Still having leg cramps

[GP7852]

I am 19 days into sovaldi-olysio-I havnt gotten my 2 week bloodwork back yet.I am still having leg cramps and nose bleeds which come from low platelets.Does this mean the treatment is not working.I would think that if the virus was gone the leg cramps would stop as well as the nosebleeds.Has anyone who has cleared on sovaldi-olysio still experiencing the leg cramps?
                                                  Glen

[susan400]

Eating bananas is good. I take a 1/2 of a low dose zinc supplement when the cramps are acting up.  Also, tonic water-it has the quinine in it and that is known to help with leg cramps.  Also, agree with not making your top sheet fit tightly, it restricts your feet and lower legs.  I also do another old wives tale.., putting a bar of Ivory soap under the fitted sheet between it and the mattress pad/cover at the bottom of the bed, near where your feet would be. I know this sounds weird/silly, but I'm not kidding many people find that it helps.  I also agree that some light stretching before bed helps, but nothing too strenuous before bed because that can have the opposite effect.

Susan400

[heart_in_the_keyes]

Dehydration. Hydrate w/water...very important. You need to have your doctor check your potassium levels. I am on potassium pill daily along with zinc sulfate that makes the potassium incorporate correctly into your system.  

Move...even if you are sitting...rotate ankles...lift legs...stretch your arms.  Try to walk.  Don't sit for long periods of time.  If you get a cramp sometimes they can be painful...sometimes I will get cramps in my legs or hands if I have been doing too much.  If you get a cramp take a deep breath and stay calm and massage it out.  

I was a runner, athlete, took 18 years of dance, acrobatics.  Hydrating was something quickly learned.  I hate banana's unless they are in a shake. Worked as EMT in ER and saw many a athlete...even the pros...forget the basics.  

I am on about 12 different scripts plus sovaldi/riba.  They all have side effects.  Sometimes I think its the interaction of all.  If you are on riba that will effect your blood cells not the sovaldi.  I get blood work done every Friday and check the results the next week on the computer.  

Good luck.  Your talking here with someone who still gets cramps.  I was watching TV the other night and I stretched before I started to get up and my lower right calf went into a cramp.  

[John19851995]

According to the Solvaldi side effects sheet, this medicine does indeed cause leg cramps. I know from personal experience. During my course of Solvaldi, I have had severe leg cramps in both legs at night and at the same time. My pain physician prescribed Clonazepam 0.5 mg. This has worked wonders for me. No more leg cramps. No interference with the Solvaldi. Anyone taking the Sovaldi and having severe leg cramps should ask their physician about the use of Clonazepam to treat their leg cramps.

[GP7852]

HI
sovaldi and riba are not causing your leg cramps.Low platelets are causing them.The magnesium pills definitely helped me.
                                 Glen

[heart_in_the_keyes]

Have leg cramps.  Haven't started on the sovaldi/riba yet but have always had them even when I was teaching dance upteen years ago.  Potassium and zinc sulfate are what I now take to eliminate leg cramps..  Bananas unless in a shake or heavily covered with sugar make me nauseous ....  Had severe leg cramps like I get now when I had my kids back in my 24's....low potassium...not drinking enough water.  

Just broke my right knee and as they were trying to get me to "position" myself on the x-ray table my left leg was having leg cramps which were more painful than the broken knee.  

Hate to hear that the sovaldi/riba might cause them....oh no.  

[Livelife777]

Awesome

[dontworry_behappy1]

That amazingly great!  who would have thought!

[GP7852]

Knock on wood Kim,had my club soda and no leg cramps last night-thank goodness,its like the grim reaper of legs comes to join me.Guess I better get a case of club soda at shop rite.
                           Thanks   Glen

[Livelife777]

Glen.     Let me know how it works for you.      May take a day or 2.       Kim

[GP7852]

Thanks Kim
I will get some club soda at wawa now.Being from Brooklyn origionally I would have to add some chocolate syrup and milk to it to make an eggcream.As long as I get my 8 ounces of club soda the other ingrediants just make it easier to go down.
                                                Glen

[GP7852]

Thanks Jim
I will check those sites immediately.
                           Glen

[Livelife777]

Leg cramps for most have a very simple solution.    Drink an 8 oz glass of club soda before bed.   Don't suffer with them myself but am in the fitness industry and my clients have done this for years.   Leg cramps are the depletion of minerals and dehydration.         Kim

[JimmyMose]

I may have some good layman's knowledge about some blood test results, possible indications, but cannot diagnose, provide medical advice and might have it wrong.  Never assume anything I say and always ask your doctor about any concerns.

