When doing tx, did you notice that a schedule change affected sx?

I already posted about how rotten I felt Tuesday. I'm feeling better... stomach still looks like I'm carrying a baby very high up, but I was thinking about Tuesday morning. I had to get up at 3:00AM to take my 2 kids to the airport,(my wonderful sister in FL is going to keep them all summer for me) had my normal cup of coffee, then made sure I took 20 oz of water with me because I knew I wouldn't be back before 7:00. Didn't have breakfast and take my pills until 7:30... which is my normal time. It wasn't long after that that the nausea started along with sharp stomach pains and a horrible churning that didn't stop all day.

Did anyone else ever notice that when you did something so different from normal that your sx got worse? If so, I'm going to guard my schedule like a momma bear from now on.  GGGRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

[portann]

Diane,

I see that you said your "stomach still looks like I'm carrying a baby very high up".

I think this is something to check out with your doc TODAY (okay, maybe tomorrow). It could be unrelated to tx. You're a stage two, right? So this wouldn't be ascites...anyway, just thinking aloud here but  why don't you give him a shout and inform him.

Since you kept to your usual med schedule, it could be the ups and downs of treatment, along with the extra mental stuff of seeing the kids off for the entire summer. Nice move, though.... now you won't have to worry about how you'll cope with a couple of rambunctious kids in the house over the summer and they'll be well-looked after by your sister.

As for food, I got so particular about what I ate that my husband couldn't keep up with how I'd crave one thing one day and get grossed out by it the next. And chocolate turned me off during most of tx, which is almost sacrilege, since I'm a chocoholic.

So stay flexible about food and eat what you can, as long as it's adequate. I'd take a multi-vitamin (no iron) if I had to do it again but I didn't.

TTYL

[Trinity4]

No.  Treatment is what is and I always just rolled with it.  I'm not much of a control freak and never gave it that much thought. After a couple months into treatment nothing had any rhyme or reason to it anyway.

The best laid plans of mice and men........

Trinity

[carol411]

Diane,

I'm happy to hear you are feeling better.

[carol411]

Oh, I don't think twenty ounces of water for four hours is enough.  I'm drinking at least a gallon a day and if I spread it out too far, or go too long without, I definitely feel worse.

[nygirl7]

Didn't have breakfast and take my pills until 7:30"

You have to eat with the riba therein is a big part of what happened to you and why you felt so rotten.  I started buying yogurt smoothies so at least if I was in a rush I could drink that in the car and take my pills with that.  You should be eating something with fat in it anyway for the riba to bind to but when you don't eat at all the naseau is much worse.

Plus getting up so early probably taxed your body. Add all the things together and it might be the culprit.

Basically as Trinity said though on treatment you just have to roll with what comes.  It's very normal to feel like garbage unfortunately but you have to do what you do. Try to think well I feel bad but at least I know it's because of the meds that are saving my life.  Any positivity that you can find to use to get you through...........that is a good thing.

[spectda]

Sorry you've been feeling lousy. It sounds like you are responding well to therapy as far as getting rid of the virus. I know it doesn't change the tough sides you are dealing with, but keeping your eye on the prize certainly helps. Good luck with everything- Dave

[nygirl7]

I read this wrong which I noted when I read your note.  You did in fact eat breakfast with your pills.  I think honestly then that this is just the part of treatment that really does suck but it's part of the process. Almost all of us have gone through it and made it out the other side so you will too.

You just can't obsess about these sides........realize that they are a normal thing and it means the meds are working. Your body just might have been too taxed from getting up early or it was just a normal side coming on.

Gingerale and crackers are a good friend.

[portann]

Diane,

I see that you said your "stomach still looks like I'm carrying a baby very high up".

I think this is something to check out with your doc TODAY (okay, maybe tomorrow). It could be unrelated to tx. You're a stage two, right? So this wouldn't be ascites...anyway, just thinking aloud here but  why don't you give him a shout and inform him.

Since you kept to your usual med schedule, it could be the ups and downs of treatment, along with the extra mental stuff of seeing the kids off for the entire summer. Nice move, though.... now you won't have to worry about how you'll cope with a couple of rambunctious kids in the house over the summer and they'll be well-looked after by your sister.

As for food, I got so particular about what I ate that my husband couldn't keep up with how I'd crave one thing one day and get grossed out by it the next. And chocolate turned me off during most of tx, which is almost sacrilege, since I'm a chocoholic.

So stay flexible about food and eat what you can, as long as it's adequate. I'd take a multi-vitamin (no iron) if I had to do it again but I didn't.

TTYL

[Isobella]

I see that you said you took your Riba with breakfast and that's good.  But what did you have for breakfast?  I'm thinking something like toast with a little butter or some yogurt would be easier on your system than some type of fruit or something acidic

Yes, food advice from the girl that existed on non-fat frozen yogurt smoothies and twizzlers during tx.  But I'm just thinking comfort/fatty foods as opposed to acidic stuff may help.

Good luck.  

[jelise]

I don't want to scare you, but the coffee started killing me about 7 months into tx.  Now the only way I can drink it is iced with a lot of milk, and I am a total coffee addict.  I hope this isn't happening to you!!!  If it does, switch to espresso - it still has a lot of flavor even when mixed.  :)

Best wishes,
Jelise

[Diane12855]

Thanks for your advice. I do take my pills in the AM with cereal and 2% milk, then when I remember I add avocado for the fat. Since I take ADs, Plavix, Blood pressure meds, Aspirin, Multivitamin (no iron) and Valcore along with my Riba, I figure my stomach needs a good cushion of mushy stuff to protect it.

