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Posted 3/21/2014 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all. As per Carol's suggestion, I will only use this Topic from now on, instead of starting different ones. I had my biopsy Wednesday and am about to start treatment for 24 weeks. Sovaldi and Ribavirin. Sovaldi once a day, Ribavirin twice a day for 90 days. Any suggestions as to the best time to take each? Thanks for all the help so far. I greatly appreciate it!
Posted 3/21/2014 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
I am doing the same treatment. I'm starting tomorrow with 2 ribavirin in the morning and 3 in the evening along with 1 sovaldi. I am going to take all of mine with food. I was also wondering if there was a better time to take sovaldi, morning or evening.
Posted 3/21/2014 5:59 PM (GMT 0)
I don't have the definitive answer, but I remembered that being one of the many questions that I thought of and wondered about after I left the Dr's office.
I really don't think there is a best time, although you can ask your Dr just in case. The main thing is to take your doses as close to exactly 12 hours apart. And to take the Ribavirin with food.
Your schedule should pretty much tell you the best time for you.
12 hours apart usually will narrow it down quite a bit. A time where you won't oversleep and miss it or possibly fall asleep early and miss it is best. The safest time for me was later than I'm sure anyone else here. The Ribavirin can possibly keep you up, too, so that should probably factor in just a bit.
Posted 3/21/2014 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
Mike was having trouble with either the Sovaldi (or Olysio, which you both are not taking). He tried to take the Sovaldi (and o) in the morning a bit after his other meds. Since he is post Transplant, he has anti-rejection drugs which he takes first thing so the meds got complicated. He was taking it mid morning after breakfast and was nauseous most of the day.. And he has heart meds, etc. So finally with some trial, he switched to 2:00 PM, after lunch, after his naps, WITH a substantial snack. Now he is not nauseous and things are going well.

Good luck as you start the meds!!!!

Mama Lama
Posted 3/21/2014 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
I called the Gilead supportpath clinician and she said the time of day you take the Sovaldi depends on how it effects you. Some people get very fatigued, so they take it at P.M., some get insomnia, and take it in the A.M.

She also said you did not have to take the Sovaldi pill with the Ribavirin at the same time. Just remember to take all your pills every day and try to find a good time that works with your schedule and stick with it for best results.

I start my Sovaldi/Riba tomorrow. I will probably take the first dose together just to get things mixing up. After that I plan to take the Sovaldi apart from the Riba doses and find a good time to stick with dependant on how I feel. 

GOOD LUCK!!

Posted 3/21/2014 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds good. I think sovaldi has like a 27 hour half life or something, where you really don't want to take more than 3 hours later than 12 hours unless you forgot or something. So I don't think I would take your second one more than 3 hours later than the first dose just to be safe.
I take mine with my a.m. Ribavirin just because I don't want to have 3 med times :)
I think even though it's only one more time, it makes things all the more likely to mess up somehow. 84 more pill times, etc.
But, it's whatever works for you.
Posted 3/22/2014 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
I am so glad you all posted this great information. I'm starting mine in the morning and I think I will do the ribavirin and sovaldi at the same time. This way it will be 3 pills in the morning and 3 in the evening.
Posted 3/23/2014 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
Starting meds now. 9a.m. Sov/Rib. 1 each.
Posted 3/23/2014 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
GO FOR IT!! So glad to see another person starting the new treatment.

Hope you have as good a first day as I did! Staying busy really helps. If you sit there and wait for bad things to happen, you may just psych yourself into making it happen. Dry mouth and a very slight sensation of a headache is all I've noticed so far. Drinking more water greatly reduces the headache sensations.

GOOD LUCK!! 

Posted 3/23/2014 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
Blood tests results pre-treatment 3/12/14:

Component Standard Range Your Value

Glucose 65 - 99 mg/dL 87
Fasting reference interval
Urea Nitrogen (BUN) 7 - 25 mg/dL 5
Verified by repeat analysis.
CREATININE 0.50 - 1.05 mg/dL 0.66
For patients >49 years of age, the reference limit
for Creatinine is approximately 13% higher for people
identified as African-American.
eGFR Non Afr. American> OR = 60 mL/min/1.73m2 98
eGFR African American > OR = 60 mL/min/1.73m2 114
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 6 - 22 (calc) 8
Sodium 135 - 146 mmol/L 141
Potassium 3.5 - 5.3 mmol/L 3.9
Chloride 98 - 110 mmol/L 106
Carbon Dioxide 19 - 30 mmol/L 24
CALCIUM 8.6 - 10.4 mg/dL 9.4
Protein, Total 6.1 - 8.1 g/dL 7.4
Albumin 3.6 - 5. 1 g/dL 4.6
Globulin 1.9 - 3.7 g/dL (calc) 2.8
Albumin/Globulin Ratio 1.0 - 2.5 (calc) 1.6
BILIRUBIN, TOTAL 0.2 - 1.2 mg/dL 0.6
Alkaline Phosphatase 33 - 130 U/L 111
AST 10 - 35 U/L 37
ALT 6 - 29 U/L 44

Post Edited (KWLAW) : 3/24/2014 6:29:59 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/23/2014 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
Your bloods look pretty good.

Mike hasn't had levels like that in 25 years!!!

Hoping you feel find through the treatment.

