also I am afraid to take my next doses which am supposed to take now.

I was told to have FOOD in my stomach before I took SOVALDI - that was in my instructional visit for the meds (Same ones, Sov/Riba).

If no food, yes you will get nausea....I never ate breakfast, but had to force myself too.

Headache is common with Sovaldi, but 1st week was the hardest, then it was easier..

I know that you are afraid to take next doses, which I think would be the Riba? I took Sovaldi in the morning with Riba.
I spaced my riba out as 2nd dose was 3 200mg pills. I took 2 Riba and then waited an hour before I took the 3rd. It helped me avoid that Riba Rush.

I was not given anything for nausea as if I took with food, no nausea. Tons of water definitely helped a lot and I don't mean other liquids (you can have those, but 6 bottles of water a day)

That is what got me through it. I took Advil even though I was advised not to use Advil or ibuprofen. Don't know why, but did tell doctor that I had to.

Hope any of this helps.

thank you so much, lovefall.
and fyi, I found out later in the day yesterday, I thought it was Thursday yesterday. so glad the nurse happened to tell me b/c my appt is tomorrow on Friday and I thought today was going to be Fridy.
as well as today (the REAL Thursday, lol) is my 'real' day six.
so about food.......I do actually take the Sovaldi with food. the way it has worked on, PER my pharmacy advice, is I take the Sov/Riba at noon-ish
which is right after eating my cereal.
and the second dose of Riba, I take at midnight as I am going to bed.
having had a snack not too long ago , as I read a book.
I appreciate so much any & all experiences and advice you tell me.
there are so many little catch phrases you all say that leaves me curious.
like you mentioned Riba Rush.
hmmmm
care to shed light on that ? :)
I notice I get major feelings of almost intoxication like.......with the daytime dose.
no idea of course, if it is the sovaldi or the ribavirin ; but since I hear the riba mentioned more often here, as far as side effects, I assume it to be the culprit.
I try to move around, drink water and get things accomplished after that noon time dosing but I always end up having to sleep or at least lay down,
and I don't feel like I really have a choice in the matter.
the doctor actually did call my pharmacy for nausea med, which makes me feel better knowing I have it. I may not need to use it......but I just like having it there .

oh and the doctor told me as far as that headache......to take tylenol.....(yea , I know) and that if I need to , I could take a small amount of advil or motrin.
I asked out of curiosity why a small amount, and the nurse told me , because you have nausea and it is irritating to the stomach.

as I told her I normally take a lot of Motrin anyway, for my RA, but I did not know if I should still take it now...so I had not been , in the past week.
but after our talk, I went ahead and took motrin and it was not a small amount. it helped. but I had to do that after tummy felt better.

she also told me to eat throughout the day small snacks.

so, your second daily dose of Riba was 3200 mg ?? holy smokes !
that is a lot. is that a common dose? mine is 600mg, twice a day....I think.
I notice you were on the interferon 2 times ?

so , assuming you were difficult to respond and that is why so much / not trying to pry.
thank you so much !
I cn't wait to see doc tomorrow !! it will be my first time to see him to find out about my scans, and current BW and tx questions..

Awww ThisToo so sorry you are having so many side effects and not feeling good. I saw a lot of your previous posts where you were petrified to start the Harvoni. I can definetly relate. I am so scared it isn't funny especially when you read here about all the side effects. I know that people say that interferon treatment was hell but this one don't seem to be that great either. And YES I know how bad the other treatment was( even though I never did it) because everybody talks about it non-stop. And then the fact that you can be undetected and 3 months later have the Hep C back. That is crazy!! So let us know how your dr. appt. went today cant wait to hear! Take care of yourself!!

thank you , Trixie for the support. I am actually not on Harvoni, though...it is Sovaldi and Ribavirin .
computer acting silly so I need to finish up here but I appreciate your comment.

Sorry - the full amount of Riba I took was 1200 per day or 600mg twice a day.
My Riba came in 200mg tablets, so i was able to space them as I did get was I call the "Riba Rush". I felt full of anxiety, would snap & sometimes scream at my Hubby. My heart & head would pound.
Then it would settle down.....

that is why I started spacing the Riba out to avoid that "Rage" or rush.

The biggest complaint of many people was headaches from the Sovaldi.
I normally get headaches very easily, so I was very surprised that
I didn't have a headache all the time.

It is not easy, but since I did attempt interfeuron old treatment 2 days in the past, this was much easier. That was horrible - no other words to describe it.

Hope it gets better for you....I mixed up days too & still do!!

The sides vary with each person. I'm sorry its kicking you right now and hope it gets better. We don't like to scare people off treatment with our horror stories before somebody begins therapy. But we need to share our experience when you are going through the same things.

I couldn't complete my treatment of solvaldi & ribavirin because of the sides, I got through 12 weeks only, even though the ribavirin dose was reduced. Previously on interferon & ribavirin, they had to pull me off because of sides causing medical issues.

Its early yet. If you learn that what you are going through is normal for some people, I hope you can keep going. You may need a dosage adjustment. Be sure to talk with your doctor ...and...good luck :)

Those first 3 weeks were the hardest for me (on 1,000mg/dayRiba & 400mg/day Sovaldi) Genotype 2b. No Cirrhosis.

Eating very healthy, whole foods and drinking plenty of water is very key to reducing side effects.

My doc said with or without food wouldn't matter, but that might've been since I don't have Cirrhosis. I have only gotten nauseated one time, about 6 weeks into Treatment, but was able to just keep spitting out that water that collects in the mouth and focus my mind on "I will not puke up this dose! I can't afford to puke this up!" It took about 5 minutes & it passed with no puking.

