Glenn D

 Karen,

I justcame across your reply.  It is almost September 2014.  I still have the side effects, but even worse.  My fatigue lasts longer, the pain is worse and never goes away completely.  My doctor understands how bad it is and tries to help control it with medication.  This does help but does not eliminate it.  I have been totally disabled from work since last November, but the insurance company claims that i did not prove that i am bad enouh to be out of work and has denied me.

My vision is getting worse.  At first they thought that it was occular migraines but now do not know.  I start by getting a tingling sensation in my body.  My vision starts to get blurry.  Sometimes i see multiple, not just double vision but sometimes seeing up to 6 of an object.  Objects seem like they are rushing at me, sometimes i start to halucinate, then my vision goes.  I do not see anything except a white screen.  Not any shadows or shapes at all, just white.  This white may last a few minutes, or up to a couple of hours.  The doctors are now thinking that it is an Atypical Migraine with auras.  I do not know if this is also because if the interferon but i never had any type of migraines before I took the interferon.

Congratulations on seeing your oldest graduate!  Good luck and keep in touch.

Glenn

 Karen,

I justcame across your reply.  It is almost September 2014.  I still have the side effects, but even worse.  My fatigue lasts longer, the pain is worse and never goes away completely.  My doctor understands how bad it is and tries to help control it with medication.  This does help but does not eliminate it.  I have been totally disabled from work since last November, but the insurance company claims that i did not prove that i am bad enouh to be out of work and has denied me.

My vision is getting worse.  At first they thought that it was occular migraines but now do not know.  I start by getting a tingling sensation in my body.  My vision starts to get blurry.  Sometimes i see multiple, not just double vision but sometimes seeing up to 6 of an object.  Objects seem like they are rushing at me, sometimes i start to halucinate, then my vision goes.  I do not see anything except a white screen.  Not any shadows or shapes at all, just white.  This white may last a few minutes, or up to a couple of hours.  The doctors are now thinking that it is an Atypical Migraine with auras.  I do not know if this is also because if the interferon but i never had any type of migraines before I took the interferon.

Congratulations on seeing your oldest graduate!  Good luck and keep in touch.

Glenn

 Karen,

I justcame across your reply.  It is almost September 2014.  I still have the side effects, but even worse.  My fatigue lasts longer, the pain is worse and never goes away completely.  My doctor understands how bad it is and tries to help control it with medication.  This does help but does not eliminate it.  I have been totally disabled from work since last November, but the insurance company claims that i did not prove that i am bad enouh to be out of work and has denied me.

My vision is getting worse.  At first they thought that it was occular migraines but now do not know.  I start by getting a tingling sensation in my body.  My vision starts to get blurry.  Sometimes i see multiple, not just double vision but sometimes seeing up to 6 of an object.  Objects seem like they are rushing at me, sometimes i start to halucinate, then my vision goes.  I do not see anything except a white screen.  Not any shadows or shapes at all, just white.  This white may last a few minutes, or up to a couple of hours.  The doctors are now thinking that it is an Atypical Migraine with auras.  I do not know if this is also because if the interferon but i never had any type of migraines before I took the interferon.

Congratulations on seeing your oldest graduate!  Good luck and keep in touch.

Glenn

I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma days before Christmas in 2008.  January 2009, they performed surgery to remove the spot and then my nodes.  I had one nod test positive.  I did radiation treatments, then interferon.  I lasted for just about 6 months.  At that point I had gone from 198 lbs to 124, I am 6' tall.  The doctors would not let me stay on it any longer for fear that my body would start deteriorating.

I was informed of the side affects of Interferon, but my thinking was the longer that I stayed on the drug, the better my chances of the cancer not coming back.  So I "toughed it out".  I could put up with all of the side affects for a short period of time.  I had full body aches, every joint felt arthritic, every muscle ached.  I was always tired, no really fatigued, and I could never get warm.  I wore thermal long johns when it was 65 degrees outside.  And I was iratable

My doctor's said that these side affects would slowly wear off.  It might take awhile since I had stayed on it as long as I did.  The doctor said that it could take a couple of weeks to a couple of months for my body to flush all of it out and be totally rid of the side affects.  But I could handle this. 

