I'm not on VP. I did two treatments with ribavirin. The 2nd tx was solvaldi & ribavirin. My doc swore the riba acts differently without the interferon and the sides would not be there. Not true for me.

(oops sorry TBL just scored 2nd goal0

OK...as we age & bodies break down from years of hcv, previous treatment, & usual mileage - plus other medical conditions & medications - I believe our tolerance lessens.

How many weeks on VP? I hope you can remain focused that this is temporary, and hopefully a last hcv treatment! I hope all the sides melt away after you've recovered from the treatment. I've got a ways to go before I know what my next treatment will be. I'm so tired, I outta be feathered
lol

Thank you Trissa for your reply. I'm trying to power through it. If I could stay home and not work it would be a bit easier. (Or at least work from home). But I'm a High School music teacher and you MUST be on your game. One of my students told me yesterday, "Miss, you look really sick. You should go home..." - Cute, right? I feel as if my body can't take all of pharmaceuticals that I am currently taking. It feels toxic. It's a lot on my system... But I am hanging in there and hopefully it will be done before I know it...

I can relate. My body does not tolerate drugs. A 200 ibuprofen could get me through a train wreck. Your job is demanding, students need your attention. How sweet, they are sensitive to whats happening with you.
Get all the rest you possibly can! No scaling Mt Everest on the weekends!

I did not tolerate Riba very well at all. At the time, I was on triple, with 12 weeks of Incivek, followed by 36 more of Riba and Interferon. The Riba seemed to make me twitchy, I had a very hard time sleeping, and it made my Restless Leg Syndrome much worse.

You can get through this, but it will be hard. I came here almost every day to get or give support, it really helped.

Drink plenty of water, and try to eat right. I took melatonin to help me sleep, but you might want to check with your doc. Of course, the last thing you want is to take another pill, right?

Being someone who has had to adjust my multiple meds more than once, I can only suggest to either schedule a doctor's appt. or call to go over all of your current meds and then compare them against what is in the Viekira Pak. Once that is completed, check which meds may be too much to take with the new meds and which meds can be reduced in order to ease the struggle of all these meds one has to remember to take and during what times during the day & evening. You may also want to check you blood test results to notice if there are any potentially hazardous low or even high levels of nutrients and vitamins because taking so many different meds can easily cause vitamin deficiencies as well as dehydration. After you cover all of the bases thoroughly, you'll have a better understanding of your present health and make better choices with respect to your treatment options.

Hello drumwomen, I soo understand your misery as i to am on vikera pac and the riba. I have had many discussions with the pharmacist who gave me some helps with the insomnia. I take melatonin the kind you desolve under the tongue, and also l-triptaphan. I also have a prescription ativan for sleep which i only take no more then 3 times a week because it can be addicting.
I also am a relapser from the interferon and riba. So far i have been undetected after starting the v-pac+riba, but it is giving me lots of side effects like yours. I am going to hang in there with the 24 week program. I am on week 17.
Hang in there. I know it is hard. melatonin really helps me even during the day when i feel overwhelmed. I think the sides from the riba are just as bad with or without the interferon.
I know when you are done with this it will all be worth it.

Definitely be in contact with the Pharmacist at your Specialty Pharmacy that is supplying your meds. They can sort out multiple drug interactions better than doctors, and by phone, they tend to have more time to discuss your issues than at an in-person Phcy. (I'm on Sovaldi/Ribavirin and fatigue is the worst of it all for me; I have multiple herniations & lots of nerve pain in left arm - yes, it makes it worse, but it is temporary.)

Sleep problems can be addressed by adding Trazodone, safely on most of these meds, but do discuss with doctors. I read where we should not take Melatonin during treatment, & even when not on any Tx or without HepC, everyone taking melatonin should take a 2 week break from it after the 6th week (if taken nightly that long, etc).

I really empathize with your working thru this around children, yet that could help your spirits much more than my situation - all alone, in a new town, knowing no one, no phone contact with anyone, only my therapist (now every week until Tx is over in 7 more weeks). When I give in to the Fatigue & lie on my recliner binge-watching in this seemingly endless Coastal Pacific Fog here in So.OR, oy vey do I ever get the blues. Rest is important, yet more important is to do everything you can to keep proper food management in place. Your body needs the nutrients to combat many of these sides...

P.S. LOTS OF WATER, too!

I started 3tx 3weeks ago with Viekira and riba Was undected for 3months after 2tx I have the nausea and itching from riba right now Got to do 24 weeks Dont know if I going to last for 24

This is an old post. I wonder how "drumwoman" made out ? Good luck beyes8184 hang in there!

I have just stopped taking the Hep C Treatment with the V-Pac & Ribavirin 1200 Mg Day for 3 months. I am experiencing some strange side effects. Neuro. I have lost a lot of abilities to live my daily life. My ability to multi-talk, some of the words I type come out completely backwards. I still have crazy sweats that make me spell literally like "Lays" potato chips. My urine stinks, I am tired & feel like I cant get it together. I had some vision loss & a since of confusion / Lack of understanding. It also seems that things like my OCD & other similar issues have gotten WAY worse.

Please do not get me wrong. I am clear & free ( according to my blood work) from the virus & I am grateful but I am a bit scared as I thought some of these symptoms would stop. I have been off treatment now since OCT 17th.

I still at times have the chills, too. I feel like I just cant get 'with it'... I am a mother of 6. I have a ton of responsibility. I am really trying to enter back into everything slow & take baby steps but this is hard when I am a bit confused as to what I need to do to get myself back on top of my life.

I have very little info on how long this will last or if it is going to stay. I need some info & would be so happy if I can make contact with another to see what their effects after / Post medication was. How long? What were they? Am I normal?

I also experienced a very hard & high heart beat at 140 BPM resting. I would always have to excuse myself to get my heart rate to calm. I experienced a lot of confusion & the sweat from rest was like a slime. I felt like it " Glazed me" so to speak. I would stare at the shower & just freeze from it , not wanting to get in but feeling awful if I did not.

I would take my meds with about 30 ft grams of good fats, drink 2 qt of water with every regimen & run to bed so fast... then Pray to fall asleep before it kicked in. If I did not I would feel my heart beating so fast that I would really have to pull deep to focus, breath & go to sleep.

I would fall asleep if I did not position my head in a way where it was harder to hear the blood rushing through the veins in my neck & head. After I woke after praying myself asleep at these times, I would be bruised from head to toe making it hurt to even be touched. my body ached from my blood rushing SO FAST.. I was so scary. With hardly anyone to talk to that understood & feeling so bad I did not even want to ask... really I just dealt with it.


My ant-anxieties, it would boot right out of my system even making 105 Clonopin a month NON detectable in my system. Crazy HUH?

Never less.. I would love to communicate with someone or help another, whatever it may be..

For me, I do need to ask.." What is going on with me?"... I am SO happy I am better but where am I at at this moment? I need to know I can get back to normal & if I lost more than vision, I need to know what & where to start my healing..

Ange

People died or had to undergo liver transplantation after receiving Viekira Pak. I'd strongly suggest taking this information to a knowledgeable doctor and get thoroughly checked out. Good luck.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/10/22/after-patient-deaths-fda-warns-about-liver-damage-risk-of-hepatitis-c-medications/

Riba was rough, you have my sympathies. I did the ribavarin and interferon.

Glad to see I'm not the only person that is having side effects! Ithanks for making me feel normal. I was starting to think it was all just me that no one else was experiencing side effects