Hep C Discussion Forum

Ritalin is not for fatigue, it's for ADD and ADHD.It's really nothing more than pharmaceutical grade speed. I've never heard of a Dr. prescribing it for a liver patient with fatigue from hep c treatment, seems kinda counterproductive to me.

Hi Lorna, just the same as with the other thread you commented on....this is still the same thread, there just haven`t been any more replies posted since I moved it here to "General Discussion" from the area where it was originally posted.  Sometimes we move threads to this area when the conversation becomes more generalised. 

Sorry for the confusion, and as I said in my earlier reply, maybe in future it would be better if we (the admin team) just moved a thread without commenting on it. 

Hope that makes sense!  Please feel free to post on here ~ Jill  xx

Moving this to "General Discussion".    Jill xx

Little info on B-12 (Methylcobalamin  - Common form is Cyanocobalamin (yes cyanide). The body must convert the Cyanocobalamin (which cannot be used by the body) to a form of vitamin B12 that body can use which is Methylcobalamin. It is harder to convert-less is absorbed in older adults.  According to my doc and the pharmacist-if you are unable to get the Methyl form-you may be best to pass on taking B12 w/liver disease.

What is NADH?  Posted below;)

Subligual B-12 3000mg you take as many as you need per my Dr anyway.

Thanx mary jane and phil. I did ask my doctor to reduce and said no. she did put me on disability but it is barely going to cover rent let alone my 3 kids and wife and as sole income thats a lot on my plate. As far as sx. I could not focus, very weak and unforgiving supervisor despite knowing im om meds!. Anyways any info helps and thank for your replys

Hey Shorty. That's a personal decision, and a tough one. I don't have any info one way or the other about SVR after 14 weeks. I am still waiting to find out after 28 weeks on vic. I guess it depends on what kind of sx's are you having and what kind of work you do. I managed to work thru it, but I also work in an office. My main sx was related to the anemia. My riba was reduced at 17 weeks, and that improved on that a lot. Is that an option for you to keep on going? Maybe peg too if necessary? What does your doctor say about it? He/she may offer some options. We may not have all the answers, but you're in the right place.

7 weeks down. The nausea is bad. I finally started taking Zofran. The worst side effects so far are anemia and mouth problems. For the mouth my Primary gave me Magic Swizzle. Numbs my mouth and lips up pretty good. The anemia is really awful. I'm used to doing at least 3 miles a day and now I can't walk from the livingroom to the kitchen without puffing and chest hurting. I'm also coughing like a smoker trying to hack up a lung. My last bloodworm keeps me going tho. No trace of the virus at all. I cried when the nurse called and told me. This is my 4th time on treatment. First for the triple. Go for my 2 week bloodwork tomorrow. Just hoping I don't have to go on Procrit too! My reds and whites are both low. Still working though. Can't afford not to.

Karen wrote:

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Hi Tim,

(Laughing) Please, no need for an apology-no offense taken.   Wanted to make sure you felt safe feeling 20 again

 

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 LOL, I don't even feel safe feeling 40 again...but I'm willing to give it a shot!

Karen,

I apologize if my "over-the-top" metaphoric style may have offended you, I wasn't suggesting that there was anything questionable about the NADH, I just have gotten sceptical about the availability of drugs and/or remedys for treatment of pain, mood, well being etc. that actually work.    I often reflect on the folly of the FDA and efforts by the DEA, that in the end result, actually prove to be counterproductive.   

 

Thanks for the information, I found an NADH product on iherb.com that may be worth trying:

http://www.iherb.com/Source-Naturals-ENADA-NADH-5-0-mg-30-Tablets/4855

 

no idea what ndah is (haha my memory cant even remember those letters in the right order. jeez brain fog to the max)

pick me up huh. i wish. to be honest i have a puff of weed now and then, i find if im gonna be screwed over, hey, may as well be screwed over in style.... seems to help. if nothing other than distracting me for a couple of hours.

as for anything else, i used to do a lot of drugs. dont want to go down that road ever again, but oh to dabble and have a day of energy. priceless.

thats been by far the worst thing for me. no fuel in my tank. i just had to help push start a mates car, flat battery. its on a hill. no worries i thought. jeez i was lucky to push it 10 metres and im leaning over puffed out. lucky another mate happened to see us and he came by and said ''i'll do it''' yay. cheers bro.

yeh, no energy. go with it. sleep. stop fighting it. if its gonna happen, no amount of arguing in your head will make it better. its real.

thats my experience anyways. da little kiwi. x

Karen wrote:

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@kiwi (anyone got any ideas on how to combat the tiredness...??)

I am speaking from someone NOT on treatment but w/Hep C.  When I need a pick-me-up or am dealing with brain fog I take 5 to 10 mg of NADH...works like a charm.  Be careful...I have trouble sleeping on the days I take it...Makes me feel like I am in my 20's when I could go all night long..

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<sigh> What I wouldn't give for some kind of  pick-me-up .   Is there anything that is actually legal, non-addictive and won't destroy your mind or internal organs that will do a "pick-me-up"?

Thanx!! I guess I can look forward to next week.

it shouldnt be so bad next week. the first shot can be notoriously bad for some of us. i know i had a backache from hell and just felt real bad.

it gets better tho. hang in there matey.

Water! Diaper rash cream (destitine?) and aquaphor!

John William wrote:

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ITCHIES, SORES, LESIONS, RASHES

Has anybody tried Betaderm Cream  0.1% and if so how were the results?

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 Okay!! so I got the above mentioned cream the same day and have been applying 2X/day for 1 week now. I am satisfied that it works very well to relieve my "Itchies". As of today the rash is still present but less by 50% and the sores have become lessened by 40%.

