Thank you to both of you for commenting. My VL is very low and due to my bleeding disorder, they did not want to perform a biopsy, but feel that I only have slight damage to my liver. They have decided to start Tx due to my having pain on a daily basis in my hands, feet and back. I am concerned with being able to take the pills as 18 a day seem to be crazy and I am one of those that struggle with swallowing one pill. I know that it is in my mind, but also know that I MUST overcome it. Makes me nervous though, as I wasn't aware that if you skip a dose it can change things for you. Do you have to take the victrelis for the whole part of the Tx or just a certain time frame? Thank you again. Hoping to be given a date next week for my class, so maybe I can get some answers as to what to expect.
I completed 28 weeks of Triple Treatment with Victrelis, and it really wasn't that bad, considering I was taking 18 pills a day, it really didn't make me feel too bad, at all.
I just kind of took it one day at a time. I would advise you to set your cell ph alarm, to go off every 8 hrs, and even a back up alarm. It is very important to take the 4 victrelis pills, every 8 hrs exactly. If you skip a dose, the virus can change, and the Victrelis will no longer be able to kill the virus. That is why you have to have the victrelis in your system evenly, every 8 hrs.
I got this calendar pill container, a little square, for each day of the week. I put the(6) Ribaviran pills in each square, for the whole month. The meds make us forgetful, so if I forgot if I took the pill or not, I could just check the days box, and count.
The Victrelis comes in it's on 7 day week packet, with a days worth (12 pills) in each bottle, and the bottles sit in a little 7 day container, so that is another easy way to keep track, by counting the days bottle.
The Victrelis irritated my stomach a bit,in the beginning, so once I started it, I ate mild food, thru-out the treatment, things a baby would like, such as bananas, yogurt, etc. I had an aversion to salty foods, and spicey foods burned, so I avoided them as well.
I also avoided products that had lots of harsh chemicals and fragrances, to avoid skin irritation. The Victrelis gave me a weird taste in my mouth, so I also used natural mouth-washes ( alcohol free, etc), and chewed this Spry gum, which had xylitol in it, which helped keep my mouth from being so dry~ good luck
First, hello and welcome to the forum. and yes there are people here that are treating with Vic and many of us like myself that are done and SVR (cured). What to expect? Well that really differs with everybody, the most common thing seems to be anemia and flu like symptoms. Once you get past the 4 week lead in and start the Vic its really important to take them on time... Depending on how much liver damage you have and your 8 week viral load test will let you know how long treatment will be. Lets hope 28 weeks and your done, make sure you have regular CBC's to keep an eye on your blood work and your doctor stays on top of any side effects you might have...... Besides the anemia I didn't have to bad of a go of it.
Stick around and ask any questions you might have, wishing you the best.