Stef's Ribavirin & Sovaldi treatment log

Ok ok so after hours of working myself up about taking these meds, I finally downed the 2 Ribavirin pills after eating some oatmeal. Today is my first day of treatment and I know I'm not alone. The specialty pharmacy I got my meds from are very very helpful and they even have 24/7 support if I need to call someone in the middle of the night, which is what I'm worried about. I took my first dose at 10:30am and my next dose will be at 9pm. I'm going to take the sovaldi around dinner time. I plan on starting my morning meds a little earlier though. I pray that everything will be ok with NO side effects : ) I read on here yesterday that someone else was starting today as well. Now I'm going to keep myself occupied so I stop thinking about the pills I just took.

The pharmacy that I spoke to told me side effects take about a week before they appear. I'm just nervous about getting this medication into my system. I took the first dose so now I'm committed and no turning back now. Scared and excited at the same time.

You are not alone by any means! You sound just like me last week. I just knew I was going to have every single bad side effect known to science. After lots of research I saw I was way overthinking and headed for certain trouble. I was determined to have sides whether the pills caused them or not. I know it's easier said than done, but I just put my mindset to being virus free in a few weeks and dove right in. I started my treatment today and will be starting a log shortly. I had a couple very mild grumbles in the tummy right after I took the Sovaldi/Riba this morning, but it went away very quickly. I hope your treatment goes well, don't talk yourself into getting sick!! Just think how you will feel when you see your viral load dropping like a rock! I am euphoric just knowing these drugs are finally in my body doing their job! Never forget you are not alone! Expect the best, be ready for the worst, but don't put yourself in a panic, or your thinking may be the worst side effect you have. GOOD LUCK!!

Hope you rested as well as I did!! Dry mouth and the slight sensation of a headache are the only things I'm noticing so far. My fatigue is over shadowed by the excitement of finally curing this HCV and I feel full of energy.

 I know exactly how you feel and I hope you are starting to see it may not be as bad as what you thought afterall.

I saw you had contact with your spec pharm, but don't forget the makers of Sovaldi, Gilead Sciences, has a very good patient support system also. www.mysupportpath.com They have a medical team ready to help you. (855) 769-7284, press 2 for patients, then press 3 and it will connect you straight to a clinician. Using the Gilead support not only helps us patients, it helps them see what we are going through so they can add that info to their current files and help even more people in the future. 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!! Take those pills! Kill the Hepatitis dragon once and for all!!

 

I was surprised I slept very well last night. I have been drinking lots of water which caused me to get up in the middle of the night but went right back to sleep. I did notice the tummy grumbles like iplaycarvin did...like I was hungry. Felt like I was eating something all day but made sure it was healthy snacks. Yes I was all worked up about taking these meds but turned out not to bad for the first day. Getting ready to take my riba this morning...with food of course. I just feel better taking meds with food. Besides the dry mouth and the feeling of a headache coming on...I feel great : )

You sound much better today!! Good for you! I noticed that metallic taste after my Riba last night, but I never even associated it with the treatment. Besides drinking, I constantly sip water to keep my mouth moist. I keep raisins and sunflower seeds at all times to munch on. Drinking the extra water, my headache sensation is gone now.

If all we have is dry mouth, slight headache, and a metallic taste, I can deal with that no problem. My gosh I feel so sorry for some of these people truly fighting the illness, and the treatment as well.

HAVE A GREAT DAY STEFF!! We have made the biggest step, getting started. Now we just have to stick with it.

I had that feeling hungry thing once. Also, I learned the hard way about drinking too much water too late. Once or twice I must have woke up a dozen times :)
I slow down as night time approaches since that happened.
I also read somewhere that your not supposed to drink ridiculous amounts of water and that it can actually flush the Meds out of your system.
Pee is supposed to be at least slightly colored, not clear and nonstop all day and night.
Don't change what your doing based on my saying this, but I did come across a document that actually said that. If I find it again, I'll post it.

Here it is. It looks like a good document unless someone knows otherwise?
www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/SEM_water.pdf

So far so good. No complaints here. Today is day 3 and I would love it if I felt this good the remaining time. I read on other posts that people starting feeling tired around day 3. My sleep has been great. I know it sounds too good to be true. My monthly visitor just so happen to visit yesterday so those are the only side effects I'm dealing with at the moment. Yep those pretty much suck so I decided to stay home from work today. I wish everyone the best today.

I keep hearing about stomach cramps. Where in the stomach area is everyone feeling cramps and is anyone taking anything for them? The cramps I am experiencing right now are so painful and normally during my menstral cycle they r not this bad so I wasn't sure if it was from both. I had a little anxiety after taking the Sovaldi. Probably just working myself up. I wish there was someone I could call that has gone through this treatment before. My friends and family just don't understand or know what to say.

hi, i did the tx, 3 times. the ribavirin caused my anxiety to rise a half hour after taking them. this is normal. i took 5 riba pills daily. i would take 2 in the morning at 10;00am and 3 at night when going to bed at 10;00pm. i would sleep thru the night dose so i wouldnt have to deal the riba rage twice a day

new hep c patients read about horrific side effect stories, that scare the hell out of them. your body will adjust, and your v/l will plummet. in 4 weeks you will be on cruise control. tell your dr about your anxiety, he/she may want to help you with that. best to you,
barry

Sorry to hear of your troubles Stef. Sounds like panic attacks. I have very severe anxiety issues and know exactly what you are going through. You are way overthinking and searching for bad things to happen. This is day 4 for me and I'm not having any side effects anymore. I had some mild symptoms the first couple days, but they are all gone. I can't believe I had those pounding chest/sweaty palm nights all last week before I even started this treatment all for nothing. It is normal to be concerned, but honestly, the side effects for type 2b patients are very minimal. Out of 254 patients tested, only 23 of them had Hemoglobin drops below 10. NONE of them had any drastic Platelet, Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, or White Blood Cell count drops. Out of 256 patients, only 20 of them had Anemia. The main sides (effecting more than 25 people of 256) were: 92 had Fatigue, 64 had Headache, 46 had Nausea, 32 had Insomnia and 25 had Irritability. None of the patients developed Neutropenia. Rash occured in only 23/256 patients. Diarrhea in only 23 as well. These numbers prove the chances of bad sides for us are low. Compared to the Interferon patients, we truly have it made. I have charts and results from every Sovaldi trial I could find. It was the only way for me to quit having panic was for me to see the trial results for myself. After that, I was ready to jump right in and get this over.

 Have you considered getting a low dose benzodiazepine from your Doc? Just take it as needed until you finish this treatment. There is no sense in you suffering over something bad that may never happen.

GOOD LUCK AND HANG IN THERE!!

Stefie,

Think about this...liver failure is terrible. Without transplant, well...you get it.

Getting rid of Hepatitis is the goal.

Folks are having very high positive results with the new meds.

And so you have a few headaches...for a few weeks...and then you get to live a normal life!

Choose LIFE.

My partner has been SO VERY VERY ILL and now he has a chance. He is dancing to the pill jar every single day...yipee...there is a huge chance to be cured...take the pills!!!

Hugs,

Carol