Hi Jolie and thanks for replying, along with all the others who are offering their stories and advise. You are right, everyone experiences different effects from the virus and the meds. For me, I was lucky to live the last 30+ yrs with HCV almost symptom free, except for some recent pain over the last few years in the gall area and a feeling of swelling of the liver (which has disappeared since starting the meds) but I rarely felt unwell through the years even though my VL has been over 10 mil. Ive known about having the virus for 25 years and feel the way I have treated my body since finding out has helped me; diet, exercise and no alcohol. After reading the comments on this thread, especially the one from Enkel, I have come to realise that my sides may in fact be related to some nervous system issues which are probably caused by the virus and also possibly amplified by the meds. As I mentioned, in a lot of ways these symptoms Im having; palpitations, vibrations, anxiety, muscle twitches, etc, since starting treatment mirror the benzodiazepine withdrawals I had 10 years ago, which is a nervous system reaction. This occurred after only taking a very low dose of temazepam for a relatively short period of time. Doctors were surprized I was suffering so much for what I took. I now put that easy addiction down to possibly having a compromised NS from HCV to start with. I have also noticed over the years, an increasing sensitivity to stress, some foods and and most drugs. Sleep has also been a problem since starting tx and I'm sure it doesn't help with the symptoms and the symptoms dont help with trying to sleep, a vicious circle. And even though I have been taking the occasional half dose of temazepam to deal with it, something I thought I would never go back to doing, Im very wary about doing so and dont wish to aggravate things with another benzo addiction. I'd rather do my best with meditation techniques most nights and just deal with not much sleep. I think the main thing is to keep your eyes on the prize and hopefully things will turn around again once treatment is over.
PS: GAJ, I have been drinking 3 liters of purified water every day. Any more and I feel I'll spring a leak!
Thanks again to all who replied. It's been a most informative thread for me.
Billy