Raw Blood test results can be scary especially if you know little about them.  Some results can be in the abnormal range. those results could mean nothing, expected, a slight concern, more important depending on one or more other results and even a serious concern.

My ast/alt have been high for most of the past 15 years. like rough approx 130/243 60/120 80/140, 112/220, 78/145 55/111, 86/156  99/176 etc.   My  Creatinine, Total Bilirubin, INR & Sodium have all been in the normal range  no diabetes or dialysis which keeps my MELD score below 7 "a good thing"

I try to read and understand from
Hepatitis C Online is a free educational, web-based service that functions as a comprehensive resource for diagnosing, monitoring and managing the Hepatitis C virus infection.

The service is produced at the University of Washington, through a partnership with the International Antiviral Society-USA, and funded by a grant from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Your fibrosis score mean that you have cirrhosis F4
http://hepatitisc.uw.edu/go/evaluation-staging-monitoring/evaluation-staging/core-concept/all#indirect-markers-cirrhosis
Indirect Markers of Cirrhosis
The HCV-FibroSure and the FibroTest-ActiTest are two identical tests marketed in United States and Europe.
This model is good at excluding or confirming cirrhosis but is indeterminate in the middle ranges and an adjunct marker of fibrosis would be needed in those situations.

http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/91402

My score is less accurate I could be F3 or F4
FS-ACTIVITY GRADE* (V2) A3 - Severe activity
FS-ACTIVITY SCORE* (V2) 0.73 High
FS-FIBROSIS SCORE* (V2) 0.64 High
FS-FIBROSIS STAGE* (V2) F3 - Bridging fibrosis many septa

The Child-Pugh score indicates the Cirrhosis class A, B or C
http://gihep.com/calculators/hepatology/child-pugh-score/
B worrisome and C  more worrisome in my opinion

The following are used for transplant priority and estimated 3-month mortality percentage.
The Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD)  predicts survival for patients with advanced liver disease.
http://hepatitisc.uw.edu/page/clinical-calculators/meld

The MELD Na adds the sodium to the calculation to better categorize patients with cirrhois with mortality.
http://gihep.com/calculators/hepatology/meld-na/
scores over 10 worrisome over 15 more worrisome in my opinion

Do AST and ALT test results indicate liver function?
http://www.medicinenet.com/liver_blood_tests/page3.htm

It is important to clarify that ALT and AST levels do not reflect the function of the liver, even though in the medical community and in medical publications they commonly, and incorrectly, are referred to as liver function tests, or AST or ALT tests and are only used to detect inflammation due to injury or damage to the liver from any source. Even in conditions when AST and ALT are very elevated, the liver still may function properly.

By learning about your blood results and researching what they mean MAY mean and asking your doctor about any real concerns cam be helpful.

Example throughout 2011 my calcium had been rising over the 10.2 normal  to 11.4. my vitamin  D was low 15. My doctor proscribed 50,000 units of D3. I researched and found that parathyroid hormone (PTH) should be checked and mentioned to doc. Test results should very high 185.8  (8.5-72.5). mega dose of V-D would only cause calcium to go higher.so stopped immediately   Found out I had Hyperthyroidism and had one of my 4 parathyroid glands removed it was the size of the end section of my little finger instead of the normal size a grain of rice.

