starting incivek

[felix1970]

I am in the beginning stages of getting ready to take this treatment, I am awake all night thinking about things, one is that I am not a night person and I can't eat past 4pm, however I am going to have to take this at 9pm and eat just before, does anyone else have this proble??????.

also, how does all these fat counts effect the body, is it better to go with the good fats instead of any fats???

[pooh55811]

I think we may all have this problem because the Incivek interval is every 8 hours. For me, it is the morning. I set the alarm for 5:30am, get up, eat a pile of greek yogurt and a slice of bread with a lot of butter on it. Then I take the Incivek (and Ribavirin) and go back to bed. I have a mid morning snack to tide me over. Then I have another high fat meal at 1:30 and take the 2pm Incivek. At 6pm I eat another meal and take the Riba. At 9:30 I eat another high fat snack, usually Greek yogurt and a couple of swigs of whipping cream, and take the Incivek at 10pm. I agree, it is definitely a lot of eating.

I do feel full by the end of the day, and evening. I have to force myself to eat that last snack. It is even difficult to force food down at 6pm (for the Riba). But I want to clear this virus and I will do everything necessary to do so.

It helps to drink water all day long instead of in spurts. The water also makes a person feel full so it is best to keep sipping instead of gulping. I also drink 1 quart of chicken broth per day as 1 quart of my fluid intake. It helps with the electrolytes and also with that full feeling the water gives me.

As far as the actual food, I think it is always best to eat healthy fats instead of unhealthy fats, but it is better to eat any fats (to make up the 20 grams of fat each time) than to not eat the fat. I have found that my taste buds no longer like some things. You will figure out which high fat foods appeal to you and what you can best tolerate.

At 6am I eat a slice of bread with lots of butter on it and a lot of Greek yogurt (about half of a large container). It is easy to prepare and then I can go back to bed.

At 2pm I usualy have a salad with a large avocado and a slice of bread with lots of butter on it, two scrambled eggs with 2 ounces of chedder cheese or Havarti cheese in it, a Pate sandwich with a huge amount of Pate on it and lots of butter (the package will tell you how much fat is in the Pate) (I eat half the package at a time) or some other high fat food.

At 6pm I have a regular meal but small portions, maybe chicken or pork or something like that a a vegetable. I read that Riba also absorbs better with high fat so I do try to eat fat at 6pm too. If I think I am short on fat, I drink some whipping cream  or add some cheese of eat more yogurt.

At 10pm I eat Greek yogurt again, a lot of it, and follwo that with some whipping cream and sometimes buttered saltines. By 10pm I feel pretty stuffed so the yogurt goes down pretty easily.

There are many other foods that are high in fat (potato chips, fatty hamburgers, cream cheese, and many more) but I never ate them to begin with (before I was taking these meds).  They do not appeal to me. But if they appeal to a person, then by all means, eat what you like and can tolerate. You can also add things to other foods that will add fat (like mayonaise, whipping cream, avacado, cream cheese, butter, etc.). Also ice cream has a lot of fat, I think 20 grams per cup. You will figure out what works.

Since you have a problem eating at night, you will have to figure out some food that you can tolerate but that still contains the needed fat.

As far as affecting the body, I gained a little of weight because I am eating a lot more food than I normally eat (also a lot more fat than I normally eat). I can lose it afterwards. I also think the fat makes a person go a lot (bowel wise). Or maybe it is all of the eating and extra food. And I think the meds also play into it to.

Whatever you figure out, my opinion is you need to eat at least the recommended amount of fat each pill time and drink the recommended amount of water per day. I think some of the side effects are worse if you don't follow the regimen.  Plus that water is flushing the system of the toxins. Your kidney values may start to get out of line if you skimp on the water.

I was pretty nervous before I started treatment too. So far I have been able to manage all of the side effects. I just keep my goal of SVR in mind. I want this killer virus out of my body and I am going to do everything possible to accomplish that. I am stuck with 48 weeks of treatment, but I am determined to get through it.

You can do it, too. You definitely can do it. This forum is a great help and support.

I wish you the very best of luck and outcome.

[hrsepwrguy]

Also it is only for the first 12 wks then you can go back to normal eating habits.

[hrsepwrguy]

Obviously it would be better to stick with the good fats but any will do the job needed, as for late dose a high fat snack such as ice cream (lots of recommendations for klondike bars on here) might work for you. Me personally I have adjusted my eating habits around my dosing schedule.