dianasaska

MJ

I am somewhat of a hyper person myself, as a matter of fact, prior to knowing about having the virus, many friends and coworkers accepted my hyperness as part of my nature. I believe it is actually anxiety caused by a chemical imbalance perhaps exacerbated by the virus somehow. I always lived with it and avoided using drugs because of their side effects.

I found that during Rebotron treatment my anxiety became very high, which then lead to depression due to negative reactions my hyperness caused in other people (yeah, even people who care for me). Half way through treatment I started taking xanax, which we previously discussed (I think). I find xanax (alprazolam) or valium (diazepam) helped to calm me down. I don't find them addictive, and need only a partial (half) dose on occassion, so maybe I am not as hyper as others might be.

So I figured, for myself, that I wanted to reduce the anxiety over having the virus by getting rid of it, and also that if I cleared it, that I might permanently reduce the chemical imbalance that was making me hyper.

I now seem to be a much calmer person, and only rarely do I resort to anti-anxiety pills. Yeah, treatment caused my anxiety to increase a whole bunch, it is one of the more common side effects. Depression is not an issue for me, I have dealt with suicidal thoughts in the past, life is too priceless to throw out, I want to live and to live life to its fullest.

There is no guarantee that treatment will cure you, and the increased anxiety that may occur could cause you to quit treatment. My approach was to try and if I could not tolerate the treatment then to quit.

I know others who were not anxious persons and became so intolerable on Rebotron that they had to quit, they were driving everyone else in their life crazy.

Maybe it is because I am already anxious that I knew how to deal with it, with relaxation techniques, exercise and occassionally antianxiety meds as required, that I managed to go the full course of treatment. Still caused some strife amongst friends, but, hey, what are friends for? ;-)

Another consideration is that Pegasys and Peg-Intron side effects are much less pronounced than those of Rebotron. Rebotron was a 3x/week injection of IFN which peaked with marked flu and other side effects and the dosage of ribavirin may be higher as well, depending on your genotype, body weight, etc. So the concerns are possibly much less when considering Pegasys treatment, although the warnings and advice are the same as for Rebotron.

If you are concerned about treatment making you more anxious and you cannot tolerate increased anxiety then it is worth considering avoiding treatment. My approach was to fight what I think is contributing to my anxiety, and this conviction is what I live by.

It is not a fun situation, no matter the prospect, but it all depends on your attitude. At least you have a choice today, and the choice has been made better with the improved treatments, fewer/lesser side effects, and better response rates.

Your choice to get out swimming regularly and to keep active are very good. I have learned that exercise is excellent for hyperness and anxiety. And it is important to keep up the activity during treatment. Neil and others on this board are very good examples.

Hope this helps you.

Diana