Hep C Discussion Forum

S1jiujitsu · Member

RE: Harvoni treatment related fatigue

Tig · Admin

There you go Ron, Stormy speaks from actual experience on the same protocol. I also believe that you've got some good things going for you. Your Hgb is still acceptable, you're physically fit (albeit tired) and you're committed to beating this "thing" of ours. Just take it easy, and cruise to the finish. Let your body be your guide. You know what you can do and what you should put off until you're done. Don't be in a rush, one day at a time Brother, you'll be there before you know it. We're pulling for you!

Stormy · Veteran Member

I had mild fatigue before treatment, during harvoni treatment my platelets dropped, fatigue worsened. It was like a just hit a wall and I had to go down. I am two weeks end of treatment and am feeling stronger and fatigue is getting to pre-treatment level.

Stormy

S1jiujitsu · Member

Thank you. I will take your advice.. how long after treatment would be safe to resume? I only have 16 more days to go. Will the fatigue subside when I stop treatment?

Tig · Admin

Hi Ron,

Just want to give you a link to an explanation on LOW PLATELETS. It will describe it in a bit more detail. Notice in the article that you have a ways to go before I would be concerned that it's too low. That doesn't mean you should ignore the fact that it is low and it's likely due to treatment and HCV combined. As stated, it can lead to fatigue, but one concern with low platelet counts is diminished blood clotting. You don't want to play with sharp things and I certainly wouldn't want to have you take a blow to the body during your martial arts training. That could have serious results. As Scruffy mentioned, you've got plenty of time to train and instruct after you're done with treatment. Might be a good opportunity to supervise another instructor's teaching ability! If you start to see your Hgb drop, you'll likely experience additional fatigue. Don't push it. The time to rest and treat your body like the shrine it's meant to be, is now.

sirronalot · Member

Tig posted this after I talked about my Platelet count. It was 85 and normal is 140-400. My Platelets, Hemoglobin and Hematocrit have always been with in normal range until I started Harvoni. This what he had to say and it made since why I'm so fatigued all the time.

Hi Ron,

Often we see the Hgb drop on treatment secondary to anemia, but yours is hanging in just above the upper limits of normal. Not a problem imo. The Hct is the volume percentage of red blood cells, which seems consistent with the small Hgb elevation. As the Hgb drops, fatigue increases because the RBC's aren't able to transport oxygen to the cells as efficiently. More blood cell volume can equal higher Hgb. We often see platelet reductions on treatment. The MPV is also known as the Mean Platelet Volume. It tends to elevate as the platelet count drops.

You're just getting started and will see these numbers fluctuate, now and throughout treatment, it's expected. This is the reason our docs have us come in at regular intervals to monitor them. Not to worry!

Thanks Ron

Scruffy · Guru

Hiya Steve

I wasn't on the same tx as you but some advise. You have to trim back a bit. A lot of that energy you are used to using is needed by the meds to fight the virus. You have the rest of your life to train , work and school. You can't enjoy something if you have to push yourself to do it.

Good luck with your tx. :)

-- Edited by Scruffy on Sunday 7th of June 2015 08:35:30 PM

S1jiujitsu · Member

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure if the fatigue is actually from the harvon, a side effect from the hep c, or a combination of both. I know the fatigue is real. I don't think it's from my extracurricular activities because I've been doing that for the last 20 years. But it may be a little too much while on this powerful medicine. I was completely unaware I had hep c until a year ago. Just went in for some routine labs, lft's came back super elevated additional testing revealed I had it. I had been experiencing some mild fatigue before then. But I kinda went a little crazy. I freaked out. I googled it and read all the horrible side effects so my doctor dismissed it as anxiety but said that reaction was normal for people who find out that they have hep c. I'm grateful in less than 9 months I received my harvoni. I was a F1 with vl 247,000. At 2 weeks on the medicine I'm undetectable and my alt went from 198 to 29 and my ast 30. Since taking the harvoni the only real significant side effect has been the fatigue. I take my medicine between 4 am-6am in the morning and go back to sleep for another couple hours. With adequate rest I feel fine but if not then I feel fatigue especially in the first part of the day. I know everyone reacts differently. But I really just wanted to see if anyone else experiencing this while on the medicine and if this fatigue would go away upon completion of treatment. Thanks for the support and responses. I think it's cool to find a support group on here. Hopefully we can all support each other- God bless

KPB · Member

I only have 7 days taking Harvoni, but I have experienced that fatigue. Mostly in the morning, but I learned as the day went on I started feeling better. I believe that my side effects worsened because I became dehydrated while sleeping. So I started placing a glass of water on my night stand before bed, and when I wake in the night I drink. I am treating water as a prescription, and I make sure I drink it every 4 hours. This is working for me, and my side effects have been very minimal the last couple of days.

