My Sovaldi-Ribavirin Treatment Log

Sounds great! Day 10 is going good for me too except for some headaches. I can't wait to see my results from today's blood work. I may have to call the Dr's office to get them. Stay strong!

DAY 11 and going great. I had a tiny itch on my elbow last night, but I think it was just a tiny itch on my elbow. I really need to quit looking for symptoms. I'm not having any at all right now, but darned if I'm not determined to make something happen. Only 507 more pills to go!!

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT DAY!!

DAY 12 and I feel better than ever! I've noticed a decrease in appetite and I'm losing weight rather quickly. I think it's time to go back to my regular medical marijuana doses before they reduce my Ribavirin. A couple days of mmj use will get me right back up to 175lbs no problem. I don't have to get any labs this weekend. My Doc was so pleased with the last results he said I can wait until the following weekend for the next ones. I hope things continue on this well. I truly wish everyone could have it this easy.

BEST WISHES TO ALL!!

I am right there with you iplaycarvin. There are no side effects that are really bothering me and I too wonder if it's even working. I'm sure it is working. Have a great day!

Oh boy. I got slammed by the hemo drop last night right before bedtime. It figures right after I find out I'm taking too much Riba for my current body weight I would get hit by it. It's tolerable, but irritating as heck. I would guess a two point drop. It should start to level back off after next week. I was so full of energy for the first two weeks and then hit a wall. I'm down to 1000mg Ribavirin a day until I get back over 165lbs. I've been eating alot today and have a really big dinner cooking now. Hopefully this Riba dose reduction will ease the HGB drop effects a bit. I'm still in the game.

Hope Everyone Has A Great Weekend!

I'm sorry you are having such issues. I don't wanna feel like that. Hopefully you will start feeling better soon.

IPC. Glad today has begun more positively. Dragon Slaying is hard work. Hugs. ML

Thanks Dog and Mama!! Dog, don't overthink the treatment like I did! My counts were already low before I started. I just got my new labs and the HGB only dropped 1.1gm/dl within the first two weeks. My HCT dropped 2.7% and everything else improved. WBC/RBC are normal. My platelets are still climbing, bilirubin dropped back to normal, AST 33, ALT 34. Total protein returned to normal. The only flags I see are HGB and HCT, but they are still just under the normal range. HGB 13.9, HCT 38.9%

PLEASE! Don't do like me and let your anxieties take over. I believe that is causing me more issues than the treatment itself. And keeping a good body weight and BMI is a definite YES!! I am up to 158lbs and kinda stuck there. Even with the medical marijuana my appetite is still kinda blah. Nothing sounds good except greasy foods and I don't eat greasy foods. Today is Day 19. My resting heart rate is still a bit high at 80bpm. If I could control these anxieties this treatment would be a vacation. Best Wishes To All!!

Hey Rob! Most of my early symptoms were brought on by stress and anxiety, so they would not be relavant to everyone. Since I have settled into the treatment, I get some fatigue, aches and pains, general feeling of discomfort. Kinda reminds me of a really long hangover except you can cure the headache with water. Well worth the trouble in my opinion. I have to stop and rest here and there, but only for a few minutes and I'm back up and running. I've been pretty lucky I only had a couple days where I felt sick enough to hit the bed.

DAY 20 and just got back from all the Doc's. My Hepa was thrilled at my bloodwork. My BP and heart rate issues are common with treatment and not a problem at current readings. My heart checked out fine like always. I am bummed to find out he will not do PCR/RNA for viral load until the end of treatment at 12 weeks unless the LFT panel goes up. He said it is a waste of my money and lab resources to monitor VL during the treatment for type 2b patients with early normalization of liver enzymes. He said the treatment is obviously working very well, and I should concentrate on taking the pills everyday, and getting my weight back up ASAP. He does make a good point, but would be nice to see the load dropping. Oh well. He is thrilled, my Primary Care was beyond thrilled when she saw everything. Today is a very good day. Ordered my second bottle of Sovaldi and Ribavirin. I'm going to make it.

Hope Everybody Is Having A Great Day!

LOL Thanks Steve! He probably thinks I would get stressed if I saw the viral load not dropping fast enough.

I think he has had some type 2b patients clearing very fast and then quitting the treatment early.

Plus, he realizes my health coverage was cut due to...well, we won't even go there. Let's just say my out of pocket expenses for labwork is a real morgtage breaker.

THREE WEEKS DONE! Yesterday was one of the best days ever. Another full night of sleep with some crazy dreams. I woke up a little congested, but it cleared right away once I got up moving around. Looking forward to another great day. BEST WISHES TO ALL!

iplaycarvin said...
PLEASE! Don't do like me and let your anxieties take over. I believe that is causing me more issues than the treatment itself. And keeping a good body weight and BMI is a definite YES!! I am up to 158lbs and kinda stuck there. Even with the medical marijuana my appetite is still kinda blah. Nothing sounds good except greasy foods and I don't eat greasy foods.!

I have to agree with this 1000% , I think at times I let my anxiety and worries make this all worse than it was and though I am down to 15 days I constantly worried near the beginning...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sick or that I felt perfect but as this was happening I think I probably made it worse by worrying about things that hadn't even happened yet.

I also heavily agree with keeping your weight in check, myself I am not a big fan of BMI because once you start gaining more muscle then BMI numbers become very inaccurate and though your are in perfect shape BMI will make you seem like your fat and out of shape simply because the way the math works.

I am also on the Canadian MMAR program and depending on when I use my vaporizer it DOES also help my appetite alot, more than you can imagine BUT I also have to say I also have a craving for greasy foods lately and the other day for no reason at all I went to the Home Depot to get some topsoil for the yard and then stopped into "Five Guys" burgers and if you have never been there I recommend you only try it once...hahaha.

The burgers taste great! however I have no doubts what they call a junior bacon cheeseburger or what I had that *looked* like the smallest burger probably was almost 1000 calories and at my height that is about half of my daily calories intake. It ok to spoil yourself every so often but can't be doing this daily

iplaycarvin since I began treatment about 10 weeks ago I went from 164 and slowly up to 168 which is my normal weight and I sat there for a month and then slowly I went up to 174 and sat there for a few weeks and lately I am 174-176 at 5' 9" and my bodyfat right now is around 20%...nothing I like at all but I will lose the bodyfat in 6 weeks or less when treatment is done but its so easy to pack it on when you are eating comfort foods.

I don't look fat at all but I know that I am supposed to be around 165-168 without working out much and when I work out and get to 10-12% bodyfat over the years my weight is usually 178-182 but to get back that much muscle will take about 18 months....yawn, consider your body a constant work in progress and its never a quick fix and its best to always do your best to maintain a healthy weight with bodyfat level that is normal...nothing like being "skinny fat"

Thanks Allen! I am doing so much better now. This past week has been one of the best ever.

Today is day 36. I'm up to 168lbs. My recent labs are still very good. My Hemoglobin is only down to 12.3 IU/DL. Total HGB drop during treatment so far is only 1.6 IU/DL. My Doc was very pleased with the weight gain, and the great lab results. He said I looked much better than my last visit. My skin appears to be getting smoother. I don't know what's happening but I love it. Almost halfway through. I think this Sovaldi has opened the gate for a brand new life for me. I truly feel like a chain has been removed from my neck.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEKEND!!