Hey Eric,

That's good, sounds like you did everything possible. Soccer - the painful game, you've been through this before. Good you are familiar with the "routine". Glad you got it xrayed, and got the hopping/walking/compression thingy accoutrements. Icing is usually most effective in the important first few hours and days of the initial injury, but all of RICE is important (as you already know), and, has to played by ear as you progress. Sounds like you are doing everything right to get it to resolve. 

Analgesics are useful as required, but tramadol is not really an anti-inflammatory, (nor is the tylenol, which i beliieve is also "in" tramadol). Just a thought, for when you do not need the "pain" control so much any more - if you conitnue to struggle with inflammation through the healing process, ask about what "course" of ordinary anti-inflammatories you might be able to take to help complete the healing. Pain is a valid thing to combat, but so is the inflammation process, it can feed the other cyclically. Common OTC anti-inflammatories such as aspririn or ibuprofen (and other prescription anti-inflammatories) conveniently happen to be pain killers as well, and as a flu bonus some are also anti-pyrexic. I have found sometimes a nice, short, but fairly intense "immersive course" of antiinflammatories does a lot of good, but maybe you have already got 'er beat now.  C.

Hi Eric,

Kinda too late now .... but i hope you "RICE'd" and stayed off your ankle (especially the first few days!), hope you got examined by a GP and xray'd if thought necessary, hope you did all the immediate all-important "right things" to prevent ankle swelling. Hope they offered you a slip-on walking cast/supporty thingy, if they thought that would help (they have these really neat ones now, that apply adjustable air balloon pressure/compression for support and to combat swelling). Is your ankle black and blue and green and yellow by now? Swelling or no swelling? Baby it. Elevation, elevation, elevation if it has swollen, or if you continue to have any troubles with swelling. Tensor applications (if one really knows how to use them), can also help too, as far as swelling and adding some additional support.

I hope it turns out to be not too severe, and as short-lived as possible. Be careful tho, as you become better, it seems there is this Murphy's law that applies to ankles, just when you think you have turned the corner on getting a twisted ankle to stop hurting and heal up, you tend to turn it and tweek the stupid thing again! 

Too bad you didn't have the analgesic for use in the first few most important days - what did they end up giving you? Pain medication/anti-inflammatories, are justifiable when you have pain/injury requiring it. Your kidneys and liver just have to deal with it. It is an even greater concern (taking aspirin or tylenol, etc.) for those who are cirrhotic, or are having trouble with their spleens, platelets, INRs, those with esophageal varices, etc. 

My brand new cured liver, that is still in recovery mode, will never see any alcohol - (just like Tig gave up his drinks) I too gave up drinking very early in life, and I will never crave or truly enjoy it again. From time to time, under stressful circumstances, the thought of alcohol passes trhough my mind, but it is quickly left in the dust as a useless addiction crutch-tool for me. All through highschool I did my very, very best to follow in the footsteps of my alcoholic/and alcohol dependaent family and cultivate an addiction all of my very own. After many, many long hard dry gut-heaving trials of varying alcohol poisoning events, moving from one cheap affordable liquour to another (as I would burn out on one, always over-doing it, multiple times ending up in alcohol poisioning and dry-heaving just at the smell of it again), in a matter of a few brief years I sped through beer, chablis, lemon gin, (the bubbly ones were particularily memorable! hee hee, oh dear!) whatever we could "afford" that was "in quantity". Thnak god, I experienced alcohol poisoning so many times, i soon ran out of afforable liquors to buy that I could stomache the smell of! It helped a lot, when, as the years and decades went by, I thought again of going back to alcohol for stress relief, as I really found I had (luckily) developed a true long term and lasting dislike of the taste of it. For decades, I have had an average of maybe 1, maybe 2 drinks a year - New Years is the day - for that one social/celebratory reason - no other reason (oh ya, nearly forgot, excepting that dreadful time i thought several drinks on that international flight might help me sleep, it only seems to make my tongue distressingly inoperable, my IQ plummet, only my liver felt like it slumbered on in a death bed), now at the New Years I choose some sickly sweet liqueur, preferably on ice cream, to disguise the alcohol taste, and I treat it more like a mere dessert! I am saving my liver for other important work, I choose to "pace" myself and my liver - I had a bad flu recently and chose to use my new-found liver health to imbebe in lots of cough and cold medicine, I had to have a procedure done to which they gave me some fairly major "knock-out drugs", I used up my liver room for that. My liver has NO "pleasure room" left in it for things like alcohol. Fries and ice cream room??, welllll .... I must admit. I have and use many other very fine vices at will -I lie, steal, cheat, smoke, swear (a lot), occasionally gamble - who needs alcohol when yer having this much fun! 

