hep b positive, seeking knowledge

[Floyd111TN]

does baraclude 0.5 once daily treat hep b and possibly slow down the effects of cirrhosis ? Also, does anyone have advice for severe constipation ? Also is it normal to be nausiated on day 5 of treatment ?

[stef2011]

also consider etv+tnf if you dont get hbvdna und or very low by 4-6 motnhs and alt lower than 40 by 3-4 motnhs

to reverse or stop cirrhosis and prevent liver cancer this is a must, what is your cirrhosis score?

[stef2011]

no it is not but on cirrhosis patients with low liver function and especially on uncompensated cirrhosis severe lactic acidosis can develop and nausea might be lactic acidosis but it takes time to develop so 99% is not related to entecavir

be sure your doctor has planned regular lactic acidosis blood tests at least the first years because lactic acidosis can reach fatal levels in the blood with time, so blood tests for this are very important

i am also on cirrhosis and on etv 0.5mg daily, be aware that a combo to avoid resistnce on cirrhosis is vital since resistance can be fatal on cirrhosis.the best combo on cirrhosis is etv+tnf but off label because they will finish the biggest human trial on 2012 but many smaller trials have been made already and combo can have same sides as monotherapy, there were no sides on the combos

if you follow community i am on entecavir+nitazoxanide trial, i didnt started tnf because my researcher/doctor wants to use entecavir+staggered interferon to make hbsag negative
ntz lowered my hbsag 55% in the first 4 weeks, now i am close to 24weeks and if hbsag gets much lower than 1000iu/ml i will start tnf+etv+ntz combo if it stayes at about 2000iu/ml i will follow the researcher plan with interferon

[Sharp7]

Yes, baraclude does improve liver function.  Read http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_b/news/2010/0209_2010_a.html

Constipation? I quote from the medication guide for Baraclude, "The most common side effects of BARACLUDE are headache, tiredness, dizziness, and nausea. Less common side effects include diarrhea, indigestion, vomiting, sleepiness, and trouble sleeping."

Having said that, as far as I know, most people in this forum who use Baraclude, including me, have no side effects from it. These side effects are very rare.

In any case, do not stop using this medicine abruptly... otherwise the virus may flare-up and make things worse.

Do talk to your doc, and find out why exactly you have all these gastro-intestinal issues. Maybe it's not related to entecavir. If it is, you should probably slowly switch to tenofovir.