Always thirsty on this regimen?

[hepcandme]

I have 2 more weeks of Sovaldi/Olysio treatment.
Yay!!

But I am Always thirsty, even though I drink Lots of water every day and have a glass of water on my nightstand. I have even woken up in the morning with a parched mouth and lips that made me think that I slept all night with my mouth open. But I didn't.

I am taking a small dose of Spironolactone 25 MG per day and t try to never eat salt

Has anyone experienced this constant thirst?

Is it the new meds or just another symptom of liver disease?

Or edema?

[candyce1953]

Even though it isn't a listed side effect,

I did find I needed more water than usual ( I don't usually drink enough anyway)

I had felt my boday temperature felt warmer, even though I was not running a fever, and I was not sweating, I did have hot flashes, could that dehydrate I do not know ?

But have then run other labs to be safe
Xoxo
CH

[NYCMark]

Yes!  I was always thirsty on Sovaldi/Olysio,  and I made sure to always carry water with me everywhere.  My doctor's advice "Hydrate!  Hydrate!"

-Mark

[dontworry_behappy1]

Thirst and dry mouth has been a common side effect of hepatitis c treatment. Biotene mouth wash is a life saver.  Biotene is for dry mouth.  Feels good in your mouth too.   It's very important to drink lots of water to help flush the treatment drugs through your body.   Try drinking at least 8 glasses a day.

Best to you

[MagTX]

I would think that the spironolactone med you're taking is adding to your signs of dehydration. Yes the meds do dehydrate us a bit, but having a diuretic on board also can be adding to or giving you the parched mouth and lips that you described. Keep up the water intake, it sounds like you need the extra hydration to pull you through the tx.
If you continue to feel so dehydrated with the signs you are having maybe talk to the doc who's prescribing the diuretic and see if he wants you to cut down on the 25mg you're taking everyday. Just a thought, but always good to check it out. Having that much thirst and parched mouth and lips is a sign of dehydration.
Hoping you start to feel much better soon.. Keep us posted!

[Dee1956]

Hello there! Congratulations for being so close to the finish line.
I did not take this tx, I had to take Inf, Riba and Incivek but I was told that the tx was very dehydrating.  Like you I had a galss of water on my night stand and I would wake with my mouth so dry.  I wonder how that affected my teeth during tx as a dry mouth can add to cavities.  I had to use all of the Biotene products during tx.  They have a gel you can use before bed to help with dry mouth.
Dehydration can cause aches and pains.
I have read that if you are thirsty you have passed dehydration.
I  had edema during tx.   Have you mentioned to the doctor?
Again, really happy for you, Dee :)

[Verdugo]

You're in the homestretch.  Almost there!

I looked up Spironolactone, and it looks like you should ask your doctor for a specific water recommendation, as there's a delicate balance between sodium, potassium, and H20 (ie., your electrolytes) -- that that medication is responsible for.  

Good luck, V.

[Livelife777]

I would agree with all the good advice above.   Was on Sol and Rib and my body temp always ran around 99*.      Doc said that was a side of the Solv.   By being thirsty your body is telling you that you are dehydrated.  I also agree the diuretic is adding fuel to the fire.   The last couple of weeks were also more noticeable, as far as thirst.   Gatorade, if allowable for your situation, will help.   I drank that thru treatment without issues.   You are so close to the finish line. So excited for you!     Keep us posted as we are so cheering for you.       ..Kim

[orphanedhawk]

Drink tons of water and use biotene products for dry mouth.

[zarmar]

You are so near the end - how wonderful!  I look forward to that great day.

Just started Sof/Sim today, so can't speak from experience yet.  My doctor said dehydration can be side effect of meds.  I am to drink 65 oz of H2O p/day based on my body weight - this is about 8C for me.  I drink a lot of H2O anyway since I also have NH lymphoma.  Keep flushing the toxins out!  The biotene helps with dry mouth that many of these complex formularies can cause - there is tooth paste, mouth spray, rinse, and gel - all can have a place depending on degree of your dry mouth.  Doctor also said little or no caffeine for me since it is dehydrating.

