I took part in a clinical trial conducted by Schering.
The study had six arms to it:
- 6 months of 3 million units Interferon 3 times a week + 1500
mg. Ribaviron daily
- 6 months of 3 million units Interferon 3 times a week +
placebo
- 12 months of 3 million units Interferon 3 times a week + 1500
mg. Ribaviron daily
- 12 months of 3 million units Interferon 3 times a week +
placebo
None of the participants knows which group they are randomized
into until the end of the study. I still don't know whether or not
I was getting a placebo, because I'm still in the follow-up stage
of treatment. I chose to stop after the first 6 months, because I
don't feel as if I was responding. My LFTs (liver function tests)
never normalized, and my viral count never went negative. To me, if
I hadn't responded in a 6 month period of time, then this is
not/was not the right method of treatment for me. And since this
was a clinical trial, I didn't have the luxury of playing around
with different dosages or injection times.
The injections themselves weren't all that bad. Sometimes I
didn't feel the shot at all. I used my tummy for my injection
sites, because I got bruises with almost every injection, and the
area around the injection got red and inflamed. So since it was
summer when I did the treatments, and I wanted to wear short
without having to answer a lot of questions as to why my legs were
red and bruised, I gave myself the shots in the stomach. I did find
that the quicker I slid the needle in, the less it would hurt. Same
way with pulling it out. As far as hitting a vein, well, that
didn't happen too often, but I definitely knew when I did! It
hurt!!
The first shot of Interferon was DEFINITELY a doozy!!!! I
believe I experienced every side affect possible during the course
of my six month treatment. And although the side affects weren't
nearly as bad after the first couple of injections, they never went
away for the entire 6 months. Here's a list:
- SEVERE muscle cramps
- headaches
- sweating
- depression
- vicious mood swings
- nausea
- fatigue
- weakness
- lack of concentration
- blurry vision
- heart skipping beats and palpitations
- hair loss (it was really more of a moderate thinning of hair,
mostly on top)
- insomnia
Most people don't have all these symptoms, and for those who do,
the side affects gradually start to go away after a while. So don't
let my experiences with Interferon keep you from at least trying
it. If the side affects are too bad, you can always stop taking
it!! Who knows, INF may be just the thing to help you slay your
dragon!!!
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