Aa
Ribavarin, 1 week after last IFN?
This question is coming up quite a bit and I'm sure it's been discussed before but I'm a little confused. If the Riba is only supposed to be taken with IFN or in the case of some people triple therapy then why would some doctors tell their patients to keep taking the Riba for up to a week after the last shot? Is this practice common, has it changed since the addition of triple therapy? Is there any research that says it's best to take the Riba for an additional few days. Not a big deal but inquiring minds need to know.
Hi all, I was kinda wandering the same thing but this makes me feal better about it. My doc told me to go ahead and stop the riba after my last injection and to take the remaning of the victrelis if I have any left but if I run out of it with in a week before my last injection to not bother ordering a whole other months worth. I have two injections left! woo hoo!
You bring up a good point .one that has been discussed on many threads here before as you know.
Probably there is no scientific answer to this that can be backed up by data on what is better.
In most of the studies The Riba is taken for the following 6 days(however not all of them ,I have heard of some that stop on the day od injection.)
From what I have seen here ..if you ask 100 hepas ,they will be split on the way they dose Riba at the end.
In all likely hood if someone does treatment for 48 weeks or even 24 with how fast the P.I. seems to eradicate virus it may not matter....,hence the different protocols by different doctors.
I guess ,some of it may be phycological also,.if you are told to do 24 weeks of something ,doing every last bit of that may seem like you have done all you can.
As I mentioned to hikerdude in his thread , it is the way my Hepa doses however it would always be best to listen to your own particular doctor.
Will
Probably there is no scientific answer to this that can be backed up by data on what is better.
In most of the studies The Riba is taken for the following 6 days(however not all of them ,I have heard of some that stop on the day od injection.)
From what I have seen here ..if you ask 100 hepas ,they will be split on the way they dose Riba at the end.
In all likely hood if someone does treatment for 48 weeks or even 24 with how fast the P.I. seems to eradicate virus it may not matter....,hence the different protocols by different doctors.
I guess ,some of it may be phycological also,.if you are told to do 24 weeks of something ,doing every last bit of that may seem like you have done all you can.
As I mentioned to hikerdude in his thread , it is the way my Hepa doses however it would always be best to listen to your own particular doctor.
Will
Rather it is 50-80 hours or 30-50 hours the Riba still is 12 days or 288 hours. For sake of argument let's say 80 hours. The way I am seeing this is, if you was to take you last dose of Riba at the same time as your last injection, the Riba would out last the Interferon by about 208 hours. In my opinion this would make the extra week of Riba dosing futile.
"Since this is a logistical exercise, it might be best to look at a calendar to help understand. Suppose someone started trt on December 4 and was told to do trt for 4 weeks total. Wouldn't that be nice??"
Oh yeah, where do I sign up? lol I get it now, the IFN last a week long. makes sense to me. I forgot about that long life IFN. I guess it comes down to free sx's from Riba for an extra week no matter what. ouch!
Oh yeah, where do I sign up? lol I get it now, the IFN last a week long. makes sense to me. I forgot about that long life IFN. I guess it comes down to free sx's from Riba for an extra week no matter what. ouch!
It depends whether were talking Pegasys or PegIntron. Due to it's longer and branched-chain PEG, Pegasys has a half-life ("terminal elimination") of 50-80 hours. Whereas, due to it's shorter and linear-chain PEG, Peg Intron has a half-life of 30-50 hours.
Yes, always talk to the doc before making decisions about dosing.
Yes, always talk to the doc before making decisions about dosing.
Everyone keep in mind this is only a discussion and all tx decisions should be made by you and your Dr.
This topic has came up several times over the years with some good points made from both sides. My 2 cents, Riba is useless without Interferon. Peg Intron has a half- life of 30-50 hours and Riba has a half-life of 12 days. If Riba were stopped on the same day as the last injection, the Riba’s half-life would still be longer than the Interferon. So, I don’t see the logic of continuing Riba after last injection.
This topic has came up several times over the years with some good points made from both sides. My 2 cents, Riba is useless without Interferon. Peg Intron has a half- life of 30-50 hours and Riba has a half-life of 12 days. If Riba were stopped on the same day as the last injection, the Riba’s half-life would still be longer than the Interferon. So, I don’t see the logic of continuing Riba after last injection.
Hey Fret, just another take, lets just say you started the P/R on a Monday,from that day till Sunday you would be doing Riba until your next shot,which would be the following day Monday, and so forth with more Riba until your next shot.
Charlie
Charlie
Hi Fret. Good question. It's Not that you will be taking RIBA alone, because the Interferon stays in your system for 7 days (I think), so you will still have that base. I agree with Flcyclist. It seems like extra but it's not. The RIBA is a full week, while the injection has always been once a week. Hope this helps!
Hey fret.. If you did your last dose of INF. then no Riba ..it really isn"t a full week of full meds as the Inf. is supposed to stay in your system for a week....
hope all is well
Will
hope all is well
Will
Since this is a logistical exercise, it might be best to look at a calendar to help understand. Suppose someone started trt on December 4 and was told to do trt for 4 weeks total. Wouldn't that be nice??
If you did the Inf shot and the first dose of Riba on the morning of Sunday, Dec 4th, you would continue the Riba past the 4th shot on Dec 25th, and not stop with the Riba until Saturday, Dec 31 for a full 4 weeks. If you stopped the Riba at the 4th Inf shot, that would only allow for 3 weeks and 1 day of Riba.
Does that make sense or are you more confused now??? Hope the 4 week example doesn't muck it up. lol.
If you did the Inf shot and the first dose of Riba on the morning of Sunday, Dec 4th, you would continue the Riba past the 4th shot on Dec 25th, and not stop with the Riba until Saturday, Dec 31 for a full 4 weeks. If you stopped the Riba at the 4th Inf shot, that would only allow for 3 weeks and 1 day of Riba.
Does that make sense or are you more confused now??? Hope the 4 week example doesn't muck it up. lol.
Your final shot is for the following week of tx, same as your first so to have a complete course you need to do the riba for the following week also.
Even with just SOC tx this has always been the course. Hope all is well.
Even with just SOC tx this has always been the course. Hope all is well.
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