HCV Tx and Indigestion

I'm at week 7 and have had some indigestion, even when I hadn't eaten. Food no longer has any taste, so I make myself eat. The first few weeks were tough, but now things have gotten better. As it turns out, I'm on the diarrhea side of the road, though it isn't that severe. Why not eat prunes or apricots for taste, they're healthy and they might take care of your constipation. This is my second time doing the interferon/ribavirin therapy.

I did the cocktail in 2004 (48 weeks) and was clear from the third month until three months after the 48 week treatment. A couple of weeks after my last checkup, I had a cerebral hemorrhage and spent a week in the hospital and another in rehab. All seemed well after that. A week later, I had a seizure that put me back in the hospital for 3 weeks and then 4 weeks of rehab. The first two days after the seizure, my liver began to fail from the trauma of the brain exploding. Later on, my mother and girlfriend told me that for the first couple of days the doctors weren't sure I'd make it. I got into the transplant program a few months later and in 2009, received a transplant. A year after the transplant, the Hep C made an appearance and here I am, on the program once again. I have found that melons, such as honeydew go down easily. I would try prunes or apricots and see if they help. Either way, they're good for you and they taste like candy. Another thing to try is a stool softener. It's a gentle nudge, as opposed to laxatives. Be well.

Hey there,

I don't know if these are ever prescribed for folks in your situtation (or if they are contraindicated for the treatments) but have your docs ever mentioned anything about a proton pump inhibitor?  Something like Prevacid, Aciphex or Protonix?  They help protect stomach lining against meds like pred that cause irritation by reducing acid production.  Maybe it's something worth asking about...

I will check out the proton pump inhibitor.....I feel pretty good today so maybe it was just a stage I had to go through....now on to the depression! LOL

That one week when I had constant indigestion, I drank baking soda, guzzeled pepto bismol and chewed Tums to no avail....the last thing I thought of was to ask my doctor.....I was afraid she'd say not to take that stuff and I was miserable! Finally I started Prolisec but I don't want to take another pill every day and I would think that getting rid of stomach acids will eventually do more harm than good.

I, too, think my side effects are more from the Ribavirin. I do not have flu like symptoms.  I mostly suffer from headaches and indigestion and its not related to when I take my shot of interferon. If I stay hydrated, I can keep the headaches at bay.

Thanks David. Yes, the soda in those drinks helps but I was drinking straight soda and not touching it! Straight baking soda, something that should have immediately neutralized the acid. I basically do not ask MDs anything about nutrition and digestion since they know nothing about nutrition and all they do for digestion is prescribe drugs that usually make things worse. I am just glad that the past few days have been better, I'm hoping its a trend.