8 week treatment

[DW]

has anyone done the 8 week treatment?  was it enough?

[PaulG]

I'm on a 8 week treatment. At four weeks my blood tests were HCV RNA Viral Load IU/mL             Not Detected IU/mL 35 A  I sure hope so, but we shall see. 1 a f3 2.5 million vl at start of treatment

[Lynn K]

The LONESTAR clinical trial of patients treatment naive with or without Ribavirin for 8 weeks results were 95% cure (19/20) with just Harvoni and 100% (21/21) with Harvoni plus Ribavirin

http://depts.washington.edu/hepstudy/presentations/uploads/103/ledipasvir_sofosbuvir_master.pdf

[dragonslayer]

Im on 8 wks also.. This forum sometimes makes me question the doctor's decision, however, consider:

1)  Odds are more of us on 8 wks will get covered because of the lesser expenditure
2)  Look at the Gilead Ion-3 results for treatment naive viral loads < 6 mil... what they show is there is virtually no further benefit going on to 4 more wks.  None. 

There seems to be a fair  number of earlier treatment relapsers on this board many of whom, naturally, are more than a little suspicious of claims by pharma, which, in turn, make us 8 weekers more than a little queasy about the treatment duration we are on.   In my case, my biopsies were excellent, my viral load well under 6 mil, Im in good shape physically with no other chronic conditions, and, despite my occasional misgivings, feel that if ever there were someone who fit the Gilead 8 wk profile, its folks like me..

Even if the numbers were slightly wrong, and disfavored our group by a couple of percent over the published numbers, which they dont, the SVR odds are so strongly in our favor, that I really dont see the point of wringing my hands endlessly over the duration.  (this is the speech I use to snap myself out of the woulda/shoulda/coulda mindset I sometimes allow myself to lapse into)

[JohnJRJ]

Receiving first bottle of harvoni tomorrow & wondering opinion on what time to take the pill each day, was thinkin of starting it at 8 pm so if any side effects could handle during the night so I would be ok for work in the morning ?

[dragonslayer]

The time you take your dose is completely a personal decision.. Ive had no side effects, so that that doesnt enter into the calculation of when I take mine..... which is in the morning when I get up.   Doesnt really matter when you take yours.. If you find you have a few sides which come and go, you can alter the time you dose.  With food or without, there is no 'right' or 'wrong' time to take it..  Its your decision entirely.. Try taking it when you want. If it doesnt work out, change the time... The most important thing is to have a way to remind yourself to take it every day, and once a day.

[DW]

I am on week 2.  On day one I took it at 8:30 pm and didn't sleep.  On day two I moved it to 11:00 pm and that works for me.  I am sleeping like a rock at least 60% of the time, and since I  am insomniac anyway I am delighted.  I have read that others find morning doses give a kick of energy so it is definitely trial and error.

[dragonslayer]

I am on week 2.  On day one I took it at 8:30 pm and didn't sleep.  On day two I moved it to 11:00 pm and that works for me.  I am sleeping like a rock at least 60% of the time, and since I  am insomniac anyway I am delighted.  I have read that others find morning doses give a kick of energy so it is definitely trial and error.

I'm a big time insomniac also...  I wont sleep unless I take something to get me there.. I try and alternate nights between a miniscule dose of ambien (2.5 mg) with  a dose of the antihistamine Diphenhydramine (active ingredient in unisom)..  Thrown in will be an occasional dose of melatonin, valerian, and/or 5-htp.  The trick is to not take the ambien in high enough or frequent enough doses to develop a tolerance. So far, Ive done pretty well with that.   I usually manage to get to sleep without much trouble using this regimen.. However, early awakening after only about 4-5 hrs occurs frequently, but less on nights when I take the diphenhydramine. However, those tend to make me groggy the next day... The joy that is insomnia!  Im hoping after the 8 wks, and after there's no more Hep C in my body, I may have a chance at more normalized sleep.

Decidedly missing is that morning jolt after dosing to which you refer.  I just started my second and last bottle of Harvoni, still pretty much side effect free.  Looking forward to April when we'll be checking for SVR.

