Welcome Marco,

I too as you asked in your first post was very concerned about swallowing a pill that seemed to be huge and asked about many ways to do it. When push came to shove, I with a little bit of apprehension took a big gulp of water first to ready myself, put the pill far back and with my head tilted back a bit easily swallowed the pill. Now I am not concerned about taking larger pills, well ok, perhaps some of those Multivitamins that I should be taking that are the size of a finger ...

Keep us posted and I am glad you found a way to take yours. Water as you know, lots of it. I had both a Brita filter but drank most from a bottle. I had in my hallway, ten cases of 30 bottles each prior to starting. 500 ml each.  It is true that you will make a path between yourself and the nearest bathroom with all that hydration. I just made sure that if I was going out, I would not drink for awhile prior and catch up later as you have found out, when you gotta go, you gotta go with all that water.  

SF

Heya Marco,

so glad you are hydrating and eating well. It will make such a difference for your treatment, and recovery from treatment.

And I'm glad you being are able to swallow those miracle pills.

I know what you mean about needing a toilet beside the bed haha. Don't worry though, your body will hopefully get used to the extra hydration.

I use a Britta filter, I have quite a large one on the counter, but I keep 2 large pitchers (that I fill from it,) in the fridge because I too like cold water....and I bake a lot and one secret to good homemade tortillas and pastry is icy cold water.

carry on

A

Hey Marcos,

It will simplify responses to your posts if you would place the information you have now, in your signature. Look at others here and you'll see what we put up for review. Just basics will help. You can add and subtract info as needed. Thanks! 

Signature Line

Marcos,

Oops, I add to my correct my last post ... you DID previously say what your Fscore was! - you wrote "fibroF1" in one of your original posts. I forgot or missed that, scrolling way down I see you wrote it there - (that's where the sig line info comes in handy - easier). I had also skipped over Tig's reference to your F1 status. 

So, I should read twice and type once!

So, still the same questions I had below tho, except just wanting clarification on whether you did have fibroscan, and/or, what test(s) gave you your F1score.  C.

Hi Marcos,

Good job on working on the water and diet! I am sure these things do and will make such a dif. in how you feel on these powerful treatment drugs. 

Beg to differ (if I read you right) that you thought your ALT was withing normal limits - in my books, ALT should be less than 35 U/L. But go by the "normal reference range" your lab uses - their "normal" range should be written right beside your lab result.

We have seen in other countries/other labs, there can be dif. "normal reference ranges", and some use dif. "units of measure", but Canada and USA are mostly always fairly close. 

Agree tho, your ALT is not "highly" elevated. And your AST checks OK (being under 35 U/L), and your Alk. Phos. is within norms.

When you were being worked up and assessed for your HCV treatment, did your doc offer you a "fibroscan", to guage the hardness of your liver - which would have given you an "Fscore" number  - derived from a kPa measurement which is expressed in catagories of F1, F2, F3 or F4? (He may have just determined an Fscore for you by way of other means/blood lab formulas). I would inquire from him "what your Fscore is" and what test(s) he used to determine your score.

 In the last 6 months did you have an "ordinary" abdominal ultrasound as part of your assessment work-up, or have you just had the prior endoscopic U/S? I would ask him if you should have a fibroscan, and additionaly, an abd. U/S, if you have not had these.

Also, did you have your hep A/B immunity titres checked, to make sure your immunity levels were adequate. Worth confirming this with him, as your A/B immunity should be ensured to be at a certain minimum level. As well, ask about influenza and possibly pneumoccocal immunization, should your doc want you to be "up" on those too.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

Glad your doing OK!  C.

Hi from me too marcos!

Glad you are on your way!

Are you still having trouble getting the pills down? The others had some good advice to try, my tried and true was just making sure I took it with a BIG gulp of water, not just a tiny sip of water - i found tho, that after a short while of taking those big pills, that I just mustered through, and got used to having to swallow them after a little while.