I was also told to be sure to take exactly as prescribed, 12 hours apart, no other spacing in my case. They lowered my Riba from 1,000 per day down to 800 mg per day after I dropped below 142 lbs last week.

Still fatigued, esp. when it's hot (not too often where I live, thankfully). Just don't push yourself too hard - this is your time to heal. Meditative music, walking or some form of moderately mild exercise helps, too. And when anxious, take deep belly breaths in thru the nose, exhale thru the mouth very deep into your diaphragm (so that you belly pushes out, not your chest, very slow - 3 times - and that usually will calm most of us down.

Besides hydrating the insides, be sure to get some Eucerin Colloidal Oatmeal (it says for Eczema-prone skin on the label & costs upwards of $12, but very worth it), and also some Vitamin A capsules (very cheap), in case you develop a skin rash. For some reason, I developed "Chicken Skin" about 4 weeks ago (at week 5), and I tried what my primary doc suggested & was allergic (Amlactin), so I usually do the all-natural approach to most stuff, and the Eucerin Colloidal Oatmeal works best, even for the itching. The vitamin A caps, you pop open (I used a sewing machine needle to pierce one end of them) and sqeeze the oil onto affected area, rub in really good, then rub on a bit of the Eucerin overtop of that, so it covers the oil & won't ruin clothes.

Also, to relieve itching, get some Aveno Colloidal Oatmeal for warm baths (not real hot). That's very soothing & hydrating for the skin. I've never had dry skin, until these meds. Benedryl can be taken, and I do at bedtime only, cuz these meds will mess with your sleep.

I was scared "whitless" when I started, and I'm down to 3 more weeks and 2 days to go! Already cured at the 4 week mark - totally undetected, so I'm just going about daily life doing what I can, when I can. I

As stressful situations arise, and they will, Riba-Rage will become something to deal with, so my Therapist put me on Valium 5mg 1x/day for that, usually at 7pm or at bedtime. I also use a whole lot of natural nutritional supplements, the list I provided somewhere here the other day on a thread of its own.

Best to you during this time of healing in your life!

Hi ThisToo
I started sov/riba on tuesday so only 4 days so far ..I have to say after the riba tx this is way easier ..
I was told for headaches I could take up to 4 extra strength tylenol(NO more) for real bad headaches I have felt the rush/buzz and it has to be the sovaldi as I do NOT get it at night wih the riba only ..Im itchy a bit
but I have itched for years ..I do seem to sun burn rather easily since tuesday ..So I asked and it is the riba ..I have to use mega sunscreen 3-4 times a day ..ah well
I am doing fine really and waiting for all these terrible sides to kick in and praying that they won't .. It took aweek or to last time on the ols soc
Sorry to hear you are having such a hard tme ..I can pray for you if that khelps

Feel better .. it will be soooo worth it

Jan

@Jan: I was told to stay COMPLETELY OUT OF THE SUN!!

I missed the entire summer last year as I could NOT be in the sun.

My doc saw some minor suntan on my arm and you should have seen the look on his face....I have to convince him it was "accidental" and it was at my MIL's Memorial Service.

I guess that can do a lot of damage with the new treatment as I took exactly what you do SOV/Riba....

I am not a doctor - but really missed the sun!!

thanks so much all of you. I can't say all I want right now.......I need to leave to get my first BW of tx..
so much to say but overall , feeling slightly better than at first. I have actual moments of 'not too bad' but then when walking my dog (no choice on that) , or even talking to someone...........I start feeling low, weak and peckish as the Brits say.
a nurse from my insurance company called me yesterday to see how I am doing ! anyone else have that happen ?

well I will say more next time. I do think weather is a factor. I am the opposite of Lovefall. I do not like the sun and I do not like summer.
I used to , but too many years living in sunny southern California has me wishing for cool invigorating breezes and especially shade !

Shade is really hard to come by in the city here. and now there is no grass either.
vent over

i was on pegasas for a year,got fired,had doctor rest of treatment for me,moved from fargo nd to kokomo in,put medicine on ice,took a while but finally found job,had to wait till treatment was done,could not sleep,hallucinating,haveing crazy thoughts,soooooo tired,it worked im cured,i here things 10 minutes after,also see things like street lights 10 minutes latter,like delaid reaction,i twitch mildly,mild brain damage im sure,small price to pay,im alive,my fibrosis was on a scale of 3,4 of coarse is cancer,im really lucky to be alive,its hard i know,let me re-word,ITS HELL,you can do this my friend,dont give up,be strong,my thoughts and prayers are with you

I am sorry to hear you are struggling with the sides ..I am beginning to think I am taking a placebo ...LOL???
I have had nausea once and some headaches I do get a rush in the AM and go all day till about 6.00 then i am tired .I was expecting so many sides but I dont know what is going on ..I actually feel better than before starting ..???I am trying not to worry that it is not working at all

..I cant avoid sun ..I cant hibernate inside it would drive me crazy .so my 60+ sunblock and hat works well and i sit in the shade when I can ,outside .
I am having water retention problems in my legs and had to have an echo cardiogram today just to see it could just be the heat tho.I still have pain in left side a lot but it is always there .
Did any one have a good first few weeks and then as the riba builds up the sides get worse ??? I ddo blood work wednesday .. 2 weeks 1 dayafter starting

This too we are in this together so I know we can do this I had awful sides in the dreaded Interferon/riba so was expectiong way worse I do yoga ,swimming and mindfulness which helps with the anxiety .. I can't sleep tho....