Viekira Pak sure worked for me. I had a viral load of over 21 million and those little buggers were undetected at 26 days and at all of the following 8 tests. The VA loves to take blood! You'll be virus free in no time. Good stuff your on. Eat as healthy as possible. Like walnuts and lemons and fresh produce? Eat healthy for this short period of time and you will be cured. Most of the 2% who relapse are either HIV positive or very cirrhotic or had a prior unsuccessful treatment which was probably very hard on them.   Good luck to you!   Greg

Oh, one more thing. I actually re-read your post. I'm in the process of moving from one house to another which is hectic. You can't give up the wack for 12 weeks? I would it I were you because three of those anti-viral drugs are brand spanking new so who knows what could inter-act with them? No-one, that's who. But if your bound to get high then I think the purer the THC the better. Good luck again and keep us up-dated on your progress!

-- Edited by lonewolf on Friday 30th of September 2016 04:09:25 PM

Hi Heidi,

Welcome from me.

I do not have any first hand Viekira experience to share, sorry, but I did cut back on some of my minor assotment of dietary supplements prior to treatment (my choice), and of all the dietary sup items (and prescription meds) I did continue to take, my doc knew all about them - they did not object to any of what i was taking in relation to my HCV meds, they just needed to know aforehand and all along, as I was in a trial. I asked ahead of time, prior to treatment, for their approval of my sups, and I knew if ANYTHING needed to be changed (added) while I was on treatment, I ran it by them first. For example, when I needed to be on antibiotics during trial, I phoned them first to OK the drug choice. I also informed them as we went along if I chose to decrease any of my sups. I made only the most minor of changes (downward mostly) during tretament - and I would inform them. 

Sorry to hear of your skeletal challenges, pain and sleeplessness. But very glad you now have the new daa's to get rid of this virus. Nice you get your start, being treatment naive and at no more than F2!.

Good also, you are well prepped and knowledgeable. You will do well. C 

Hello Heidi,

Talk to the doc and the prescribing pharmacy about your supplements. My gastroenterologist and I had been together since 1999 and he knows I am very into herbs and supplements and has always supported me. I was allowed to stay on turmeric and my natural sleep aid while I was on treatment but I was on Harvoni. 

best of luck to you!

wendy

Hello Heidi, welcome! 

You`ve found a wonderful group of friendly and helpful people here so feel free to have a good look around and make yourself at home!

I like the way you`ve been taking responsibility for your health and using natural remedies whenever possible, although I do agree with Observer and Tig about checking with your treatment doctor about all and any supplements you`re taking, if possible before you start your Viekira Pak.  As a general rule it`s much better to avoid taking supplements, especially herbal based products, while on any treatment therapy for Hep C because many of the potential interactions are unknown, and it helps to ensure that your lab result are as `clean` as possible. 

Wishing you all the best of luck, you`ll soon be on your way to SVR, and not having to endure the riba side effects is a real bonus!! 

The next 12 weeks will fly by...

Hello Heidi and welcome to the forum! Congrats on getting the approval for V-Pak, that's wonderful. It's a very good protocol and the 12 week regimen should be your ticket to SVR. 

Do you have any additional information you can provide? We like to ask people to insert a brief bio in their signature line with a few tidbits (titbits) of information. Things like your genotype, viral load, current liver function tests (AST/ALT) etc., are helpful when replying. You can see what others have entered in theirs and see what I mean. There is a link in my signature to instructions if you need it. The Signature Line can be added via your profile page.

Regarding supplementation, they generally ask you to avoid it all during treatment. Whether your insurance company will approve your use of medicinal Cannabis is a question I can't answer. Many of us had to take a drug screen pre treatment to rule out drug/alcohol use and Cannabis was one of the disqualifiers. Being you're in AZ and it's approved on a state level may qualify it's use with them, but there could be that little Federal law getting in the way. If you don't have to go through that qualification process, then it's between you and your doctor. I would check with Abbvie and get their opinion too. I doubt it will affect your treatment, especially since there are others that successfully completed treatment while using it, but that's just my opinion. Supplementation has been known to alter test results as well. How different things impact the CYP pathways is always a consideration and each different supplement can affect a number of different things. Instead of studying each popular supplement and how they affect absorption and action, I think the powers that be found it simple to say, "Stop all supplements". I took Milk Thistle for years and think I obtained some benefit from it, but it is one of the better known herbs that will alter liver function tests, namely the AST and ALT. Check with your MD and Abbvie before continuing with anything. As Alison mentioned, it's only 12 weeks...

