Thnak you so much for filling us in on your 12 weeks of Harvoni.
Big congrats on your 4 week UND, and, on your 8 week UND!! and, in reaching your EOT yesterday!
Nice to be finished eh?
Good job you did, to ensure you got your 12 weeks of therapy rather than 8 weeks.
Is was a bit curious, your experience with headaches/body aches with fluctuating water intake, and your bouts of fatigue. I am hoping everything, in every way, will keep improving for you post-treatment. Keep flushing yourself with lots of water, as we all agree, it is so good in so many ways for a body.
I am confident you will be UND at EOT+12 weeks too (or rather EOT+13 weeks in your case), and at EOT+24. We are invariably seeing this over and over again now with these new DAA's, early UND's and we stay that way!!
It is still very early days, in your cure. You have a lot of liver repair and regeneration to do being that you were Fscore 3/4, that healing can take quite some time in some cases. Treat your body like a temple fit for a god, best food, fresh air, pleasant surroundings, a healing environment, lots of lovely fresh water. Perhaps you may decide to give your liver a permanent break from all toxins, now that you have succeeded in stopping the harm the HCV has been causing it. You did your liver harm with any alcohol the whole time you had HCV, and during HCV treatment, and, alcohol is very hard on a liver that is trying to heal itself, goes without saying that alcohol is hard on a perfectly healthy person's liver! But you probably already know all that. I know you enjoy those beers, but they are not good for your liver, but we know you know that too.
I assume you are in your 50 or 60's being that you have a grandson? 35 beers a week or 5 beers a day (every day) over a 15 year period is a fair bit (even for a young man), it is definitely a lot for someone who is older, and has a damaged liver. But look who's talkin' here! - addicted smoker I am, causing myself harm - try on a pak a day since I was knee high! Kaf-kaf! I am glad you bring these issues up tho, it helps me think about myself and my health. You do us all a favour, being so generous in your honest sharing. One beer on day 85 is an insult to your liver, never mind 3, just the way it is.
Do you happen to have "before and after" labs to share with us? Such as ALT/AST/GGT/bili's/Alk.Phos? You mentioned a "vibrating MRI done" assume your Fscore of 3/4 was a deduction of both this test and maybe some of your other lab tests - do you happen to know which test(s) best gave them the determination of F3/4? Were you ever told you had a certain kPa number?
What have they planned for you as far as long-term follow-up for labs and imaging and further Fscore determinations - these will be important going forward to make sure your levels of fibrosis/cirrhosis and liver function improves. Will you, aside from labs, be getting any fibroscans and ultrasounds to keep tabs on any discernable improvements?
Grand to be done isn't it. No more HCV! Keep living healthy. I'm so glad you posted. : ) C.
polosilver said
Aug 31, 2017
Congratulations! WTG! I appreciate you sharing your dragon slaying journey with us! It read like an epic, nice!
Lindsmatt52 said
Aug 31, 2017
Congrats! What a wonderful feeling that must be! Can't wait to experience it myself in 3 months!!
Tig said
Aug 31, 2017
Hey Turk,
Congratulations on finishing treatment! Enjoy the Hep free future, but be careful with the alcohol. You still have liver damage as a result of HCV and the existing fibrosis will not have as good a chance to resolve, if at all, if you drink. F3-4 is a significant amount of fibrosis. Something to think about.
I miss my former beer habit, too! I think there were a few times I may have even drank 35 beers in a day, but who's counting....
Let us know when you get your final results, good luck!
bbomb said
Aug 31, 2017
Congratulations TurkMcK on finishing you treatment and Slaying your Dragon! high Five!!
Thank you for sharing too, very much appreciated!
TurkMcK said
Aug 31, 2017
Yikes, Make that 35 beers per week!! Sorry. Not per day ... even I agree that is too much
TurkMcK said
Aug 31, 2017
While it was fresh in my mind, I wanted to pass on the experience of HEP C Treatment with Harvoni.
