Is it possible to lose surface antigen after only 12 weeks of peg-IFN? I’m in the AB-729 study, did the trial/AB medication for 6 months and now was randomized to the lowest arm, which is maintaining my TAF (been on for many years) and IFN for only 12 weeks. Every study out there has IFN for standard 48 weeks when reading online, so was really bummed about the 12 weeks. Ive only had 2 doses (180mg IFN) but so far have not had any bad side effects.
Lastly, since I’m doing well so far is there any changes study doctor can ask trial if I can have more time on IFN (2 arms in this study have IFN for 24 weeks). I wouldn’t think so, just bummed I can’t get more time to try and kick the HbsAg for good! I’ve had hbsag my whole life, almost 50 y/o and genotype A. Thanks!
I was curious from which hospital the said doctor was who recommended you to try pegIFN?
I was also amazed that you seemed to take his/her recommendation within a very short period of time. Have you looked into the pro & con of pegIFN before deciding to use it?
Apologies to @availlant and followers of this post for off topic.
The doctor recommended to me is from a hospital in Shenzhen, China. Before receiving PegIN, I had already understood its advantages and disadvantages, mainly muscle pain in the body and economic burden, which I can accept. My goal is to reduce my HBsAg through this drug, so I quickly accepted this treatment plan. Now I have used PegIN 6 times and my HBsAg has decreased by 40% after using it 4 times, Now HBsAg (2200 IU/ml).
Dear @HealthExperts@PharmacyExperts,
After 40 jabs of peginterferon, I just had to stop. The weakness, loss of appetite, mental health became unbearable.
Now, I am having to deal with new challenges, including general feeling of sadness, mood issues etc and also weakness. Not much help comes from health care around me as they have limited understanding and management of post pegasys treatment related issues.
Dear all,
I have been off peginterferon for 2 months but my side effects impacts my daily routine, eg, mood swings, anxiety, loss of appetite, hoarse voice etc.
My Fibroscan is OK plus blood tests as at March 2023.
These are the typical IFN-related side effects…they normally improve after 2-3 weeks of therapy…if not, and if IFN is not effective, reduce the dose or discontinue pegIFN….
Prof. Pietro Lampertico, MD, PhD
Full Professor of Gastroenterology
Head of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Università di Milano Via Francesco Sforza 35
Sorry to hear about your experiences with interferon. If you are having these symptoms even off treatment, it is important to talk to your doctor about them and see if it is something else apart from the hep B that is driving this.
Hello,
So, after stopping peginterferon, some 2 months ago, I just did some test and it came up that my TSH was about 100.this was after complaining severally about mood issues and my doc decided to check my thyroid. Ultrasound of neck revealed round echogenic mass (6.9x9.0mm). No discreet lymph nodes seen.
I do hope if any medication is given, this does not interfere with my tenofovir.
Any advice for consideration on treat of the thyroid issue?
Thanks in advance.
Please let me know about the interferon therapy please.
I have been taking antiviral tablets for last 5 years. My PVR is negative, HBeAg <10, HBsAg 4050, my LFT, RFT, ultrasound are perfectly fine.
Now my doctor is advising me to go for combination therapy to get rid of HBsAg. This combination will be with interferon. Should I go for it?
I am of 30 year male.
Thanks nd regards
Welcome to the forum and thanks for your question. I’ve just moved it to the appropriate thread for this discussion. Please read above and Peg interferon treatment for other people’s experience with interferon. Hope they help and please feel free to follow up with any additional questions.
Hi! A few questions:
What’s everyone’s experiences with hair loss on pegIFN? I’ll be starting treatment next week and I’m nervous about my hair. If you did have some hair loss, how long after starting treatment did you really notice a change?
Also, was everyone able to work their normal hours after starting IFN? Wondering how much it could interfere with my daily activities and how much I need to warn my boss about my health status changing.
Thanks!
I only was on Peg for 3 months with a clinical trial I’m in. I’ve been off it now for 5 months and 2 months ago my hair started coming out, literally in clumps. I was very upset, as I’ve always had very thick hair. It is now thin, I’ve cut it shorter, but it seems to be starting to come back and not as much coming out. My doctor says many people have this side effect, as it affects every cell in your body (WBC count goes down, platelets go down). She said that everyone she has treated with INF (mostly help c in the USA) grew their hair back though.
I work from home, so don’t know how much I can help there. At first I did feel sick (like the flu, stomach issues) but after about a month it got a little better. I did force myself to shower each day, exercise (even a slow walk) to keep my mental health well. It takes some getting used to, but you will get into a routine and it does get better.
I was on PegInterferon 6 months, (can’t believe it) and off it for 6 months. I did lost a lot of hair ( I boosted hair growth with Forcapil) and got tired but I was able to work 8 hours a day, sometimes even more and my work is not always in office, so I had sometimes to walk from a place to another.
God is great, He has strengthened me and even if I had difficult times I didn’t lose hope.
By the way I am in the same study as @3kids4me but received PegInterferon for 6 months and now I have met the discontinuation criteria and I am off TDF and feel great .
Hi Ecky! Glad you are well and off TDF! Next month I find out if I meet criteria and go off TAF. Did the study tell you your HBsAg quant? I know you can also test this routinely in your country. In the USA we can only find this in study, and so far they have kept the quantitative blinded (except once when testing before study began).
The study does not tell us the quantities of HBsAg as it is blinded, but you are right about being able to test it in my country.
I listed here [Rebound of HBsAg] the history of my HBsAg levels, then in April 2023 was 0,47 IU/mL and in September 2023, before stopping taking TDF was 23 IU/ml.
I hope @3kids4me , you’ll meet the criteria and be off TDF too
.