That was in 2010.  Here it is 2013, almost 2014 and I still have all of the side affects.  For the last 3 years, the doctor's have tried to help me manage my problems.  They have now been telling me that the temporary side affects may be permanent in my case.  They say that there are other cases where this has happened, but I am wanting to find out how many cases.  One doctor told me of only 3 known cases where the side affects are permanent.

The bottom line is that you have to make the decision yourself.  In two months, I will have been 5 years cancer free.

Would I do the interferon again, yes.  It has given me another 5 years with my wife and my son that I may not have gotten if I had not done it.

Glenn

I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma days before Christmas in 2008.  January 2009, they performed surgery to remove the spot and then my nodes.  I had one nod test positive.  I did radiation treatments, then interferon.  I lasted for just about 6 months.  At that point I had gone from 198 lbs to 124, I am 6' tall.  The doctors would not let me stay on it any longer for fear that my body would start deteriorating.

I was informed of the side affects of Interferon, but my thinking was the longer that I stayed on the drug, the better my chances of the cancer not coming back.  So I "toughed it out".  I could put up with all of the side affects for a short period of time.  I had full body aches, every joint felt arthritic, every muscle ached.  I was always tired, no really fatigued, and I could never get warm.  I wore thermal long johns when it was 65 degrees outside.  And I was iratable

My doctor's said that these side affects would slowly wear off.  It might take awhile since I had stayed on it as long as I did.  The doctor said that it could take a couple of weeks to a couple of months for my body to flush all of it out and be totally rid of the side affects.  But I could handle this. 

That was in 2010.  Here it is 2013, almost 2014 and I still have all of the side affects.  For the last 3 years, the doctor's have tried to help me manage my problems.  They have now been telling me that the temporary side affects may be permanent in my case.  They say that there are other cases where this has happened, but I am wanting to find out how many cases.  One doctor told me of only 3 known cases where the side affects are permanent.

The bottom line is that you have to make the decision yourself.  In two months, I will have been 5 years cancer free.

Would I do the interferon again, yes.  It has given me another 5 years with my wife and my son that I may not have gotten if I had not done it.

Glenn

I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma days before Christmas in 2008.  January 2009, they performed surgery to remove the spot and then my nodes.  I had one nod test positive.  I did radiation treatments, then interferon.  I lasted for just about 6 months.  At that point I had gone from 198 lbs to 124, I am 6' tall.  The doctors would not let me stay on it any longer for fear that my body would start deteriorating.

I was informed of the side affects of Interferon, but my thinking was the longer that I stayed on the drug, the better my chances of the cancer not coming back.  So I "toughed it out".  I could put up with all of the side affects for a short period of time.  I had full body aches, every joint felt arthritic, every muscle ached.  I was always tired, no really fatigued, and I could never get warm.  I wore thermal long johns when it was 65 degrees outside.  And I was iratable

My doctor's said that these side affects would slowly wear off.  It might take awhile since I had stayed on it as long as I did.  The doctor said that it could take a couple of weeks to a couple of months for my body to flush all of it out and be totally rid of the side affects.  But I could handle this. 

That was in 2010.  Here it is 2013, almost 2014 and I still have all of the side affects.  For the last 3 years, the doctor's have tried to help me manage my problems.  They have now been telling me that the temporary side affects may be permanent in my case.  They say that there are other cases where this has happened, but I am wanting to find out how many cases.  One doctor told me of only 3 known cases where the side affects are permanent.

The bottom line is that you have to make the decision yourself.  In two months, I will have been 5 years cancer free.

Would I do the interferon again, yes.  It has given me another 5 years with my wife and my son that I may not have gotten if I had not done it.

Glenn