APROVAL : It took a long time to get approval from Express Scripts. Mainly because of incompetence on their part. I had been approved for 8 weeks of treatment (I was at Stage 2/3 Fibrosis, and count was only about 150,000). But then because of other issues, I went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and had many tests done there for many things including one of their MRI's where they vibrate your liver and check something. This is supposed to tell them the same as a liver biopsy. This was about 3 years after the first test, and showed stage 3/4 and the blood test showed 196,000 count (I agree this is low). Mayo said I should have 12 weeks of Harvoni. I went thru a NP in St Paul to get the treatment instead of Mayo. He requested 12 weeks instead of 8. We never heard back. I called and was told my Doc requested 8 weeks. I got letters from express scripts stating I was approved, but when I called, it was only for 8 weeks. I even called and talked to someone there and she said it is for 8 weeks, if you need 12 weeks "I am sure they will approve it when you get close ...". Finally I called and found the right person. Sorry I am not sure if she was with Accredo (their specialty pharmacy) or E/S. But I got the right person and explained and she said, let me check. We should cover 12 weeks in this case because you are at 3/4 for fibrosis. She returned to the phone and said she approved it and I should get a call asking when I wanted it delivered. Problem solved.
START : I was nervous about starting but for the first week or two I had no side effects at all. Then I would get an annoying headache from time to time, but if I chugged a lot of water, it would go away in just a few minutes. Probably about week 5 or so, I would get the headache and ache all over. But chugging water took care of that also. Amazing how quickly it resolved it.
FELT BETTER : As time went on, I felt fine. When I started the treatment I was very tired and run down, and short of breath all the time. This was the reason I went to Mayo. But they never did anything. They just did tests. No Medication new or changed. But week 7 or so, I noticed that I was much peppier, not short of breath anymore, and I could do things around the house again. I attribute this to the virus being gone. (After weeks 4 and 8 my viral load was 0).
OBSERVATION : In about week 8 or 9, I would still get the aches and Headaches, but for some reason (and I would be interested to know if others had this same experience) it seemed water was causing the headaches. If I chugged water I would get the headache and body ache and it seemed if I just used a little water each day, I would get fewer headaches. It just kind of flipped one day and the water became the bad guy. Now maybe there is some other reason, but in my mind that was the cause
SINCE : I took my last pill yesterday. (Today is 8/31/17). I made a point of chugging a bunch of water, and NO Headache or other aches. Still I am not sure about the water but it even seems more like in the later days of treatment it turned on me. I am glad it seems OK now, because I do believe a lot of water each day is a very good thing.
DRINKING : I must confess. I usually drink beer. I have drank on average 35 beers per day for at least 15 years before treatment. I decided I should quit while I was taking Harvoni. I was not sure how bad that would be, so I kind of let it go for a few days before I started and had 6-8 beers each day. But I quit the day I started the Harvini. I thought I would be craving a beer. But it seemed more like I was drinking as a habit and not so much as an addiction. I had no problems quitting. However, my grandson had a grad party and I had 3 beers there. and other times I had opportunity and had a few her and a few there. All tolled, probably 15 or 20 beers during the 12 weeks. It never made me uncomfortable or sick or anything. But I was not too proud of myself. I am not sure what I will do now that the treatment is over. I had 3 beers last night to celebrate. Since I have mostly been away from it this is a good time to change things up. I drank almost every day before. Not a lot, but some. I would like to cut down the frequency. I enjoy it. And YES I know it is bad for me and attacks my liver and all the other things it can do. But something inside me says it will not be my destruction... something else will be. And I enjoy it to the point where I do not want to give it up altogether, but I do want to cut back.
CLOSE : I just wanted to enter this while I was still thinking about it. I go in 13 weeks (a week later than usual due to Thanksgiving) to get my final results. I must say I feel a lot better and I am very thankful. I paid nothing for the Harvoni. I had an $8000 out of pocket max for my insurance I I paid all that by March at the Mayo. But assuming I had to pay for it, I would pay something. The amount is immaterial, but I would pay. I hope and pray I come out a 0 in 13 weeks. And I certainly wish anyone else good luck. All in all, it was much easier and much less intrusive than I ever expected.
