question - Hepatitis Message Board

leons-boo_face · 10-21-2003, 06:40 PM

hello every 1..my name is patti and i have a question. my dear hubby who died 12/28/02 left me with something to remind me of him 4ever!!! hep c. i found out i was active in may of this year. i cant be mad at him, he never hid the fact that he had hep c..he thought he was inactive during our marriage and i took no precausions, i.e. i used his razors when they became to dull for his face on my legs, etc. anyway, i am going for my liver biopsy on 10/29 and have been reading about the side effects of the injections/medications that i will start in nov. since his death and because of othe medical conditions, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, numersous back problems, crohn's disease, hypothryoidism and diabetes, i am always depressed, and have had suicidal thoughs often since my husband died. i was reading that the medications cause depression/suicidal thoughts to increase during the time of treatment. has any1 ever experiencd increased depression or is it just listed as a side effect, although a remote one? i never thought i'd be in this bad shape at age 43!
god bless and thanks in advance for any information offered.

thanbey · 10-21-2003, 08:51 PM

Crohn's diseaase is an autoimmune disorder and it is therefore not recommended that you take the interferon treatment. It will make the Crohn's worse.

You also have some serious co-existing conditions that make interferon a very bad idea.

Depending on how long you might have been infected, your age, and the result of your biopsy, you might not need treatment anyway.

Most people must learn to live with and manage hepatitis c and will not die of it. That will be hard for you to believe since your husband died of the disease. There may be many factors that conbtributed to his death, including advanced disease at diagnosis.

If you did get it from him, it does not mean that the disease will have the same course on you as it did on him. You have every reasonable expectation of living a long life and dying of something else altogether.

A woman has far less chance of progressing to cirrhosis than a male, particularly if she does not smoke anything, allow herself to be exposed to the second hand smoke of others, and abstains TOTALLY from alcohol. You probably cannot tolerate alcohol anyway with the Crohn's.

All the doom and gloom about not treating is just that, doom and gloom. there is a lot of reason to hope for a good life with the hand you are dealt.

Please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your husband and my warm welcome to this message board.

restless · 10-21-2003, 10:43 PM

Hi patti
If you think of hurting yourself you shoud be seeking proffesional help now. I became very depressed during treatment and stopped it myself. The doctors will not treat me agian because of the risk that it presents to my mental health. Please see someone right away and get some help for your depression. Do not start any medication without letting your doctor know the truth of what you are feeling, especially interferon. All things become more managable in time. I too have co-existing conditions(back problems, ulcertative colitis). Prednisone also makes anxious and depressed. Don't wait to get help if are not already. Please.

Peace
Restless

Oh yeah. I am only 40. YOu are not alone.