Pegasys first dose and bad nausea

[JeanieRN]

My Besremi was denied for the 2nd time with UHC Currently in the 3rd appeal with my husband’s self insured company. In the meantime I started on Pegasys 45 mcg last night and woke up very nauseous. Any suggestions of which med is good for nausea. I just emailed my MPN specialist and asked for Zofran. Any suggestions are welcome!

[hunter5582]

Requesting Zofran is a very reasonable course of action. There are other anti-nausea meds that might also help (e.g. scopolamine). You may have to do a bit of experimenting. There are also OTC remedies like Nauzene and cola syrup. On the complementary health side, ginger tea and or mint teas can be very helpful. I reallylike Ginger Aid tea. tastes good and does in fact help with nausea. smile.amazon.com/Traditiona...

Hopefully you body will adjust to the PEG so this will not be a long-term issue. Note that I am using Claritin to mange the histamine reaction I get from the IFNs.

Don't give up on the appeals for Besremi. I kept at it and did get Besremi approved even though the original denial said my policy would "never" cover Besremi. Note - having an adverse reaction to Pegasys may help your case.

All the best.

[JeanieRN in reply to hunter5582]

Thank you for this information. I have Budd -Chiari as well and I would like to take something more natural. My doctor did call in a prescription for Zofran.

[hunter5582 in reply to JeanieRN]

If you want to try something more natural, I would try one of the ginger teas. I have found them to be helpful. Even if not effective, they taste really good. Worth drinking for that reason if nothing else.

[Planti]

I experienced nausea when I started on Pegasys too. I finally discovered that I needed to drink quite a lot more water. Even now after a year I will start to feel a bit queasy if I forget. I like ginger tea too, my favourite is Flora”s Double Ginger.

I hope you find something that works for you.

[Threelions]

It’s already been suggested but drink lots & lots of water. It helps massively.Wishing you all the best.

[Wyebird]

Hi, I was told to expect to be quite poorly after taking my first dose of Peg. I was told to take it and go to bed and rest. Yes I was nauseous. I called it my 5-2 diet. As I was originally on a weekly dose and nauseous for about 2 days. Don’t worry every jab has a lighter side affect. Now I just take it and put aside an easy or pleasant day. I actually think I don’t even need to schedule an easy day now. It’s a habit I’ve got into. ( good excuse for a do nothing day) I’ve had brilliant results. I love it so good luck keep us all updated. Oh and If nausea does continue contact your heamo.

[BeachNJ]

Hi!I'm sorry to hear about the nausea, it's a terrible feeling. I agree with many others about increasing your water intake and herbal tea. I don't prefer the taste of ginger so I drink mint tea.

I've since stopped taking pegasys due to averse side effects a month ago. I was up to 90 mcg weekly and while I didn't need phlebotomy I didn't have a good quality of life. We reduced to 45 mcg weekly which was better, but still had side effects and began needing phlebotomy again.

My doctor was able to get me approved for besremi. I haven't begun with besremi as of yet even though I continue to need phlebotomy. I feel so normal again and healthy in comparison to the year that I was on pegasys. I'm fearful that I will have the same side effects with besremi.

Best of luck to you with your journey and keep the updates coming!❤️

[Buddhability]

Hi JeanieRN, I’m ET and very aware how different and unique everyone is, even within the different MPNs. But I just wanted to throw in my experience of taking Inteferon. First time, wiped me out for 3 days, in part due to a migraine. 2nd time, nothing like as bad. 3rd time I hardly noticed anything. And that’s where I am today. 4th jab is next week. So very early days. I really wanted it to work as it carried the potential for remission which is my goal. I hope that helps you on your journey. You have my very best wishes Jeanie.