Glad to hear back from you Mary, and how well you are doing! I remember very well the first night and days you posted here and there on this site. We all have periods of difficulty in coping with this weighty responsibility we have, in ridding ourselves of the c. Often before, at start, during, and even after. You are doing so good!, as are so many of us here, and yes, the support of one another is an extremely important component. I am really super-pleased for you. How are you coping on the home front? How is the asthma now? Keep us posted on how you are doing. Real happy for you.  C.

Good to hear from you, Mary. I remember your concern before starting and how much easier it has turned out to be. Those are the kinds of stories we like to hear and are so valuable for those getting ready to start. It reassures the people that need it the most.

Keep pushing forward and start making those plans after the end of treatment. Polishing your dancing shoes needs to be #1 on your list!

HYDRATE!!! 

Nice to hear that you are doing well Mary, keep up the great work and you'll be finished before ya know it.

Wishing you Well,

Dave

Great to hear Mary!!! I have five days left myself till treatment is over. I actually feel like I'm getting my 20 year old brain back - feel very lucky with no side effects...sometimes I gets a bad rap but Veikira Pack seems good to me. 

Good to hear from you Mary! You're getting close to the finish line, yeah! Sounds like you have a good system going for you. Keep it up and you'll be doing a dance around a dead dragon! Stay hydrated... 

So good to hear how minimal your side effects on Viekera have been Mary. It will be great when you can put all this behind you. 

Syd

Thanks for getting us up to speed Mary that is great to hear. There is another thread where Jimmy and his wife are helping a fellow who has some anxiety about starting and you are proof of walking through that fear.  

 Glad your doing well Mary. Keep up the good work.
 Now that you are well into treatment and have discovered that you're fear back in February of starting the medicine and the side effects of it was all for nothing, I'm going to say it; I told you so, I told you so.

 We have a couple of other new members right now who are scared to start taking their medication because they have Googled all the negative side effects of HCV treatment just like you did before you started. They have read the horrific stories from those who suffered through the old Interferon and Ribavirin protocols, and they think all that negative crap will happen to them, just like you did. You are a good example for them to learn from since you went ahead and jumped on in regardless of your fear and non of that negative crap happened to you.

 I'm happy to see how well this has turned out for you so far and I can't wait for your upcoming EOT party in 2 weeks 5 days. Then it's on to SVR...

Lori so glad you listened to the bod and swallowed the pride (easier said than done for us all). You have a demanding job as well as raising a child and being Batwoman. That's a lot on anyone's plate let alone a superhero on riba

Lori,

I'm happy to hear you're going to be relaxing and taking some time off. You really need to just take it easy and concentrate on yourself and enjoy lots of Kennedy time! 

Congrats on the continued undetected 8 week viral load! Not experiencing any anemia at all is unusual, but how good to hear. Keep yourself fed, hydrated and rested, the stop at EOTville is coming up soon!

Hi Lori,

i am so relieved to know you are taking time off till the end of May. I stopped RIBA on 4 March and have only really now started to feel like it's me talking and operating and not some over fatigued, drugged up, angry, tearful zombie. 

It will also give your immune system more of a chance to jump in and help kill the virus.

Syd

LOL Syd! I agree I need a nanny like that! I need a nanny period! lol I took off work when all of the h20 neglect first happened. I knew immediately that I had over did it. i actually knew I was pushing myself to hard before that but pride got in my way and kept me from admitting it. I was physically drained before I even got to dehydration. I'm not going to go back until the end of May, I finish tx April 29th. Hopefully I'll be good to go then. From now on I'll listen to my body more...I promise 

So happy for you Dolphin.

Lori - what a good idea it would be to take these last three weeks as sick leave. Doing a physically demanding job, such as yours, while on Riba, sounds really risky. So glad that you managed to successfully avoid the inevitable conclusion  of severe hydration. We need more than drones up there with you - you need a nanny who is prepared to tie you to your chair with a bottle of water, a healthy dinner and a bed time story for the baby.

take care.

Syd

Hi Dolphin, Congrats! I am happy for you. I also used Vpak and Riba. I had no side effects while using it. Enjoy your new beginning~

What a close call Lori... I'm so thankful you're feeling better and thought about seeking some advice before you had more severe problems to deal with. You are a very lucky individual, whew... I trust that you won't do that again will you!! Not a question... Don't make me come up there, lol! I'll have a few extra drones once Dave is finished next Tuesday and I send them to keep an eye on you Sister! We want you better, we want you safe and we want you here. Please take it EZ and don't leave that water bottle behind. 

Hi Dolphin, Thats amazing! Its a great feeling getting that kind of news isnt it! Its just as wonderful hearing it from others like you! The same goes for you too, hepcmannyc! So happy for yall! A huge heartfelt CoNgRaTs to you both!!!

