TOPIC:

I am new here and started my generic Harvoni (Ledifos) today. I was going to take it at 9:00 after I ate but the alarm went off and so I took it in the middle of eating. I was wondering what other people ate. I was late eating because I cut my finger with the knife I was using to cut a banana. Now I'm worried about the knife I was using. Should I throw it out?

Hello Sunflower,

You can take Harvoni with our without food. The thing to avoid with it is antacids.

As far a the knife goes (or anything else that gets your blood on it) this could be infectious to both you or somebody else for up to 6 weeks (if they are cut by it). There is, however, no need to throw it out if you

a) Give it a good wash to get the visible blood off (which I presume you have already done)
b) Make up a 1 part bleach to 9 parts water solution then put the knife in this for at least 10 minutes - this will effectively kill any remaining traces of virus

Hi Sunflower,

Congratulations on starting your treatment. Your post reminded me that one of the many joys of being cured of HepC is not having to worry quite so much about my blood around other people!

During my treatment I just tried to eat a healthy, balanced diet with a bit of leeway for coffee and chocolate on the side. The Harvoni will do the heavy lifting but I felt that good food, exercise and water would help things along a little both mentally and physically.

I wish you well over the next few weeks and looking forward to hearing from you along the way.

Coral

Day 3! I feel kind of High. I feel quite good . I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.I woke up with a slight headache. Yesterday I did some weight lifting at the gym than went for a walk. Had to lie down when I got home. Got up and cleaned the house and did some laundry thought it was best just in case I fell bad this week. I was expecting to fell bad. I was hoping for a lack of apatite but no such luck. I have been waking up in the middle of the night boiling hot. Last night I had trouble getting back to sleep but I finally did. Wondering if anyone else takes something natural to sleep.

Hello Sunflower,

It's not unusual to be unsettled and "a bit flu like" when you start treatment. This relates to the viral death happening.

Keeping your fluid intake up can really help.

Ordinary analgesics like aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol (acetaminophen) can help with the headaches if fluids don't do the trick.

In terms of natural things for sleep real melatonin 2-6mg 1 hour before bed can help. Sunshine and daylight suppress melatonin so when it gets dark the levels rise and you get sleepy. Note that homoeopathic melatonin is unlikely to help as it just contains water so if you are going to use it get the real stuff. You can also use any of the routine sleeping tablets while on HCV medication.

Here is a blog post of mine on insomnia and how to treat it: fixhepc.com/blog/item/82-how-do-i-fix-my-insomnia.html

Hi Sunflower,
Yep drink a gallon of water all day long because yep it sweats out all night eh? That first week I was also up a lot at night and sweating like never before I was changing my t shirt around half a dozen times a night. I just left a fresh pile of T shirts on the end of my bed so as not to have to get up and further disrupt my sleep. A couple of water bottles beside the bed helped too. Bottles don’t spill when you’re groping around in the dark for the water haha. I was HCV free so very early in tx and I am sure it mostly sweated it’s ugly self out of me during the first week or so, things were really settled down after about week three or four I can’t quite remember it’s over two years ago but it will be on my blog Ariel Takes The Plunge if you can find it amongst the pages here.
Hoping these annoying but positive sounding sx go away soon and you’re sleeping well and not as dehydrated. I did keep my fluids up during the entire tx. I also never touch alcohol. Cut out coffee too that was another nasty whilst I was on Harvoni it also made me thirsty and I am a very light coffee drinker I treat it as a special reward lol!
Hang in there Sunflower and I hope you keep sharing your story with us. Here to cheer you on to the finish line
Sending you happies
Ariel

Sunflower wrote: Day 3! I have been waking up in the middle of the night boiling hot. Last night I had trouble getting back to sleep but I finally did. Wondering if anyone else takes something natural to sleep.

Glad to hear it's been fairly easy for you! I had an occasional headache and insomnia for a bit but the occasional headache and insomnia was gone within a week or two. As far as my tx with Harvoni, it was a walk in the park, except! I did have some pain throughout tx but that's b/c I had a broken leg and arm when I was younger, so I now have arthritis and I went through tx when I was 62 years old . I took Xanax to help me sleep but in the beginning it didn't help. Good luck to you, I think you'll be fine!!

Thank you all for your messages. Starting to feel a little better. Oh no its day light savings time,the clocks changed. What do I do with that. Take my pill an hour earlier? I have cut out all my supplements and was working on my herbal teas. I'm still drinking 2 cups of Tea first thing in the morning. Amazingly enough I'm sleeping 6 hours a night the last few nights.

Hi Sunflower Trying to post back it disappeared ha!
I’ll try again
Yep I checked that issue with my go to people from here Emilio and GAJ and yep just wean yourself forwards the hour is fine.
You sound great and sleeping enough. I had the awake thing too so do plenty it would seem but I found after tx that resolved fast.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon
Sending happies
Ariel

Hi Sunflower,

Taking the pills +/- 4 hours is fine. The important bit is the daily bit so don't worry about the daylight savings change - it makes no difference at all.

Hi everyone
I started SofoDac a month ago.
Going fine, no side effects at all.
Today I did blood tests and my AST and ALT still high.
AST - 66
ALT - 110
I'm dissapointed, expected it to be lower.
I'm going to do viral load tests, but have to wait 15 days for results.
Any thoughts, experiences.
Thank you

Hello Miodrag, and welcome to the forum. Do you exercise in the gym? Some activities, such as heavy exercising, can temporarily increase your ALT/AST levels. Please continue your treatment until the end, and let us know your viral load result after 15 days. At any rate, you shouldn't be disappointed, 75% of patients who are still detected at end of treatment, go on to reach SVR 12 (cure). The overall cure rate with Sof/Dac and other modern DAAs is about 95%, so the odds are very much on your side.

No, I'm not exercising, God forbid.
I'm just somehow dissapointed. Couple of days before starting the treatment my AST/ALT were 54/32. Now after one month of treatment they doubled. Don't know what to think.
Anyway I'll keep you posted. An hour ago I gave blood for the viral load test. Fifteen days or so. Patience is a virtue.
Thank you so much you replied so quickly.

Hello Miodrag-Tui,

Having your ALT triple on treatment is not normal and is not expected and does need urgent investigation.

1) What was the source of the medication?

2) Did you get checked for Hep B prior to commencing treatment?

Either of Hep B surface antibody positive OR Hep B core antibody negative mean you are either immune or never exposed. Often we just see Hep B surface Antigen done, and while this means no active Hep B at the time (if negative) it does not tell us if Chronic Hep B. In Asia chronic Hep B rates reach up to 10% so it is quite common.

Your Hep B surface Antigen should be done as a matter of some urgency as we do see the reactivation of Hep B in some patients treating their Hep C.

I have to tell you English is not my first language and I don't quite understand all this.
I didn't make Hep B tests, now I realise I should have done it.
It just happened because I've never experienced any problems with my liver.
In last couple of months I did four blood tests.
First AST/ALT were around 180/150
Second 200/180, I was under a lot of stress
After Christmas they dropped to 32/54, I was very happy. This is all before I started with SofoDac
January 2nd I started SofoDac treatment
Now first four weeks finished, I figured its time for tests. Somehow I expected it to be lower than 66/110.
I have to underline it's been a very stressful month, still is. Problems at work, etc.
I have a fatty liver.
So, please tell me, what happens if I make a Hep B test and it shows positive?
Thank you so much for your help and support.