Hope you ankle gets better quick. C.

Glad you got things under control. I hope you get some relief from that pain. I would personally stay away from alcohol, but that's a personal choice. I'm not one of those people that can have just one.... So I quit years ago. I decided when I battled the Beast and won, my liver deserved that much.

Good luck, Brother and keep us in the loop!

I agree, you've got nothing to lose and your doc/nurse just has to order it. The schedulers take it from there. If your doctor has determined that the likelihood of advanced fibrosis is low and you're comfortable with his/her diagnosis, move on with your Hep C free life! Just treat yourself right and let the healing begin.

If your doc has prescribed them and you're in pain, there shouldn't be any contraindications. Always check with them if you have any questions. Most of them are cut with Tylenol, so don't take it for prolonged periods in doses higher than prescribed. Sorry to hear about the ankle. You don't realize how much that one joint affects mobility until it doesn't! 

One other consideration. Have your doctor order it and allow your insurance provider to approve or disapprove the request. They have to be pre-approved anyway here in the US, just about everything is these days. You may be able to call them and see if it's a covered procedure under your plan. Diagnosis related guidelines (DRG) are fairly clear in a disease like Hep C. Just a thought if you want to pursue it. 

Lovely news.

And THAT'S the way we do it! Zero is a great number! Nice to hear your bili is now behaving too. Many things should be in total re-coup phase now. Have your skin things quieted? Keep treating yourself very well. 

Tig is right about relying soley on blood indicators and/or combined bloods and other parameters to come up with an "approximate" Fscore. But your doc may already have pretty good "educated guess" about your levels of liver fibrosis, he may have had an Fscore he had been using for you, derived from his own assessments of you, looking at your U/S, but (more so) by the lab assessments he might have already done on you (such as the fibrotest/fibrosure/apri/acti etc. tests). There might already be one of these kinds of "fibro"test results sitting in your chart somewhere.

Just double check, ask his nurse (to look in your chart) to see if you have indeed been "assisgned" an arbitrary Fscore already, and if so, what test(s) they relied on (fibrotest/fibrosure/apri/acti, etc.)  that gave them that "score" - I am guessing your Fscore was, or likely IS low. At least i hope so (I bet it is).

I (personally) like the fibroscan test (in addition to all the other assessment tools), I consider it an important helpful tool, just one (of many) tools which help to paint a fuller picture of your level of fibrosis and the status of your liver. It's such an easy test to perform and to have repeated and not that expensive! A useful thing (especially when done pre-treatment) to compare against future repeated fibroscans, to follow any lessening in the hardness of your liver. Your liver might not have been very hard to begin with.

If everyone keeps sticking to the story, that your insurance will not cover a fibroscan, then you could always ask for a req. and have it done yourself out of pocket.

I would not be fretting unduly about about your fibroscan, as long as they are going to "follow you" well. Likely they will give you another U/S in future. Ask about those things, going forward, what the "following plan" is. 

In the meanwhile - celebrate! You gotter made bud!  C.

Congratulations Eric! Your good reports just keep rolling in, that's wonderful to hear. 

I continue to be confused by your doctor's refusal to determine your fibrosis stage. That would not be denied by your insurance, because it is standard protocol when HCV is diagnosed. Find a doctor that understands that. While I have reservations on the accuracy of the fibrosis diagnostic blood tests, like the Fibrotest or Fibrosure, they are relatively inexpensive and will provide some answers. They are being used more often now because of the ease and costs involved. Your doctor should know that too...

SVR is determined by an undetected viral test at week 12 after EOT. It's coming soon!

Congratulations, Eric! Job well done!! SVR is in your future, believe....

Oh, that's reassuring to hear Eric, the way they did your A/B testing and then plan to re-test your immunity levels , I should not have been worried that they did not organize it correctly or completely, they should know just how to do it, and it sounds just right to me. So, good on you for making sure it all got done and will get it followed through. (Maybe you did tell me some of this before, now that I think about it a bit). 

