Victerilis side effects

I have been on victerilis for ten days and today I am so sick.  I doing triple treatment and today I am having terrilbe shortness of breath and my chest is feeling tight.  I am very chilled and body aches.  Has anyone else on this treatment had these side effects and what did your doctor advise.  I go see my doctor at the transplant center Friday.  Thanks so much.  

[can-do-man]

Might be a good ideal if you phone your doctor asap and let him know as he might want you to get a ekg done....... To me it sounds like you might becoming anemic, at least thats how i felt when i was on vic with the shortness of breath and tight chest.......... But really get checked out... Good luck

[beeblessed]

Hi there.  I agree with Can do.  Give your tx nurse and/or doctor a call asap tonight or tomorrow morning.  It sounds like you have Anemia.  This is the kind of thing they are monitoring for to keep you safe, so they do want to know.  As for the sick feeling from the VIC....it does hit pretty hard, especially in the beginning, but it will balance out.  In the meantime, try taking your different meds at least 30-45 minutes apart.  This gives your system more time to process meds separately.  You can also ask your doc for Zofran, but you may also feel all of the above because of Anemia and the "Flu-like symptoms" expected from tx.

Feel better soon!

[ranice]

Did the treatment work for you?  What did you doctor do to treat the anemia?  I did blood work today but my appointment is not till Friday but I will call in the morning to see if they can get my lab work.  I sure hope I don't have to quit treament if I am suffering from anemia.  Thanks for the suggestions.  I really appreciate it.

[working dog]

get a cbc blood test today...you have to watch your blood counts..your hgb is probably tanking...thats what happened to me...went from 15 to 9 in right at the start of tx...i didn't know what was going on....most of my tx was in the 8s...it wasn't easy...there are rescue drugs to help..and don't push it...take it easy...your pulse will probably go way up to make up for lack of oxygen in your blood..this is common but needs to be dealt with...see your doc today!!!you'll most likely be fine ...when you first tank it feels awful....billy

[can-do-man]

Yes the vic worked for me, being that i was a prior relapser and cirrhotic vic saved by butt. My doctor put me on procrit and that kept me on treatment without any dose reductions.

Being anemic is pretty common with treatment and very few ever have to stop treatment because of it. Just make sure your doctor stays on top of it and you will be fine......... Wishing you the best going forward.

[desrt]

The results from the CBC you had drawn yesterday should be ready by now. It generally only takes a couple hours to do that part of your bloodwork. If, in fact you are suffering from anemia, the doctor can either advise a decrease in the amount of riba you take, a shot of Procrit, or - in extreme cases - a transfusion. There's no reason they couldn't do any of those things today. You shouldn't have to wait till Friday.
Good luck with it.

[ranice]

Updating to my husband he went the the hospital today after reading so much great information.  They ended up admiting him.  he is scheduled to see a heart doctor in the morning for a stress test. He is stil short of breath and feels a bunch of tightness.  He had a epiosde two weeks ago and grabbed his chest.  I am praying there is no heart disease.  Maybe the triple treattment can produces chest pains.  Very scared.

[zedd]

Week 12 Vic triple. I occasionaly have tightness in my chest, got it checked out, all is fine. At my age, 42 and my health, not bad besides hcv and animia, my heart will handle it. My specialest said it is because animia makes the heart work harder to supply blood that has less oxygen. So it does produce chest pains and they will be able to tell if he can handle it. might have to take it easy till tx is over, but it is worth it.

[zedd]

10 days, so thats three days after iterferon if I got it right, right about the worst time for me too.

[rockymoe]

I  agree with all the others, I had a transfusion and got the hgb back up. Six weeks later back on Procrit. The nurse says the people on VIC seem to roller coaster.

[ranice]

Thanks everyone.  The heart doctor performed the stress test and said it is not his heart.  He felt it was a side effect from the meds.  We see the hep specialist in the morning.  So should we ask about a rescue drug?  

