Sovaldi/Ribavirin

Welcome to the Hep forum, BEA,
We are those with all sorts of liver disease, as well as those who love them. My husband is the guy with liver disease, and is on the transplant list at Mayo, AZ. He treated Hep C twice with interferon/riba, and did obtain SVR the 2nd time in 2012.

With GT2, your treatment with Solvali/riba will be 12 weeks, and this should be quite manageable at that short duration.

Feel free to ask questions and post any side fx that concern you. There are many here that have successfully completed treatment and obtained SVR. Keep positive, drink half your body weight in oz of water per day, to help with side fx of riba. Good luck for a successful treatment! Big Hugs, themiz

Haha.... Thanks BEA, I edited my post. If you are 100 lbs, drink 50 oz of water per day to help with sides. Have you ever treated before? I notice you have COPD. One side some notice after awhile is the out of breath feeling. Going up stairs and having to stop, type problem as the months go on...without COPD. So do check with your doc if you seem to notice anything out of place.

How is your general liver health? I am not sure if you were recently dx, but themister found out in a routine physical he decided to have, due to some odd fatigue. That was 2005. He was stage 4 cirrhosis, and started his 1st treatment after his biopsy. Then failed it. Then a gastric bleed in March 2010. The last 4 years have been tough, but he is fighting every day. Tell us a bit about yourself. Big Hugs

I was originally diagnosed with Hep c 05-2011. I found during past few months my appetite, decreasing, not really hungry. My new doctor advised I was stage 3 and needed to begin this new treatment. Being a actor, I am required to be on movie sets long hours and it was exhausting me doing my scenes.

I recently purchased a omega juicer to begin making fresh juices. Any ideas on various healthy juices would be appreciated. Are red meats off limits? Salt and sugar? Been making smoothies a lot however they have added sugar. The COPD is a fairly new issue and I am exercising however I still have not quit smoking. The fatique, depression and my stomach always feels so full are the main concerns while I wait to begin this exciting new treatment. Not used to being away from the movie set so I am trying to find other outlets for my creativity.

BEA,
Stop smoking. Today is a perfect day to start. When did you last drink alcohol? Don't drink. Alcohol on a liver is like pouring gasoline on a fire. Get copies of your bloods, scans, biopsy, and keep them. They tell a story. Did you have a biopsy or fibroscan?

We have had a lot of early dragon slayers treating with Solvaldi , and they posted daily or weekly logs about their journey. Look back a few pages and read some of those for some good replies and info.

Many here work very long hours, some are raising kids and working. Some are post transplant... and work....and do treatment much longer than 12 weeks, and repeat it. Our** David** (the chatty one) was one of those :) :)

Some treat and relapse, an then retreat. No guarantee's with liver disease. Hardest part about it is the unpredictable part. The old drugs were much worse. My husband worked with his first interferon/riba treatment. The 2nd time he was bedridden 4 months. Riba for 12 weeks is not as bad for most.

I promise you, end stage liver disease (ESLD) is worse than any treatment combo that has ever been on the market....and normally, lasts much longer. Having both is not easy.

12-16 hour days on set, and the screwy hours are difficult with extreme fatigue. If you can grab a nap after lunch, do it. However, if you are doing treatment on hiatus, it may make this easier. Frankly, the fatigue probably will be worse long term than the treatment. I don't know how much that might change for you. My husband did not see a change after SVR (sustained viral response). He already had cirrhosis, stage 4...and was referred for transplant list just months after SVR. Needless to say, he has not been able to work for over 3 years.

At the top of the forum, there is a sticky post, "Hepatitis Resources". There is some very good information in that section.

Start watching sodium. Keep it under 2,000mg per day, per Mayo. We are dealing with edema in our house, and keeping sodium much lower at 1,000mg, as much as possible. Load up on fresh fruits and veggies, and choose fish or chicken instead of red meat. Start reading labels. 1 teaspoon of salt has over 2,000mg. Salt is in packaged, canned foods, breads and baked goods. Think fresh! And restaurants use a lot of salt.

If you are on set, craft service, or the catering truck can work to your advantage if you know what has sodium in it (salad dressing), what does not (vinegar and olive oil). I know it is an easy temptation to grab off the craft service table when tired and hungry. And pizza when you wind up with 2nd meal is not good. But you need to know what to eat wherever you are.
Hang in there