Good luck Enkel – I look fwd to you starting to feel better.

My ‘consultant’ dismissed the pulsating heartbeat thing as ‘nothing to do with the liver’ But followed on with ‘We Are not concerned with symptoms’ and shut down the conversation. Mine Is in the liver area, Your theory would fit, but I do believe heart / BP should be checked when on tx, especially for those tx experienced, have carried the virus many years or have high fibro/cirrhosis and Of course those known with heart issues. Why not? It doesn’t take much and used to be part of basic observations for all things according to my friend and nurse of over 40 Yrs. Prevention is better than cure springs to mind, but hey, as they say ‘I am not a Doctor’

Edit : ps my previous lovely consultant checked heart, BP, eyes, réflexes, lungs, ears and abdomen -and noted in records – Good old fashioned ‘Dr-ing’ – It made me feel more confident in him and confidence in your Dr is a Great thing and can lessen stress. As my GP said ‘You need to have faith in those Who are treating you’ – I agree, it makes better relations for Dr & patients, has to be a good thing.

Bill,
Make sure you drink plenty of fluids, to the stage of ‘flushing’ your body by the evening. Seems to help.

G

At least 2-3 litres for me. But only other drink is coffee in mornings and no soft drinks etc

Melbourne has very pure water almost like rainwater, filtered through forest and very low gh & kh hardness.

Hi Jolie and thanks for replying, along with all the others who are offering their stories and advise. You are right, everyone experiences different effects from the virus and the meds. For me, I was lucky to live the last 30+ yrs with HCV almost symptom free, except for some recent pain over the last few years in the gall area and a feeling of swelling of the liver (which has disappeared since starting the meds) but I rarely felt unwell through the years even though my VL has been over 10 mil. Ive known about having the virus for 25 years and feel the way I have treated my body since finding out has helped me; diet, exercise and no alcohol. After reading the comments on this thread, especially the one from Enkel, I have come to realise that my sides may in fact be related to some nervous system issues which are probably caused by the virus and also possibly amplified by the meds. As I mentioned, in a lot of ways these symptoms Im having; palpitations, vibrations, anxiety, muscle twitches, etc, since starting treatment mirror the benzodiazepine withdrawals I had 10 years ago, which is a nervous system reaction. This occurred after only taking a very low dose of temazepam for a relatively short period of time. Doctors were surprized I was suffering so much for what I took. I now put that easy addiction down to possibly having a compromised NS from HCV to start with. I have also noticed over the years, an increasing sensitivity to stress, some foods and and most drugs. Sleep has also been a problem since starting tx and I’m sure it doesn’t help with the symptoms and the symptoms dont help with trying to sleep, a vicious circle. And even though I have been taking the occasional half dose of temazepam to deal with it, something I thought I would never go back to doing, Im very wary about doing so and dont wish to aggravate things with another benzo addiction. I’d rather do my best with meditation techniques most nights and just deal with not much sleep. I think the main thing is to keep your eyes on the prize and hopefully things will turn around again once treatment is over.

PS: GAJ, I have been drinking 3 liters of purified water every day. Any more and I feel I’ll spring a leak!

Thanks again to all who replied. It’s been a most informative thread for me.

Billy

Just a nurse. I won’t tell you how many years because it will make me sound old

So now you know your blood pressure is a little high but nothing to be concerned about. A blood pressure of 150 is not going to cause a stroke.
But I found you something that can help. The song that has in studies proven to lower blood pressure a little. Just don’t listen to it when you’re driving.

According to Scientists, This is The Most Relaxing Tune Ever Recorded

Here’s the 10 hour version in case you want to play it all night. It’s very relaxing…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKsEqFgKhoA

P

Its been great to read these posts. I too have a strong heart beat. It started around 2-3 weeks into treatment (Sof Dac). I can feel my heart beat very strongly its not beating fast but I feel it pumping away. It comes and goes during the day. Thats the only symptom. I had my BP taken at the clinic when I had my 4 week bloods done and it was the same as before tx. I didn’t mention it to the nurse at the time but at around week 5-6 I rang and mentioned it to her. She passed it on to my specialist and he suggested if I am concerned go to my GP as its not related to tx.

My feeling is that it is related to tx although I am not sure how. I am on week 8 today and have had broken sleep most of the time. My sleep has improved but still broken just not waking up as often. I figure that puts a stress on my body. Also I have a foreign drug in my body and that is impacting in many ways. I am hoping that the strong heart beat will go once I finish meds. I have decided not to go to GP. If my BP was noticeably high then it would have been picked up at 4 weeks test.

There is comfort knowing that others are experiencing this as well even if their symptoms vary from mine.

Hi Jolie

thank you for that information. I read the link you sent and it was very informative. I do eat eggs and fish but I haven’t eaten meat mainly because I just can’t stomach it. I suspect I may have candida which could also impact on the lack of Taurine. I have taken B complex vitamins for years and when I started treatment I stopped taking them. This could be the reason I have the strong heartbeat…I have 4 weeks on tx to go and I will start taking the B’s again just to see if there is any difference.

The information you have sent is really helpful. All the best for the New Year.