Ribiviran

I am on treatment--pegasys and riba.  My riba prescription is for 200 mg.  Did my doc make a mist take?  Isn' t it suppose to be 1800 or 2000 mg.?

[meki]

200 mg per pill - usually 2 pills in the am and 2 in pm...

How long have you been on?

And check with your pharmacist - they may have mistakenly written the dosage out.

However - your doc may have prescribed an especially low dosage for you based on your reaction, weight, etc.

What Genotype - viral load - etc?

Meki

[jmjm530]

In general, genotype 1's take 1000-1200 mg/day of ribavirn a day which work out to 5-6 200 mg pills a day. Since ribavirin is weight-based for gentotype 1's, sometimes you might be prescribed as low as 800 mg (4 pills) or more than 1200 mg/day.

For genotype 2's and 3's, the old thinking was to flat dose it at 800 mg (4 pills) per day, but now many doctors  weight-base it, like with genotype 1's.

The only reason I can think of that you would be taking only 200mg/day of ribavirin is if your kidneys were signficantly imparired, such as someone on dialysis.

It is very important that you take the correct amount of ribavirin, so make sure to check with both your doctor and pharmacist. I'm guessing that the 200mg/day is a mistake -- either on your part, the pharmacy, or the doctor -- but if that's what they want you to take, then ask them specifically why such a low dose.

Are you sure the bottle doesn't tell you how many pills to take a day?

All the best,

-- Jim

[meki]

Nah Jim it says "drink me" on it... *GRIN*

Just joshing and throwin' some humour in this thread. Hugs to all!

[debnevada]

although it would be funnier still if the pill said....well....."eat me" on it.

Before MEDHELP yells at me, please read Alice...I'm not being naughty.....

am i?

[debnevada]

Resourceful: Seriously, not to make light but we all ...i think "we all" take multiple 200 mgs ribas per day.  I personally take seven of them a day.

deb

[meki]

LMAO!

Nah - yer not.

[Jesser]

I am pretty sure that each ribaviron pill is 200mg and your doctor takes your weight to
determine how many pills you take each am & pm. Jesser

[Jesser]

also, forgot I think doses are more like 1000mg to 1200mg per day...not
1800mg to 2000mg...that's why your body weight is a factor. Jesser

[jmjm530]

Resource: Did my doc make a mistake?
-----------------------------------------------------------

You've gotten some good suggestions, but in direct answer to your question, above -- yes, this wouldn't be the first time that a doctor or their staff (or a pharmacy) has made a mistake.

It's therefore very important that you take the time to verify exactly how much ribavirin you were prescribed and how much you received from the pharmacy. And, as stated before,  if it turns out that you were prescribed only 200 mg/day of ribavirin, then the next step would be to ask your doctor why such a low dose.

-- Jim

[FlGuy]

Yup, check the bottle and the doc's instructions.  There is one other possibility.  Riba can also come in 400 and 600 mg doses  (although most people have the 200 mg variety).  So, look at the dosage of the pill and the frequency of taking them.  If your doc says take two a day and they are 400 or 600 mg - you're probably ok.

[resourceful]

I figured things out.  Each pill is 200mg and I am required to take five pills per day.  Sorry for the panic.  

I am 1A. 250,000 vl, stage 1.