I have been having bad calf muscle cramps and blood tests showed that I have low potassium. Doctor gave me a supplement and told me to eat rich potassium foods like bananas and green veggies. Good news is my liver function tests still all look good.

I want to be clear that this is my understanding of cryo  I'm not a doctor so please discuss this with you Hep C doctor before doing anything Thank God i have good insurance I can't imagine how much they've been billed for those doctors. Keep that in mind.

The Hep C doctors  said a lot if not all the symptoms WAS NOT  an indication that my liver was failing  I didn't believe them  I thought every week that went by I had less liver soon there wouldn't be enough liver and die Happy to say I was wrong I'm still here and getting my ass kicked by triple TX  for 13 months 

My experience seeking help for all the cryo symptoms has led me to many doctors. They will offer some help  Cymbalta / Nerontin was offered AFTER CLEARING with HEP C Doc's  DON'T  DO ANYTHING without discussing with the Hep Doc's The Cymbalta etc helps with the over active nerve endings But it didn't seem like it fully covered it or worked on all of it

My real problem was the fluid in calfs and feet  Wearing socks  left deep  indents in my legs. pressing on the fluid left indents last for 15 20 mins The breaking blood vessels looked like red an purple blotches and almost infected  I went to a skin doctor for something to ease the pain and treat my skin  1st thing he said  WHY are you not wearing compression socks? He showed me his. He said it pushes the fluid back into larger blood vessels and up your legs to circulate

That was the single most helpful thing anyone said in 3 years ( My Hep C doc looked back in her notes and reminded me she discussed compression socks ) I don't know how I missed it but I did It cost me like 2 years of pain.

I suspect that because I've been on interferon for 13 months it has also helped the cryo symptoms (  Note I was told  If you clear the virus the symptoms most likely will go away or subside) I haven't been using the socks for the last 3 weeks don't really need them  I still have pain in joints and legs get heavy and fatigued but the fluid is very little. 

NEWS FLASH    And all of this most likely can be attributed to a phone call from my doctor ( while typing this )

Viral load results

Aug 3rd baseline Viral load before Incivek 300.000 ( my origial load was 9 million last year )

After Aug 16th   2 weeks of INCIVEK Viral load is  26

Yes 26    ( not 26,000  Thousand not 2600 )  just 26     the lowest reading you can have is 25 otherwise your considered Undetecable

It's working

So I'l have the 3rd week result next week  Expecting a UDT  Visit for more meds Thursday

Even as bad as all the symptoms and time I've spent in TX This gives me the strength to keep on  13 months of feeling like s#*%@ just melted away I have at least 5 more months maybe more but I would kill someone who stands in the way of me finishing this TX            When I'm free I intend to live

For today I'll Pray  Give Thanks and take deep breaths

Bill s

PS and THANKS TO THIS FOUM Cause  I ALMOST QUIT 4 weeks ago

Bill...very informative (cryoglobulenima).  Thanks

Thanks, everyone!  I'm constantly amazed at the depth of knowledge and information so many of you have.  We truly appreciate each and every one of you and your comments / help / support.

God Bless!

Bills wrote:

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Talking about calf pain reminds me  CRYOGOLULIN NEMIA  I have a pretty bad dose of cryoglobulin-nemia, It's a killer to your legs / calf pain / feet  These symptoms were what brought me to seek treatment in 2008 4 yrs ago  This cryo problem has taken a back seat to my Inveck treatment  Symptoms are pain knees legs hips you retain fluid in your legs like diabetic a hot rash flares up and breaks blood vessels it hurts  constant  neuropathy tingling and itching inside your calves  Your feet legs get Ice cold and EXTREAMLY Sensitive     

I sought  doctors and some specialist all said it seems to go away or down when you clear the Hep C  They also said it is a complication to the hep C    But I would like to see if there are any more with Cryo  In Tx  now or post Tx

I'm surprised I don't see much about cryoglobulenima  and what is referred to as hepatic manifestations here are some links  

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Cryoglobulin/show/1057400

http://www.medhelp.org/tags/show/18948/Cryoglobulinemia

If there bis response to this it may desive starting a new topic

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 Thank you Bills, this is what I've been suspecting was the case with me, it was why I made the decision to jump on the triple tx right now, rather than wait for a interferon free treatment.

Thanx for the info Bills.

Talking about calf pain reminds me  CRYOGOLULIN NEMIA  I have a pretty bad dose of cryoglobulin-nemia, It's a killer to your legs / calf pain / feet  These symptoms were what brought me to seek treatment in 2008 4 yrs ago  This cryo problem has taken a back seat to my Inveck treatment  Symptoms are pain knees legs hips you retain fluid in your legs like diabetic a hot rash flares up and breaks blood vessels it hurts  constant  neuropathy tingling and itching inside your calves  Your feet legs get Ice cold and EXTREAMLY Sensitive     

I sought  doctors and some specialist all said it seems to go away or down when you clear the Hep C  They also said it is a complication to the hep C    But I would like to see if there are any more with Cryo  In Tx  now or post Tx

I'm surprised I don't see much about cryoglobulenima  and what is referred to as hepatic manifestations here are some links  

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Cryoglobulin/show/1057400

http://www.medhelp.org/tags/show/18948/Cryoglobulinemia

If there bis response to this it may desive starting a new topic

ive had such regular calf pain, mostly at night, that they gave me sleeping pills. and apparently im not the only one having issues with this pain. i consider it quite a lot like coming off hard drugs, and having a Restless Leg Syndrome. RLS....

good luck. i had it pretty bad last night, dont want to get addicted to sleeping pills so i dont take them all the time.

magnesium i heard was good for cramps. like an epsom salts bath. gota give it a whirl eh. ?

Are you taking procrit for anemia?  One of the side effects of that medication is blood clots...which normally happen in the calves.  If so, have your doc ultrasound them just incase. :)

Phil G wrote:

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I had regular bouts with calf pain (cramps) BEFORE tx. Became fairly rare during and after tx, I think mainly because I became hydrated for the first time in my life. Trying to stay that way!

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 I think hydration is the key, when I was on treatment I had no leg cramps at all.     When I was a drinker(alcohol) I used to take potassium tablets to help legs cramps; that never worked, but as I recall I was not at all cognisant of the importance of hydration back then.

Well, that blows my theory that too much potassium might have the same effect as not enough.  Back to the drawing board on this one!  Thanks for the responses.

Hi Elizabeth, I eat at least 4 bananas a day and have not had any cramps. Can't see why they should be the culprit.

I had regular bouts with calf pain (cramps) BEFORE tx. Became fairly rare during and after tx, I think mainly because I became hydrated for the first time in my life. Trying to stay that way!

Thanks.  I guess the simplest thing to do is cut out the bananas and see if it stops.  

Has anyone experienced extreme calf muscle pains?  We're trying to figure out if this is another new sx or if it's the bananas he's been eating.

thanks!

Never heard of bananas causing calf muscle pain-usually the contrary. Bananas are high in potassium which is cruical to muscular function- Low potassium levels can contribute to cramping musles.  Staying hydrated and wearing shoes with good support may help...

i had the same thing on tx, not sure what caused it, Now that i think about it i was also eating bananas at the time hmmmm