I just received my lab results today, 8wks in and still undetected, alt/ast both were 13, not anemic and hemoglobin is great as well. 3wks tx to go!

I recently let myself get dehydrated, not paying attention to my water intake and over exerting myself at work. Thankfully I took the advice of a dear friend and went to the Er which saved my life. I had lost 11% of my body water, hit the stage of confusion that was reaching delirium, sunken eyes, chest pain, lost skin elasticity to the point of pinching it and it holding form after I let go, my vision would blur in and out, standing up, I had to hold a wall for a min until my vision would come back because everything would go black. Once u hit moderate into severe dehydration the confusion is tremendous especially combined with the brain fog of Riba..to the point of literally forgetting to take a drink of water even though u are beyond thirsty for it and holding it in your hand. Your brain will tell u to take a drink but it's like your body isn't responding. Chugging water at this point does not help. I tried, and only achieved gaining 4.5lbs of water weight. I drank more than my kidneys could handle, plus further depleted what little electrolytes I had left. I was in bad shape. I assumed that by downing a bottle here and there while working in 1200 degree structure fire/flashover drill as well as other physically demanding trainings, that I was supplying my bodys demand, but I was clearly wrong. I went from mild to severe in 1 day! You don't even have to be physically active to dehydrate and it can reach life threatening status very quickly! Pay attention to the signs and your body. Learn from my mistake! I hope that by posting this, it helps someone else in realizing the importance of staying hydrated.

 [edited to fit screen width]

Thanks! I am doing great - into my 10th week of treatment - and so far no side effects and got an undetected at the week 4 blood test - doctor said he was expecting a significant drop but not that. Seasonal allergies are bad but who knows if that has anything to do with the Viekira.....no more blood tests expected till 12 week EOT. Really happy and feel very fortunate - so anyone starting treatment - please don't be scared - for me its been like taking vitamins....

How wonderful to hear your good news, Dolphin, congratulations on your SVR!! 

Vik Pak has been like a miracle treatment for you, and your post is so encouraging for others here.  I`m so glad you came back to let us know how well it turned out for you!

Hep C is history for you now, you`re free to live your life.. and celebrate your success!!! 

Hey Amex in NYC,

How are you coming along with treatment? Any updates? Let us know how you're doing! Good luck...

Thanks and terrific news!! Always great to hear.....

Congratulations Dolphin

Great news to end the day. Thank you for sharing

SF

Thanks everyone!

Best of Luck to all who are on the VP Train or about to board!

Congratulations Dolphin! The good news just keeps on a comin... Enjoy the Hep free life!

SVR-12 it is. Way to go Dolphin!!! You are proof that VP is effective and not hard on your mind and body. There's nothing more you could ask for. You are now free to live your life without that dragon draggin' you down. I know you are happy and we are certainly happy for you. Job well done!!!

Hi Dolphin,

Nice that you posted this, Thank You.

Very encouraging for those on or about to start Tx via Viekira Pak!

Just the kind of news we ALL love to hear

Congrats!

And thanks for posting.

Dave

Hi All,

Sorry for not posting earlier. Just wanted to let you know that I finished my treatment on Dec 18 and was Undetected throughout the treatment, at EOT,  and EOT + 12 weeks (just learned the result!)!  I did not have any major side effect of the VP, except during the few first days (stomach problems, nausea). Viekira Pak works! THANK YOU so much everyone for your help, encouragement and support.  

FC,

An interesting question re: "withdrawal".

I know someone, who just not long ago, finished a 6 month course of SOF/DAC. I know, not your drugs, but ... he believed he had been inadvertently accumulating, absorbing/retaining high levels of DAC (perhaps higher than intended) for the majority of his course due to contributing/conducive dietary factors which favoured accumulation (inducer/inhibitor/P450 liver function thingy-me-bobby, if we have to get all scientific about it). He was convinced of this and had to alter his diet, suddenly and appropriately(kinda too late tho) on advice of a well-known Australian hep doc. On the bright side, perhaps he was very well saturated with DAC.

In conversing with him post-treatment, he was trying his best to convey to me how he was feeling generally, his improvements and such, I found it interesting when he he got to the part that was difficult for him to describe (to put into words), he conveyed the closest thing he could come up with which was .... "it is almost like I am feeling I am in withdrawal" - it was a curious ill-defined thing for him (and me!). Of course, I had NEVER heard of anyone try to express this before, so I just took note of it out of interest. I believe he is still doing well, but of course, next time we correspond I will ask him what he now thinks about his "almost unable to describe withdrawal" thing.

I only bring it up because you had been wondering about withdrawal, and, here was one person who kinda expressed he "might" have felt "something like" withdrawal from DAC! But, being that I have not heard of anyone else speak about "withdrawal" from treatment drugs themselves, then I assume it is not a common issue.

My best to you,  C.  