And, don't forget, once you do get that pill down, to follow it, with a great BIG FULL glass of water!

If your breaktime (for eating/drinking) at work is limited and harried, then set up some avenues ... (like bringing your own "quick" healthier good- food eat things) AND your own water supply, bagged the night before, and brought with you for the work shift, so you can gobble on the run, and get the required amount of water in.

SO important, the water - if it is that hectic at work, and you ARE like so many these days with these Iphone alarms and such, then set your alarm to remind yourself to guzzle the "pre-determined" amounts of water you need to ingest periodically through-out your shift. Take your pre-prepared/pre-counted bottles of water with you, and ensure you do drink them.

At home, I made some ground rules, I have this nice water filter that makes our not-so-hot drinking water taste really quite nice!, (I did not rely on memory nor on using the tap, I pre-filled up a one gal jug of water with this good water (used an old empty cleaned out/sterilzed gal milk jug) kept it in the kitchen, on the counter, "in the way, and purposely in plain veiw" (never tucked out of sight), that one gal jug was what I had to finish, every day. I also kept "open" glasses of water, all over the house, where ever i spent time - in front of TV, beside the computer, beside the bed - it always reminded me to finish the glass, and then to immediately replenish it again, always leaving an open glass of water in front of me. An open glass is hard to ignore, and was always readily available, right beside me. I also made the rule, that first thing apon arising, that I had to finish a whole glass of water, before i was allowed to have my AM coffee. I also made myself have a glass of water before and after a meal. If I had to travel, I took my pre-measured water portions with me.

I was not a "natural" water drinker - and found these small tactical things helped me quite a bit. My only regret was that (in retrospect) I SHOULD have drank even more than what i did. It does, SO much, help prevent sides.

You know how critical it can be for your critter charges to be strategically hydrated for many important reasons, so treat yourself with no less tender loving care - they often turn out waaay more durable than we are! You have very good mandatory reason to ensure you are well hydrated (and well-nourished) during the next 12 weeks. 

Your job sound really interesting! I'm glad to meet you here. It may not feel like it right now, but I think you will find that the 12 weeks will pass quickly, so, set up your fail-safe water routine early and stick with it!  C.

If you are having troubles with your stomach try ginger. I take a ginger capsule and drink ginger tea every day and it does wonders. Observer mentioned yogurt and that will help as well. You wrote not having time at work for healthy eating, pack your own snacks to grab when you have the time between patients. (fruit, carrot slices, cracker with hummus, jerky, protein bars) 

Welcome

it's great that you are going to get rid of the dragon! We are so lucky these days with these wonderful new treatments.

If you have trouble swallowing pills, you could eat something easy (like yogurt) and pop the pill in while you're already in swallowing mode....yougurt, yogurt, yogurt with pill, yogurt...

Dont be too scared,  you're a warrior, a dragon slayer...you can do it!!  and you'll be so glad you did.

A

Texas Warriors!!  OOHRAH! 

<~~~~ Texas Boy.

WAS a 1a.

Did Harvoni.

I am not a 1a anymore. The cure was quite easy and I am honestly blessed... and so are you. ;)

JimmyK

Fear The Dragon..., for a minute... then kick his ass.

Actually, you have already put your name in your signature section. That's the area with information you see at the bottom of this post. My history and progress. It provides a quick reference when replying. I placed colored links in my signature that will open it, but here is the direct link: HERE

Thanks for the explanation on the endoscopy, that answers that!

I'm learning all this and on my phone but where is my signature? I'll check it out on computer later. My GI specialist found a "spot" last year  while doing an endoscope. I had complained of nausea, cramping, going back and forth between between soft stool and regular. That's why he did the initial scope. He believes it to be inflammation and not a mass but wants an endoscope yearly to check out size, see if it's still there, etc. Also he found gluten sensitivity. Ok back to drinking water.

