Allergies?

[NYCHEPCMAN]

Anyone get crazy allergies after having virus eradicated? I'm getting my butt kicked right now....

[Else]

Yep.  Mine came roaring back one month into Harvoni treatment.  They'd been gone for 16 years.  And before that, I'd had 20 years of never going anywhere without benedryl in my purse  or pocket.

Weird, eh?

[NYCHEPCMAN]

Thanks so I'm not crazy -for this. 
I called the viekira hotline to ask - very nice people but only answer questions with rewritten responses just referring to their studies without saying this is a possibility. I think this is the worst allergies I've had. Guess I'll have to be mindful of this.

[Else]

This is an interesting one to piece together.  Since you and I were on different medications and since my allergies returned along with my first "HCV undetected" labs, I think it's the absence of the virus that causes it.  The immune system (pardon the technical jargon to follow) weirds out. 

I know another forum member who experienced the return of long absent eczema after clearing the virus.

[WholeFoods]

Yes! All kinds of weird things happening. The oral lichen planus nearly gone, which is usually a big problem this time of year (knock wood,) but seems to have morphed into regular lichen planus on one knuckle, above my ankle and below my nostrils, or maybe eczema (?) Using cortisone cream with mild benefit. 

Not as much arthritic pain in my back, but lots of what seems like ascending colon inflammation which started towards the end of treatment almost a year ago. This usually leads to full on IBS symptoms of which I've had on/off since my 30s. Using digestive enzymes and DGL.

 During this cold and flu season, I get moderate to severe "viral" symptoms that come and go over a few weeks, including swollen glands ,which is new-ish, but never a fever. I did get a flu shot, but almost didn't want to after reading posts on other boards about people experiencing odd immune issues 1 to 2 years post-tx.

Allergies usually make all this autoimmune stuff flare up, just that now it's in different ways than before. Benadryl and Claritin don't help anymore. I find using the air cleaner, keeping things clean, extra rest and stress management seems to help me feel better.

I'm a bit perplexed by the bowel issues.

I still get worn out by doing too much, but am noticing I can go longer before that happens, unless my body is fighting something.

Still hoping it all works out in time... I sound like a broken record.

[KimInTheForest]

This is an interesting one to piece together.  Since you and I were on different medications and since my allergies returned along with my first "HCV undetected" labs, I think it's the absence of the virus that causes it.  The immune system (pardon the technical jargon to follow) weirds out. 

I know another forum member who experienced the return of long absent eczema after clearing the virus.

I am in agreement with Else's highly technical analysis of the immune system 'weirding out' as a consequence of treatment and of rapid clearing of virus. I experienced an abnormally heightened histamine response basically by end of Week 1 of treatment (when 98% of virus eradication had occurred). And it has continued ever since. My body responded to mosquito bites like they were wasp stings, in terms of both pain and swelling. My body responded to a B12 shot I had post-treatment in a way that seemed truly allergic. Yet as far as I know, I have no allergies to anything, have never had seasonal allergies or taken allergy meds prior to treatment.

I am now 7.5 months post-treatment and am still in the grips of something I can only describe as an auto-immune issue (heightened immune reaction). And that is the basis of allergies too, I believe. Yet I was not aware of any auto-immune issues or immune system irregularities in my life/health prior to treatment. I believe my body will eventually settle back down to the stable normal it has always known. But patience is the keyword, and I have always been short on that. (People born Year of Horse are impatient by nature according to Chinese astrological system. I can't disagree.)

kim

[Mugwump]

(People born Year of Horse are impatient by nature according to Chinese astrological system. I can't disagree.)

kim

Don't feel too bad Kim, I was born in a Dragon year thus I am more of a mythical beast: at least according to some.


Interesting that very pronounced changes to our immune responses during and after treatment are definitely being experienced by many. The speculation that removing the virus somehow changes how our immune system reacts is turning out to be more than anecdotal. It should be more closely studied.


I will know how bad things are when the trees out here on Van Isle start to blast the air with pollen. I try to get the %$LL out of here and go fishing up north when it gets too bad, if I can. Last year was horrible, my eyeballs felt like a gnome had gone at me with sandpaper. By the end of April it had hit and the pollen was insane. A yellow coat of the stuff on our vehicles all the way till the end of May.