Pegasys Side Effects

[Zeppelin11]

On my 7th week (7th dose at 90mcg per dose) of Pegasys and noticing massive fatigue and some mood swings. Has anyone experience similar side effects and how early did they occur? Not sure how fast side effects can occur with this medication.

[hunter5582]

Sorry to hear about the side effects. The side effects I experienced took several months to appear. Sometimes they can happen sooner rather than that. Suggest you consult with your MPN care team for advice on how to proceed.

[RazB]

I had mood swings, low mood, massive fatigue (couldn’t stay awake!), nausea etc etc within first week!

[Zeppelin11 in reply to RazB]

Did you stay on it or stop? Did the symptoms get better?

[RazB in reply to Zeppelin11]

Hi, same as Ainslie, consultant stopped me taking 3rd dose. I have very slowly felt better and today (3.5wks after 2nd dose) I feel quite a bit brighter but still pretty tired. I was on 45, there’s no way I could have coped with 90. I read a comment recently from someone who had started on 30 once a month..,may be an idea? I may try that after chat with consultant in 2 wks. Good luck, keep in touch x

[ainslie]

how long to have issues can vary from right away to years, I note your on 90mcg, quite high start dose most docs recommend 45 start and build up slowly, that may work for some symptoms but keep an eye on the mood swings, mood/depression issues are fairly common and may not improve, mine didn’t but everyone is different, I hope yours does

[Zeppelin11 in reply to ainslie]

Thank you for your response. My Dr got back to me right away and wants to put Pegasys on hold to see if the symptoms subside. He didn't like what he heard and wants to be proactive. Did you stop it?

[ainslie in reply to Zeppelin11]

yes I stopt at 3 weeks, mainly due to insane itching and low mood, I am now on Rux for PV and doing well