Yup, you gotta dot all those i's and cross those t's. I had to do the complete A/B series from scratch, I had no immunity to A and B titre was insufficient at around 5.  We started in with the immunization before treatment, but I did not gain a ton of immunity right away, and, I was not finshed the series of A/B immunizations before treatment, it was ongoing through treatment. They actually double-dosed some of my B doses (of the series) to try to ensure i gained enough immunity as quickly as i could muster. They pick this arbitrary immunity titre level of 10, below that they will re-vaccinate, over, they probaly won't. Even with my double-strength B (without looking it up) I think I got up to about 16 eventually. A was the slowest to take, I did not show signs of A immunity until after I had finshed my treatment. Regardless, within weeks of immunization you are gleaning some of the protection even if your measurable immunity levels are not showing it is quite up to snuff yet. Of the 3 trips I had to make for all the A/B shot series, only one of them was really quite sore. It's a toss up tho whether that one hurt more than the pneumococcal I got back then, or the flu shot I got this year!! I jumped this year and they had to stab me twice!

What else needs doing?? Nothing I can think of, other than what I previously mentioned about reviewing things with him - your skin things, etc. At your next EOT appointment ask him what his plan is for you as far as "follow-up" for EOT+12 and EOT+24, and beyond. Hep docs are often territorial, and will expect you to be returning to them for follow-up for your EOT+12 week and EOT+24 week bloods, maybe even one year SVR, and then they cut you loose. Not all are so territorial, I have heard of other hep docs sharing their pt's for follow-up with the family doc during EOT+12 and 24 and on. Some hep docs dump you quickly and expect your family doc will follow you and the family doc would just refer you back to the hep guy if you had a problem. (You, I am sure, will be having NO problems!) But ask your hep doc what he wants to do, just so it is clear to everyone, surely he has been reporting your updates to your regular doc, and they may have already worked out a standard "following" plan for you, just make sure it is discussed and clear to you and everyone. If you had an abd. ultrasound prior, or a fibroscan prior to SOT, some hep docs will repeat these after treatment, could be 6 months after treatment, some people subsequently get these scans repeated every 6 months or annually, but imaging/fibroscans in "following" are often done only as "they" justify. They might not come right out and offer you a repeat ultrasound, they were already reluctant to do a fibroscan for you, so being cured, with normal ALT/bloods they may not offer repeats for you. You would have to ask. You do not have a prior fibroscan to compare to the next fibroscan. I am thinking that your doc is thinking that your level of fibrosis is low anyway.

The rest you already know - celebrate! (a lot), eat good, drink lots of water, excercise, no alcohol, and treat yourself and everyone around you really well. Make sure you are around/available for any planned follow-up, like any required labs. If you in the future, plan to move to live forever in some tropical island paradise (please take some of us with you) just make sure you get a new doc there to continue any required periodic follow ups for you, LFT labs, etc.

Interesting what your nurse was saying about "mutating" B??... I have read (more so) studies about "waning" immunities after A/B vaccinations, immunities fading over timelines, etc., it has been documented a fair bit, thus it is a double good reason to check immunity levels over time, and especially when you will be having HCV treatment. B mutations as the cause of fading immunity levels?, I have found nothing on that subject in the recent past, let me know, if you hear more!

 C.

Greetings,

And here you are, 4 nights without a pill and the thought still amazes you. The blood draw about 3 months out you mention is kind of like receiving a trophy.

SVR-12 is a mega step into your new life. It is the accepted time you can claim "Cured" at which time I assure you, only amazement and thankfulness will fill your heart.

By the way, did you ever consider that when the term heart is used in such a context it refers to you mind?

"I know in my heart that ...." The term "know" is a thing only present in the mind.

As you may or may not be able to sense... (also an action that takes place in the mind), I am in one of those moods.

You know the kind. A little restless, would poke a sleeping bear just to spurn a reaction.

<sigh>

What to do what to do?

Oh my gosh, how well I remember the road to SVR 12. You are in an exciting moment in your life.

Tell ya what.

Let's split a Pizza. That always makes everything for a moment, kind of take a back seat. Of course I can look back and with fond memories recall being in a back seat. <sigh>

Oh yea..

Nice the delight in that "quiet" sound Eric.

Congrats on your finish and for doing your treatment so well.

The rewarding silence in that bottle ... only broken by that cough!

