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Hep C Discussion Forum -> On Treatment -> How long did it take for you to feel better?
Post Info TOPIC: How long did it take for you to feel better?
Canuck


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RE: How long did it take for you to feel better?
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Hi "I need sleep" (and Sanuk, and Rip too, over in his other thread),

I am sorry to hear of the unpleasantness you are all experiencing.

Quite a few of us who have done epclusa think we have had at least "some" periods of feeling we had sides, BUT, there have been others who definitely felt little/nothing, or, found perceived sides decreased as they went along.

It cannot be stressed enough just HOW MUCH and HOW IMPORTANT it is to flood yourself with ample and adequate water intake . It really helps, in many ways. Make SURE you are doing this!!!

My "trial" of sof/vel (epclusa)  included another drug, additionally, "vox", so I cannot do a "direct" comparison to what you are expereincing doing epclusa alone. The vox, an NS3/4A may provide it's own side effects. But generally, it has to be said, I was NOT in very good shape to start off with right before my treatment, I did feel worse "on treatment", many of the things I was feeling, especially 6 months prior to treatment and for the last couple years before treatment) spiralled exponentially during treatment. It is hard to say if I could blame the treatment drugs alone, but, I do believe I had sides from them, and they contributed mightily to the negative things I was feeling before tretament and all through treatment.

There was a height to the worst of the sides during my treatment, then, it did not get any worse. I was VERY grateful to get the drugs, and so, highly motivated to take them and get cured. I went along with it, even though the tretament experience was suprizing ... i knuckled, willingly ... if I had to feel worse, before I got better, that was just the way it was going to have to go down for me.

I was having many symptoms, from crippling fog/fatigue (and quite a few other things), but some of my mental faculties that were affected/impaired, were especially hard to take.  At one point there was a very unsettling "frenetic" quality added to my cognitive deficits!! Some parts of my "sides" did improve a little during treatment, most ALL of them slowly improved just after treatment, and just continue to do so. 

Don't give up - you are too close to the finsh line now.  There IS light at the end of this tunnel. It does improve! You have to steel yourself for the unpleasantness now by knowing you ARE doing the very best thing you could possibly be doing for yourself.  I can't implore you enough to flood yourself with water, more than you might be thinking or doing! It will not cure all that you are going through, but it is a VERY important part of helping it. A minimum a gal per day. Water!!, and try to do everything (anything) you can think of to make yourself feel (even one iota) better, try to comfort yourself in the best ways you can think of, hopefully you will see some of these "effects" decrease during treatment (I hope so), reach out for some help (as you are all doing), I wish it was an easier ride for you - but keep the thought - you know this tretament is the right thing to do. A huge reward is coming.

Where the heck is spell check?? C.



__________________

HCV/HBV 1973. HBV resolved. HCV undiagnosed to 2015. 64 y.o. F. Canada.

GT3a, Fibroscan F3/12 kPa - F4/12.6 kPa, VL log 7.01 (10,182,417), steatosis, high iron load.

SOF/VEL with/without GS-9857 trial - NCT02639338.

SOT March 10 - EOT May 5, 2016 - SOF/VEL/VOX 8 week trial.

 

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Tig


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Hi Christina,

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear you're feeling so poorly. Epclusa isn't known to cause many side effects, so your problems aren't common. That doesn't mean they can't and you have to get into your doctor to find out what's going on.

As Jimmy mentioned, you absolutely MUST be drinking a minimum of 1 gallon of water per day. These oral medications (DAA's) increase your body's need for water. If you aren't meeting that minimum, you WILL experience side effects from them. Imagine it like you are dehydrating without realizing it! We have one story after another, where our members began to experience some of these same issues and when they hydrated adequately, they began to feel better rapidly. How much water are you drinking per day? 

You have to make a call to your doctor and let them know what's going on. If you already have anti anxiety and sleeping medication, first thing is to be careful with it. Epclusa and other medications like this, can cause some insomnia. Different things can be tried to make you more able to deal with these side effects. What time do you take your medication? The administration time can be adjusted with permission. You obviously need some help figuring this out and your doctor should be advising you, too. 

Do your best to get your doctor involved in this immediately. Don't quit, there is a reason this is affecting you like this and there is also an answer. Let's try to find out what's going on. We'll do our best to help you through this. Hold on....

When you have a moment, please tell us about yourself. Knowing your genotype, recent lab results, anything pertinent, will help us provide better informed opinions. Placing the information in your signature line allows us to see it when replying to future posts. There are some links in my signature that will help. If we can answer any questions, don't hesitate to ask.



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Tig

68yo GT1A - 5 Mil - A2/F3 - (1996) Intron A - Non Responder, (2013) Peg/Riba/Vic SOT:05/23/13 EOT:12/04/13 SVR 9+ years!

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JimmyK


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Hi Christina.

Glad you are here! How much water per day are you drinking?

 

JimmyK



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Harvoni TX 2 12 weeks. UND weeks 4, 12 and now EOT + 4 Weeks. SVR-12 09/29/16. All Glory, Honor and Thanks be to God.

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Ineedsleep


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I have been having really bad side effects from epclusa. I am very weak And tired all the time. I'm getting horrible anxiety and depression and insomnia. I really want to finish my treatment. Can someone pleae help me . Do the side effects get any better or worse. I am so lost and scared. Someone help please. I'm on anxiety meds and sleeping meds. Nothing makeshort it better. I don't know what to do.

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Christina Tsatsis
Tig


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Hi Jen,

Once you complete treatment, the components of Epclusa will clear your system very quickly. Usually within a week. Then it's going to take some time for your body and metabolism to recover and that's an unknown to be honest. It can depend on several things, such as how healthy you were when you started treatment. Any health issues caused by the virus over the years, can take some time. Cirrhosis, varicies, certain arthralgias, etc., can take the longest, if they ever go away completely.

Now, with all that said, most people will start to feel improvements pretty soon, the more complicated the problem, the longer it might take. Don't get discouraged though. The virus is gone and you have prevented it from continuing to destroy your body. It's worth the fight, trust me on that one. No more silent, deadly Dragon swimming around destroying everything it touched. 

Keep the faith, it does get better. Continue a healthy lifestyle, diet, and adequate hydration as you begin your recovery. It helps! Good luck...



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Tig

68yo GT1A - 5 Mil - A2/F3 - (1996) Intron A - Non Responder, (2013) Peg/Riba/Vic SOT:05/23/13 EOT:12/04/13 SVR 9+ years!

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skewedButNotBroken


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I treated with different drugs ( Sovaldi and Olysio ) but it took me about 2 years before I started feeling normal. But now at age 59, I feel better than I did at age 40.



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Diag. with hep c in 1992; A3:F2;  GT 1a; IL28B CT; VL 900k, ALT 150, AST 100 on 8/5/2014; SOT 9/5/2014  S/O ---VL 127 after 6 days; VL detected on day 18 but < 15.; --> UND @ EOT+ 1 year SVR!
Sanuk-Sanan


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Greetings friends!

Somedays I have a handle on Epclusa's sides, some days it has a handle on me.  Just how it is. But I'm coming down to the last bottle.  I'll pop it open next week, so naturally I'm wondering how long it takes for my body to get rid of the stuff?  Assuming the sides (fatigue, muscle and joint ache) will go away once I stop popping a pill every night, how long does it take for these sides to go away?  

They go away, right?

Blessings to you in 2017!!!

Jen



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GT 2b;

Oct 2016 F0/1; TX 12 week Epclusa; UND at SOT +4

 
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