Ribaviron dose for Geno 2 and 3

[granitekonig]

So I started treatment last week. My Dr. says standard Riba dose for Geno 2 and 3 is 800mg, regardless of weight. Many on this forum have stated that Riba should be weight dependant and according to that I should be at 1200mg.

I spoke with my Dr.'s assistant and I told her I really wanted to be aggressive and take at least 1000mg, even though I'm geno3 and she gave me two sample bottles of 160 pills each for free!! Those will be enough to compensate for the small amount of Riba I'm getting from my medical supplier every month.

Any other geno 2 or 3's out there with anything to share regarding the dose you are taking? I looked it up online, and more often than not 800 was the agreed upon dose for geno 2 and 3. Maybe the 1000mg is too much? I'm going to take the 1000mg as long as I can. If it gets absolutely horrible in the side effects department, maybe I'll cut it back to 800. As it sits now, I feel like I'm doing more work than what is recommended by my Dr. and by many websites so I deserve a cookie, right??

[Debbie223]

Type 2 here, weighed 147 when I started and I am on 1200mg..UND at 4 weeks. Hoping for the best outcome.

Never had any serious sx... just fatigue and lack of desire to do much.

Best of luck

[gauf]

You are more than likely going to need procrit, and soon. It does not work right away so get it lined up if possible. SLAY THE BEAST!

[nygirl7]

I'm glad to hear that granite.....it's a better to err on the side of a bit too much rather than too little situation if you ask me.

Dont forget the second part though - FREQUENT PCRs and if you need, Procrit.

Talk to him about that sneakily though :)

[granitekonig]

Yes I will be taking 1200 a day from here on out.

[rita3a]

Maybe you should listen to the others and do 1200 mg for as long as you can, especially if you want to treat agressively.  Marcia figured out your weight per dose.  Having to tx all over again is not fun.

[rita3a]

I took 800 mg a day and am a geno type 3 now UND.  I weigh 130 lbs.  I would take 1000 for your weight.  Just my opinion.  I have extra pills if you run out.

Good luck!

[Shnoogy]

Just wanted to say good luck!

[hippygem]

I am geno 3, relapser, last tx in 2004, was taking 800mg riba

I am doing the treatment again in Feb 2009, this time I will be on a higher dose, 1000mg riba.

Good luck with your treatment.

Linda

[epiphiny]

Definitely up the Riba to 1200, I agree with everything people have said here.  I too was under dosed at 800 on my first tx (and I'm lighter than you) and I didn't respond.  On 1200 now and responding well.

Just take the extra ones required to bring the dose up and if you run out tell the clinic you had an accident with the bottle and they all fell in the sink or some such BS.

Whatever it takes, my friend, what ever it takes!

[FlGuy]

Afraid that I am not.  I'm in Southeast Florida.  I consulted with the Miami docs.  Dperry is from Tampa and folks like Susan, SJL and Spacecoast are from central Fla.  Many more people are here in the south.

I've heard (no personal knowledge) that the docs at USF (Tampa) have good reputations (several different ones are doc forum docs here).

I reacall a way back that someone mentioned a clinic in the Tampa/St. Pete area, but I don't recall the name.  Also, the docs at University of Florida (Gainesville) are very good to.  A drive to Gainesville from Tampa isn't too onerous.  One of Susan's most recent trials was in Jacksonville (an interstate straight shot from Tampa).  Maybe when she recovers from her scope (yesterday I think) she can chime in.  Obviously, she has a lot of hcv expereince.

[Bill1954]

Are you familiar with any Tampa/Saint Pete doctors?

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/709713

Thanks guy, Bill

[FlGuy]

You have chosen well, Grasshopper.

[granitekonig]

I'm 187lbs, down from my normal 195lbs. I haven't lifted weights much lately. Too consumed by this nagging little friend of mine called hep c.

I'm going to call my medical supplier and tell them they need to be sending me a third bottle each month. Each one has 56 capsules in it. In the meantime the extra that the assistant gave me should help out until then. I'm going to up it to 1200mg starting tomorrow.

[gauf]

I am a G3 on his 3rd tox. Tox 1 was 800 (failed). Tox 2 was 1000 (failed). 3rd tox 1200-1400 (we'll see) You made the right call on upping.

[nygirl7]

The older rules were straight 800 however weight based has been proven more effective and is now what the top docs would go with.  I had just gone to Dr. Ira Jacobson's office in NYC when this info came out so it was about August of 2006 I think.  There must have been a study dont but unfortunately I don't know what the name was. But he's the one who told me about it and you can't find a better more respected liverhead in the entire world.

I wouldn't worry about 1000.  When I started treatment I was tall and thin (5'7, 120pounds) and I asked the doc if I could go up from 800 to 1,000 and he said of course I could.  Unfortunately for me I doubled it to 1600 and for my weight that was WAY too much (I was crazy and had read one study that lead me kind of astray but who knows if I would have made it without the extras I had a hard time as it was) but I kind of agree that 1,000 seems insufficient.

Almost all of us can tell you that you will most likely have a lot of extra riba left over at the end of treatment.

it seems your doc is reading out of old text books and probably won't want to do a 4 week PCR like copy man said, I agree you should ask about it and INSIST on it. G3 can be just as hard as any G1 - there are plenty of relapsers in here who can attest to how stubborn that strain can be.

If you have opportunity to try and find a real specialist - one who is more up to date on the current information, I would try and get a second opinion at LEAST.

You can't mess around with this treatment, it's hard enough to do but you need every single bit of the odds that you can get.

[copyman]

I think it is a great idea. hit the virus hard early on and if the SX become unbearable then you could cut back. You doc sounds like the type that will also tell you that a 4 week PCR is not needed for G3's. INSIST ON IT or do it on your own. Best of luck

[Marcia2202]

I would say that this is the old fashioned approach. Nowadays they treat all genos weight based. When I started tx I weighed 57 kgs now almost 54. I am on weight based 800mg.  You should have around 13 - 15 mg per kg of weight.

There are a few members with our geno who did not make it, because they were under dosed, so good for you that you have that extra riba.

If I remember correctly, you weigh around 180 lb = 82 kgs

At   800mg - you would have 9,7 mg per kg -----definitely under dosed
At 1000mg - you would have 12,2 mg per kg --- still under dosed
At 1200mg -  14,6mg   ---- this is your dose

Please verify your weight again, but I think you should actually be on 1200mg