Yesterday I was able to swim a mile at the Y, and still went fishing with my son.

drink water my friend

Brian1412 · Guru

How do you know it is harvoni that was causing the fatigue? It is my experience that the fatique was in full force. Over a year before i knew i had hep c. It was like one day someone flipped a light switch. And my legs and arms had the weight of a mack truck. What i learned. From the great people here this time was most likey my body trying to clear the virus which will cause fatigue. This was a YEAR. before i ever knew i had hep c. But i knew someting was up. It was someone flipped the light switch Yesterday was 2 years to the day that i woke up from the scope they were doing because i had been extremely fatigued pale and clammy. I woke the next morning to have jet black stool and i knew what that was. I was bleeding interally. I woke up from the scope to the dr saying. You have. Hep c When they finally. Got geno and. Vl it was 25 million which i wS told was high. I finally. Get harvoni i remember tig telling me i will sleep like a baby. And i did. My first vl load blood at 2weeks was undetected. I vleared it that fast I guess my question. Is how do you know it is the med causing the fatigue? I saw one person say they do. Marshall arts multiple days a week which is cool but to say at the same time its a side effect of harvoni. I dont know. Maybe. Fatigue. Is because the med is doing its job while. Some are trying to maintain an agressive schedule? I did that last year almost to the day and i shouldnt have. I took the year off to address. And treat the hep and carefullywork with and work thru the treatment. The only issue i had was first pill i had a headache. Some days i had i felt tired but i had to understand. The med was fighting this nasty virus which is its purpose and we all know that even fighting a flu virus can wipe you out.its not the tylenol. I am not questioning how anyone feels, but i wonder if we should give more time for more info and study as to the effects. I mean its only been about 3 months when they began to widely. Make harvoni available to the masses.most. of the people before this time associate. Hep c treatment with interferon. Most not having a great experience we all know the difficult. Times people went thru. I cannot imagine. How hard THAT. Was. I would hate having someone passing. Up treating their hep c because of fear of the past treatment My. Opinion respectfully

S1jiujitsu · Member

Thank you so much for the response. Glad to know what I'm experiencing is normal! Happy to hear you're undetectable now too! I'm looking forward to finishing treatment and having energy again. Sincerely Steve

Tess · Senior Member

Hi Steven,

Keep the faith. During treatment there were some days when I had to drag myself out of bed. At those times the fatigue was very heavy. But then and now, 15 weeks after the end of treatment, I had/have times of high energy. Since ending treatment I haven't had any of that heavy-duty fatigue, and feelings of high energy seem to be coming more frequently.

Best of luck to you!

- Tess

fourlocos · Senior Member

Congrats on your treatment. It's great your pushing yourself along through it. I was very fatigued on Harvoni and I am about four months post treatment and still don't feel I have my old energy level back. I hope it returns though. I push along but have to admit my stamina isn't anywhere what it was prior to treatment.

S1jiujitsu · Member

Hi. I have genotype 1. I had a vl of 247,000 and was a F1. I started an 8 week course of harvoni. At just 2 weeks I was undetectable. My alt went from 198 to 29. I am so grateful for this wonder drug. I have experienced extreme fatigue while on treatment. I was wondering is this normal? And when treatment is over does your energy level increase? I haven't let it slow me down though. I push myself to train BRAZILIAN JiuJitsu 3-4 days a week, work, go to school, and have s family. But I'm hoping when treatment is over I get a surge in energy. Could anyone let me know if they experienced this?? Is fatigue normal side effect? And once treatment is over does your fatigue go away? Any help from you would be awesome

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