Too much

I will be starting tx. this Friday. Is 1400 mgs. of Ribavirin too much to start off with?

[HCA]

You want to start off with the maximum ribavirin dose you can tolerate.
1400mg is a safe dose except possibly for very small light people.
It is better to start with a high dose and then reduce after the viral load becomes undetectable.
You have to keep an eye on your haemoglobin during treatment.

[FlGuy]

Probably not too much if you weigh in the neighborhood of 210- 235.

[newleaf09]

from http://www.drugs.com/pro/ribavirin.html:

               Peginterferon Alfa-2a and Ribavirin Tablet Dosing Recommendations

Genotype          Peginterferon alfa-2a Dose            Ribavirin Tablet Dose        Duration

Genotypes 1, 4        180 mcg                          < 75 kg = 1000 mg                 48 weeks
                                                                     ≥ 75 kg = 1200 mg                 48 weeks
Genotypes 2, 3 1      80 mcg                                            800 mg                 24 weeks

It looked a lot nicer as a table on-line but would not cut and paste that way.  Ribivirin dosages are weight-based.  Do whatever your doctor says.  If it is wildly different from the recs. above, then ask him why and he'll explain the reasoning.

[jdwithhcv]

Here's a study that demonstrates that weight-based dosage for genotypes 2 and 3 yields a better success rate than the 800 mg protocol.

http://www.natap.org/2008/HCV/032808_02.htm