Bad luck that, the cold/flu (keep up the hydrating - don't slack off too soon like I did!). Glad it seemed to be a short lived thing tho. I had immune "confusions" while on treatment and some after as well, I had skin things too, but they seem to have leveled out now. I do think it just takes time to let things get sorted and settle into a new equilibrium. And, you are young, I am ancient, I think youth does makes a dif. and is in your favour, your ability to deal smartly with cold/flu could very well be bristling at the moment! 

Just not expending so much of your body's natural resources to devote to dealing with HCV, is a huge advantage going forward, with any new malady you may encounter in future. HCV is a real drag. I'm so glad you have dealt it the death blow. 

Really good you got that B and pneumo vac. dealt with - what did the doc say (regarding the assessment of your current A and B immunity) did he test how much immunity you had for both A and B, and then just instructed you to get re-immunization for the series of A and B again, or, did he deem you were good for A, therefore only needed to bring your B immunity up, or what? How many B shots will you get, and will your immunity levels be re-checked again to see if the re-immunization actually worked to increase your immunity level.

Glad the top of your hands cleared at bit, can't really say why your palms are reddened /sweaty, this too may just be a temp. one-off that will pass, as long as your palms are otherwise asymptomatic - intact, not deeply cracked/fissured/swollen/inflamed/pruritic/peeling  - (I know what you refer to - but as far as I can recall, this is something more seen say in a very long-standing alcoholic cirrhotic - I think) - always worth noting ALL these skin oddities to your doc tho, just for any feedback he might be able to offer. Tell him about the top of your hands, the "red palms", skin upsets/acne, make a list of questions to take with you, so you don't forget to ask him these things. Show him your hands and tell him the history, it's so hard to guess if it is a "contact" dermatitis kind of thing or not. Regardless, I would guess it should pass, but have him look at your hands and venture an opinion on what might be bothering your hands. He might decide you could try some topical ointment such as 1 or 2% hydrocortisone if your hands continue to be bothered by a dermatitis of some sort.

When do you see your doc for your EOT appointment and EOT blood draws?

At that time, aside from reviewing things, it may be a good idea to ask him what the "plan" is for you, if the plan is for you is to come back and see him for an appoinment again with your EOT+12 week and the EOT+24 weeks blood draws? Whether you will be having an abdominal ultrasound and annual blood draws in future, to be "followed".

How lovely you are done with pills.  C.

Hey Eric,

I have to agree with Canuck, sounds like some type of contact dermatitis. Just an opinion of course. Ask your doctor about applying some hydrocortisone cream to it. In the meantime, keep it dry and out of hot water and sunlight. Epclusa alone isn't known to cause side effects like that. There was a 2% incidence of it in trials, but it hasn't been commented on since release. Contact the doc and get something to treat it if it doesn't let up soon. Good luck!

Heya Eric,

Nice to hear from you.

I did note you were "trucking right along" very well, via your prior post, but neglected to say hi ya then. So, a hi ya now!

I am so glad this is going so smoothly for you, this is how it should go!!

Aren't we lucky (nowadays) the "very little" that us "modern" daa-ers have to go thru to get cured, as compared to what the (not so very long ago) "oldsters" had to endure to be free of this virus!!

I thank my lucky stars, every day, that i got my 8 week trial!! I AM really happy for you that this part is going good for you. Not discounting (whatsoever) all the angst you went through, that we all know and go through in being forced to deal with this foe. You are doing very well on all counts.

I remember the niggling excitment when i got down to the last dozen pills in my bottle, it grew, I especially loved the last couple days of the near-empty rattling sound the bottle was making, just before the last pill was done, and then the ahhhh - silence!

Had you been experiencing all over/ or larger areas/more of your body/torso/or perhaps your face and head kind of "rash" or hives or itching, early on I would have said check with doc, but if at this late date you only notice this red and it's isolated only to your hands, mostly your knuckles then my guess would be ... not to be too excited about it, cooincidence, bad luck, if localized like that to the top of your hands only, I would guess it to be more a simple irritation or  "contact dermatisis" kind of thing. Think about what you have been doing with your hands as far as exposure to irritants, even soap and water, cold. Do you have any kind of allergies or sensitivities, normally? If it is "bad" then of course consult with someone, otherwise I would try to protect your hand skin from any further aggravation, avoiding whatever things in your environment you think may have contributed to it.  When searching for reasons - always list what "new or different" things you have been exposing your hands to during the time the red occurred. Sometimes we can overlook the simplest things, that "too much of", can have an unwanted effect - like ... too much hand washing, not drying your hands, too moist too long, skin too dry, skin too cold, exposure to elements, mechanical irritation, changes in irritating soaps, etc., etc.

