Water drinking and therapy

[Abraksas]

My husband is in 25 week therapy with Epclusa. He asked me to check with you, how much water he needs to drink when he finishes therapy? He is tired of drinking plenty of water, and think that he could be back on usual amount of liquid when therapy ended. He drinks about 5 glasses of water during the day, also he is vegan and there is more liquid in that kind of food.He is also worried about constant pain in liver and asks if someone has equal troubles? Thank you!

[flyinlynn]

He should during  and after treatment consume about 8 glasses of liquids. This does not have to be strictly water it can come from any beverage and even foods that have high water content like melons and really any food that has fluid.

He just needs to be properly hydrated as we all should. This is best determined by the color of his urine it should be a pale yellow.

Most people don’t get enough fluids so it is important for them to be properly hydrated on treatment mostly to relieve side effects like the common headaches. But if he was already getting enough fluid intake he really did not need to increase his fluid intake.

The liver itself does not have nerve endings and cannot feel pain. But all internal organs are surrounded by a membrane which does have nerve endings. A liver with cirrhosis can become swollen and enlarged. When this happens the liver can push against the membrane causing pain. However, not all pain in the abdomen is from the liver there can be other causes. He should ask his doctor about this pain to determine the cause.

Best of luck

[Abraksas]

Thanks Flyinn! Best of luck to you too!

[Merlady33]

I took interferon and ribavirin for a year many years ago and was cured. I was told to drink at least one gallon a day of water! Your situation might be different but I doubt it.I wore a hole on the rug to the toilet!!!

[flyinlynn]

That’s probably too much water. Really just keeping properly hydrated the old 8 each 8oz glasses plus a little more is probably fine. It doesn’t have to be solely water either even foods with high moisture content like watermelon for example contribute to overall hydration.