Ya no T-shirt for me there! But on a brighter note I log back onto this forum and all my treatment buddies now have SVR in the signatures! What an awesome feeling! We did it boys! Dead dragons for everyone!

One of them places that wouldn't let you were the t-shirt eh?

Canuck, Tig,

Yes I'm glad to be back for sure, I missed all you guys who supported me through this whole thing. I guess I must have been given the real meds cause my LFTs are that of a teenager...lol Thank you Epclusa! And ya Tig it was the sort of vacation that served lots of PBJ sandwiches!!

Heeeeey! tkflex!!!!,

SO glad to hear from ya, my ole trial buddy!

Thought you'd NEVER phone home. 

Been missing you around here sumpin fierce!

Glad you posted your good news and update.

I've been doing a lot of talkin' (behind your back like) while you were gone ... with so many fellow epclusians having come on board following us, I often "used you" and quoted you, being that you were the best ever "poster boy" for a good test-run on sof/vel - (like how you suspected you might have been given a placebo by mistake to explain your lack of sides, hee hee).

I am so glad you are back (in more ways than one).  C.

Hey TK,

What's shaking dude? Good to hear from you! There have been lots of positive advances and the rates of success are phenomenal. 

I hope everything is going well. Sorry about the unwanted vacation... Was it in one of those places offering colored underwear and PBJ sandwiches for each meal? 

Good luck Brother...

Hey Everyone,

I am so sorry I haven't been able to update this thread. I was away on an unwanted vacation, and was unable to use the Internet through no choice of my own. So as a final post on this topic I am happy to let you know that I did have my 6 month post tx bloodwork done in Oct. 16, and virus still undetected, all all LFT levels are all within normal. SVR 24 was achieved! I see my trial meds have a whole new name now, that's awesome! Good luck everyone, and on my side there is one less dragon in the world!!!

Tk,

So SVR is right around the corner ... won't be long now.

Dave

Hey Rich, hope things are going well. Bet your feeling good now the monster is gone. Canuck is doing great, she's done and UND at 4 weeks as well.  Stay in touch.  RC

tkflex36 wrote:

---

Good news everyone, just hot the news I'm SVR 4!!!

---

 My congrats. buddy! So happy for you!

Wow Rich, awesome news.  These new generation drugs, DAA'S, are great!  CC

Hi Rich,

           This is the best news I've had in a long time. You made it!!  That 4 week test result is all about the rest of your life- HCV FREE. I was pulling for you the whole way through! Congratulations .  Watch your back because Canuck is right behind you, and I will be there in 2017                 

RC

WTG TK, nice to know how effective that combo is, very reassuring to those following in your footsteps.

Dave

TK,

Hey bud!

THAT"S the way we do it!!!!!!  Velparized!  C.

excellent news

Excellent, and just as we expected!!  Congrats Rich... next stop SVR!!   

It's the shirt.

Hey Rich,

Excellent news! SVR4 is an indication of what lies ahead, SVR12... I can assure you that the rate of success is nearly identical. I wish you would stop jumping up and down, you're shaking the foundation of the place! Ahh, what the heck, bring down the house, you deserve it!!! You just finished one of the new gold medal treatments that will change the face of HCV! 

Congratulations, I never had a doubt....

WOOT!!

Good news everyone, just hot the news I'm SVR 4!!!

tkflex36 wrote:

---

 Don't stop fighting til the dragon is DEAD

---

 The fight is over - the dragon is DEAD. Battle well fought Rich!

Hey buddy,

So glad to hear from ya!

Can't wait to hear your 4 week post-treatment VL results, and to celebrate with you.

You've velparized them!

Your pal,  C.

Another nail in a Dragon's coffin ...

Best of luck with the test results, you got it!

Dave

HI again TK, best of luck!! 

I think Jimmy`s hit the nail on the head.. I`d say you`ve got this!! 

With a T-Shirt like that I'd say you nailed it! 

Good luck Rich!!!! We'll be waiting for the party to start 

Hey everybody,

Hope you all are doing well! Quick update I went in today for my EOT+4 WK labs. Will find out next week if I achieved svr4! Fingers crossed! 

