Karyl,

I'm with 5 - I am glad they pushed you off home - take your leave when you can and as needed. I am glad you are listening to your body and are paying attention to everything you need to.

Hopefully your adjustment to the treatment drugs will be short and a fairly smoothly transition, perhaps things will not interfere for you too much or for too long. My fingers are crossed that with good rest, lots of water, eating well and treating and soothing yourself as good as possible, your treatment IS going to become easier for you as you go along.

If you did not already have a "pre-set" med-taking plan for your Harvey and PPI, I would have said (otherwise), if you could have, to try taking your harvoni with a meal. Food "sometimes" helps minimize/buffer/mask some sensations/gastric issues (perhaps a bit) that you may be associating as happening after you take the harvoni, additionally, you may find the gastric things may just end up decreasing (all on their own) over a bit more time of being on these meds - some people DO seem to get "used to" the drugs, and the gastric issues become less. I hope and expect so for you anyway.

Nice that you have all these other Harvey-folks around here and in near threads (and all over this site) to compare notes with. Aside from specific Harvey symptoms and such, just things like what you and "CandaceV" (for instance) found in common - she and her husband were also pleasantly surprised at the generosity of others when they had help to cover co-pay for epclusa by "PAN". 

We love people, (and critters of all sorts) around here, as you could probably guess (by the way we were fawning all over your George) - you'll have to search up "IsisCat" as well to see that cutey (For LC and Isiscat). 

Modify your work as best you can to suit how you happen to be feeling ... 5 has it correct when she states ... "in no time you will be back to a regular schedule but for now the harvoni is queen for the day , the main event" ... so, I agree with 5, just go with the flow, treat yourself like a Queen also, modify things where you have to and as you need to, but I am betting (overall) that the 12 weeks will go smoother and faster than you might be thinking or expecting. Take leaves or vacation (or not) or whatever you can make work for you, just try NOT to push and stress yourself, this will only be 12 weeks (out of the rest of your life).  C.

Hahahaha POLO! I appreciate seeing you switch to using that new avatar! I loved that carboy one when it cruised through here once before - glad you chose it to display it as your new personal best, (you do us all a great service by owning it and showing it) as it is such an important message (and reminder), and, that pic gets it across in spades! That image always makes me giggle. heehee

I am glad all your imaging is looking good and/or better - just what we want and need, and that you are feeling better (better than the old days), and, better than you expected or knew you would! Even bigger bonus. You guys call it the Harvoni bomb for good reason. So MANY good people Harvoni has helped!

Many of us feel the same eh?, we (of the new DAA era) were so very lucky to get these drugs.

Nice to see your positive posts and ALL the good Harvoni feedback here.  C.

polosilver, congrats on your good news!! that truly is righteous

Karyl, thank God (or thank Dog if youre so inclined lol) for those wonderful people at the Healthwell Foundation. That is truly awesome. 

I'm familiar with the Healthwell Foundation, we have their contact information here on the forum. A very good organization, that has done excellent work for many people. Nice to know they came to your aid.

I'm a humanist and have no belief in any higher power other than science but I do believe we are all in this world together so it's our duty to be kind and do as much as we can for the other occupants of the planet. I am involved in a homeless outreach and I give monthly to ASPCA and St Judes Children's Research Hospital.  That said, during this time I've been blessed by other's kindness.  #1  My boss is quite understanding.  I'm taking today off because at month end my desk isn't full of stuff and the boss said "go home" at 2pm yesterday, and then "take tomorrow off".   and #2 and this is the biggie.....I'VE FOUND OUT WHO THE WIZARDS ARE WHO GOT ME MY HARVONI FOR ZERO DOLLARS!!!!!

Yesterday's mail had a letter from The HealthWell Foundation.  This is where that other wizard at the pharmacy applied to for me for assistance.  The letter states they have given me a 12 month grant of $30,000 from the Hep C Fund.  This is what is paying for my high co-pays.  Please spread the word.  The Foundation is for people who HAVE insurance, including medicare etc and who's household income is less than 500% of the federal poverty level.  That is most of us middle class folk. If you know someone who needs this kind of help like I do tell them to go to www.healthwellfoundation.org

Good morning everyone!  George is gobbling up his breakfast and it's going to be a beautiful day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karyl,

i really like your avatar pic of you and your george.

it sounds like your morning routine is good, taking your pill then resting in bed until you can have your morning java and get your day going.

its pretty hard for anyone to predict how long these sides will affect you, I was on different drugs but I found my sides morphed from one thing to another.

Most of our members found their system and sides mellowed out after one-three weeks so treat yourself super nice, drink water till youre frequently floating to the loo to help flush the drugs and virus out and hang in there.

I get approx 7-8 hrs a night. I have sleep issues and wake often during the night.  But I go to bed early and stay in bed resting at least for around 10 hrs.  I have to take my pill with my PPI on an empty stomach so I take them as soon as I wake up with a big glass of water and then lay in bed for a while before getting up to make coffee and start my day. 

