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Allen's Sovaldi + Ribavirin Treatment Log

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Hepatitis
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/14/2014 3:03 PM (GMT -8)
Even though I feel sick today I am smiling :-)
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music
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2014
Posts : 273
Posted 3/14/2014 3:09 PM (GMT -8)
Allen, SUPER news!!! Knew it was going to be great news! Celebrating with you and all of us!!

music
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ppm guy
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2010
Posts : 1261
Posted 3/14/2014 4:08 PM (GMT -8)
hi allen, good drop in v/l. i just read your posts about valproic acid. should you be on that med, with liver disease?
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music
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2014
Posts : 273
Posted 3/14/2014 5:35 PM (GMT -8)
Allen, I am glad ppm brought this to your attention. know you would not change any of your meds without first talking to all your docs, but please make sure your Dr who rx val. Acid is aware of your liver condition as was noted above. Also your liver specialist knows all the meds and OTC meds you take. Sometimes the internet says things that worry us when our drs are aware and have the best decision for your particular case. You have alot going for you! Cheering for you.

music
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/15/2014 7:30 AM (GMT -8)
I am on whats considered a very low dose in Epilepsy doctor's eyes and they won't risk changing it for such a short treatment as it could cause me to have seizures.

My specialist and family doctor or totally aware of what I take and I only take the Valproic acid and Supeudol for pain and nothing else unless I tell them. They made me go to my epilepsy specialist before treatment to confirm the Sovaldi+Ribavirin would not interact with the Valproic but quite honestly my specialist did not have alot of info.

While he is know as one of the best Neurologists in Canada he admitted with Sovaldi being so new he could not comment much on it but told me he was not aware of no problems and said I should be fine, larger doses of epilepsy meds he said he might be concerned. I'm finished 5 weeks with no seizures and my VL has gone down so things seem to be working.

Thanks for the cheers, feel a bit drained today and sore tight stomach as usual but really I am not letting it get to me, 6 more weeks of this and all will be well!
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/18/2014 5:58 AM (GMT -8)
Things are going ok, yesterday felt sick again but regardless I am still alive and almost finished week 6 and won't be giving up until its over.
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/19/2014 9:16 PM (GMT -8)
Tomorrow morning I begin Week 7 of my 12 week treatment, still alive and still feel sick at time and have cramps but I'm half way there and its all good.

Lately I have been noticed my shins and calves are getting very dry skin, matter of fact my whole body seems alot drier than usual and I find some nights before bed I have to "lube" up...hahaha I'm not sure if the dry skin thing is a side effect but its pretty annoying.

Also went to the optometrist because lately I seem to be having problems with my eyes and focusing and stuff, well despite all the problems I mentioned I have 20/20 vision and she offered me some complimentary eye drops and told me to use certain brands 4X per day...apparently I have dry eyes ;-)

Other than that T'm still walking my dog and trying not to stress out, been spending time relaxing.
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steve-ca
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2014
Posts : 213
Posted 3/19/2014 10:16 PM (GMT -8)
I have definitely seen ribavirin and dry skin mentioned a lot. And didn't you joke they were going to give you some eye drops :)
What brands? I'll try some. Maybe mine are just dry, too!
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/20/2014 7:33 AM (GMT -8)
The eye drops are off the shelf and can be bought at any pharmacy and are called "Systane Ultra" however when I am in the U.S I personally buy Rohto eye drops as I can't seem to find them in Canada.

www.myrohto.com

I have tried a few different versions and they all work excellent compared to Visine..the *Rohto Cool* drops lightly freeze your eyes temporarily and its feels really good. I am just glad the eye doctor didn't try to convince me she had some $90 eye drops that somehow worked better otherwise I would have been laughing at her :-)

The dry skin is bothering me most on my shins and calves and also behind my neck where shirt labels are in that area, get terribly itchy all the time but oh well, it could be worse.

