Hepatitis C Support Group

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.

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advice

vabuttafly
vabuttafly
I know many of you have experienced treatment with Ribavirin. I was wondering if you all could tell me what side effects you experienced? Also, do you have any tips on what to do to prevent or lessen the side effects. I know a lot of you have said water, water, water! All advice is much appreciated!
WarriorGal
WarriorGal
On 1200 mgs I had;

- Insomina - was prescribed sleeping meds
- Nausea and vomiting - was given anti-nausea meds
-Shortness of breath and anemia - got a dose reduction and that stopped.
- severe sun sensitivity - was given 100 spf sunscreen
- moodiness, riba rage - both are common side effects
deleted_user
deleted_user
Here's a great page for any side effects you may experience. http://www.hepcsurvivalguide.org/comboguide.htm#-N-
Absolutely, drink a lot of water. I think we all get different side effects, to a lesser or greater degree. But water is a main thing that will help. Of course Take the Ribavirin with FOOD and not too close to bedtime. And I was reading that if your food that you take the ribavirin with has a little fat in it, it improves the absorption. A study showed 45% absorption without fat in the food, 75% withhttp://www.news-medical.net/health/Ribavirin-Pharmacokinetics.aspx. This time around I'm aiming for better absorption so I'm taking my ribavirin with food that has some fat in it. The nutrition labels on food help with that.
My sides have been some fatigue, NAUSEA that comes and goes, and some lightheadedness and shortness of breath. Ribavirin can cause anemia so you will have to have your blood checked regularly. Your side effects may vary, you may have none, the same, or more. Oh yes, like WarriorGal said moodiness and riba rage..almost forgot about that!! Mood swings and Irratibility and wanting to kick the $%&@ out of some people! (facebook rants jump an average of 100% for me :-))
allaboutliving
allaboutliving
I had severe anemia both times I did tx which required Neupogen shots to help bring up the blood count. The neupogen works with the bone marrow & it caused some severe pain at times. Nothing that wasn't manageable with my docs help. The shortness of breath was unexpected & troubling though. Sensitivity to light so driving at night was difficult, I got those yellow night sunglasses to try & cut the glare if I had to be out late. Fatigued but had insomnia so I kind of felt "zombie" like. I would describe it as general flu-like symptoms overall. I was on anti-depressants, Xanax, Ambien, Oxycodone for severe pain & Tramadol for mild pain & I took some form of ginger for nausea. I drank a lot of water but also added a powerade drink to the mix to replace lost electrolytes from all that flushing of my system.