Food and Diet Advice When Taking Sofosbuvir Plus Daclatasvir
If you have a sofosbuvir pill and a separate daclatasvir pill, these pills should be taken together at the same time each day.
The pills should be taken with a small amount of food and not too much water or other beverages. The reason for this is taking the pills with a small amount of food will hold the medicines in the stomach for the maximum time, ensuring absorption of the active ingredients.
Because sofosbuvir can cause insomnia in some people, it may be wise to that the pills in the morning with breakfast.
Coffee and tea should only be taken in moderation while using sofosbuvir and daclatasvir. The reason for this is that the enzymes (CYP enzymes) used by the body to remove caffeine from the blood, are from the same family of enzymes that the body uses to remove sofosbuvir and daclatasvir from the blood. High levels of caffeine may create an “under-dose” situation.
Having said that, one or two cups of coffee or tea are no problem at all.
Energy Drinks and Sofosbuvir Plus Daclatasvir
Energy drinks such as Red Bull and other brands contain high levels of caffeine and another stimulant called taurine. Taurine will also stimulate production of CYP enzymes and so energy drinks should be avoided.
Herbal Supplements During Hepatitis C Treatment
High levels of these CYP enzymes can also be caused by some drugs and herbal supplements, particularly St John’s wort. It is wise to avoid any herbal supplements while doing hepatitis C treatment with sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir.
Food and Hepatitis C Treatment
There are no common foods that cause any problematic interactions with sofosbuvir and daclatasvir. There is something of a myth going around that food like grapefruit, papaya and so on should be avoided. This is not entirely correct.
The reason behind this myth is that certain fruits will slightly suppress production of the CYP enzymes (the enzymes that break down sofosbuvir and daclatasvir). What this means is that by eating these foods while doing hep C treatment, the sofosbuvir and daclatasvir will remain active in the blood a little longer, which is probably not a bad thing.
To put this simply and in perspective, the half-life of sofosbuvir in your blood is about 20 minutes. That means that if your body absorbs 400 mg of sofosbuvir 20 minutes later there will be only 200 mg of sofosbuvir. After 40 minutes, there will be about 100 mg and after an hour about 50 mg.
If you were to eat several grapefruit or a couple of papaya the effect might be that at the end of an hour you might have 60 or 70 mg left instead of 50 mg… it’s not a problem. You would need to eat about several grapefruit to make any real significant difference.
Taking Other Medication While Doing Hepatitis C Treatment
If you are on other medication, you should check with your doctor to make sure there are no clashes between the hep C medication and your other medicines. If you want to check for yourself there is a very good website which has an interactive chart that lists all hep C medicines and other medications and you can check you medicine on this. Here is the link:
https://hep-druginteractions.org/checker
Summary
While taking sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir (or any DAA) to treat hepatitis C, a sensible diet containing fresh fruit and vegetables is the main requirement. Avoid supplements of any kind during treatment.
Once treatment is complete, if you use particular herbal or vitamin supplements, then you can resume.
To give your liver the best chance to heal the healthy diet combined with regular exercise is the best path to follow.
Given a chance, your liver will be able to completely heal from the damage done by hep C.
Greg’s blog is reprinted with permission, and the opinions expressed are entirely his.