[magicpill]

I am on finishing my 9th week today,so far a blood work at 30 days negative;50 day blood work negative,I have just 21 days to go.I take my dose at  7:30 am every day within a minute or two every day for 9 weeks,I think this is a big part of the treatment is to consistent on timing of daily doses,Happy Holidays and hoping for the best 2015 will hopefully Rock

[dragonslayer]

I am on finishing my 9th week today,so far a blood work at 30 days negative;50 day blood work negative,I have just 21 days to go.I take my dose at  7:30 am every day within a minute or two every day for 9 weeks,I think this is a big part of the treatment is to consistent on timing of daily doses,Happy Holidays and hoping for the best 2015 will hopefully Rock

Do you have any documentation for this?

[BattleTheBeast]

Hi Slayer,

here's the section on same time daily from drugs.com on Harvoni. My doctor and the pharmacist also told me that:

"How to use Harvoni:

Use Harvoni as directed by your doctor. Check the label on the medicine for exact dosing instructions. Check the label on the medicine for exact dosing instructions.

An extra patient leaflet is available with Harvoni. Talk to your pharmacist if you have questions about this information.
Take Harvoni by mouth with or without food.
Do not take an antacid that has aluminum or magnesium in it within 4 hours of Harvoni.
If you take cimetidine, dexlansoprazole, esomeprazole, famotidine, lansoprazole, nizatidine, omeprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole, or ranitidine, ask your doctor or pharmacist how to take it with Harvoni.
Harvoni works best if it is taken at the same time each day.
Continue to take Harvoni even if you feel well. Do not miss any doses.
If you miss a dose of Harvoni, take it as soon as you remember the same day and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not take more than 1 dose of Harvoni in the same day. Do not take 2 doses at once.
Ask your health care provider any questions you may have about how to use Harvoni."

Taken from http://www.drugs.com/cdi/harvoni.html

[Lynn K]

Not that anyone should follow my example but mostly within 1 hour plus or minus worst was 2 hours late once.

I asked my doctor about adding Ribavirin she agreed to see if Express Scripts will approve based on my history enough throw everything at my virus except the kitchen sink. Not looking forward to the Ribavirin but I do want to beat this virus once and for all.

[dragonslayer]

Yea, I was pretty sure it wasnt necessary to be within a minute or two.   Its open to interpretation, but I interpret 'the same time each day' to mean close to the same time, ie, within the hour, for instance.  But thats just my take on it.. Without any more definitive time frame given, folks are going to interpret this differently.

Incidentally, from the horse's mouth (Gilead prescribing leaflet), :

"Take HARVONI 1 time each day with or without food"

with no further specificity than that.

[RiseUp]

Right on Mel,  I take my magic pill at the same time each day as per my hepatologist. It just makes sense to me.

[JillLynn]

QUESTION:   My doctor said i could take Calcium which has magnesium in it.   I take it with my Harvoni after dinner.

Mel, Lynn K, or anyone who might know........what do you think about the magnesium in calcium pills?     

thank you!

Jill

I know about not taking the antacids but didn't know magnesium was a factor.

[bridget]

Re: taking calcium w/magnesium - I recently called the support path help line because I have a bad cold & wanted to know if I could take any otc meds.  I was told about the known interactions that are printed in the insert: antacids, st. johns wort, etc.
She stressed that those are the *known* interactions but it doesn't mean that taking otc meds/ supplements that are not on that list are safe. It only means that they don't have confirmation of negative interactions. So, I decided not to take any cold meds.  I also decided before starting treatment not to take any vitamins or supplements while on treatment. I stopped them a few weeks before to clear my system. I just don't want to take any chances. 
As for time of dosing: I set my phone alarm for 9:30 every morning & keep one pill with me in case I am not at home.  I like morning in case I forget to take it right away, I can still have time to take it later in the same day.  I'm at the end of 3 weeks & so far, every dose has been within 10 minutes.  I have had virtually no side effects. My 2 week VL dropped from >4 million to <500.

[Lynn K]

Normally when I am not taking Harvoni because I have a hiatial hernia with gerd take Prilosec. So when I can't sleep due to heartburn I have taken a tums or two but that is generally about 10 hours after I have taken Harvoni and I did read to separate antacids from Harvoni by 4 hours so I figure I am ok there. But trying to avoid taking anything else no vitamins etc. and minimizing the antacid use as much as I can.

[JillLynn]

Thank you Bridget and Lynn.   I wasn't taking any supps or anything either......but after my bone density a couple weeks back asked my hepatologist about taking the calcium again and he said fine.   But I didn't mention the magnesium in them and it might not have dawned on him.

I'm going to stop now.   No sense risking it that's for sure!