Jelise... I sure hope you are wrong about the coffee. I only drink one cup a day, but I LOVE that one cup.

[mikesimon]

Do you put the avocado in the cereal? If so, what kind of cereal do you eat?
Mike

[Diane12855]

Yuck!!!!! Sorry..... no I don't put the avocado in the cereal. I eat Quaker Oatmeal Squares to try to help keep my cholesterol down. There's only 3 grams of fiber in it and my doctor says that's OK.

[Trinity4]

Wow, I'm so lucky because I don't have to take any medications at all.
I prefer 1% milk myself.

Trinity

[nygirl7]

I always had perfect cholesterol = until after treatment that is.  I dont know why it happens but it's good not to be alone in it even though I wouldn;t wish it on anybody.

[mikesimon]

I was trying to imagine eating cereal and avocado. I love avocado but cereal didn't sound right. That's why I asked about the type of cereal because I couldn't rule out the possibility.

You really are confusing me Diane. You said: 'I eat Quaker Oatmeal Squares to try to help keep my cholesterol down. There's only 3 grams of fiber in it and my doctor says that's OK.  "  

I am under the impression that the more fiber the better. I mean 3 grams is nice but you could certainly have more.
Fiber shouldn't adversely affect cholesterol.

Did you mean "3 grams of fat"?

Mike

[Diane12855]

No... You aren't supposed to have a lot of fiber with the Riba... that's why I said that.

[mikesimon]

Really? Do you have a source for that about riba and fiber because I've not seen it?
I do know that taking ribavirin with fat is supposed to enhance its activity but I never heard that natural fiber is an issue.

Mike

[Trinity4]

I've never seen any supporting evidence of that either Michael.

Trinity

[Diane12855]

"Wow, I'm so lucky because I don't have to take any medications at all."

Yes, for that you should consider yourself a blessed woman.

[Diane12855]

Actually, many people on here have posted that. There have been a few that said they didn't know where it came from, but others told me to be careful, so I figured "better safe than sorry". If my reading comprehension were better, I'd look for articles to support it, but..............

[mikesimon]

I have read that fiber is beneficial with treatment.
We have to be careful about believing what we see here if there is no supporting documentation. I haven't seen anything here but I'm not treating so I don't usually read all those posts.
After I asked you for documentation I looked around myself and didn't find anything negative about fiber and HCV treatment but I did find a few positive articles.
I'll look again later.
Mike

[portann]

Hi Diane,

Fat and (to a lesser extent) fiber 'discussions' abound in here, so you may want to check out the archives when you're up to it.

My take on the topic of fiber during tx was that the 'normal' amount found in food was okay. This subject didn't affect me much because fiber turned me off during tx for some reason, so I didn't bother and went for whatever I could hold down.

Myself, I wouldn't go the whole hog and take fiber supplements during tx. You know....the psyllium stuff, metamucil,etc. but things like oatmeal wouldn't concern me at all.

I'm a little foggy about this but I think Epi, who was concerned that fiber could negatively impact riba absorption, said she'd read a study to support this, with the caveat that the difference was so small that it wasn't significant. You could PM her, to see if she has that study handy.

By contrast, I think Co-writer said that fiber slows down absorption. You can try PMing her, too.

Fat is the more talked-about subject here -  bring that one up and between ice cream, eggs and EVO, you'll have tons to absorb.

TTYL

[Bill1954]

I have this blurb from Schering-Plough stored on my ‘puter; there seems to be so much misinformation and confusion regarding dietary fat and ribavirin that I often post this when the topic arises in here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.spfiles.com/pipeg-intron.pdf

Effect of food on absorption of ribavirin:

Both AUC and C-MAX increased by seventy percent when Rebetol Capsules were administered with a high fat meal: (841 kcal, 53.8 g fat, 31.6 g protein, and 57.4 g carbohydrate) in a single-dose pharmacokinetic study.
~~~~~~~~~~~

I’ll stay out of the Fiber Fray for now :o)

--Bill

[mikesimon]

I took issue with whether fiber is detrimental to treatment.

I acknowledged that it is suggested to take ribavirin with fat.
I thought that had been well established. I never heard that we should limit our dietary fiber and I was interested.
The statement "No... You aren't supposed to have a lot of fiber with the Riba." stimulated my curiosity because I hadn't seen that before. I asked for documentation because I really do want to know the facts. No documentation was provided unless we can consider "Actually, many people on here have posted that" to be adequate documentation.

It's a simple issue and I didn't set out to offend anyone but it does appear that when someone asks for the facts or documentation in support of a statement people frequently get very sensitive and defensive about it. There was a brief thread about "riba rage" and when I pointed out that interferon is considered the primary culprit in the mood issues associated with treatment people got annoyed claiming that it didn't matter what we called it or what drug caused it.

I'm thinking we should start calling Hepatitis C Hepatitis P - I mean we do have hepatitis which is a liver disease so really - what difference does it make what we call it? And it probably wouldn't have the stigma that so many people attach to Hep C.

Mike