I go for another blood test today and then from now one every two weeks. I'm happy to be starting Week 7 and though I have been feeling crappy with stomach cramps, dizzyness and eye problems its really nothing in the end and in another 6 weeks this will be over with and I use my previous test results as motivation to get this treatment finished.

To all those new to Sovaldi+Ribavirin treatment the side effects are very minimal when you consider whats happening, your body is killing off millions of the anti-virus in a very short amount of time and working hard to eradicate this virus so its only natural you will feel a bit sick and run down BUT look around and multiple of us who all started Sovaldi+Ribavirin around the same time have miraculous results and you should also, just stick to the program and take your pills on time and eat healthy and lots of water and you will be fine!

Post Edited (AllenM) : 3/20/2014 9:36:56 AM (GMT-6)

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iplaycarvin
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2014
Posts : 102
Posted 3/23/2014 10:31 AM (GMT -8)
Appreciate the great tips Allen. Hope things are going well. Except for the dry mouth, no complaints on my end. Sometimes my head feels like it could start hurting, but it never does. I'm staying well hydrated. I really feel for the ones who can't take this oral only treatment. I seen where they are working on one for all genotypes. Hope they pass one soon. Best wishes!
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themiz
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2013
Posts : 1891
Posted 3/23/2014 4:54 PM (GMT -8)
Just wanted to mention "wooly spots" in eyes with Riba. This is common, and mention to your doctor, but I would not panic. My husband did Riba twice...24 weeks each time. (with interferon). The dry itch thing was pretty nasty. He was given one RX the first time treating. Not so great. The 2nd treatment he used Triamcinolone Acetonide .025% cream. It helped far better for the itch. By the end of treatment, his collar area, face, ankles, back were very itchy, but sparingly applied to most itchy areas for relief. Luckily, most of you treater's will have just 12 weeks *Yay*. This makes your sides ......acceptable:) Be aware the Riba rash may last for a couple months after treatment. Takes awhile to get out of your system. Big Hugs and keep on keeping on...
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/24/2014 5:28 AM (GMT -8)
Thanks for the info themiz, my eyes have been bothering me alot the last few weeks it seems but this weekend was better when I would use the eye drops every few hours whether I needed them or not and then it seemed it didn't bother me as much.

The itching I get is exactly like you mention, around my collar area and my ankles,calves, shins are the the worst and I am not getting a really bad rash or anything(yet) but I sure am scratching alot even when I put on moisturizer.

Small price to pay to be cured :-)
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/24/2014 6:29 AM (GMT -8)
Forgot to mention I got a call from the Hepatitis support centre on Friday telling me my blood that was taken on Thursday looks great and everything is going well. She said "no concerns" and mentioned my Hemoglobin was at *132* if that means anything..she mentioned it was a bit lower than last time.

Next blood will be taken April 3rd
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iplaycarvin
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2014
Posts : 102
Posted 3/24/2014 2:31 PM (GMT -8)
Hey Allen! On your Hemoglobin, is it 132 or 13.2? The CBC test I get the standard range for HGB in men is 14.0-18.0 GM/DL. My HGB dropped to 13.9 right before I started the Sov/Riba treatment. You are in Canada, so they may have a different testing range. Hope everything is going well.
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/24/2014 2:35 PM (GMT -8)
I listened to the recording again and she said 132 so it must be they way we measure things here. Here's a link from Canadian Blood Services that explains it.

https://www.blood.ca/centreapps/internet/uw_v502_mainengine.nsf/page/E_Hemoglobin?openDocument
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iplaycarvin
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2014
Posts : 102
Posted 3/24/2014 4:24 PM (GMT -8)
The ranges are probably different. She did say "no concerns" and that is always a good thing.

I get my first labs done Saturday. It only takes a day to post the results online so I will see them before my Doc.

Glad you are doing good!!