Hi Turk,
Thnak you so much for filling us in on your 12 weeks of Harvoni.
Big congrats on your 4 week UND, and, on your 8 week UND!! and, in reaching your EOT yesterday!
Nice to be finished eh?
Good job you did, to ensure you got your 12 weeks of therapy rather than 8 weeks.
Is was a bit curious, your experience with headaches/body aches with fluctuating water intake, and your bouts of fatigue. I am hoping everything, in every way, will keep improving for you post-treatment. Keep flushing yourself with lots of water, as we all agree, it is so good in so many ways for a body.
I am confident you will be UND at EOT+12 weeks too (or rather EOT+13 weeks in your case), and at EOT+24. We are invariably seeing this over and over again now with these new DAA's, early UND's and we stay that way!!
It is still very early days, in your cure. You have a lot of liver repair and regeneration to do being that you were Fscore 3/4, that healing can take quite some time in some cases. Treat your body like a temple fit for a god, best food, fresh air, pleasant surroundings, a healing environment, lots of lovely fresh water. Perhaps you may decide to give your liver a permanent break from all toxins, now that you have succeeded in stopping the harm the HCV has been causing it. You did your liver harm with any alcohol the whole time you had HCV, and during HCV treatment, and, alcohol is very hard on a liver that is trying to heal itself, goes without saying that alcohol is hard on a perfectly healthy person's liver! But you probably already know all that. I know you enjoy those beers, but they are not good for your liver, but we know you know that too.
I assume you are in your 50 or 60's being that you have a grandson? 35 beers a week or 5 beers a day (every day) over a 15 year period is a fair bit (even for a young man), it is definitely a lot for someone who is older, and has a damaged liver. But look who's talkin' here! - addicted smoker I am, causing myself harm - try on a pak a day since I was knee high! Kaf-kaf! I am glad you bring these issues up tho, it helps me think about myself and my health. You do us all a favour, being so generous in your honest sharing. One beer on day 85 is an insult to your liver, never mind 3, just the way it is.
Do you happen to have "before and after" labs to share with us? Such as ALT/AST/GGT/bili's/Alk.Phos? You mentioned a "vibrating MRI done" assume your Fscore of 3/4 was a deduction of both this test and maybe some of your other lab tests - do you happen to know which test(s) best gave them the determination of F3/4? Were you ever told you had a certain kPa number?
What have they planned for you as far as long-term follow-up for labs and imaging and further Fscore determinations - these will be important going forward to make sure your levels of fibrosis/cirrhosis and liver function improves. Will you, aside from labs, be getting any fibroscans and ultrasounds to keep tabs on any discernable improvements?
Grand to be done isn't it. No more HCV! Keep living healthy. I'm so glad you posted. : ) C.
Congratulations! WTG! I appreciate you sharing your dragon slaying journey with us! It read like an epic, nice!
Congrats! What a wonderful feeling that must be! Can't wait to experience it myself in 3 months!!
Hey Turk,
Congratulations on finishing treatment! Enjoy the Hep free future, but be careful with the alcohol. You still have liver damage as a result of HCV and the existing fibrosis will not have as good a chance to resolve, if at all, if you drink. F3-4 is a significant amount of fibrosis. Something to think about.
I miss my former beer habit, too! I think there were a few times I may have even drank 35 beers in a day, but who's counting....
Let us know when you get your final results, good luck!
Congratulations TurkMcK on finishing you treatment and Slaying your Dragon! high Five!!
Thank you for sharing too, very much appreciated!
While it was fresh in my mind, I wanted to pass on the experience of HEP C Treatment with Harvoni.