[can-do-man]

Glad to hear everything is all right. I think we all expected it but always best to get it checked out... As for a rescue drug like procrit that dependes on what his HGB is. I would push for it if it is at 10 or below. You two hang in there, wishing you both the best.

[ranice]

Hep doctor said his heg is 9.3 which is causing the shortness of breath.  They are going to do another CBC in two weeks.  Doctor thinks it is too soon for a rescue drug.  On a bright note he said he viral load is very very low.  So we are praying the triple treatment kicks the nasty virus.  Thanks for everything.  Will keep updating!  

[ranice]

Sorry typo that should say heb is 9.3

[nygirl7]

Doctor thinks its too early for a rescue drug...gah...ask the doctor what he thinks it feels like in reality to go from say 15 to 9 in ten days.  Yes, many of us here understand that and it's not pleasant at all, in fact it's absolutely horrible.

[karinleem]

Hi Ranice i am on the victrelis and i am going on 2 months of it 3 month total treatment now.Yes at first i had the same side effects even got so sick they came back up .But it does stop after about 6 weeks of being on the victrelis.But i was thinking i was having a heart attach .Only thing i dont like is my blood count is so low and what is not low is to high .My riba was redued from 1000 mg to 800mg my counts are WBC 1.9    RBC 2.96    HGB 9.0    HCT 29.2   MCHC 30.8    i dont go back to doc till feb 24th .But i was told doctor will do something befor he lets me die so i hope so I do know these counts will be lower by  then they been dropping since day 1 my riba has been redued now for over 3 weeks now and still dropping Good luck i hit undetected at 8 weeks i sure you will to if not yet. karin

[ranice]

That is what we were thinking.  But his doctor said be tough keep working it will keep your mind off the disease and treatment.  My husband is also a diabetic and his blood sugars are going crazy.  Somedays they are in the 70s and other days near 400.  He said he just feels terrible.  I feel for him and everyone on this treatment.  I know if it kicks the virus it is worth it.  Wishing everyone the best.  

[ranice]

Sorry you felt the same thing.  He described the pain and shortness of breath as a heart attack.  I am so glad his heart was checked.  I am so happy you hit undetected.  That is great news.  Hope everything continues to improve.  

[rockymoe]

I can tell when it drops under 10 I sart getting short of breath and muscle. I call the nurse and ask her to order a CBC. She called back and said Wow do you know your body! Sure enough it was 9.5.

[frijole]

did you say the doctor said his viral load was low?  You need to start getting copies of all of this testing.  If this was the VL test at week 8, after 4 weeks of victrelis it would have been better if it were UND.  What week was the test? Please give us his beginning vl, 4-week lead in VL and 8 week VL.

Your husband's doctor surprises me.  When the hemoglobin (HGB) drops that low, he should be getting weekly CBCs, not in two weeks.  If he does end up prescribing procit it takes is awhile to start working.  On me it takes about a month.  So he could potentially have hgb under 10 for over a month.  Mine has been in the 9s for 14 out of the last 18 weeks and I find it hard to work.  Dose reduction is not a good idea before you are UND so I really do suggest that you call the doctor and discuss a rescue drug with him.  And, by the way, how the hell did he take a stress test with hemoglobin that low?  I would have died!

frijole

[rockymoe]

I thought the same thing about the stress test I have to have my husband drop me at and grab the first cart to use as a walker.
I don't know how you can work with your job. I'm sick of working too, and I work from home. Hang in there hopfully we are all going to SVR!!!

[frijole]

rocky
Working has always been the deal-breaker for me.  I have always told my doctors I would quit treatment if I could not work.  I am just in a position that if I don't work, I may lose the work I have and end up with nothing.

However, I ended up with pnemonia (pneumonia) last week and that has really put a kink in work.  I have missed several days and worked halves the rest.  I thought I was going to die!

[rockymoe]

So sorry to hear about pnemonia (pneumonia) that's the last thing you need. Hope you feel bet. Hang in there like you said we have more tx time behind us than ahead of us. Praying with the angels for all our family on this forum!