Treatment Started. Help me regarding my diet

[thriller700]

First of all thanks to all my friends those who guided me in my previous question
specially nygirl7 and susan 400

===========================================

I am taking following treatment.

1) Interferon (weekly 3 injections)

2) tablets Ribavirin 400 mg (daily 3 tablets)

===========================================

Uptill now i have got 2 injections.  and got temperature also feeling some wear and tear in my body

Please guide me what should eat and what should not during this treatment????

Thanks a lot once again

I want to mention here that I did not go for any bio opsy

[epiphiny]

Glad the info was helpful! I thought it important to mention stuff like this as health proffesionals don't tell us about these things and it was only because I was on a trial that all the food restrictions came to light.  The other issue is smoking as apparently there is something in nicotine that inhibits the action of interferon.  It is possible to find scientific info about this (I think there might be something in the archives on MH).  What I found most interesting is that the things that were on the restictions list (including progesteron) were ALL thing that I had been consuming a lot of during my first tx or doing. For example for my whole first tx I took all my riba with a high fibre snack bar! And I was on a low fat diet! And I had fresh grapefruit every morning! I did a lot more research into non-repsonse and diet prior to my 2nd tx and I continued with the trial restriction all the way through my SOC when the trial finished.

Epi :)

[evangelin]

Thanks for that valuable information even though it is disturbing because Joe drank so much hot tea. He didn't drink tea the other two TX failures though, so it couldn't be entirely  responsible.  I tried so very hard to line things up in his favor last time and all I can say is "RATS!" Who would have thought black tea was a problem.
Ev

[epiphiny]

Yes I do, it was one of the restrictions of the trial that I did that ultimately proved succesful for me. On my first tx attempt I drank tea constantly all day. I have no scientific evidence to prove that all that tea could have been part of why I had no response however on my 2nd go-round I did not have any tea at all. It felt like a small sacrifice for a much greater outcome. I also adhered to all the suggestions I listed above.

I don't think milk would be contraindicated in any way.

Please bear in mind I am NOT a health professional and what I am saying is based on my personal experience only!

Epi :)

[evangelin]

I have never heard anything about black tea messing with riba absorption.  I thought I had heard all that kind of stuff.  Joe drank black tea in place of coffee during his last TX attempt because the acid in his beloved coffee just didn't agree with him at all while treating.  It makes me sick to think that tea was a no-no.
I remember reading that milk and tea stop a lot of the absorption of iron which makes it good if one has just eaten a hamburger but I never heard anything about black tea and Riba.
  I always worried a little about all the milk Joe drinks on TX because for him, it was a comfort food...kind of like ice cream was for NY girl. He still drinks lots of it.  
Of course,Joe required two shots of procrit a week and still had to get one transfusion so it must have been absorbed fairly well.  Joe's hgb has been low before even starting because of cirrhosis.  Most Dr.'s  have little, if any ,advice to give in this area.
  Do you remember where you heard this about black tea?
Ev

[epiphiny]

As well as thinking about what to eat it's also good to know what not to eat there are a few things that may impede the ribavirin absorption. The two that spring to mind are black teas and grapefruit juice.  Also good to limit excessively sugary food and drink and caffienated drinks such as coke. Keep coffe to 2 x 8 ounce cups per day. Don't eat high fibre foods with your Riba meal as there is a school of thought that suggests the riba will bind to the fibre and be expelled from your system too quickly. Very important to take the Riba with some healthy fats to keep it circulating. If you need to take fibre or antacids try to do so 2 hours before or after your riba.  Keep up your healthy water intake and good luck!!

[Diane12855]

I don't see any protein in your diet. You need protein for all kinds of things in your body. Either some sort of low fat meat, soy products or legumes and peanut butter.

Don't want to go through all of this and then be unhealthy because you didn't give your body what it needs.

[thriller700]

Thanks a lot

WriteItDown, Diane12855, newleaf09, portann, winner727 and nygirl7

It will help me a lot in my treatment.

============================

Presently my major food items include vegetable, fruits.  In fruits daily one apple and i am using water melon daily.  

250 gram milk daily

No Tea, No Sugar

And Wheat bread.

that's all

please guide is this is enough food for me??

U know most part of the day i feel hungry and thirsty lol.  so i continue to use fruits and water.

Now Its 3rd week of my treatment.

Thanks to all once again

[winner727]

for me it was a fatty snack such as avacado and peanut butter at riba time . not too much water untill thats in you for an hour or so ... then pound the water ! all day , cutting down around supper , or you will be making alot of trips during the night  . i went almost 50 % veggie & fruit . small meals during times when you have an appietite . low sugar to no sugar . low salt . &  your taste buds will change ,  letting you know what to eat .  did i say pound down the water ? oh yeah !        god luck  ,  bob  

[portann]

Loads of fabulous advice so far; I wish I had known all this so early on in my treatment.

I didn't take any vitamins during tx but think now I would have taken one daily multi-vitamin (without iron).

I ate what I wanted during tx but my biggest problem was that I didn't want to eat, which is hard to believe, unless you go through this. My husband was pretty shocked that CHOCOLATE turned me off, since I'm usually a chocoholic.

My eating was pretty crazy during tx and I went on binges the few times I did become hungry. One time, I was on a herring kick and honestly can't stand the stuff anymore.

Aside from making sure you drink water, have your riba with a reasonable amount of a healthy fat (a little avocado, peanut butter, etc.), and the fiber, etc. thing  that Diane mentioned, I would eat what you can, even if it ain't a model meal.

And you'll have to see how your weight changes. If you lose too much, make sure to check back for people's opinions about that.

Susan

[newleaf09]

Eat something with a little fat in it with your riba pills; will help the riba stay in your system.  A cookie, a spoon of peanut butter, a yogurt (regular, not non-fat), a spoon of ice cream.  I have read many places not to eat grapefruit as it interferes with the metabolism of one of the meds.  Other citrus is okay,

Eat whatever you can eat; there may be times when you aren't hungry but eat something healthy anyway.  Ditto on liquids; the meds are both very dehydrating and water will assist with a few of the more bothersome side effects like dry skin and headaches.  You'll still be dehydrated but trying to keep up with water intake will help a lot.

[Diane12855]

I have also been told to not take antacids or fiber at the same time as the ribavirin. You need to have 4 hours between taking them. Eat lots of fresh fruit and veges, and cut back on fats, except the good ones (mono saturated fats)

And like mentioned above... DRINK LOTS OF WATER.... like at least 80 oz. per day.

[WriteItDown]

Drink a lot of water! This is important. I think most people eat what they want, but you should eat something containing fat when you take the ribavirin.