APROVAL : It took a long time to get approval from Express Scripts. Mainly because of incompetence on their part. I had been approved for 8 weeks of treatment (I was at Stage 2/3 Fibrosis, and count was only about 150,000). But then because of other issues, I went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and had many tests done there for many things including one of their MRI's where they vibrate your liver and check something. This is supposed to tell them the same as a liver biopsy. This was about 3 years after the first test, and showed stage 3/4 and the blood test showed 196,000 count (I agree this is low). Mayo said I should have 12 weeks of Harvoni. I went thru a NP in St Paul to get the treatment instead of Mayo. He requested 12 weeks instead of 8. We never heard back. I called and was told my Doc requested 8 weeks. I got letters from express scripts stating I was approved, but when I called, it was only for 8 weeks. I even called and talked to someone there and she said it is for 8 weeks, if you need 12 weeks "I am sure they will approve it when you get close ...". Finally I called and found the right person. Sorry I am not sure if she was with Accredo (their specialty pharmacy) or E/S. But I got the right person and explained and she said, let me check. We should cover 12 weeks in this case because you are at 3/4 for fibrosis. She returned to the phone and said she approved it and I should get a call asking when I wanted it delivered. Problem solved.
START : I was nervous about starting but for the first week or two I had no side effects at all. Then I would get an annoying headache from time to time, but if I chugged a lot of water, it would go away in just a few minutes. Probably about week 5 or so, I would get the headache and ache all over. But chugging water took care of that also. Amazing how quickly it resolved it.
FELT BETTER : As time went on, I felt fine. When I started the treatment I was very tired and run down, and short of breath all the time. This was the reason I went to Mayo. But they never did anything. They just did tests. No Medication new or changed. But week 7 or so, I noticed that I was much peppier, not short of breath anymore, and I could do things around the house again. I attribute this to the virus being gone. (After weeks 4 and 8 my viral load was 0).
OBSERVATION : In about week 8 or 9, I would still get the aches and Headaches, but for some reason (and I would be interested to know if others had this same experience) it seemed water was causing the headaches. If I chugged water I would get the headache and body ache and it seemed if I just used a little water each day, I would get fewer headaches. It just kind of flipped one day and the water became the bad guy. Now maybe there is some other reason, but in my mind that was the cause
SINCE : I took my last pill yesterday. (Today is 8/31/17). I made a point of chugging a bunch of water, and NO Headache or other aches. Still I am not sure about the water but it even seems more like in the later days of treatment it turned on me. I am glad it seems OK now, because I do believe a lot of water each day is a very good thing.
DRINKING : I must confess. I usually drink beer. I have drank on average 35 beers per day for at least 15 years before treatment. I decided I should quit while I was taking Harvoni. I was not sure how bad that would be, so I kind of let it go for a few days before I started and had 6-8 beers each day. But I quit the day I started the Harvini. I thought I would be craving a beer. But it seemed more like I was drinking as a habit and not so much as an addiction. I had no problems quitting. However, my grandson had a grad party and I had 3 beers there. and other times I had opportunity and had a few her and a few there. All tolled, probably 15 or 20 beers during the 12 weeks. It never made me uncomfortable or sick or anything. But I was not too proud of myself. I am not sure what I will do now that the treatment is over. I had 3 beers last night to celebrate. Since I have mostly been away from it this is a good time to change things up. I drank almost every day before. Not a lot, but some. I would like to cut down the frequency. I enjoy it. And YES I know it is bad for me and attacks my liver and all the other things it can do. But something inside me says it will not be my destruction... something else will be. And I enjoy it to the point where I do not want to give it up altogether, but I do want to cut back.
CLOSE : I just wanted to enter this while I was still thinking about it. I go in 13 weeks (a week later than usual due to Thanksgiving) to get my final results. I must say I feel a lot better and I am very thankful. I paid nothing for the Harvoni. I had an $8000 out of pocket max for my insurance I I paid all that by March at the Mayo. But assuming I had to pay for it, I would pay something. The amount is immaterial, but I would pay. I hope and pray I come out a 0 in 13 weeks. And I certainly wish anyone else good luck. All in all, it was much easier and much less intrusive than I ever expected.