THAT'S IT!!  Send a wire to the White House, we have a solution for ISIS elimination. We can put together a team of Special Ops forces, start them on Ribavirin, piss em off and send them in. Let the rage flow! They'd be finished in a few days, but we'd have to treat them extra nice for 6 months afterwards. Appoint me the Riba Czar, I'll at least try something. Obviously, doing the Tango ain't working, just sayin...  

My plan ... Keep drinking tons of water and eating lots of greens to flush and remove toxins.

Riba is a toxin in my book ...

Good to hear from ya Lori.

Dave

Hi Lori,

You should notice a quick clearance of the VPak drugs, but the Riba will take all of 6 months to clear your system. It's a fact, but you will notice improvements as you approach that. It took me a full year to feel I was free of it. I had anger and sun sensitivity problems for months. That's why men and women have to be cautious with birth control for 6 full months EOT. Evil drug, but it works, so it was worth the battle. 

So, you shouldn't suffer withdrawal symptoms, just some short term lingering effects that improve fairly quickly. Don't worry about it, you'll be fine. Just avoid the melting environments, I think you have more to worry about with that! Of course you should avoid the chunky green rust colored water though, that could be full of nasty stuff, ick!

Oh FC,

You are a riot and and brave trooper! You are so good at painting these mental pictures for me (I say mental in only the kindest way!), leaping in to your doc's lap, holding that gushing hydrant to your face with both hands guzzling. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. It was a different kind of "call" that had to be attended to alright!

I know what you mean about the poor hydrant variety quality of water, with all it's surprisingly horrid fluctuations of assorted contaminates  - I seem to be offered it with great regularity! Our old town in their infinitely brilliant old time infrastructure planning, built some sort of water system for us, about a century or so ago and have just kept on adding more good chaos planning it to it ever since. In my 3rd world berg, the ancient rusty hydrants (still all differing types and sizes, and ports - the poor guys have to carry about 3 or 4 dif kinds of tools to get into them!) are part and parcel of our drinking water supply lines, everytime anyone (emerg or city services) crack a hydrant, we downstream soon know about it, we eat the disturbed curiously murky multi-colored crunchy swill and sediments for at least of day until our hot watertanks and appliances filter it out.  

We buy water to drink.

Tig is right (whatever that stuff is he suggested you carry) - pack that!

He is also right about trying not to do tooo much, it will come.

Jeez, yer doing great (considering riba and all). I'm impressed. Brave girl. C

Hi Lori,

Thanks for checking in! I've been wondering how work has been, especially combined with the fatigue and Ribavirin. Sounds about right, muscular jello, lol! I trust you know your limitations, don't overdo it. We need our First Responders in one piece, not a green jello puddle! 

Keep up the good fight and great attitude. I do suggest the purchase of a CamelBak for the next time you get thirsty and leave the hydrants for fighting fires, lol! 

Hey Firechic: As a former 1a  I say.....Take it in stride now. Your are most likely going to see Mr.Riba dancing around you for some time as he slowly departs down the tracks with his suitcase. I never had the rash thing. That Dragon has been with you for years. You will slowly see your body improving with time. You have great numbers. I am glad you can recognize it and laugh. Great goings!

Im still looking for some of my formers when I bought my ticket to ride. Are you there??????

Thanks for the update Lori and we understand being tired. We are here for ya no matter what. We just want you to feel better and do what you need to in order to take care of you and the munchkin

Great to hear from ya Lori, so glad you're holding up so well!

I know what you mean though, I think we've just reached a point of we know pretty much what to expect and it's like " Bring it On, is that all you've got!"

Drangons are dead and gone ... we're both just in the mop up stage now ... You go girl!

Thanks for stopping in, it's all nice to hear.

Hope the Munchkin is doing well, hugs!

Dave

My heart lept for you (just as you did, leaping into you doc's lap!). I could just see you! What a wonderful thing this is. Dreams DO come true - the big brave reward badge for you my dear. Canuck 

Awesome news Lori ... Enjoy your week-end.   At times it is hard to wrap your mind around the fact it's gone. Best wishes and continued success! ENJOY!

Excellent news Lori,

These are the best posts next to starting treatment after a long wait or SVR that one can see here.

Have a great weekend ... You made a lot of people smile.

Cheers

Great news Lori - it's all go for you now!

Good girl! You're obviously doing what you need to so 'keep it up'. That dragon doesn't have a chance.

Great looking numbers.  Your on the way to a hep c free life.   RC

Firechic19 wrote:

---

I literally jumped into my dr's lap hugging her to death.

---

 Pictures or it never happened.

 Ok Ok I am just a clown I know. But we are all thrilled for you sis!

JimmyK

That's fantastic news, and what a set if blood results to with your new status. Your dragons leaving with its tail between its legs'!!

You're going to be in perfect health for your little girl.

So happy for you, Firechic.

Syd