triple therapy side effect

[natalie854]

how soon did side effects start for any of you?

[cheflady]

hi there my hubby on wk 8 of treatment his side effects started almost straight away. Rash disappeared after three weeks just goes dry after shower so just uses good quality moisturiser. Found that if you have the peg jab just before you go to bed you will sleep through most of the side effects.Yes the treatment is tough but i now know the signs so i can support him the best way i can,also after the 4 wk test viral load was zero and that gave us both a tremendous boost.Keep smiling it will all be worth it and good luck to both of you

[BoceprevirGal]

  Which Triple treatment are you going to be doing? I did Triple with Victrelis, but there is a four week lead in, of just the Interferon shot (that took about 4~6 hrs to come on, just tired, achey, took a nap) and the Ribaviran pills ( I never felt bad from those, but they may cause anemia, especially when taken with the Victrelis. My Anemia started in week 7, and I treated it with weekly Procrit shots (a rescue drug, for anemia, which comes as a shot also)
   At the beginnoing of week five, I began taking the Victrelis pills, and had an immediate bitter tast in my mouth. I had mouth issues from there on, until my Treatment was over. I had to use alot of mild mouth-washes alcohol free, I had good luck with a natural one, called Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil mouth wash. The issues were a sore cracked tongue, or sometimes a little sore on the end of my tongue, or a sore on y gums. It was painful, and then would get better, but if I stopped gargoing that mouth-wash, it would return.
   I did get the burning butt, as Working Dog mentioned, in the first couple months, so I avoided spicey food, and stuck to mild food, and took showers  if I got itchy/burning feeling.
   I got a rash from the sun, in April, on my torso, it was like a sun-burn, right thru a white tank top, so I covered up after that- good luck

[working dog]

my sides started about 8 hours after starting tx....the burning butt..skin rashes...and tanking hgb hit me a few days into tx...by the end of week 2 my hgb was in the 8s....the burning butt ended at about the end of the third week into tx...the low hgb and bad rashes stayed throughout my tx....i did svr though!!!!..so it was well worth it....most folks that stay on tx have way less symptoms then i did and some almost no symptoms....

[garrygee]

Hi Natalie,

Peg side effects begin for me about 6-8 hours after I take it.  I take it at about 2pm and always take tylenol in the afternoon and motrin before bedtime.  I've found that it's easier to prevent the chills, fever and body aches than it is to cure them after they begin.  Mild rashes a week or so after riba that I treat with soothing lotions like Gold Bond and cortisone over the counter creams work well for me.  Incivek sides started almost immediately and though I was warned of diarrhea, it didn't happen to me.  I did have rectal burning and discomfort, but the real killer for me was constipation.  When you are so raw and you get constipated it is agony to have a bowel movement.  I currently take Myralax and a stool softener regularly.  I just don't want that to ever happen again.  I'm on my fourth day of my ninth week, so less than four to go and I look forward to ending the incivek.  I've taken peg/riba before and I can handle that.  The incivek has been torture.  Good luck to your husband and God bless you for your support of him.  You will make the difference for him.
Garry

[slideman]

My sides didn't get to bothersome for a couple or three weeks. I did Incivek so I started with all three drugs right away. I remember vividly telling my wife at the end of the first week that if the sides got no worse the entire thing would be a breeze. Well they got worse....lol. No matter how bad I got, I could always come on this forum and find other warriors fighting harder than I thought I could. The sides are different for everybody, some have hardly any, but you don't hear those stories here too often because those lucky ones feel no need to post. Its usually not an easy task to go through tx (treatment), but the rewards are well worth the journey.
    God Bless,
             Larry

[natalie854]

thank you

[Advocate1955]

My husband's side effects from Interferon (cold/flu like symptoms) usually started within about 6 hrs after his injection.  Side effects from Ribavirin usually occurred every day (fatigue).  His side effects from Incivek occurred within the first few days to a week (diarrhea, anal pain), and the rash showed up about the middle of week 2.  The side effects from Interferon and Ribavirin were manageable, the side effects from Incivek were a bit more challenging, but still manageable.  There is information posted in my journals about managing side effects.
Advocate1955