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Author Topic: Harvoni interactions with water kefir  (Read 7319 times)

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Offline strongtower

  • Member
  • Posts: 15
    • OilnWine Design
Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« on: July 15, 2017, 08:16:41 pm »
Hi,
I am 3 weeks into my Harvoni treatment. I talked to my Dr. and she said my viral load didn't go down as much as other people. I make and drink water kefir. It's like kombucha. Then last night I had the worst abdominal pain. It lasted about 5 hours. Horrible. I thought I had an appendicitis.
I am wondering if it was because of the water kefir (not milk kefir) because it's a lot like vinegar but not so tart. But I've been drinking it all along. Is that why my viral load is not going down as fast as others?
I will call my doctor on Monday.
TIA
~Maddy

Diagnosed with hepC (genotype 1a) in 2003
8/3/04 viral load: 10,700,000
12/9/04 viral load: 4,030,000
3/9/05 viral load: 11,000,000
2/3/06 viral load: 6,950,000
8/9/12 viral load: 1,715,882
3/28/17 viral load: 3,921,231

8/18/17 AST: 36 ALT: 20

*Started Harvoni June 22, 2017
5/17/17 viral load: 851,555
7/6/17 viral load: 548
7/20/17 viral load: 76
8/3/17 viral load: <15
8/24/17 viral load: NOT DETECTED

Offline KimInTheForest

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,972
  • Believe in yourself
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2017, 10:03:58 pm »
Hi,
I am 3 weeks into my Harvoni treatment. I talked to my Dr. and she said my viral load didn't go down as much as other people. I make and drink water kefir. It's like kombucha. Then last night I had the worst abdominal pain. It lasted about 5 hours. Horrible. I thought I had an appendicitis.
I am wondering if it was because of the water kefir (not milk kefir) because it's a lot like vinegar but not so tart. But I've been drinking it all along. Is that why my viral load is not going down as fast as others?
I will call my doctor on Monday.
TIA

Hi Strongtower & welcome to the forums! I know nothing about water kefir and any possible reactions with Harvoni. But until you talk to your doctor, it might be a good idea to at very least separate your kefir consumption from your Harvoni-taking by a minimum of 4 hours on either side. This is the advice given for substances known to reduce Harvoni's effectiveness like Tums and other forms of calcium carbonate.

As for your abdominal pain... this may not be relevant at all in your situation but many of us experienced extreme heartburn on Harvoni, although we had not had heartburn before or since. I would not describe heartburn as 'abdominal pain' though. In my case, I wondered if I was having a heart attack and I was about to call an ambulance. But I somehow came to the conclusion that it was heartburn from Harvoni. I had never experienced anything like it before.

Also, there are many reasons why some people's viral load does not drop as fast as the majority. But they still end up being cured.

good luck!

kim
Kim Goldberg (Nanaimo, BC)
1970s: Contracted HCV (genotype 3a)
2015: Cured with Harvoni + ribavirin (12 weeks)
MY STORY: https://pigsquash.wordpress.com/2016/01/28/undetectable-my-hep-c-story/

Offline strongtower

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  • Posts: 15
    • OilnWine Design
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2017, 10:11:02 pm »
Wow, thank you so much for getting back to me. I'm glad you mentioned the 4 hour interval. I will try that. I will post the doctor's response once I hear from her.

~ Maddy
~Maddy

Diagnosed with hepC (genotype 1a) in 2003
8/3/04 viral load: 10,700,000
12/9/04 viral load: 4,030,000
3/9/05 viral load: 11,000,000
2/3/06 viral load: 6,950,000
8/9/12 viral load: 1,715,882
3/28/17 viral load: 3,921,231

8/18/17 AST: 36 ALT: 20

*Started Harvoni June 22, 2017
5/17/17 viral load: 851,555
7/6/17 viral load: 548
7/20/17 viral load: 76
8/3/17 viral load: <15
8/24/17 viral load: NOT DETECTED

Offline andrew j

  • Member
  • Posts: 477
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2017, 10:46:55 pm »
Most people stop taking anything that isn't ABSOLUTELY necessary, for the duration of treatment.

Can you do that?


Offline sandrooney

  • Member
  • Posts: 43
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2017, 06:23:25 am »
I stopped everything that is not necessary to live. I would not consume anything without talking to my doctor or nurse connector first. 
Please follow through with your doctor. Until then stop drinking it.

Offline strongtower

  • Member
  • Posts: 15
    • OilnWine Design
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2017, 03:51:11 am »
Oh I definitely will call them first thing tomorrow. They were closed today. Will let you know. However, I did ask about Vitamin C and she told me it was OK to take. I also asked her about a magnesium product called CALM, as I thought the fizzing was a sign that it was an ant-acid.
~Maddy

Diagnosed with hepC (genotype 1a) in 2003
8/3/04 viral load: 10,700,000
12/9/04 viral load: 4,030,000
3/9/05 viral load: 11,000,000
2/3/06 viral load: 6,950,000
8/9/12 viral load: 1,715,882
3/28/17 viral load: 3,921,231

8/18/17 AST: 36 ALT: 20

*Started Harvoni June 22, 2017
5/17/17 viral load: 851,555
7/6/17 viral load: 548
7/20/17 viral load: 76
8/3/17 viral load: <15
8/24/17 viral load: NOT DETECTED

Offline strongtower

  • Member
  • Posts: 15
    • OilnWine Design
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2017, 05:00:49 am »
OK So I talked to the pharmacist today about using kefir and also some other things. She explained that because of the fact that a lot of these alternative remedies have not been fully tested, they really don't know how it will effect or interact with the Harvoni. So... I stopped the kefir, and probably other natural remedies for now (like high dosage Vitamin C, essential oils etc... and going to just let the meds take its course. Tomorrow is day 28 and I am going in for labs to see if my viral load count has changed. I am a little nervous about it. Hope it shows improvement. 
~Maddy

Diagnosed with hepC (genotype 1a) in 2003
8/3/04 viral load: 10,700,000
12/9/04 viral load: 4,030,000
3/9/05 viral load: 11,000,000
2/3/06 viral load: 6,950,000
8/9/12 viral load: 1,715,882
3/28/17 viral load: 3,921,231

8/18/17 AST: 36 ALT: 20

*Started Harvoni June 22, 2017
5/17/17 viral load: 851,555
7/6/17 viral load: 548
7/20/17 viral load: 76
8/3/17 viral load: <15
8/24/17 viral load: NOT DETECTED

Offline KimInTheForest

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,972
  • Believe in yourself
Re: Harvoni interactions with water kefir
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2017, 10:15:10 am »
That's probably the best idea - to just stop the other things for the few weeks you're on the Harvoni. As the pharmacist says, there really isn't data on interactions between natural/alternative remedies and pharmaceutical drugs.

Good luck on next viral load test.

kim
Kim Goldberg (Nanaimo, BC)
1970s: Contracted HCV (genotype 3a)
2015: Cured with Harvoni + ribavirin (12 weeks)
MY STORY: https://pigsquash.wordpress.com/2016/01/28/undetectable-my-hep-c-story/

 


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