I get minor contact dermatitis from time to time, just me and my particular sensitivities, I have a standing order from my doc and rx ointment on hand in the ready, if it does not quell on it's own in a reasonable time.

Keep us posted!   C.

yay for your UND

Fantastic Eric!! Just want to mention I believe (if memory serves me), RC is having his care done through the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. Very good facility...

Congratulations Eric, this is a wonderful report!

'0          0'

U

Golden!

UND!

The Prize is attained!

Hi Eric,

I know that in Canada, at east Ontario, a Fibroscan costs between $120-$150 with the emphasis probably being closer to the $150. A price well worth paying and if my next one this coming year is not covered, I will gladly pay that to see if I have had any regression.

I think it is a good idea to know where you are so you have a marker to gauge later on after you are cured.

SF

Hi Eric,

I would google up some places, phone around and ask around - first you have to find out who (what facilities) have fibroscan machines and what their cost would be (if you find out, in the end, that you do indeed have no other options but to pay out of pocket privately).

I am assuming your doc does not have his own fibroscan machine where he is, and, that his office did not tell you where they usually send their pts. to, to get (private, or, non-private) fibroscans done? They should be one source of info for you.

Just googling - the "Virginia" shows they've had fibroscans since 2013? And, I assume "Swedish" would have a machine? There may be other facilites.

Did you also inquire (at your doc's office), or public health, about the easiest, cheapest, quickest way to get your A/B immunization done? Yes, if your A/B has been recomended by your doc(s) then the required immunization can be done with the C treatment, and is often begun before treatment, and/or ASAP.

Liver Center, Virginia Mason, Seattle, Washington

https://www.virginiamason.org Digestive Disease Institute Centers of Excellence

1.      

2.      

Swedish Liver Center | Swedish Medical Center Seattle and Issaquah

www.swedish.org/services/liver-center

1.      

2.      

Hey Eric,

That's great, that your doc offered and pre-arranged for you the 3 VL's during treatment! (and, maybe he ordered LFT's as well!) - 4, 8 and 12 weeks is really good! Some folk are not offered 8 week or 12 week ones and have to wait until EOT+12 weeks for feedback! So, that's great, and it won't be long now, and you will have some good feedback from your 4 week draw! (I assume he will also be suggesting, at some point, that you will also be getting an EOT+12 week and EOT+24 week VL). I think feedback is very reassuring, I was thankful for my every draw.

In the meanwhile, you can try to get the immunization and fibroscan out of the way and taken care of.

If you were lucky, maybe you can get the other things you are wanting (the pending immunization/scan), without having to make an actual appointment to "see" your doc - phone his nurse or helper and ask if they could just provide you the "order" for the immunization he previously recommended for you, so you can get it done, AND ask if you could also please have a "requisition" to go have a fibroscan done - instead of just waiting for a later-on follow-up appointment with him to ask about these things. While you're on the phone with his office, you can find out if these things are going to entail booking an appointment, OR, if he could expedite them for you by faxing or emailing you the "orders" for the shots and the fibroscan, AND, to also find out when you may be required to (otherwise) come and see him again (like your EOT treatment appointment that you are wondering about).

Nothing like getting things done, sooner than later, and figuring out how you will get them done. It is good to have a predictable schedule.

In prep for my HCV treatment, all the docs wished me to start on getting my immunization up to par, ASAP. It was actually Family docs/General Practitioners (GP's), not my actual hep docs, that helped me make the initial arrangements, it was the quickest route to get started on my immunization. Way easier than getting another appointment and travelling to see my hep doc to get an order for the immunization that had already been determined I needed.

 A written note to "Public Health", from my GP, got the ball rolling, and, my immunization was free (throughout, for all shots) including, free, for my partner too, due to my HCV. Mind you, I am not sure how it works where you are.  C.

EricChuckFar1 wrote:

Canuck, we didn't really set any dates. The GE sent in the orders to the lab and told me to drop in for the blood draw at 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks. I don't really think there is any need for me to go see him anymore unless there are changes in side effects or I have major concerns. I'll probably see him again at 12 weeks to conclude the treatment. He seems very laid back......

