harvoni treatment

Hi Walt,
Welcome!!! Sorry about the diagnosis. But the timing is great.
Harvoni is a great treatment, that has changed the stigma of hep c
Treatment. Gone are the horrific side effects, that caused many patients
To stop tx.

We have a few members currently using Harvoni. I'm sure others will chime in soon. In the mean time, take a look at some of the other Harvoni threads.
Barry

Welcome. This forum is great for information and as a place to feel connected with people dealing with hep c and liver disease.

Have you started treatment yet? From what I surmise many people have very few side effects from harvoni. I was not one of them but the time went very quickly and all the sides were tolerable with some moderation of my activities. I continued teaching yoga throughout tx and found it very helpful to push through muscle and joint pain rather than sit around and suffer from it. Although I ultimately did a bit of both.

Most pronounced for me was the realization of how much better I was feeling underneath the sides. I did not know how badly the hep c was making me feel until it was gone.

Best wishes to you for an easy time in treatment.

Welcome!

Barbara

Walt,

Welcome to the HW Forum on Hepatitis.

I am so excited to hear about folks recently diagnosed with HEP C getting promptly treated.

In earlier times, first there was no diagnosis, then there WAS a diagnosis and treatments that were as difficult as some cancer treatments that didn't work over half the time. Now, we have the various regimens that cause only minor side effects on some people.

Some headaches, anxiety, fatigue. But the treatments are short lived and with the virus GONE, those affected dont face declining health over decades with death or transplantation the final result.

My partner was in that earlier times group, infected in 1970ish, was diagnosed in the mid 90s. Treated in 2003 and all but died from the treatment, which failed. Before he got treatment drugs in 2014, he faced liver cancer, cirrhosis, end stage liver disease, kidney failure, and liver transplantation. Those who are not treated get very very sick.

You, my friend, are the poster child for the new day.

Mike got his transplant, which does not cure Hepatitis C, so he had it in his nice new liver. Today, 4 years post TP, he is doing okay, but not perfect. He has Grade 3 Fibrosis again, but no cirrhosis.

Drink lots of water, no alcohol, live a heart healty life and you should make it through the sides pretty well. With some of the earlier meds, folks found that taking their meds with a snack (fatty snack like a peanut butter cracker or some nuts) helped.

Let us hear from you,

Mama Lama

Welcome, Walt! My husband "had" Hep C and has been virus free since a month into his 2nd treatment 2011-12. His liver was already cirrhotic and he is now waiting a transplant at Mayo Clinic. When he treated, it was with interferon/riba.

I see you are taking ribavirin, and figure most sides you might experience may come from riba. Low blood counts, irritablity and anger (riba rage), anxiety, insomnia, shortness of breath, fatigue are some of them. To help reduce the riba sides, drink 1/2 your body weight in oz. of water, per day. Also, eat a little something fatty when you take the riba. Themister found nut butter on crackers or toast to be enough to help.

What genotype and are you treating 12 weeks? Glad you found us. You are welcome here. Big Hugs

So I typed a post on Friday that disappeared into cyberspace when I got logged out of the hospital guest wifi. Pretty sure I had summed up the meaning of life in it before it disappeared.

Do recall suggesting that I did not think you were rambling in your reply to me and that the sides were worth enduring as the hep c had me feeling worse than I realized. But I did not have to endure ribaviron, just harvoni, along with keytruda that has nothing to do with hep c. Sleep has always been an issue for me, I know the challenge.

Sorry about the loss of your wife.

Barbara

Dear Mama Lama, Please don't get me wrong, I have not had a drink all year. My blood sugar is well under control and am on a high nutrient diet, (no sugar low carb and fish and veggie protein). As far as hepatic encephalopathy, which I had to read up on, seems to mimic the effects of Ribavirin. It seems that most cases are shown to have a certain degree of hepatic encephalopathy but I really don't know about me. Any in site you may have would be greatly appreciated. My main concern now is how well the Harvoni is working. I believe that half way through treatment I'll learn my viral load numbers and maybe then I'll feel better about all this. Well there I go rambling on about ME, How are you and Mike doing ? It's been raining to beat the band here in western PA and even my kitty Matilda seems a little depressed. Please repost to let me know how you guys are and thank you so much for your sincere concern. Best Wishes, Walt

Walt, are you by chance near Pittsburgh? That elusive grasp of the meaning of life...just when i think i have a glimmer i get knocked off my square. sigh.... Hospital stuff is serious stuff, details are in my thread.

Welcome WaltG stick around here and you will find a lot of your answers to your questions. Just ask away. We have to stick together. I will be starting Harvoni soon as soon as I can get my depression under control. Harvoni can cause some depression but I haven't heard anyone say that they got depressed. I have heard some were a bit down for just a while. It should go away from what I am told. Good Luck!!!

Hey Walt do you think the ribavirin is what is getting you down? Are you depressed or just a little down? I am a widower also its no fun when you are all alone! Its just me and my cat. The little bit of family I have don't come around to much if at all. I haven't seen my daughter since May and she only lives about 30 minutes away. Oh well guess she has her own life and I have to accept it doesn't really include me. Sad but true. The answer to your question is yes I take some anti-depressants have for years. I have always had a problem with depression and anxiety. Right now I am taking Seroquel and Wellbutrin. I was just given another one to add to these two and its called Anafranil...just started it last night. One of the side effects of that is headaches and as soon as I woke up I had a headache. My gastro dr. does not want me to start Harvoni (even though I have it here) until I get this depression under control because he did say it can cause depression. That's all I need. I was thinking about your situation being you keep saying you think that the Ribavirin is causing all the problems cant you ask your dr if you could go off of that? I will only be taking the Harvoni alone. I am glad they didn't add something else to it. Its worth a try to ask and tell him you know a lot of people just taking the Harvoni alone and do you really HAVE to take the Ribavirin. Are you just feeling down or do you have other side effects? Oh and if he says you have to take it ask why. You know that you really DONT have to take everything they tell you.Its your body. I have refused to take meds cause of side effects and I just say "I don't want to take that". Talk about rambling on sheesh I haven't stopped...lol Well let us know how everything is going and think about calling the dr and asking. Will be curious as to what he says if you do call. We are here for you so ramble on all you want!! Take Care!!

Yes I am in the burgh. Dorseyville road. Are you with the center for liver diseases?

I would suspect you are correct that it is the ribavirin that is causing you the most difficulty. The harvoni had me feeling like I had been hit by a truck at times and there is still fatigue but no rage or lability. In hindsight the 12 weeks went by very quickly.

Happy to have dodged the ribavirin, my delay in starting treatment took it off the table for my genotype.

Walt...Mike is 4 years post tp, 4 years cancer free (but for some pesky skin ones), 1.5 years Hep C free, 7 months post aortic valve replacement, plus post 2 huge incisionial hernia repairs and 3 rotator cuff repairs...but today he is in MA on a guys only week playing golf and parred the 3 par 5s on a rough course. I'd say the bloke is doing well.

ML