Hep C Discussion Forum

jrc · Senior Member

Does everyone take their meds on time?

Judy S · Senior Member

I'm on the Victrelis protocol and have my phone alarms set for meds at 7 am, 2:30 pm, 7 pm, 10:30 pm. 18 pills daily.

On top of that I take a daily Zyrtec, Prilosec, 4 Reglans, 2 - 4 Excedrins, D3, 3 Folics, B12, E, 1 - 2 Ativan, multivitamin when digestion will allow.

So about 35 pills daily on average for this tx. When not on tx, the only things I take daily is a Zyrtec and a Tagamet.

Then of course the Fri PegIntron and Sat Neupogen injections. So far I've never missed any doses........my ears are perked for the phone alarms.

Alleysun · Member

ok good. Thank you :) I feel better about that now. definitely won't miss again!

news · Guru

Alleysun, the half life on ribavirin is very long, so it hangs around a long time. Each dose just starts the process of keeping the level in your body up to a certain amount. When you miss a dose you cause a slow dip that goes right back up on the next dose. So it isn't a big deal once. Twice is getting big. Three times means you need to evaluate the way you are running your treatment. Most of the clinical trials results say they are based on 80% compliance. So you don't want to go below that, for sure. Alan

12Step Guy · Senior Member

Allysun, I did the same thing. Phoned my Liver Doc. and she was OK with it. I'm on 1200MG daily - 3 pills twice a day. She said as long as I stayed over 650MG daily I was OK.

Alleysun · Member

I forgot one of my riba pills in the morning two days ago... is that really bad?? I was freaking out!

Scout · Senior Member

Kinda, sorta. When I was taking incivek I was rigid in my application. The other meds are evening and morning on a fairly tight time frame.

kiwi · Senior Member

im not on triple. jeez peg/riba have been gruelling enough after 37 weeks. but i think ive only 'forgotten' one dose of riba, its become natural, when i get up, take it. in the evening after dinner, take it again.

i knew this was important, so ive stuck to it. took my pega a day late once, but the clinic knew about it.

yay for new technology by the sounds of it for you poor buggars on triple. cheers to you guys.

JIme · Guru

Yup.

hrsetrdr · Guru

I was meteculous about adhering to the pill popping schedule, have 2 alarms for the twice daily riba dose on one cell phone, have the x3 alarms on another cell phone for the victrellis.

I say "was meteculous" because I missed a dose of victrellis (for the first time) just day before yesterday. Not much I could do about it, just try harder to overcome the brain fog.

wilsondog · Senior Member

Margo wrote:
On incivek I was very precise, every 8 hours, never was late or skip a dose. RIBA I take twice a day, but the time varies by few hours.

I was exactly the same way. Once I was done with the Incivek, I relaxed a little. Kept my iphone alarms set, but sometimes it would go off and I'd forget to go take my dose and get it an hour or two later. The mornings were even less consistant because if I could sleep in, I would. I don't think it had any effect on my outcome though, I was still undetectible at the finish line. I did not, however, miss many doses throughout treatment, 2 or 3 tops. And NEVER the Insivek!

news · Guru

Genentech/Roche provided me with a little blue, zippered bag with a plastic pocket in the top and a carry strap. I literally took it everywhere. Inside were the pill organizer, some snacks, a bottle of Deer Park, my digital alarm clock, the latest literature pack for all my meds, the stickers for the last delivery (to prove I was on treatment) , and other incidentals, like my Procrit syringes, alcohol wipes, band aids, skin and hemorrhoid stuff, lab appointment orders, etc. People kidded me about carrying a purse, but I assured them it was my European carry all.

Phil G · Senior Member

My cell phone alarms were my life saver, used every available alarm, at work, at home, weekdays, weekends, every day. It almost became my reason for existing that day - to eat my snacks and take meds. That said, it wasn't that difficult for me. I overslept from my evening nap once and was late on that 10pm Victrelis dose, but not missed. I spent the next frantic hour pouring thru the fine print docs to figure out what to do. I think it was difficult for my wife. Eating off schedule was not tolerated, and could not go anywhere without packing a survivel kit with my snacks and meds, irregardless of where we went or for how long.

mallani · Guru

Joanne, 7caps at 6am, 4caps at 2pm, 3caps at 7pm, 4caps at 10pm. No fat is required. Add in my BP meds, Vit D. I find it exhausting just putting all the caps in the right plastic boxes.

JoAnneh · Guru

Malcomb, I had no idea Vic tx required 18 pills 3xdaily!!!
Do you have to eat 20grams of fat with it?
I have put on 11 lbs! I have little less than three weeks on Invicek!
That will be such a relieve.
JoAnne

Margo · Senior Member

On incivek I was very precise, every 8 hours, never was late or skip a dose. RIBA I take twice a day, but the time varies by few hours.

news · Guru

I was able to get mine on time. On Incivek I had a 6, 2 and 10 schedule, two tabs each time. Plus I took my ribavirin on the 6 and 2 times lots (the Roche lady said it would be OK to "get it out of the way"), even though that made for a lopsided riba schedule. My kit came with a digital clock capable of managing five daily alarms. I used that, plus my blackberry and iPod Touch. It sounded like the end of the world at meds time. After about six weeks my internal clock took over and I could relax some of the alarms, but I always had at least one. And it became easy to comply as time went on. After Incivek there were only two events each day, with much less precision required. "Morning and Evening" is a bit easier than "6, 2 and 10, with one hour maximum error". This new attention to schedule will be helpful later on, with my baby aspirin, multivitamin, vitamin D3 and chondroitin. In the old days these were difficult to remember. Not now. Alan

mallani · Guru

For the first 18 weeks, I was very adherent to the Victrelis protocol. Last week I slept through my alarm twice (for my 6am Vict. and Riba.). Fortunately my wife woke me, and reminded me to get up and take my meds. I will try 2 alarms, and possibly one on the dresser, as I evidently turn off the alarm and go back to sleep. The Vict. protocol is a nightmare- 18 caps at 6am, 2pm, 7pm then 10pm is more than the brain can cope with. As I am looking at another 29 weeks of this, it is easy to see why the Incivik protocol is more appealing. By now I would only be looking at 3 caps. at 7am and 7pm, plus the weekly dart. Given the dire warnings about mutations if you miss doses, this is a very difficult regime. Anyone else have problems?

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