.....Thanks Tig for that info. The reason I brought it up is because I had a cut on my neck from shaving a few weeks ago that had scabbed over. A few days ago I was using a trimmer and accidentally removed the scab and got blood on it, which got me thinking whether re-infection would be possible. Or could this even interfere with treatment? I may also be overtly paranoid :)

---

 Greetings,

You should do all of the blood draws. You are about at 4 weeks now and generally the 4 week draw included VL. In that I once failed treatment, trust me, the 4 week draw with a reading of 115 has less impact than a finding of UND. From my own experience, the 4 week draw is a good indicator of how treatment is going. Good for the moral generally speaking. If you are found UND at 4 weeks the VL draw at week 8 and 12 are a waste of blood. Once UND on treatment you will stay UND throughout treatment. But the 4 week, keep the appointment.

Regards

JimmyK

Hey Eric,

Just use common sense precautions, don't share grooming items and toothbrushes. Use a simple 1:10 bleach solution for disinfecting. Easy to make and effective for general house cleaning, blood spills and as a soak for clippers.

 Even though these types of situations are rare,  I'm glad you asked about it. We need to keep topics like this refreshed. It benefits us all!

 It won't be long and this will all be in your rear view mirror! 

This has always been a contentious issue among many along the way. Jill posted a link that I will provide that is informative. Some concerns may be over the top but the important thing to remember is the possibility exists. The odds can be raised or lowered according to each individual situation. The fact is clear though, the virus can and does live for an indeterminate amount of time on wet and dry surfaces. Whatever conscious precautions we can make are worth making. No need to go to extremes and some do, just use a common sense approach to sanitation and disinfection and you'll be fine.

HCV + Inanimate surfaces

One of our discussions

Hi Eric,

I'll have to look up the multitude of studies out there, that support the theory of "how long" the HCV virus can live (without a host), the studies vary somewhat, but the worrying thought about toothbrushes, clippers, razors etc. keeps surfacing on this website and has been discussed many times (at least from 2007 I see!), try going to the search box above and just put in "toothbrushes" and see what it pulls up, lots of dif. threads and conversations to read about this same subject - some threads more interesting than others. I liked Mallani's comment, if I understood it, about the fine line between what is likely and not likely (paranoia versus just being safe) - he wrote "OTT" - did he mean "over the top" in regard to people re-infecting themselves with their toothbrushes?? I tend to the paranoid, how people handle me and their asepsis in blood areas of hospitals/clinics, having surgery, procedures, even machine finger prick blood tests etc involved in diabetes testing maybe, those would make me the most paranoid I think, because we have little control over these outside things (but nowadays these are remote sources of risk and exposure), all else would be common sense, if you fear re-infecting yourself with your own household things, on the other hand, then that is within your control.   

I think Linux had it shaped-up right, throw them out and get new, if you want, when you are UND, or, bleach them, whatever makes you feel better/safer. How remote is remote when you want to feel safe from any virus??

Your long ago ques. about you being "immune-compromized" because you have HCV? Not really, but similar to what Tig outlined, I think the deal with A/B immunization is that it is another good warranted layer of safety, same for influenza (flu) shots, or pneumococcal immunization - as long all has been discussed and if recommended by your docs, then complete them. Pneumo may or may not apply to you according to some docs. Vaccinations help protect you, and those in your intimate household should also be protected, in order for you to be best protected (if and as your docs recommend). We don't want any extra viruses thank you if we can help it.

So, tell me, how has your blood draw schedule been set up for VL testing? Do you get a 4 week, 8 week or EOT12 week draw done, or, do you have to wait until EOT+12 weeks for your first VL results? I'm looking forward to your first UND!  C.

Great news to hear Eric. Lovely she is negative. But testing (as unlikely as it would be that anyone around you would turn out to be positive) is the right and wise thing to to.

Nice you got that discussion done (or started) with your parents.

Boy, you have really accomplished a lot, in a relatively short space of time - well done!, and, you don't seem to have sides either!! Man, really good!! So you still discern nothing you could mistake for a side?

I'll gang up with your Mom, who thinks you should have a fibroscan - I am in complete agreement, if you can get one - why not! I would always prefer to see anyone with HCV have a fibroscan, and multiple ones, included in and be part of their assessments.

Happy week 3 Eric. I am very happy for you.  C.

wendyo wrote:

---

Luckily I detest oysters Tig! 

---

 Allow me to present the "other side of the coin".

Ta Da!

Note to self: What the hell am I doing here?