TK 

Fantastic results, Rich, congrats!!  You must be feeling very happy, and with those numbers I should say your liver's happy too!

I'm glad you handed in the spare bottle, now all you've got to do is relax and wait for your SVR4!  

Hi TK.

             Never a doubt.Those numbers are GREAT! You deserve it.   RC

So great TK,

congrats. You must feel a million dollars. 

So happy for you....now we'll just take a deep breath and wait for that 12 weeks post.

Syd

Hey Rich,

That's great dude! You're on your way to SVR, that's what it's all about. Those are excellent numbers. Now we'll be waiting for the rest of the good news!

Very Nice test results TK ... Congrats!

Dave

WOW!!!!

Those are GREAT results! Very happy for you brother!

JimmyK

EOT 12 week test results:

Alt-23

Ast-24

Viral load-Undetected 

For anyone wondering I turned in the extra bottle of meds, so it's been a week since a took a dose. I go back in 3 weeks for an EOT+4 week test! Next stop SVR 4!

TK 

Hi Rich, congratulations on finishing your 12 week trial! 

What you decide to do regarding the additional bottle of pills is of course up to you, but if I was in your position I wouldn`t do it, for all the reasons already stated. 

For a start, I think your 12 weeks will have been perfectly adequate for you to achieve your SVR, you`re responded very well and your chances of success are excellent indeed.  It would mess up your results schedule, and also you`d have the added strain of keeping up the pretence of not having voluntarily extended your tx duration.  And why put more of these powerful drugs into your system than you actually need?  I see where you`re coming from and understand the temptation to `make sure` that the virus is all gone, but I would think very carefully before making a decision on this.  I would strongly advise against it, but that`s just my opinion.

As Gracie said, put your mind on other things, take some time out from thinking and worrying about Hep C and your results, the next 12 weeks will soon pass by!

Best of luck, and thanks for sharing your trial journey with us, keep us updated!! 

Ps - LOVE the t-shirt! 

What they said.

Especially since it's a trial. And not sure they would buy into a "misplaced the bottle" scenario. I'm sure your not the only one who thought that. I actually had tons of RIBA left over from my incevik days, enough for ten weeks, so considered adding it to my harvoni, but opted out, knowing the havoc RIBA can cause. Plus, it would skew their results.

Waiting is hard and every one of us feels the "what if it's back" kick you in the gut feelings ... Or the "what if I didn't do everything right and it caused a relapse" feelings ... I'm going through that now waiting for my end +12 results. But there are no reasons to think that you have not cleared and why put yourself though the guilt and the wait of another bottle.

Just sit back, try and keep busy and before long, this will all be past you. SVR is in your future.

Hi Rich,

so glad you got through the 12 weeks without symptoms. Totally understand the line you drawing between their statistics and your own personal survival. Forget the morality, that's a different issue, from a totally practical best for you point of view, there are a range things to consider:

1. Do you think you could pull off a major deception like that comfortably? ( No morals involved, just know I'm not a good actor or liar and I couldn't do it.) If your answer is yes I could, piece of p$@!?, then go to point 2.

2. Statistics are on your side. You're young, non cirrhotic and perfectly in the 95% category.

3. None of us really know what the long term effects of these new "cures" will be. Don't put any more poison in your system than you have to. 

4. When you get to 12 weeks after treatment, it will really be only 8 and so you will be, geez maybe it's not a real indication I really am virus free, and you'll be carrying all that doubt around quietly eating at you. 

5. i don't know but more educated members are saying there's no clinical evidence it would improve your chances anyway. 

