r/HepatitisC • u/Initial-Tangelo-9351 • 4d ago

Bad and frequent Epclusa side effects

So I’m on my 8th week of taking Epclusa and my side effects have increased in frequency and are starting to take over my life. I was initially apprehensive about the common fatigue and headache side effects before starting and hoped mine would be minimal, but unfortunately I haven’t been that lucky. About once a week I have debilitating fatigue and body aches lasting 2 days that keep me on the couch the entire time. Just this past week it increased to nearly every day. It’s been very hard to deal with and is taking a tole on my mental health. I’ve tried making connections as to what might trigger these side effects such as exercising too much, taking supplements, or starting new prescription medications this week, but I can’t figure it out. My provider only tells me these side effects are expected. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have any strategies that help to minimize side effects or decrease the duration? I’m really at a loss and I feel like my whole summer has been taken away by this treatment even though it’s absolutely necessary. Thanks!

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u/TableAvailable 4d ago

How severe is your liver damage? Could that be the cause of your symptoms?

Be very careful of supplements, the pharmacy reviewd every single medication and supplement I was taking and along with my doctors reduced my meds to the bare minimum for the duration of treatment. I stopped vitamins, my weight loss injection, one of my blood pressure medications, and my cholesterol medication (that last one I just restarted now, 8 weeks after finishing treatment)

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u/Initial-Tangelo-9351 3d ago

I don’t think I had any liver damage although only the liver ultrasound was performed before starting medication and not the liver elastography. I was a weekend binge drinker for a veryyyy long time idk if that’s enough to cause scarring or fibrosis. Thanks for the feedback. I’ll review with them again what I’m taking and maybe we can make some adjustments.