator of anything other than the fact that you are infected, and whether or not the meds are working once you start tx. what kind of doctor are you seeing? antibiotics for a cold or flu are a waste of time (though in this case it did lead them to test you for hep-c)... what else are they doing to prepare you for tx? You need to get a flu shot, to be tested for and get the immunizations for hep-b (and A? can't remember now) if you never had them, and possibly start on an antidepressant before you actually get going on the treatment regime. Most doctors send you for a good eye exam, and keep watch on your eyes during tx as the meds can affect your eyesight. I'm wondering if you might want to try finding another dr, a hepatitis specialist if possible. (if you can, I know many of us are pretty stuck with a particular clinic or group of drs because of our insurance) My doctor wouldn't give me the anti-d's til I was already in my 3rd month of tx, but when I started snarling at grocery clerks and innocent bystanders, he agreed I needed it and I wound up on Celexa for the remainder of my tx. He also put me on Xanax for anxiety, and to help me sleep. I had a terrible time getting good sleep while on tx, you may want to see if you can use a sleep aid or try the xanax if you have the same problems. (benedryl helps many people too) keeping my fingers crossed that you get good news when your biopsy results are in... and remember that the liver is the most amazing organ in your body, and it usually can and will heal itself once you eliminate that virus! take care, one day at a time :) and remember not to sweat the small stuff. Sara >hey Sarah, well, my dr. is the only infectious disease doc in town, and so I have no idea how good he is, but I'm getting the impression that many of you know as much or more about this then he does. nonetheless, we're proceeding. I have upped my fluid intake, but as soon as I start feeling good, I eat junk food (kids are grown and gone, so tv dinners are getting awful commonplace, I know, not good idea). I have an anxiolitic, Ativan, haven't used it much, . I thought about getting an anti-D, a friend recommended Wellbutrin, but not sure yet. As for snarling at grocery clerks, uh, I started yelling at other drivers, and screaming, something I haven't done since I was a teenager and I'm not even on tx yet....maybe it was just a phase. thanks for the help.... nice to hear from you! tc > I think we established that dizziness and headaches are > definitely symptoms of chronic hep-c. > > what kind of doctor are you seeing? >> hey Sarah, > well, my dr. is the only infectious disease doc in town, and so [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > thanks for the help.... nice to hear from you! > tc a lot of folks here have had bad results with Wellbutrin... I did well on Celexa and I've heard Lexapro works well too... others here are much more knowledgable about that than I am tho. Hope they pipe up on this subject :) S "> a lot of folks here have had bad results with Wellbutrin... I > did well on Celexa and I've heard Lexapro works well too... others here > are much more knowledgable about that than I am tho. Hope they pipe up on > this subject :) > > S I did lousy on Zoloft and fine on Prozac. I tried Cymbalta and had some real anger issues. It was not pretty <grin>. Normally I'm pretty easy-going so the behavior was a real eye-opener for the folks closest to me. HCV causes a whole host of side effects a lot of doctors don't know about and/or aren't willing to acknowledge. I've had dizzy spells for years (nothing wrong with the ears other than selective hearing) and unexplained little cluster-type headaches that feel like an ice pick is being jabbed through my temples. While you have to be careful not to attribute everything to HCV (like I did when my stomach hurt--I later discovered I have ulcers), a lot of the unexplained, temporary, or sporadic things can be attributed to it. >. While you have to be careful not to attribute > everything to HCV (like I did when my stomach hurt--I later discovered I > have ulcers), a lot of the unexplained, temporary, or sporadic things can be > attributed to it. I don't usually blame all my ills on the hcv, I usually blame stuff on my ex-wife :) >. While you have to be careful not to attribute > everything to HCV (like I did when my stomach hurt--I later discovered I > have ulcers), a lot of the unexplained, temporary, or sporadic things can > be > attributed to it. I don't usually blame all my ills on the hcv, I usually blame stuff on my ex-wife :) Never thought of blaming mine on my deceased husband, but I'll betcha he had something to do with those ulcers! I know different folk do well on different meds and I've heard some horror stories about people needing to switch anti-Ds and suffering through some weird ups and downs. I've been on Citalopram with no complications (even though the dosage had to be raised 50% around month 4-5). Citalopram aka Celexa (U.S., Forest Laboratories, Inc.), Cipramil , Citrol, Seropram,Talam (Europe and Australia), Recital (Israel, Thrima Inc. for Unipharm Ltd.), Zetalo (India), Celepram, Ciazil (Australia), Zentius (South America, Roemmers), Cilift (South Africa) and Cipram (Denmark, H. Lundbeck A/S). Me too on the Citalopram aka Celexa - did ok with that, also ended up on Ativan for sleep towards the end of TX when I was no longer able to sleep - funny considering it seems like sleep was all I could do for the first few months, especially on the weekend, after Friday night injections, haha! The Riba Rage that people talk about so much just never seemed to happen to me - maybe the only side I didn't experience! Maybe I was just too exhausted all the time to have the energy for anger.. But as others have said, this is a good time to "git 'er done" - Its tough getting hit with this diagnosis, its tough wanting to get on with it once you have decided go ahead with Tx, but whatever you can do before starting tx to help yourself thru it is a Good Thing - I recall people suggeting things like setting up automatic payments for bill etc - that was one thing I didn't do, and I have to confess, once the brain fog set in for good I for one was guilty of mixing up the envelopes (one with the window on the right, the other one on the left) and mailing credit card payments to MYSELF, haha! Funny except for the late charges incurred due to late payments. I suppose I could have called them and tried to get the late fees removed but it just didn't seem like it was worth the effort at the time Yes, dizziness and headaches can be caused by hepatitis c. Your doctors hopefully prescribed antibiotics for a bacterial infection related to your cold rather than to treat the flu/cold virus. If you haven't been referred to a gastroenterologist or hepatologist yet, request it. Good luck, > Hi, > Every year I get a cold around Txsgiving, this year was no [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Hope you are well and feeling better (I know; stupid saying huh.) > TC |
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