Impressed  your fierce fight,

Syd

Hi Rich, Congrats on your stellar finish. 12 weeks >95%< svr on your combo,Thats what I call stellar. Without these trials we would all be back in the stone age as far as treatments go.Having just finnished 12 weeks sof-peg-riba I couldn"t imagine having to do 48 months peg-riba as many before us have had to endured. Its trial's like the ones lots of us have done that brought us out of the treatment stone age and into the new DAA"s, now your a part of that history! Thank you.  I'm looking forward to hearing about your post treatment blood work results, keep posting them . RC

Tig56 wrote:

---

Hey Rich,

Congratulations on finishing! I don't think you need another 4 weeks. The success rates for GT3's TN, non cirrhotic were 95% in the Astral trial. You have been responding as good as it gets! You're pioneering a new protocol for those following you and your results will make a difference. There is no evidence that a 16 week course of treatment will improve your chances of SVR. I can understand your desire to pour a little more gas on the funeral pyre, but I don't feel you need to do that. 

Thanks Tig!

---

Hey Rich,

Congratulations on finishing! I don't think you need another 4 weeks. The success rates for GT3's TN, non cirrhotic were 95% in the Astral trial. You have been responding as good as it gets! You're pioneering a new protocol for those following you and your results will make a difference. There is no evidence that a 16 week course of treatment will improve your chances of SVR. I can understand your desire to pour a little more gas on the funeral pyre, but I don't feel you need to do that. 

Good luck on your tests, I believe you just completed one of the best courses of treatment available and I think your odds of success are better than excellent! We'll be waiting to celebrate the good news!

My conscience? For trying to give myself the absolute best chance of a cure? The bottle has my name on it, I'm not taking it from someone else. If I actually had lost the bottle I doubt they would file a lawsuit. I get you don't approve of the idea, that's why I put it out here to see what feedback I'd get. I just feel like if I fail the tx (and it does happen to people) that I'd be seriously regretting not taking them, beings sometimes that extra few weeks is what makes or breaks the virus. Thanks for your opinion though, Dave.

TK

Hi TK,

Congrats on finishing the 12 weeks!

Can't condone the deceit ... I wouldn't do it ... you'll be fine without it.

If your conscience doesn't get you a lawsuit making you pay full price for the drugs might ... or karma, just sayin.

Dave

p.s.  I mean, come on dude, I know you've got a moral compass in there somewhere ..

Well friends that's it, I just took the last pill! I go for eot labs tomorrow. Then it's the 12 weeks wait to see if I actually killed the beast for good. Gotta say it was a really easy ride for me. I really want to thank everyone on this forum who has helped me through this journey so far and whatever comes next. All of you are great people, and it definitely helped having a place to ask questions and give and get advice. I do have a quick question for ya'll. If you were in my shoes and just finished the 84 days today, IF you could would you take another 28 days worth??? The way I see it is an extra month couldn't hurt only help. In order to take the extra I would have to yell the trial center I misplaced the extra bottle they gave me, and when I went in for the 12 week post tx labs it would only be 8 weeks, same with the 6 month post tx labs, would only be 5 months. Obviously I wouldn't tell them I took the extra 28 tabs. I've been thinking about doing this for awhile now, it's probably technically not the right thing to do but I'm thinking about MYSELF not their trial numbers. This trial was not to see if sof/vel works or not but to compare how well it works compared to the triple. I'm thinking about what would happen if I were to fail at the the 3 month mark, what would my options be? They never could answer that question, just said something else will eventually become available. If the extra 28 pills increases my odds by even 1%, I'm thinking it's worth it. Especially since I have had zero sides so it's not like I'm looking forward to tx ending so the sides stop. I'd love to hear some peoples opinions on this!

TK 

Hey TK,

I wanna be JUST like you when I grow up.

Does it feel good to be so well dressed?

So happy for you. C.

No problem TK. I will be adding a compassionate T-Shirt program shortly.

LOL

Jimmy,

With those prices I'll be forced to look to the generic tshirt market, or maybe find a tshirt trial someplace!

Tig, Robert,

Thanks guys for your encouraging words of wisdom!

Hey Rich,

I never had a doubt! Good job young man, keep it up.

Hi Rich, It was nice to see your post on 8 week v/l results. UND looks so good!!

RC

LOL yes I could take the Big Pharma approach and charge $3700 per T-Shirt! LOL Crooks.

Jimmy,

Now that's what I'm talking about! You could make a mint selling these, I'll be the first in line for one!