[Sovaldi13Newbie]

I'm going on my 5th week of Sovaldi/Olysio and I'm a very moist person, hahahha! I've never had dry skin, anything like that. This stuff just dries me up!!! I'm constantly drinking water (with just a spoonful of cherry juice for flavoring). I'm constantly putting Alba Coca Butter skin cream cause my skin gets so dry it actually hurts! I'm constantly putting Genteal Eye Gel (for severely dry eyes) and that works great. My sinus passages even get dry, so I use this stuff called "Ocean" (you can buy it at most high quality drug stores) and spray that into my nostrils. So yeah, I try to remember, they aren't going to list everything on this because it's so new and they probably don't have tons of patient feedback yet. I find calling my pharmacy and asking them questions (the specialized one that handles this combo, it's Acaria for me) and they are very good at answering my questions.

With me it's lowering my platelets a little (that's on the drug lit) but I'm a bone marrow transplant so that *might* have something to do with it. They aren't in the danger zone yet and I'm hoping they don't dip too far down. Does anyone else have this problem with this treatment? Slightly lowered platelets? thanks!

[Sovaldi13Newbie]

Oh, I'm also chewing lots of sugarless gum. It keeps my mouth moist.

[HectorSF]

Spironolactone is a diuretic. It is prescribed for cirrhotics to help manage the (fluid build-up) of peripheral edema and ascites caused by cirrhosis (liver scarring and portal hypertension).

Have you noticed how many times more a day you are urinating then before starting the drug? The purpose of  Spironolactone is to make you flush water and sodium from the body so fluid build up is reduced.

"Aldactone (spironolactone) is an aldosterone receptor antagonist that causes the kidneys to remove water and sodium from the body, with reduced losses of potassium. Aldactone is used to reduce edema caused by heart, liver or kidney problems, hypertension, and certain patients with hyperaldosteronism. Aldactone is available in a generic form named spironolactone."

"Spironolactone may cause dry mouth, nausea, thirst, dizziness, headache and fatigue that may be signs of dehydration. "

Cheers
Hector

[hepcandme]

Thanks for all the great feedback. Bought some Biotene products today and will give that a go and continue to drink lots of water. I would say I drink probably 10 glasses a day + crushed ice. Hector, I haven't noticed increased need to urinate but that's probably because I have been taking the diuretic for the last 9 months and am used to getting up to pee in the middle of the night

I wrote my pharmacist and her response was (I am paraphrasing here)
"Sounds like your friends gave you good advice. We don't really yet know all the side effects of this particular regimen of drugs. You should continue to take the low dose of Spironolactone to keep ascites in check and try to stay hydrated"

Newbie, I found your post very interesting because I too have felt skin, eyes and nose dryness. I also always feel like a baby for even complaining about such things as fatigue and headaches because I know that other brave souls have endured so much worse.

Still, I can't wait to be finished. I have felt so wiped out in the last few days.

12 days and counting...

Oh, and Thank You for all the good wishes and for keeping me in your thoughts

Back Atcha!!!

[madelefant]

I went through interferon and ribivirin treatment twice and the doctor made it clear I needed to drink something like 80 ounces of water a day. They didn't say that to me this time (Sovaldi and Ribivirin) but the medication literature says to drink extra fluids.

[susan400]

It is a normal side effect of these treatments.  It's okay to drink extra water.  I was told a good rule of thumb was that to go by the color of your urine.  I know that sounds weird. But, supposedly you want your urine to be more towards a clear color or very pale yellow.  If it is a dark yellow or bright yellow, you definitely need to drink more water.  If you drink alot of caffeine, that is dehydrating and if you are sweating alot, that is dehydrating.  I'm not trying to be a weirdo, talking about the color of urine. I am just passing along the information that I was given.  Susan400