hep c ?, is being on methadone hurting me?

Question

I realize it probobly won't get any better, I have been trying to get off methodone over 14 yrs I did a few times , then went back on it , I am on a very low dose , like15 mils a day , as I continue to try to get off this. I also take one .5 mil klonopin every night .. to ease withdrawls and anxioty.. but i do feel sick alot I am always so tired .. I wonder if I will ever feel ok , I know I will never be what I was once but can I feel better by changing my diet , i am overwhelmed. .. oh yeah I also contracted hep b when I was 19 from a partner, whom I at the time did not know was using drugs.

Answer 1

first of all, let me give you a little insight on hcv. it can actually cause the feelings of panic, depression ect.
hcv usually affects a person with depression as the first sign (or other mental illness). many don't understand that just because you have hcv and think you may have gotten it sharing drugs, the chances are you probably had hcv prior to drug use (i.e., the depression is the first sign, hence the self medicating).
now that i have that out of the way....

your on a very low dose of methadone-that is not the drug to worry about, however, the klonopin would be the worse one to take out of the two.

have you looked into treating your hcv infection or do the doctors think that you will have to get off of the maintenance dose of methadone prior to treatment? (most want you clean for at least 6 months prior to treating)

HCV does not just reside in the liver. It is all throughout your body. HCV does pass the blood brain barrier. The feelings you are experiencing are probably from the HCV itself as well as the toxins your liver cannot filter or that the liver is unable to handle the process of filtering at a normal rate....I do not think it's your addiction persay....I think it's just the toxins, the hcv virons (there are millions and millions of "quasispecies" in the body. HCV changes it's viral makeup everytime it makes its way back to the liver. This overloads our body as a whole. It causes very strange feelings and weird symptoms.
Having HCV affects other organs and all tissues throughout the body. Most without knowing the connection to HCV have many "bi-directional" diseases. Some are hair loss, rashes, depression, mood swings, bi-polar disease, even your joints and bones hurt as well as Other organ overload and injury, such as the lungs, heart, spleen....everything we have is infected with hcv.

So, not only are you fighting a battle with the HCV and all it can cause, the medications you are on are also adding to the issue-medication buildup in the system.
bi-directional diseases or symptoms can happen at any stage of liver damage as well. It doesn't mean your liver is seriously damaged, you could have minimal damage and still have these issues.

My best word of advice is to try and drink a gallon of ice water a day. Try to wean off the meds your currently on. Ask your doctor for a very good antidepressant and antianxiety med. I was on zoloft and buspar during treatment for my hcv.

Again, I think it has more to do with the HCV affecting your body than that of the "addiction" sense. I would find a doctor who knows a bit about HCV- in the sense I am talking.

I know how you feel- even though I never had an issue with drugs, I do know what the virus is capable of doing....
Panic attacks-due to caffiene intake and the liver not filtering it out quick enough. All at once I'd have this HUGE sense of panic...so bad that ambulances had to take me to the hospital because i thought i was dying and they didn't know what to do.

I quit all caffiene-it took a good 7 months with no caffiene to comepletely get rid of the panic attacks (severe anxiety as I'm sure your aware of!)

Please keep in mind that the low doses you are on will never fix what the HCV is doing-unless you get serious and make the doctors do their job, you will be stuck.
Would you rather be stuck in the endless battle with the meds or would you rather be able to get on some medications that actually help the side effects of the HCV and get on treatment to help the liver so you dont have to have all these weird feelings and aweful sensations?

I hope I'm not being to blunt. I have seen people get stuck...I was stuck myself -taking antidepressants until they quit working, then back into the hospital, different meds again, then those would quit working and back and forth in a circle I went....until they found out that I had HCV and that it was HCV causing all my issues-it wasn't just depression and panic attacks for no reason-it wasn't "all in my head". (but in the HCV reality of it all- it was in my head...and in my liver, my blood-everything connected!

When I had my diagonsis, I jumped on the antiviral chemotherapy wagon and kicked some butt. I can now drink caffiene again, I no longer have to see a psych and no more antidepressants.

If you ever need to talk I am here! [e-mail]

Answer 2

There arent many drugs out there that are good for your liver.The best thing you can do for your life is to become drug free!I know how hard it is,but you dont have to do it alone!You might want to try group counsling.Narcotics anonymous is a great program .If you also drink try alcoholics anonymous.Ive seen alot of people come in with yellow skin from liver disease and after getting clean and sober,Get their health back.
People can live many years with liver disease,but if you continue down the path your on,you WILL Die!!!!No ifs ands or buts death is around the corner for you!PLEASE HELP YOURSELF!!!!!
aa.org
na.org
There are meetings all over the world.7 days a week
Arent you sick and tired of being sick and tired yet!!!
Start LIVING today!!!!!

Answer 3

How long ago were you diagnosed with Hep c ? Please help and are you taking anything for that?

Answer 4

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