Welp, yesterday I felt the same as Monday and in fact my boss sent me home at 3pm. My daughter, who works with me, told me everyone thinks I should take some time off but I do my work when I'm there, just very swimmy headed. I surely hope this passes in a week or two.  I have a week vacation time left this year but I've been saving it thinking the side effects may get WORSE.  Any advice?

karyl, i love your new avatar with george as your copilot

Changing my Avatar as a reminder that if you are taking Harvoni, drink lots of water! I went in and out of feeling a rush of new energy, to tired and draggy with brain fog. I was at my best when I remembered to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water per day. Some need more, I'm a smallish person, so I found what was best for me. What was most important was to trust the process and let the Harvoni work its splendidly scientific magic in the body.  I recall in the first days feeling as if I felt different than the old draggy brain fogged Hepc'd person. I so wanted to give HepC the boot out of my body that all minuscule occurrences were noted. I came out on the other end HepC free. Hang in!

yes, I've been warned about the RA med costs but I just gotta put my pants on one leg at a time!  Onward!

Iris, I've been reading a lot of your posts and I'm so happy your journey has ended. I'm sure in a week or so you will be back to your old pre hep c self.  I have no idea how bumpy my ride will be but if yesterday, where I felt almost normal, is any indication, mine might go really well.  I'm just gonna take one day at a time.   Like you, I'm amazed and so very grateful that I was able to hop on this train. Got a letter from my ins. company approving 12 weeks should I need it and telling me my co-pay was almost 3900.00 but the pharmacy charged me zero. I'm wondering if the wizards over there got Gilead to pick up the co-pay or they don't charge one. Either way, I'm blessed.

I get ya Iris - it was your house cleaning frenzy you described that I was thinking of, that this "spring cleaning" coulda (sorta) been your Harvoni high (or your version of a Harvoni high) - the rest of it (from being lead to fatigue), well ... just was/is - this rule about how everyone if different? ... there sure IS a lot of truth to it!!, people may or may not get a "high" and there can be so many forms of highs, and you can't predict exactly if or when you might feel a high either! So hard to predict/anticipate these things. You have read here over the years how some people feel not really that much dif than normal and others get to feeling many things!

My experience was profound fatigue, with a shortish period of overlapping/underlying kinda "frenetic" feelings (hardly a "productive high"!), just a curious/cruel "mix" and twist to the fatigue - a fogged, tired, dead brain trying to be jittery and wired! - mostly it was just very thick fatigue - I did not enjoy what I was feeling while going through treatment but I was so, SO, SO relieved and grateful and hopeful and thrilled to be on my hard-won drugs - EVERY minute was gold and very worth it, those very positive feelings, the very positive "act" I was performing (being treated) made up for EVERYTHING negative I felt. (But remember, I DID have profound fatigue before I was on Vosevi as well). I was happy to take those pills no mater what i felt.  I was surprised how I felt on treatment, and how long it took for me to get feeling better, to feel stronger, more right - BUT - IT DID COME!!!!   Karyl's kids have put me to mind of a short period of time during my treatment when my partner took my car keys away from me, and i was glad he did and I cooperated, that no driving thing didn't last too long either. In fits and starts, bit by bit, here and there, in no predictable order, and sometimes in odd ways I got better post-treatment. I am STILL noticing improvements over time. 

So, keep being patient, and un-afraid - the past is past, the treatment part is over and has been a huge success, and you will start feeling better (quickly or maybe in fits and starts like me). You will feel better when you have recovered longer. How you felt on-treatment, and this part, is temporary.

Karyl you mentioned "work", do you mean work/work like ... as in "a job" work, or did you mean just as in everything else we have to do everyday??  Like Hoodie and 5 and Shemp and nathanW and many others around here who speak of their jobs, we do have to juggle and balance our energies necessary for treatment safely to our demands of work, for me the decision was easy (or easier) given my personal circumstances - me modifying my "work" or duties I was needing to perform, even such as not driving for a while, was OK and good (required/acceptable). 

We have to treat ourselves with kind kid gloves, like we are the precious tender commodities we are, to help ourselves through treatment and recover and regain our new-found HCV-free balance.

5 said ... "no matter what weirdness happens it's happening for the good" ... and she is right.  C.

hi karyl, keep a notebook of symptoms and t:climes of day. it's also allergy season. stay home as much as possible. if work becomes troublesome then see your doctor for an fmla or time off.

i had fog brain, fuzzy wuzzy headedness and eventually some dizzyness. hubby got the wired thing, but he's always moving anyway.

no matter what weirdness happens it's happening for the good of your whole being:float: , you can ride it out for 8? weeks? 

somehow we manage since we know the goodness of the harvoni

i'm so happy you have george

I have read about the Harvoni High and people say it's a speedy high.  Mine is not.   I was wondering if anybody else felt like I do.  Like I said in my previous post. Mornings I'm good. I'm curious how this will play out.  In the meantime, my kitty George is riding this train all the way to the end with me, he follows me around like a dog.

aaaweeee ,sweet george on the harvoni train with you at every nap and bedtime

He has his moments.  lol.  We lost his littermate and identical twin sister a couple years back due to thyroid issues and kidney failure. He has the same thyroid problem but he's hanging in their, to torment the dog and my daughter's cat.  LOL. He can be a mean boy.  He only has eyes for me!  Everybody else gets boxed by his left hook!

i find it warm and exciting also C