The most important piece of advice I can give you is to concentrate on adequate hydration. If you're already living a healthy lifestyle, then you know it's importance. Very often consuming at least a gallon of water per day will reduce or eliminate side effects with these oral DAA's. Fatigue and headache seem to be the most common complaints with these drugs and a adequate hydration routine will resolve or prevent them. There is additional sections here on the forum that will help you understand the road ahead. We've got several success stories and some good advice on our Viekira Pak Train thread. You can find it by clicking this link: VPAK Train. Don't miss the search function at the top either. A keyword or two will provide links to discussions here on the forum.

If we can answer any questions, be sure to let us know. I'm glad you found us!

Hello,

i also got HCV from a blood transfusion in 1983 (although it *was*genotype 1a) and I also opted for natural/maintence over interferon.

I used acupuncture for a few years and am lucky enough to have a medical Dr that uses customized allopathy, naturopathy or holistic treatments for his patients.

i used medicinal cannabis daily while on the Canadian version of V pak. I also used trammel (arnica) for arthritic pain. I took magnesium glycinate daily, and ate tummeric and ginger and lemon while on treatment

but it is always worth checking with your prescribing Dr. before taking any supplements. Afterall, it's only for 8 or 12 weeks and it's such a marvel that we can eliminate this horrid disease, it's worth being careful.

I didn't take anything except occasionally baking soda for heartburn/gastro upset.

You are lucky you don't have to do ribiviron, (it's brutal) and hurrah that you will be clear of the virus soon. 

Ex-HCVer  

Alison

Hello Everyone. I was first diagnosed in early 2006, and after a lengthy investigation into past medical records found out I contracted it in 1983 when I had a blood transfusion during my spinal surgery. I have genotype 1b, no cirrhosis, stage 2. Decided against interferon back then due to the low success rates (40%) for my genotype, plus I hate needles and decided to myself I would never do an kind of IV chemotherapy if put in that kind of situation. All these year I have mostly managed my health and symptoms with herbs, minerals, vitamins, EFAs, and healthy diet. I am so glad I waited! I can hardly believe I have lived to the day when non-invasive treatments have been discovered! I hear there is  95% success rate with Viekira Pak and 1b. 

I am about to start Viekira Pak 2 days from now. I will NOT need to take with ribavirin. I am both excited and nervous. My biggest concern is not being able to take my herbs and supplements. First, I want to say I'm an herbalist so I know a lot more in this regard regarding potential drug/herb interactions. The last thing I want to do is sabotage my own healing success. I have been trying to figure out which natural substances would negatively interact with this particular 4 drug regime. I have gotten as far as understanding anything that is metabolized via CYP3A and CYP2C Would not be a good idea. I saw St. John's Wort on the information sheet, but I know it's not the only one.  

In addition to my Hep C, I also have severe and debilitating chronic pain and sometimes insomnia from scoliosis, my back surgery with spinal fusion from T2-L4, and an injury to my back in 2011. With the exception of occasional ibuprofen and even less often Traumadol, I rely on herbs etc. What I use daily that I am concerned about going without: Cannabis aka: "Medical Marijuana" (I have a card and live in AZ where it's legal), Magnesium, Turmeric (Curcumin), my herbal sleep formula, and melatonin. 

RE: Cannabis. I am trying to figure out first of all if it is ok to take with Viekira Pak. if it is vaporized I would think it could have less of an interaction potential vs. ingested via edibles and tinctures? This is my daily medicine. Mostly I use it for pain management, controlling nausea, mood enhancement, as a sleep aid, and reducing headaches.

Also, what about food forms of herbs. For instance when I make a smoothie I like to add fresh grated turmeric and ginger roots, along with hemp seed or flax seed oil. Is that safe to combine with the Viekira Pak?

I'm also concerned about side effects and not wanting it to get in the way of work and life. Looking forward to hearing about other people's experiences and tips on Viekira Pak.

Much Gratitude!