<Looks for a way,... Nay... The IMPOSSIBLE WAY to save this conversation.> Ahh but wait. But of course.>

When Carolyn and I went quite recently to Jamaica, we were, while walking down the street in Montego Bay, confronted with two little ladies that appeared to be a bit out of their comfort zone. To tie it up in a Texas grab hold of your decency man, I was quite trapped.

Here stood I, a 6'4" Red Head in Jamaica with a well sawed off wife at my side.

So I sez to the little lady; "Honey look! There are ladies here that bear a smaller still version of humanity than yourself!"

This is where things are not quite clear, you see, I was quite knocked out for  bit.

Back to earth now.

Our two little rescue ladies we met in Jamaica, They were terrified walking alone down the street ,..and the white horse whispered to me..

"Honey look! There are ladies here that bear a smaller still version of humanity than yourself!"

So really now. Help me out here. What did I say wrong? DISCLAIMER: Seeking women's input only. Guys face it. You do not understand.

To my 84 day Brother.

JimmyK

Hey Eric,

Just because her tests are all normal doesn't mean she isn't positive. Many people have perfectly normal tests. The antibody test shows exposure and if it is positive the RNA PCR indicates viral load or lack of it. I didn't call to find out the cost, if there is one, at your local Walgreens. Last year they started a free HCV antibody screen, which is a finger stick reactive test that take about 30 minutes. 

Walgreens Antibody

It's a good idea to be up to date on your vaccinations because one, you don't want to be dedicating your immune response to another disease while you're fighting HCV and two, yes you can have a lower resistance to illness if treatment results in anemia.  The old Interferon/Ribavirin protocols were well known for causing severe anemia and a resulting white blood cell loss. I had to take Neupogen twice a week for months because my WBC's got so low. So, the best advice is to stay current on all vaccines. Everything you can do to stay healthy is good anytime, but especially now.

Good job, Eric! That's the amazing thing about these new drugs, mild acting but highly effective. You are fortunate indeed. If the worst part is having to pee, I'd call that a big fat WIN! Good luck and thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes. I hope you had a nice holiday as well. 

One week down, eleven to go... Piece of cake  

Don't forget.

Eric,

Lovely!! So glad to hear about your "uneventful" first week!! Happy week one, done!

So glad you are not noticing anything too untoward (aside from frequent visits to the loo).

Keep it up!, undetected sides and a undetected VL coming up for you right smartly!

You are lucky, like a couple others I recall, who noticed very little to NONE for sides - TKflex 56 for instance - who was one of our first to get sof/vel by trial - he suspected he had, in error, been given a placebo instead of sof/vel, as he felt nothing!! (He got the real deal and was cured BTW).

Your first week, your whole journey is neither uneventful OR boring - don't wait to keep us posted on the day to day happenings - I am riveted to your progress and interested in all aspects of your journey.

Remind me ... did your girlfriend get her C antibody test result back negative yet? When they said your immunity for A was good, but your immunity titre for B was too low, did they re-immunize you for B then? Did you (and your girlfriend) both have your A/B, influenza and pneumococcal immunization status's reviewed? What was the last word about you getting a fibroscan (I forget). And what time of day did you say you decided on for your dose?

 Good first week!  C.

I wanted to wait a little longer before boring you all with my "uneventful" week, but it is a small milestone I guess, so worth a quick update.

I finished my first week of treatment yesterday!! As far as I can tell, I have not had any side-effects. In fact, I don't feel any different whatsoever. Are the drug even working? :P

I've also been trying to drink a lot of water and holy moly is it annoying drinking 4 liters of water per day. I've been waking up around 5AM with the urge to pee every day. Otherwise things have been rather uneventful.

Hope all my US friends had a good Thanksgiving!

Eric

Hi Eric, good to see you over here in `On Treatment`, congrats on getting started on your journey to SVR!

I like the look of your treatment plan, and thanks for the recap so far.  Looking forward to your updates, best of luck! 

HAPPY DAY TWO ERIC!!  C.

Good to hear you got started, Eric. Congrats on that. I would give all raw seafood a pass for the time being. You probably will never have a problem with one of those organisms, but I do know Murphy and his law applies when you least expect it. Wait til you're done with treatment, just in case. I'm quite a fan of raw oysters too and knowing where they came from and their freshness is vital. Just be cautious and don't make eating raw anything a frequent habit. The odds are low, but they exist...

Don't forget - HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!! 3-4 liters of water every single day! Good luck, you're going to do great!