Allen's Sovaldi + Ribavirin Treatment Log

Finally!
29 and 29? That's awesome!
I would say that treatment is working a little ;)
You're just a bit lower than me and my doctor said I was tolerating it well. I think if you're going to have a problem, you would drop more and faster.
Low RBC I would assume is what's causing all of our tiredness.
Hopefully, I'm not too far off the mark and you hear something soon.
This waiting and not knowing what something means is a killer.
It made me a bit crazy when I got mine back :)
Look forward to hearing more from you soon.
You're definitely a fighter and I know you'll hang tough!

Hi Allen,
I started Feb 1 Sol / Rib Geno 2. 100% coverage from Manulife in Ontario.
Sorry to read about your sides. I have zero. Except for that darn itch after showering.
I take a couple of Melatonin ( 10 m ) before bed,sleep like a log.
No headaches but I didn`t get them before I started treatment.
Have you spoke with your Gilead caseworker about it ?
I wont have any viral loads done until I finish the end of April.But, they are drawing blood every two weeks.
Part of a quick and successful recovery is having a positive attitude and not dwelling on the negative.
The reason I write this is I was very ill this time last year. Not HCV related. I was in ICU for two weeks and given a 30 % to live.3 months later 2 in hospital 1 in a Physio Rehab Hospital I rolled myself out.
Had to learn to walk again as I became de-conditioned. All good now.
I was signed up to start Interferon but this became available.
I can do this one standing on my head.Be positive it works, right Mama ?
Good luck


3 months later

Today is the start of Week 4 , feeling very positive about things though the last couple of days I've noticed I'm more tired than last week and the last two days I only walked my dog for 30 minutes and didn't do my usual 30 minute cardio workout...just don't have the energy :-(

I still feel sick with a tight stomach and it comes and goes, when I feel good I try to eat as much healthy stuff as possible and when dinner rolls around I eat what I can and if I can only eat half...so be it, I will usually have a small snack after that. My weight has actually gone up a few pounds but I am far from overweight, possibly due to me eating comfort foods at night when snacking...ice cream tastes so good at times

No more headaches! This seemed like it was a one off thing when it did happen and the headache lasted for days and I only had one small one after that day, took two Naproxen and it was instantly gone.

Bioscript will be delivering my second batch of medication today for the next four weeks, I have a system to ensure I always take my pills on time and have not once missed taking them though sometimes if I wake up slighly later then I will take my pills about two hours later than usual which is not a big deal from what I was told as long as I don't miss them.

Even if everything I have experienced so far is side effects I have to say they are not that bad, I am not dying and buckled over in pain and screaming and I am doing ok. Some days it sucks when I feel sick and just want to go lay down but oh well, thats the price to pay to be clean of Hepatitis C.

I was mentioning to my wife last night about how thankful I am to be able to take take Sovaldi and Ribavirin for ONLY 3 months instead of the Peg+Ribavirin I was initially told I would be starting around March 1st.

My heart goes out to all those who suffered taking Interferon+Ribavirin for 6-12 months with some pretty horrible side effects, you people are all true heroes in my heart and its people like you that got us to the point we are now with Hepatitis treatments and instead of 6 months of hell with Peg+Ribavirin we are now down to 3 months with minimal side effects and I'm so sorry they did not have this treatment sooner for all of you.

Thanks again to all the wonderful people of this forum and the support you have given me since the first day I dropped into this forum, you've all helped me alot mentally dealing with this and you all keep me positive while I fight this virus.

Thanks

Al

Stay strong, buddy!
I definitely am on board with being very thankful, too.
Also, I actually got a bit of that hungry feeling yesterday that you described (feel hungry but food doesn't fix it). It was paired with indigestion, so I drank a cap full of pepto and it worked miracles on both!
I am taking as little otc stuff as possible, but that one was worth it :)
I think I've taken that once and Ibuprofen once this entire time on treatment.
Anyway, talk to you soon!

Hi Al,
My caseworker told me that I could take my Rib 3 times a day instead of 2 if the brain fog was a bit too much. I take 6 / day, 3 x 2. I take the Sovaldi with supper. Might help you a bit. Check with your caseworker.

So your first paragraph is how I felt almost every day BEFORE treatment :)
But, the Ribavirin effects can also do this. Don't forget that we're borderline anemic right now, too :)
Also, I have found that I'm wearing my reading glasses since starting treatment way more than I ever did. Things do seem fuzzier than before and I've seen things about Ribivirin and vision. I'm not an expert, so I still hope to hear others input, as well!
Actually, I just looked it up. Ribavirin can cause or worsen eye conditions. They actually recommend an eye exam before treatment with it.

Edit: Here's another fun link (I've also seen this list in several places)! It tells you to contact your doctor for an awful lot. Some are under the "contact your doctor" and are also under the "do not contact your doctor". So who knows?
I definitely recommend bugging your doctor if anything concerns you at all, though. That's why they make the big bucks- and supposedly they got in that field because they love helping people :) At the very least, they can clarify what they would like to be contacted for. I have a feeling most don't explain this part well.
www.drugs.com/sfx/ribavirin-side-effects.html

Post Edited (steve-ca) : 2/28/2014 2:58:37 PM (GMT-7)

ML, you're absolutely right! That's why I don't worry about little things, or I would worry all day. I just don't want to concur with someone and then they don't contact their doctor and then they regret it. Some things things you should worry about and others are fine, but I think everyone's kind of in a state where they're not really sure which are which :)
Anyway, hopefully our good, bad , and even psychotic posts (I think I had one or two) will help others when they are wondering the same things at some point :)
Ribavirin is going bye bye soon, anyway, but for the time being...
I will say that this forum and the people here have been the most positive thing out there!

Or at the very least, they will see us worrying and then we turned out just fine.
And use that to their advantage :)

This weekend I felt like crap and alot of the time just had a sick feeling in my stomach and what I guess is maybe the brain fog people mention, have troubles concentrating but getting used to it and trying to not let it bother me too much as this will all be over in a couple of months. I'm still tired but getting used to it and just sleep when I feel like it and have naps when I want and that alone keeps the stress down.

I go today to get another blood level check as my blood requisition changed slightly since my last blood draw, I wanted to get it done today as my next draw should have been Thursday but instead on that day I go for my 1 month viral load testing and I'm looking forward to the results.

I have only had my virus load checked once I think in November/December 2013 and it was 4.7 million so I am thinking it should be down alot seeing how my ALT & AST levels have already changed dramatically after only taking the treatment for two weeks.

I'm staying positive and though I feel like crap alot of time it could be way worse, instead I look forward to the beginning of May and when I will take my last dose of these meds and already imagine that the results will be in my favour...thats what keeps me going each day and somewhat happy when I feel *****y about all of this, things could be so much worse and I am thankful to even be given the chance to be treated.

Sorry you had such a crappy weekend.
It's great to see you stay positive and strong, though!
We only have to this 2 more times- 1 month is basically down!
Have you asked if there's anything you can take to help the stomache?

There has to be something simpler that's inbetween.
Something as simple as your naproxen solution for the headaches.
I'll ask tomorrow for the heck of it.
My Dr. is really good and well respected.
I didn't get him on purpose it anything, just got lucky.
Anyway, can't wait to hear your results!
Talk to you soon.

My caseworker recommends a couple of old school soda crackers for the upset stomach. Can be non-salted.