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steve-ca
Regular Member
Joined : Feb 2014
Posts : 213
Posted 3/24/2014 4:59 PM (GMT -8)
I think the doc actually views them first, then when he approves them, you are sent an email.
I found that out because I called him a couple times worried about results and he told me that :)
So if something seems alarming, you can be confident your Dr has already seen them :)
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/27/2014 3:27 AM (GMT -8)
Today is the START OF WEEK 8! I'm pretty happy and things are moving along and next Thursday morning it will be nice to know I can start counting down my last 4 weeks to be finished this treatment of Sovaldi & Ribavirin.

Not much to report but lately I have been feeling a bit better and while I still do feel sick at times its not daily like it used to be and generally I am feeling better and still walking the dog daily.

Glad to see more people joining the forums and the excitement of others also being treated with Sovaldi, really looking forward to seeing the other genotypes succeed with treatment also.

12 short weeks of treatment no matter how sick or crappy I feel is nothing to know I will be cured or undetectable very soon, I went from 4.7 million down to 79 with my viral load in 30 days of treatment so I know now that I am likely at zero on my viral load without a doubt...that makes me smile each day just thinking about it!

Thanks again to all my friends here on the forum that keep me positive each day and motivate me to always take my meds on time and follow through with my treatment not matter how sick I feel, I'm not giving up now and I will be done this in 5 weeks and I'm forever thankful for all the help everyone has provided since I showed up last year.
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iplaycarvin
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2014
Posts : 102
Posted 3/27/2014 4:16 AM (GMT -8)
AWESOME on 8 weeks!! You are almost DONE!!

And I totally agree, I would love to see some great results from the other genotypes and previous non-responders as well!!

Have a great day!!

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steffiecakes
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2014
Posts : 56
Posted 3/27/2014 4:37 AM (GMT -8)
Great job Allen. I'm so happy for you and I must say I am thankful for your posts. You are an inspiration along with the other brave members of this forum. Have a wonderful day.
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MamaLama
Veteran Member
Joined : Oct 2010
Posts : 4907
Posted 3/30/2014 6:06 AM (GMT -8)
Allen, all you guys and gals with positive interim results are keeping Mike motivated. Thanks for joining our forum. This is the first time we have had GOOD news, even GREAT news, for our Hep C members. The fight has been ong at our house. He had his first bad bout with the illness in 1981! He was infected, he thinks in 1969. Hopefully this whole bunch will find and maintain SVR !!! Hugs, ML
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 3/30/2014 9:10 AM (GMT -8)
No problem ML, I'm glad to have joined and very thankful to have met you all and I hope this time Mike finally gets success with treatment and with all we have seen so far I do feel his results will be better than anything before.
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music
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2014
Posts : 273
Posted 3/30/2014 7:57 PM (GMT -8)
still cheering for you and everyone.

music
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AllenM
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2013
Posts : 223
Posted 4/3/2014 5:00 PM (GMT -8)
Hello everyone, just a small update. As of this morning I have 28 days left of treatment with the Sovaldi & Ribavirin and in 4 weeks I am pretty sure I will be undetectable and personally I consider it the same as being cured.

So thankful for the support on these forums as well as the timing of the release of Sovaldi.

I know a few others are in the home stretch like myself and around the end of this month and early May we will see the first group of forum users being cured and in the months that follow even more. I really look forward to this not only changing my life but everybody who contracted the virus...the end is in sight!


While I have had a few side effects honestly it was really nothing and I urge anybody in the future to not be scared at all of this treatment and a few days of feeling yucky is really nothing to know you are physically cured and mentally you won't have to worry about this all the time.

I can't imagine some of you knowing for 10-20 years you were infected or since they could test and some had various treatments with Peg+Ribavirin and still weren't cured and the mental stress as well as the physical stress, you all went through alot to bring us these new drugs and I am forever thankful to all of you.

28 days left...wow, thanks for the support and helpful advice everybody!
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music
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2014
Posts : 273
Posted 4/3/2014 6:59 PM (GMT -8)
Love your posts Allen....always real and always inspiring...also, you will be excited seeing steve's newest post. Music
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