8weeks into Harvoni treatment blood work

[debham]

I had blood work done at the end of week 8 on Harvoni. My Dr. has a patient results network. I call to get results. His message was my AST 52 high 40 is normal, "I'm not concerned" my potassium was low 3.3 "I'm not concerned." And all other blood work came back normal. Stay on treatment and we will see you on the 24th of June the end of treatment. Of course I know nothing matters until 12 weeks after treatment, but it sure would be nice to have more information that this. I can't wait until I can stop drinking all of this water.    

[KimInTheForest]

Are you having problems with cramps, debham? Foot or leg cramps? Or high blood pressure? If you are drinking a lot of water, you could be washing out potassium, which can contribute to those problems. I am doing my best to eat potassium-rich foods daily while on treatment - dark leafy greens, yogurt, bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, squash.

best,
kim

[debham]

Kim,
I have had some bouts with my B/P, no cramps but I have noticed while in spin class I struggle to get through it some days my legs just don't want to go. I'm a big yogurt eater and I eat a lot of green salads. I think it's all water we drink while on this treatment. I'll have to make up a green smoothie everyday with spinach yogurt and bananas. That may help. 

[Lynn K]

Just for the record I really don't drink enough liquids ever. I improved a little on treatment by drinking 2 glasses of water but not much more than that except the milk in my cereal and my morning 16 oz coffee.

The adequate intake (AI) for women is about 9 cups (2.2 liters) of total beverages a day.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

What about the advice to drink 8 glasses a day?

Everyone has heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's about 1.9 liters, which isn't that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the "8 by 8" rule isn't supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it's easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," because all fluids count toward the daily total.

[sabre]

I have kidney disease and I can't overdo it on the water intake. And truthfully, I don't subscribe to the belief that you need to drink a ton of water while taking Harvoni. There is no evidence that it helps anything.

I personally think some of the "make sure you drink a lot of water" comments are carryovers from the Interferon days. I can't comment on water intake if you're taking Riba because I don't have any experience there.

Drink when you're thirsty and enough to avoid dehydration. Most fruits, vegetables, etc. are high in water content as well. i.e. an average-sized apple is 84% water.

My nickel's worth on the water intake thing...