Hi Marcos,

It sounds like you're quite busy saving the four legged among us! I can only imagine the stress a job like that could cause. I had a job years ago that required 12 hour shifts, 6PM to 6AM, 4 on 4 off. I grew to like it, but know that was about 40 years ago. If you're experiencing a lot of fatigue at work, can you cut back? I think you should give it a couple weeks to see how you're feeling on the medication. Some people get a real boost of energy and some sleep better than ever before. You may be the lucky one to get both!

I'm curious why you're having scheduled endoscopies and endoscopic ultrasounds. I see your fibrosis listed as F1, which is mild at worst, so there shouldn't be a problem with varicies. Is there? Any portal hypertension? The info you can share feeds our curiosity and helps to understand your current health status. You can add that info in your signature. That way it's available for easy reference in future posts. 

As far as tips, we've got several. I know that question will bring responses, all good. I can offer the suggestion to buy a daily medication container for your one daily pill. Then set an alarm and a reminder on your smartphone to remind you twice to take your pill. The drug container will be another source of confirmation. You can add checking it off on the calendar, too. Carry around a refillable water bottle, something insulated is nice. Take it with you everywhere! It's your new best friend! One gallon per day, minimum!!! Try to clean up your diet a little and your whole world will just feel better, especially your overstressed liver...

I leave you with an order to HYDRATE!! 

Hi Marcos,

I did Harvoni and and the sides were so much easier to deal with than the older treatments many of us tried and did not have success with. Tig is right....HYDRATE~! If you get bored with water, add fruit to it. Decaf tea is great too. Try to avoid processed foods and if you can exercise, do so. I too am in recovery and this is your next new beginning. You've got this!

wendy

Hi Marcos,

Welcome to the forum and our global family of Hep C warriors! I want to assure you that the treatment you are about to embark on is an easy one. The side effects you fear are negligible on these newest treatments, especially Harvoni. If you are reading the comments around the Internet on the side effects from older protocols, stop. The old treatments were longer, and far harsher than any of the new oral treatments.

We have many members that are experienced with the newest treatments and they will be along to welcome you and help put your mind at ease. You're part of the family here and we'll be here to support, advice and offer knowledgeable opinions. 

Feel free to ask questions, knowledge is power and you're in the right place for it. If you haven't used our search function at the top, try it. Use a keyword or two and you'll see a list of the sections here where we have discussed those topics. If you can't find something, ask and we'll try to locate the information for you. There isn't much hepatitis subject matter that hasn't been discussed.

Let me start by telling you most people do take a week or two to adjust to these medications. That doesn't mean you're going to suffer from anything, you won't! However, if you fail to drink a MINIMUM of one gallon of water per day, you will notice an increase in fatigue, headaches and the blahs. You MUST concentrate on a proper diet and hydration schedule. We have dozens of people that failed to properly hydrate and they did feel poorly as a result. So heed this advice and you'll feel far better for it.

If you haven't read our Harvoni Train thread, you should. It's an excellent place to see what others have gone through. There's plenty of first hand knowledge there. Provided by people that have or are going through the exact same thing. You can find that section HERE. 

If you could, tell us a little about yourself. If you could share your genotype, viral load, any blood testing you may have, like the ALT and AST for starters and your fibrosis level. Maybe you can just let us know what tests you've had and we'll take a look. It helps to know those things and helps us when replying. We place that in a brief format in our signature lines. You can see in mine the colored links that will help explain what I'm saying.

Take it easy and let me know if I can help. Don't worry, it's going to be easier than you think. I understand your anxiety, and we'll do our best to assure you that you have nothing to fear. These treatments are very effective and much, much easier on the body. You'll see! 

I'm new here. Starting Harvoni this evening. I'm kinda terrified. My mind focuses on the possible side effects and soon I'm thinking awful things. I don't know. I'm trying to keep in my mind the goal and how lucky I am but I am afraid/anxious. Also anyone else have trouble swallowing pills? Nice to meet yall. Marcos