Doseage for ribavirin/ starting tx

[denigreg]

Hello all! It's me Denigreg. I'm back! Been putting tx off due to my sister's heatlth. Now I've been putting it off waiting for my daughter to come from NYC. Now I have meds just scared to start. My question is when my doc wrote the script I was 168 pds I quit drinking and lost weight now 153.  Is 1200 mg of ribavirin too much for my weight. I read that's the dose for 165 and over. What happens if you start out with too high of a dose? How soon do you know if it's too much?
Help

[Junebug812]

Congratulations on the weight loss and getting rid of alcohol! As flcyclist says, the sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish. I found the anxiety before tx was worse than tx. Well, ok, actually, I'm lying, but the anxiety was bad and I wish I would have started a little sooner as I originally planned because I'd be done by now! As for dosage, I'm 132 lbs and I am on 1000 mg Riba. I became anemic pretty fast and had to have procrit, but on the flip side, I was UND at 4 weeks.

Also, remember, tx is different for everyone. You might sail through it.

Good luck!
June

[flcyclist]

I was also finding very good reasons to put off the start of trt, each one pushed it back a week or two and gave me a small reprieve on the beginning of the unknown.  It also gave me more time think and worry about a whole spectrum of concerns during trt.  Finally, no more putting off - the sooner you start, the sooner its over,  week 4 of 48.  Wish I could say time is flying.  Someone says time slows on trt - I find that true so far.  

Regarding your Riba dose?  I'm 185 lb @ 1200mg/day.  Best to ask your doc for an opinion of your new weight.   You might continue to lose a little weight under trt.  

[nygirl7]

Oh yes and a very BIG congrats on quitting drinking and losing weight it's like you won a jackpot or soemthing ;)

You can do treatment dont worry if I could for 72 weeks and I am the BIGGEST baby......you can do it too.

Take two tylenol with your shots it will help offset any 'flu' symptoms....I never got that at all and credit it to the tylenol.

[Anne1717]

yup - kickin it hopefully - UND at 2 weeks

[spectda]

".dont you know the world revolves around us."
If only the rest of the world understood that :)

it's just that much of the data about optimal dose of weight based rbi is in kilos. I should have found the data and posted the thread but I have to run now and will post later.

I believe that 15 mg per kilo or more is most effective at least for geno 1 and 4 so Anne and Denigreg should be kicking some viral *** along with some red blood cells. I would want the higher dose also as you mentioned. Better to err on the side of too much at the beginning.
-Dave

[James10500]

Ribavirin dosage for dummies (that's me not you):

http://www.drugs.com/dosage/ribavirin.html

[Anne1717]

Hi Dave - No Procrit yet.  Yeah - feeling pretty lousy - the typical symptoms of low HGB, WBC, RBC, high Ferritin  - breathless, weak, shaky legs, bone pain.   My HGB was down to 9.5 then went back up to 10 but that was weeks ago.  I just had my 12 week blood test so we'll see what happens when the results come back.  Maybe I will get a dose reduction.  They said they were going to treat aggressively since I was acute.

The attitude is good though - thanks for asking and hope all is well with you

[denigreg]

Will - thanks for the butt kick :-) I'm goin for!!! Yes and I'm stocked up on water!
FIGuy - I'm waiting for doc's office to call me and yes I know once I start I'm not stopping till they tell me I'm done. I will not give up - just getting started is freaking me out!
Dave - huh? funny NYgirl :-0

[willbb]

  For you revolving Americans  1  kilo  =  2.2 lb.     we spell good tho...for "whawt" it"s worth  Deb

[nygirl7]

Dave you gotta remember us Americans have no idea whawt kilo's are.....dont you know the world revolves around us.

[spectda]

17.25 mg per kilo is your dose, a pretty hefty dose, but personally I would be happy to start high at the beginning. How often will you have blood labs?

Anne1717
you are at 19.45 mg per kilo are you anemic or taking procrit? I am not surprised to hear you are not feeling that great.

-Dave

[FlGuy]

I'd guess that the right dose for your weight should be 1000 mg per day but you should speak with the doc. Since you've been putting of the beginning of treatment you should realize that once you start you can't take breaks.  It's important to take every shot and every pill on time.  You should not take a week off for spring break, holiday weekend, friends wedding...Once you start, stick to it.

[willbb]

  we all are somewhat nervous to get started.:)  Just give yourself the shot   chase it with some Riba   and you are off to the races.

   There ...your butt has been kicked  :)   oh yeah...water.water  and then drink more water

Will

[denigreg]

Thank you! I'm just so afraid to do this! I need a big kcik in the butt to get me going.

[willbb]

  Because you are very close to the weight ,there shouild be no problem. As nygirl mentioned better to be too high than low,and if your Hgb. drops to the point you need to dose reduce a little it shouldn"t adversely affect results.

  Congrats on the  quitting drinking and .. getting started.on tx.

Will

[Anne1717]

Hi - I weigh 135 and am on the 1200 mg -  am basically handling it - lots of sides, bad blood,  but if it gets bad enough they will adjust.  they keep fairly close watch over you so don't worry and star in touch with the site to compare notes.

Best of luck

[denigreg]

Thank you for your quick response! Hope all is well :-)

[nygirl7]

Personally I'd rather have the riba too high rather than too low. It's crucial especially in the first 12 weeks.