I have taken before and after pictures but when I upload them they seem to take up two pages.    

Hi Kiwi, I had sleep problems going into tx so I was dragging butt all the time once the meds kicked in. I had a script for 10 mg Ambien prior to tx and still use it today. I find 10 mg too strong so I break in half - saves me some money on the script this way too.
I worked during tx and did little else. I was lucky my wife was around to do most of the chores. I did some stuff of course, but for the first time in my life I never watched so much tv, took naps, and lazed around. Felt guilty about it at first but basically the body on treatment is telling you to rest. Your red blood count is down and the ol oxygen just isn't getting around like it used to.
Wish I could be more helpful.
Randy

Extraordinarily helpful. Thanks!

John...haven't tried that cream and now that I only have 1 shot left....but 2 weeks of riba left...my skin is terribly itchy and I have rashes all over my back.  I haven't experienced the rash until just this week! Although, my skin has been extremely dry through the whole treatment.  Maybe I will search for that cream!

I probably should have clarified that better Innerview. You're correct that Tylenol is not good on your liver and the nurse and docs did tell me that. Ibuprofen, or any other drug for that matter, also has to go through the liver and should be avoided if possible. What this particular nurse told me, is if I was really miserable and felt I just had to take something, Tylenol was a bit easier on the liver than Ibuprofen. Not sure if this is true or not - just taking her word.

She also suggested that If I did feel I need to take something, to just try one pill instead of two (the ones I had were 500 mg). I actually seldom took them because of the effect it can have on the liver - I had to be pretty miserable. If I was real achy the day or two after my shot, I would try the one and that usually did the trick. Some weeks during tx I maybe did 3-5 Tylenols, but I'd say most weeks I only took 1-2 or even none towards the end.

But you are right, if at all possible, don't do any, and ask your doc just to make sure.

Thanks for pointing this out,
Randy

-- Edited by Hep Me on Friday 6th of January 2012 08:13:52 AM

innerview wrote:

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Nice thread. Thanks guys for the posts.
@hep me... I've heard before of nurses recommending Tylenol but I thought that was the last thing you wanted to take, as it is toxic to the liver. Do you have any info on why they recommend it?

thanks!

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I'm no doctor but I'll share with you what my doc told me about that.   Tylenol can indeed be problematic for the Hep C liver but, depending on the state of your specific liver, small amounts of tylenol can be okay.  For example, my liver biopsy revealed that my liver is at stage 2 fibrosis and stage 2 inflamation.  Both my internist and my gastro doc (who has extensive training in hepatology as well) advised me that I could take a couple of tylenol per day if needed.  This would probably not be the same advice doc would give to stage 4 liver. The thing about tylenol is that it is not easily metabolized by the liver; it can accumulate and thus produce toxicity depending on the dose and the liver.

I cannot, however, take aspirin due to my reduced platelets.  So, I think this is a question we must pose to our own doctors who can advise us based on our individual bodies.

Thanks everyone for their helpful replies.  You never know when it will make that difference for someone else.  I've read some good ones here that sure helped me.

After going off the incivek, the itching (without a rash) got so unbearable I thought I was going to lose my mind. I tried lotions, oatmeal baths and even sitting in the snow in shorts, but nothing worked. My doctor finally prescribed Lorazapam and it seems to have helped quite a bit. I guess it is often used to treat symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Unfortunately, it didn't make me drowsy like they promised (Benadryl doesn't either), but it helped with the itching.

I agree, great idea for a thread Sheri and welcome to the forum. Note: I did not have side effects as bad as a lot of folks describe. I did the two drug combo in 2011.

Rash and itching - I mostly used Aveeno anti-itch body lotion. Avoided scratching the itch areas if I could and instead rubbed this cream onto the area. Rubbed it on kind of aggressively to sort of take the place of scratching without digging in with my nails. I did try the oatmeal baths a few times when it got real bad and that seemed to help too. After baths and showers I rubbed handfuls of the anti itch lotion on.

Dry eyes - I used something called Tera Tears. Seemed to work pretty good.

Injection site - Tried first shot in leg. Didn't like that as I think I got it in muscle instead of fat. Did the rest of my shots in the "love handle" area above my waistline as per forum member suggestions. Injecting the PegIntron slow (over 6-10 seconds) seemed to lessen the bruise and soreness at the injection site.

Fatty foods - I was told by the pharmacy nurse to eat something with fat content with the riba, I think it's fat soluble. I usually had one with my breakfast and the other 12 hours later with a Greek yogurt, fruit and granola bar type snack.

Water - It's mentioned in practically every other post on this forum. Helps with dry skin, eyes, flushing out the system. I carried a 20 oz water bottle everywhere I went and guess I probably drank between one and two gallons per day during tx.

Nausea - I again, was pretty lucky in this area. I avoided foods that just didn't sound or taste good, some were my favorite recipes. Ate a lot of fruit and veggies, salads.

Mood swings - I had been using meditation for a few years prior to all this and it seemed to help me in a lot of ways during tx. I didn't always sit cross-legged with my palms up on my knees - more often I just sat in a chair or laid on the sofa for a bit and thought pleasant thoughts while doing the deep breathing. Also did not drink any coffee or anything with caffeine during tx.  Probably could have used an AD during tx, found myself apologizing a lot.

Pain meds - Started out taking Ibuprofen such as Advil for muscle cramps, headaches, but the nurse said it is better to take Tylenol if possible. Both drugs worked for me so from then on I did the Tylenol if I needed it.

Randy