Start Sovaldi andRibavarin Next Week.

[bham hal]

I have the meds had a death in the family had to change days.My blood platelets are low and I have some cihorris.I dont drink or do anything that damages liver now.I have type 2 hep.I want this thing called hepatitis out of me.

[KimInTheForest]

Welcome to the forums, bham hal. And good luck on your journey to being cured! Drink lots of water during treatment. And keep us posted on how it's going for you.

I am on Week 9 of Harvoni +Ribavirin. No real problems.

best,
kim

[KAL]

welcome aboard Bham , Condolences to you on the loss of your family member .

Congrats on starting treatment !.........you and i are very similar ,geno 2 , etc.....see my signature below ,.....im just past half way of 16 week treatment , i also have low platelets , 61 pre treatment test , up to 72 at 4 week test ,....after years of hep c your liver becomes inflamed then the spleen becomes inflamed and the spleen traps platelets,,,,,as the wonderdrug does its magic and things begin to mend , the inflammation should reduce and platelets should return to normal range .
iv'e been lucky with minimal  sides so far (still 8weeks to go ) , i have some sensitive skin issues , if you have sensitive skin , limit your exposure to the sun and use sunblock when your out in it ,(its the riba.).........all in all im feeling noticeably better now than before treatment and no more brain fog!

treat yourself well , fight the good fight !

K

[bham hal]

Was a little scary my Dr said no sun 5 times.I was like do you have brain fog?LOLBut I got his point yea sensitive skin.This burning inside has been terrible.I ask a hep Dr a few years back and he blew me off saying OH THAT COULD BE ANYTHING.All it took was a test.But whats done is done.Yea he said my spleen was inflamed.Thanks Yall

[Pelham123]

Hello bham, I finished 12 weeks of Sovaldi/ribavirin 8 months ago and was declared free of the virus in April.  This combo works.   Side effects were tolerable and didn't show up until half way through.  I was very alert to the RIBA rash because of allergies, but never got it.  Also, never went anemic, but got close.  My blood was analyzed weekly.  Mostly experienced brain fog, insomnia, nausea and itch.   This lasted after treatment for 6-8 weeks.  I got cold sores after stopping treatment.  I had meds to treat them.  Someone else on this forum got them too.   

[LilyGarden]

Good luck Bham!

I am on week 8 of Sovaldi + Ribavirin. So far the biggest side effects are extreme fatigue and I have a very slight/mild rash on my forehead (not really noticeable to most people, but I definitely notice). Also a little ‘brain fog’…I’m having a harder time concentrating, but not too bad.

My week 6 results came back 'not detected' and I just had my week 8 tests done yesterday so I'm holding my breath that they also come back negative.

I haven't experienced any of the nausea or headaches...so far it's been quite tolerable and the drug combination seems to be working!

[bham hal]

Great News!!! I already have a rash from this thing in me.Maybe when it clears all will go away.You are doing well.Ive already told close ones IM SORRY.They say for what in case the ribavarin makes me ill and I say something I don't really mean. .I just bought a Honda Goldwing to work on guess that will be next season if this clears.Is it a cure or cleared in remission?Different opinions.

[bham hal]

Well 1st week really unremarkable.I had a small headache last night but didn't stay with me long.Ive stay out of the sun and really trying to eat right.I spoke to drugist he told me someone from the South thats hard to do.

[esar]

Best wishes Bham.  Am also on Solvadi + Ribavirin with genotype 2.  Five & a half days left of the treatment.  I will be so glad when it's over.
Not to discourage you but I've had some terrible side effects about the midpoint of the treatment.  Actually throughout the treatment had some of the common and not so common side effects. 
At week 3 of the treatment I was "undetected."
I've had great support from my doctors and the nurse and a few good friends.  Without their support I wouldn't have gotten through it.  I was begging & crying to have my dose reduced, but they said no and somehow I've got this far.  Less than a week left.
Currently waiting for new test results.
Most of all, we all want to get this poison out of our blood.



First results before treatment:
Diagnosed:  December 2014
Bilirubin: 5:  Normal Range < 22: 
ALT: 17:  Normal Range 10 - 44: 
AST: 21 - Normal Range 7 - 31
ALK PHOSPHASE:  48 Normal Range:  45 - 121
No liver damage:  2015 Fibroscan 2.7 out of 1 - 75, normal ultrasound
At start: Viral load=3.56 million
Treatment naive

April 28, 2015: Started 12 weeks Solvadi+Riba
 
Week 3 Results: Virus UNDETECTED;
Bilirubin: 8:  Normal Range < 22: 
ALT: 20:  Normal Range 10 - 44: 
AST: 18 - Normal Range 7 - 31
ALK PHOSPHASE:  52 Normal Range:  45 - 121

[KimInTheForest]

I was begging & crying to have my dose reduced, but they said no and somehow I've got this far.  Less than a week left.

Hi Esar. What is your ribavirin dose? 1000 mg? or 1200mg? And what is your weight, if you don't mind me asking? And how low has your hemoglobin dropped?

I just have 12 days left of Harvoni+Ribavirin. And my hemoglobin has certainly fallen, as you can see from my sig file at bottom. It was down to 96 g/L a week ago and may be lower now. Normal range is 120-150.

I am actually doing alright, and have been throughout treatment. But of course I clearly do not have enough hemoglobin now due to the ribavirin, and I get out of breath pretty easily. My medical team wants to keep me on my full dose since I don't have much time left on my treatment. And that's okay with me because I want everything going for me in clearing this virus. I have been on 1,000 mg/day and I weight 120 lbs.

Hang in there!
kim

[esar]

Hi Kim
My weight is 124 lbs.  lost lots of weight.
My dose of ribavirin is 1000 mg/day.
Normal levels of hemoglobin:  120 to 160:
at beginning of treatment: 150
most recent test: 133
so yes, it's decreased but still normal.  I have NO appetite, lost lots of weight but force myself to eat even though the thought of eating makes me nauseous and everything tastes like cardboard.  Maybe diet effects hemoglobin.

[KimInTheForest]

Hi Esar. I have had a similar situation with eating while on treatment - lost weight, no appetite, I make myself eat but many of my favorite foods not possible right now, they just do not appeal and won't go down. So eating has been a challenge for me during treatment.

Glad to hear your hemoglobin is still in normal range. You were lucky to start at high end of normal so you had somewhere to fall before leaving normal. I started at bottom end of normal on my hemoglobin, so as soon as it began to drop due to ribavirin I was below normal.

Nice to have the end in sight!

kim

[bham hal]

I have a healthy appetite.I take 1200 inteferon 1 solvaldi.My platelets are low and spleen inflamed by the ultrasound.I have some cirrohis.I itch some I already had type 2 diabetes but I stop taking my medformin during treatment.I get bored because of staying out of the sun thing.But yes I want this nasty thing out of me at any cost.I can deal with anything that's coming.I dont have my blood readings handy but I was turned down on the trials.

[bham hal]

I weigh 220 tho but 6ft 1 Im not obese.I hope all of you are cured.

[bham hal]

I had the worse case of insomnia last night.I keep a diary and mark off the dose for hep as I take it.Well I dont mark off my normal meds looked in my pill reminder yea reminder and I had forgotten to take my other meds I take daily.Yea I guess old age or brain fog LOL.Im gonna say brain fog not old age or just plain stupid.LOL
I hope all is doing well and no problems.Ill post my blood levels as I get them.I have a few here but dont have the energy to find them.