  

[GP7852]

Jim,you seem very knowledgable about the blood labs.I am pretty much in the dark about them because I was always afraid of what they will tell me.Now that I have seen my partial 2 week blodwork(viral load wasn't back yet when I went to pick them up)and I saw improvement from my starting numbers maybe you could share your knowledge with me.How bad is fibrosis score 0.99-it says the normal highest is 0.21-Fibrosis stage said F-4-cirrhosis- Necroinflammat activity score-0.87 where the normal highest was 0.17- This was before I started sovaldi-olysio.Was I or am I in trouble with those numbers.A doctor once told me  that the AST(sgot) and the ALT (sgpt)are the numbers of importance.I started with AST at 153,but after 2 weeks was down to 55 and the ALT started at 124 and was down to 42 which was in the normal range.The lower numbers have finally given me the guts to find out how much trouble I'm in now that I have reason to believe that after 30 years of being a non responder I finally am going to rid myself of this horrible disease.
                       Thank you     Glen

[JimmyMose]

Glad your cramps aren't as bad. Are your potassium and other minerals normal in your recent blood test.

I eat 1 or 2 bananas a day and take 2 1080 Potassium Citrate AM & PM and my latest POTASSIUM March 10  3.8 mEq/L   3.8-5.1 (reference range) which is at the bottom of normal the range.  Has been 3,6 to 3.9 over the past year.

I just checked through my blood labs and the last time my magnesium was checked was in 2005 so will try to have that tested.

[GP7852]

Thanks Guy
I am with magnesium and banannas,along with the sovaldi-olysio I have had some minor cramping but not the "death cramps" that knock me to the floor and don't let me get up.I fear the night because that's when they come calling.I cant wait to get this virus out of me.
                                  Glen

[GP7852]

Thanks Jim
I am relying on magnesium and always having a banana handy.The cramps havnt been as bad since I started the sovaldi-olysio combo.Before that I would have the most horrific leg cramps at night that would knock me to the floor.My platelets being so low might also have been a contributing factor.My doc said the platelets were responsible for my constant nose bleeds.Very embarrassing when they happen at work.
                                 Glen

[hrsepwrguy]

Ha, that link doesn't work, you will have to type leg cramps in to the box for it to work

[hrsepwrguy]

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/search/75?utf8=%26%23x2713%3B&query=leg+cramps

[hrsepwrguy]

If you use the magnifying glass (search this community button) on the top left of this page and type in leg cramps it pulls up a wealth of info and remedies posted on this forum in the past

Have a great day

[JimmyMose]

Sorry your having that problem. Is it the same now as it was before treatment started?  How low are your platelets?

I'm GT2 waiting to start SOV/RBV next month. My platelets are averaging about 90k. I don't get them too often but just woke up with aching legs. Too much walking & treadmill exercise yesterday.  Should have done more stretching.

A collection of suggestions to help reduce cramps and possible contributing factors.other than Hep C to consider if relevant.

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/nighttime-leg-cramps-topic-overview
Other medical conditions, such as blood flow problems (peripheral arterial disease), kidney disease, thyroid disease, and multiple sclerosis.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-04-13/lifestyle/sns-201204131600--tms--mayoclnctnmc-a20120413apr13_1_leg-cramps-restless-legs-syndrome-calf-muscles
Dehydration, prolonged sitting, or not getting enough potassium, calcium or magnesium in your diet can be associated with leg cramps. So can certain medications -- including diuretics, beta blockers and other blood pressure drugs.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0105a.shtml
Loosen up the covers. Many people like to sleep under snug covers. But, especially if you're lying on your back, the covers can press your feet down, a position that tightens up the calf and the muscles along the bottom of the foot. Tight muscles are vulnerable to cramping. Just loosening the covers can help (see illustration below).

you need fluids to avoid dehydration. But don't overdo it. High amounts of fluids can dilute the concentration of sodium in your blood. This causes a variety of problems, including muscle cramps.

Good luck getting undetected in 4 weeks and reduction of your symptoms..

[hepcandme]

I find that stretching and drinking Lots of water help with the cramps. Of course, you have to get up and pee all night long but still

[GP7852]

Thank you for your advice,I will do that
                   G

[dontworry_behappy1]

Leg cramps are nothing new to Hepatitis C treatment.   I had them and heard many others complain about them.   Ask your doctor for medication so you can relax at night.  It's very important you get your rest on treatment.  It makes the whole experience much easier.  Don't think people who did treatment before your just suffered though nausea, depression, leg cramps and insomnia......the smart ones went to the doctor and got prescriptions.
You have to ask!!!  Doctors don't seem to offer.

Best to you