Anyone Had Hemoglobin <10 with Ribavirin?

[Leagh88]

I am almost through week 5 Ribavirin/Sovaldi. Week 6 starts Monday. I am geno 2 with a 12 week prescription. I have been und since week 2. Still und. I work all day and am getting mighty tired. When I take the Sovaldi at night with Ribavirin it kicks my a** and I am in bed by 7:30. Saw in latest tests that I am at 9.9 Hemoglobin, down from 12.0 two weeks ago. Anyone here experienced this kind of drop? I feel I can keep going. Dr appt Tuesday. Not really enjoying this much.

[flyinlynn]

I was taking Harvoni and Ribavirin 1200 mg /day 600 morning 600 night. I was checked every week and in 3 weeks my HGB dropped to 9.4 so my doctor had me dose reduce to 1000 mg/day and I stabilized at 10.1 so I was changed to once a month for testing and held stable at 10.1 for remainder of treatment. They told me the lowest they want to see is 10.0
Good luck on treatment
Lynn

[hepc4Sandi]

Have you tried drinking distilled or purified water? It is easier to drink, and goes through the body easier. It really will help if you can drink enough. Remember, half your body weight in ounces, 160 lbs = 80 oz of water, plus extra if you drink any caffeine or soda. I put mine in a drinking bittle with the amount wriiten on the side. Just take it as easy as you can, you are half way there, right? You can do this, it really is about getting through each day. Good luck!

[patra_]

Just always remember, we are here . . . . And we are your family too, also by blood - just in a different way: -)

[Leagh88]

  Thankyou for the information. I see the doctor on Tuesday, and was going to inquire about a reduction in the amount of Ribavirin. My basic metabolic panel is good. My body is trying to cope with the poisons, oops, I mean the medicines. I can only drink so much water, and I know it's not enough because I had severe leg cramps yesterday, and this morning. My calf locked up in full tightness just as I was getting up at 4:30. But my kidneys say "nope too much water and get the level to where they want it." I felt very good however at work until about 1/2 way through the day, then I get the racing heart when striding too fast. Better now after dinner. 'Nuff complaining from me. I AM so grateful to be healing, and I start week 6 on Monday. Thankyou for your support here. I am single,and my "family"is just too busy to be concerned. Best, Leagh

[hepc4Sandi]

As written above, it is very common when taking Ribavirin to have HM to fall below 10, it is one of the reasons our blood is monitored so closely while under Tx. Some physicians will adjust the Ribavirin dosage after the first month if it drops too low.

The Ribavirin is a red blood cell buster in addition to being a virus buster. The good news is that the HM is quick to respond when dosage is reduced. There is really nothing you can do to make a difference by diet, although I did add raisins and prunes to my diet, but do not take iron supplements.

My dosage was reduced after a month because I have afib, and my doc didn't want it to affect my heart. I did SVR too. So rest, eat a good diet, drink plenty of water, and be in coomunication with your doctor if you feel too weak.

Good luck!

Sandi

[patra_]

I, too, dropped down on RIBA.  I was on Sovaldi/Ribavirin for 24 weeks, also 600 mg am and 600mg pm.  I went down to 8.6 or 8.8 in the fifth week.  Being retired, I could just lay around or sit around all day, and, since that was my only side effect, I worked hard to talk my Dr into not lowering my RIBA - the first choice now, when someone goes below 10 is to lower the RIBA dosage - anyway, since I was a Gt3 over the 165 ideal weight, female past menopause, I didn't  want to take a chance.  Like Hepcandme, I had blood tests every 2 weeks.  It came back up to 9.1 in 2 weeks on its own, and to 9.5 in 3 or 4 weeks, which would put you at the end of your meds.  Within 3 weeks after finishing the meds, the Hmg was back up to 13:4, so please know it will not stay there.

As you are still working, please take precautions about walking, lifting, etc as the anemia makes you very weak, shaky, 'dizzy', if you get up, or move too fast. However, know that things should start getting a little better along, as a number of people on Sol/RIBA all had similar experiences.  

You reached UND early, and you are Gt2 so you might want to talk to your Dr about lowering your RIBA to 1000mg, per day, since you are working and may need to continue that.

BTW, I was in bed by 7:30 or 8:30 the whole 24 weeks, even when I felt better.  Those meds are strong medicine so your body needs rest.  I also laid down for an an hour or two (couldn't sleep in the day time - a change for me, but slept good at night) during the day.  Maybe you have a place you could nap on your lunch hour.

Do you have any sick or annual leave from work in case you get to where you feel like you need off for a while?  

There are lots of us on here who did the Sol/RIBA, so don't hesitate to ask about it.  And, the good news? You only have 7more weeks to go! : -)

Blessings,

Pat

[Leagh88]

Thanks for your reply. Right now I am on 600mg n the morning and 600mg at night with the sovaldi.I am glad to know that someone else has experienced this too. If I stay at ten it would be good. Just seven weeks left. Feel OK this am. Got to make my lunch and head out to work. Best, Leagh

[hepcandme]

Yes, it's a fairly normal side effect of this treatment regimen.
My HM went down to 10 and then stabilized and stayed at 10 for the rest of my treatment. It is something to be extremely cautious about because it can cause anemia, trip to ER, blood transfusion and makes you feel awful!

I took regular blood tests every 2 weeks because of this and others had their Riba reduced

How much Riba are you taking now?