Mama Lama
Posted 3/23/2014 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
I'm right here with you KWLAW. We are going to beat this so called Dragon. Keep us posted.
Posted 3/24/2014 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Good to see others starting treatment, I started wednesday, I do find that I get fatigued around 5 pm and feel like I need a nap. It usually passes with an hour or two. I was having slight headaches but those are gone already. It was so hard for me to take that first dose but I am really surprised how much better I feel just after 4 days. I look forward to seeing everyone's progress, it is really exciting!
I am Genotype 2b, my last lab I had normal LTF's with High Viral Load Liver Bx Grade 2/4, Stage 1/4. I am doing Sovaldi/Ribasphere for 12 weeks...My next lab is April 2.
Posted 3/24/2014 12:20 PM (GMT 0)
Good morning fellow travelers. Today is day 2. I was very tired yesterday so took advantage of it being Sunday and napped. Back to work today, I will see how I feel?? "Third time's a charm" is what I've always heard! :-)
Posted 3/24/2014 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
I take my Sovaldi/Ribavirin at 6 a.m and take the Ribavirin alone at 6 p.m with dinner. For the breakfast dose no matter what I eat a banana or a health bar or something and usually two coffees and then about two hours later I try to eat some oatmeal with milk and brown sugar.

For lunch its been up and down and some days just didn't feel well but no matter what I have to try to eat, things like pineapple, Source yogurts, health bars, protein bars, raisin bread, soup etc are all small things I eat along with vegetables or other fruits that my wife usually pre-slices and has in tupperwares...yes I'm spoiled :-)

For dinner we always eat fairly healthy, we have a mix of beef, chicken and fish meals throughout the week and always have some sort of vegetables or salad with not too much dressing.

I drink as much water as I can without being too full all the time, I need to also be able to eat food! I also drink the occasional Powerade drink with almost nothing for calories and sometimes when my stomach feels bad I will drink Ginger Ale.

I have the growling/grumbling stomach thing going on alot and also had alot of stomach cramps for awhile but this past week it seems better
Posted 3/25/2014 11:59 AM (GMT 0)
Today begins day 3. I can't eat breakfast until around 9 a.m. so I am taking my Riba/Sovaldi at 9 a.m. and my Riba second dose at 9 p.m. Seems okay so far. My stomach is acting up a bit but I'm still coming off the biopsy. Is it ok to chew TUMS? Does it interfere with absorbing the meds?
Posted 3/25/2014 12:59 PM (GMT 0)
Hey KW!! The clinician at Gilead says no interaction with Sovaldi and antacids. I had to start taking a PPI because everyone was telling me to eat fat with the Riba doses. BIG MISTAKE FOR ME! I have GERD and eating the fat about knocked me to my knees. After some thorough research, I see lot's of people saying "NO! Antacids will reduce your medication level and chances of SVR!!" Which is simply not true. There are people with extreme GERD who have taken the treatment along with antacids and maintined SVR just fine. If antacids really caused a reduction in drug plasma levels, or an increase in relapse, it would be on the bottles and patient instructions to avoid antacids during treatment.

GOOD LUCK!! Day 4 for me and no sides at all except mild chest pains from eating fat and grease the other day.

Posted 3/26/2014 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for checking IPLAY because I had a TERRIBLE bout of HEARTBURN in the middle of the night last night. I am thinking about changing to an earlier schedule because 9 pm may be a bad time for RIBA. Anyway, overall, no other side effects other than tired. Today is DAY 4.
Posted 3/26/2014 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Glad you're feeling better. I am at day 5 and no sides at all. My morning Prevacid and daily Zantac are about to get me back to normal from my extreme heartburn attack. GOOD LUCK AND HAVE A GOOD ONE!!
Posted 3/27/2014 11:29 AM (GMT 0)
Spoke to the clinic nurse yesterday about heartburn. She recommends a LO-CARB DIET. She said the meds feed on carbs and produce heartburn. Also said probiotics help. I'm going to start doing both of those today, which is DAY 5. How are all my other newbies doing?
Posted 3/27/2014 12:47 PM (GMT 0)
Doc says I will probably have to take my PPI/Prevacid the whole 12 weeks. I treated my GERD with diet changes and tossed the PPI in the trash a couple years ago, but the Riba can cause serious heartburn in some patients. I did not have to take any Zantac or Tums yesterday, so the fire is out, I just need to keep it out. I get a very slight burn sensation after taking the Riba, but nothing like when I took it with the fat and grease. FIRE!! Flamethrowing belches and extreme stabbing chest pains are no fun at all. I did get to eat a couple very tasty greasy meals I haven't had in years, but oh boy did I ever pay for it. I guess I should give thanks all the issues were upper GI. Shooting flames from both ends would have been a true nightmare.

Hope your new regiment works for you!! Have a great day!! Day 6 for me and feel better than ever.

 

Posted 3/27/2014 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
I actually had a little bit of heartburn last night so I took a tums and everything was fine. Since I've had issues with heartburn before starting this treatment my doc prescribed Prilosec. Lifesaver! This is my day 6 also and just had to increase my riba to 1200 starting today because of a boo boo on the drs part. So far so good. I do have some dry skin and my face gets a little itchy but nothing bad at all. Stay positive and have a great day. Week 1 is almost over.
Posted 3/27/2014 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
You'll save money by buying omeprazole, the generic version of Prilosec or Nexium.
Posted 3/28/2014 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
I'm so glad to have this forum! I REALLY appreciate seeing the comments everyday. It's helping my spirits immensely. I took Culterelle yesterday afternoon and Zantac last night and they seem to work well. Will try to figure out what's the best way to manage the heartburn because so far, it's the only real significant side effect. Today is DAY 6.
Posted 3/28/2014 12:53 PM (GMT 0)
I am glad to have this forum also. Helps out a lot! Have a wonderful day. Week 1 is almost over for you. Mine ends today and then off to week 2.
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