I am married to a man that has Hep C and just two weeks ago started Interferon treatments. I am wanting to know first hand what it is like and how I can best support him in this terrible and hard time of our lifes. Does anyone have anything that has worked for them as far as the side effects for the interferon and has anyone tried any type of herbal therapy? Thank you in advance for your time!
Hello there, I’m going to send you a personal message on this okay,
HI JULSBRAN,
I WENT THROUGH A GRUELING 14 MONTHS OF INTERFERON TREATMENT. I’M HAPPY YOU ARE THERE FOR HIS SUPPORT. I HAD NO ONE. SO YOU ARE VERY SPECIAL TO HIM AT THIS TIME. EVERYONE FEELS DIFFERENT ON TREATMENT. SOME HAD NO PROBLEMS, AND SOME DID. SO I WILL TELL YOU WHAT HELPED ME, FOR I WAS IN THE GROUP THAT TX (TREATMENT) KICKED MY BUTT. SO IF HE ENDS UP IN MY GROUP THEN HERE ARE SOME THINGS FOR YOU TO KNOW…HE WILL GO THOUGH MANY CHANGES IN HIS BEHAVIOUR. “DO NOT” TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY! THE INTERFERON AND RIBA PILLS (IS HE TAKING THEM TOO?)MAKES A PERSON CHANGE IN ATTITUDE AND PERSONALITY WITHOUT THEM EVEN KNOWING IT. FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TOLD YET, MAKE SURE HE HAS COMFY CLOTHES TO WEAR, IT REALLY HELPS TO FEEL COMFY ON THE OUTSIDE TOO. NEXT, ALWAYS HAVE HIS FAVORITE SNACKS AVAILABLE. IT’S CALLED: COMFORT FOOD. THERE WILL BE DAYS THAT THE LAST THING HE WANTS TO DO IS EAT. SO BY HAVING A FAVORITE SNACK AVAILABLE IS A GOD SEND. ALWAYS HAVE THEM IN HIS REACH. HAVE A GLASS OF WATER THERE BESIDE HIM ALSO AT ALL TIMES! WATER WILL HELP HIM TREMENOUSLY. WHEN YOU SEE HIS GLASS GETTING LOW OR EMPTY, JUST FILL IT BACK UP EACH AND EVERY TIME WITHOUT HIM EVEN ASKING… THERE WERE TIMES I WAS SO THIRSTY AND I COULDNT GET OUT OF BED (NO ENERGY) THAT I WENT W/O WATER. I WISH I HAD SOMEONE TO FILL MY GLASS WITHOUT ASKING FOR IT. I DID HAVE MY HUSBAND BUY ME A WATER BOTTLE THAT I KEPT IN THE BED, FOR THERE WILL BE DAYS YOU DONT WANT TO EVEN SIT UP AND REACH FOR A GLASS. WATER IS A MUST! TAKE HIS WEIGHT AND DIVIDE THAT IN HALF…THAT WILL BE HOW MANY OUNCES OF WATER HE SHOULD DRINK A DAY. (EVEN IF HE LOSSES WEIGHT) I HAVE GENO TYPE 1B. THE HARDEST TO TREAT. (WHAT IS HIS GENO TYPE?) THATS WHY I WENT FOR 14 MOS OF TREATMENT. I LOST ALOT OF WEIGHT, AND WHEN I HAD A GOOD DAY I WOULD WALK AROUND THE HOUSE AND MY SHOES WOULD FLY OFF MY FEET! BECAUSE THEY DIDNT FIT ANYMORE. SO BUY THOSE HOUSE SLIPPERS THAT HAVE VELGRO, SO IT CAN HELP TO KEEP THEM ON. LET FRIENDS AND FAMILY KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE TIMES HE MAY NOT WANT COMPANY OR TALK BY PHONE AND NOT TO TAKE IT PERSONALLY. ALWAYS ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT! ESPECIALLY IF HE HAS BAD DAYS. KEEP TV REMOTE WITHIN REACH (HAHA) HE MAY HAVE DAYS THAT HE JUST DONT WANT TO GET UP. HEAT WAS MY ENEMY, I HAD TO KEEP MY AC LOW. EVERYONE COMPLAINED OF BEING COLD IN THE HOUSE, BUT THE HEAT MADE ME FEEL TWICE AS BAD. I HOPE THIS INFO DOES NOT FREAK YOU TWO OUT. I JUST WANT TO HELP, BY SHARING HOW IT WAS FOR ME. HOPEFULLY HE WILL NOT GO THROUGH THIS JOURNEY HAVING MORE BAD DAYS THAN GOOD. I DID TRY TO WORK, BUT FOUND IT HARD TO DO AFTER ABOUT 3 MONTHS INTO TX. THANK GOODNESS I HAD SHORT AND LONG TERM DISABILATY. IF I CAN HELP YOU IN ANY OTHER WAY, PLEASE DONT HESITATE TO ASK ME HERE. EVEN IF ITS MONTHS FROM NOW. I DID MY TX 4 YRS AGO, BUT I REMEMBER HOW IT WAS AND HOW I WISHED I HAD SOMEONE THERE FOR ME. BLESS YOU FOR WANTING INFO TO HELP HIM GET THRU THIS.
LOUIE
He neds to drink, drink, drink, water, water, water - the dehydration is
amazing - so keeping on top of that will help with leg cramps and aging skin, and
all the awful things that come along as time goes on. I did find for me that
at first I could plan things around my treatments - knowing that if I took my
shot on Sunday night I would be pretty sick on Monday night into Wed. a.m. -
and then be able to do stuff on Friday and Saturday with my spouse. But as
time went on the time I felt good got shorter and shorter as the stuff builds up
in one’s body. So he should drink a ton of water - drink it at room
temperature and it goes down easy. I would go through a case of bottled water in two
to three days at least. That’s my best advice. My husband was totally
supportive, from rubbing my legs - I had a lot of pain in my calves - to driving me
to appointments when I couldn’t, etc… And tell him not to be afraid to ask
his docs for pain medication if he ends up in a lot of pain towards the end of
treatment. As I don’t know what kinds of health he was in when he started
treatment - or age, etc. its hard to predict. Some people sail through - but
others have a rough time. I had stomach issues in the middle of treatment - but
they were able to find medications to deal with that also. I lost all desire
for food as well. Not only did nothing sound or look appealing to me -I just
had no desire to eat. I kept a lot of ensure or boost around - which really
helped - especially when it got to be around noon or early afternoon and I
realized all I’d had that day so far was water. I couldn’t eat anything greasy -
even butter upset me - which actually was a good thng for me - as I was a bit
overweight and lost 55 pounds. I am one year post treatment and still dealing
with the issues of dehydration of all my tissues - muscles, tendons, etc.
Right after I finished I had physical therapy for my legs - because they were so
deteriorated from dehyrdration - but it was every muscle for me and joints -
wrists, knees, andkles, elbows - sucks - So I can’t stress enough the need for
liquids. Smoothies are a good idea as well cuz you can throw some protein in
and they are soothing and yummy. I have been virus negative since the first
test (month 1) of treatment - so it’s worth it - if you can’t wait for
something less toxic to come along. I hope he has medical treatment that understands
the side effects - I did - at the University of Washington - they were great
- so supportive and understanding of everything I was going through and very
encouraging as well - I hope he has that. They kind of gloss over the side
effects - but they know them - and will recognize them if experienced by their
patients - so tell him not to hold anything back.
In love and light,
Patsy
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