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Gator Man


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RE: Hi There
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Hi Fem,

Welcome to the forum! In addition to the shorter duration of tx (less time on Riba), you have a much greater chance of success than prior Interferon therapies. Every reason to believe that your days with HCV will be a thing of the past!

Jump on the forum anytime you're anxious and someone will respond shortly. We're here to help.

john



__________________

Geno 1b, compensated cirrhotic, 54 yo, prior null responder. Pre tx VL approx 595,000, tx with Sovaldi/Olysio (no Riba) started 1/8/14. VL 40 @ 2 weeks, UND @ 4 weeks. Still UND @ EOT + 1 year.

Gator Man SVR12, Dragon 0, Final Score.
Cinnamon Girl


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Hi Fem and welcome again from me,

Thanks for introducing yourself to us here in the New Members Area, that`s very helpful and gives us a chance to get to know a bit more about you.

Having Gen 1a I expect you`ll only have to do 12 weeks on ViekIra Pak,  whether or not you have cirrhosis, and you shouldn`t find it too difficult at all, especially compared to your previous treatment experiences. 

It`s natural to feel anxious when starting any round of treatment, we all understand what that`s like, but try and relax and take it step at a time. 

Keep in touch and we`ll be with you every step of your journey!  

Wishing you all the best of luck!  smile

 



__________________

Jill 

(71 yo, lives in UK)

Was Gen 3a, 

24wks Peg Ifn/Riba, Sep 2010 - Mch 2011

UND @ Wk.4, UND @ EOT, 

SVR Nov 2011 --> Still UND @ EOT + 4 yrs.

 

 
Tig


Admin

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Hi Fem,

I'd like to welcome you here as well. As you've already seen and read, we have some very helpful and  knowledgeable members here. They have given you some very accurate and useful information. In addition to searching Google, I would like to point out our Search function at the top center of each page. One or two keywords will open up our index to a page that is full of information on the topic. We have many years of experience and data there. It's an excellent resource.

If there is anything I can do, please ask. There are several ways to seek assistance, posting to a thread like this, using the private message function if you have something personal you would like to discuss with a member and each profile page has what we call the White Box. You can place an open message/comment to that specific member there. So please feel free to ask any question that comes to mind.

You've already heard the good news regarding your new protocol. So you know it's very effective and your liver health determines the length of treatment. As mentioned in previous posts, if you want, please feel free to enter your particulars in your signature line. It helps us provide opinions based on your treatment and health. I'm glad you're here!

Tig

 



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Tig

67yo GT1A - 5 Mil - A2/F3 - (1996) Intron A - Non Responder, (2013) Peg/Riba/Vic SOT:05/23/13 EOT:12/04/13 SVR 9+ years!

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wmlj1960


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 Welcome Femapples. Based on my experience here, you are certainly in the right place for information and understanding. I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about Hep C as many of the other members here but from what I've learned here I can assure you that there is no reason for you to be a nervous wreck. These new drugs are much more user friendly than what you experienced in the past along with much better odds of remaining Hep C free after treatment is over too. So make yourself at home. Some of the abbreviations you'll see in the messages and signatures are unique to this forum, so to familiarize yourself with these you can check out the 'Forum Abbreviations' thread located HERE. Enjoy! smile



__________________

60 yo, geno 1a, Dx 1994 HCV-HIV co-inf, Dx 2013 decompensated cirrhosis
Tx #1 - 24wks Sov+Riba /SOT 7-24-2014/UND@EOT/DETECTED@EOT+16 wks
Tx #2 - 24wks Harvoni /SOT 7-25-2015/UND@EOT,+12,+24,+52 = SVR

Mike

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lonewolf


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Hi again Femapples

Work let out early because its very slow due to good Friday and Easter so I'm off till Monday. Hooray! Actually, I've made it a point to learn all that I can about the treatment I'm on which is the same as yours so I believe I can give you a good start. I am on day 29 of an 84 day, (12 week), course of Viekira pack and Ribavirin. It is my first try at treatment so I have opted to wait until these new break-though drugs were approved. I have less than stage 1 fibrosis even though I believe I acquired this virus in 1989. That's the year they discovered the Hep C virus and the blood supply in the U.S. was not screened for it until 1992. I see that you have a pretty high viral load. So do I at 21.8 million.

Do you have any liver damage and if so how severe is it? If you have cirrhosis you will probably have to take it for 24 weeks. You need to write this into your signature line so that others can better guide you as well as any other info on your health status. Viekira Pak is the newest of the new. It was approved by the FDA on 12-19-14. It contains 3 direct acting anti-virals and one older anti-viral which was added to make one of the 3 new ones, Paritaprevir to work more effectively. I'm not going to throw too much technical mumbo jumbo at you because I don't think that would help you. These 3 new anti-virals attack the Hep C virus at 3 different stages of its life cycle making this a very effective medication indeed. The cure rate for me based on clinical trials is 97 percent according to my specialist. But when you are type 1a as we are it must be taken with Ribavirin to achieve that cure rate. I am told by others on this site as well as my Dr. that a high viral load has no bearing on your ability to achieve a cure or on Hepatitis C disease progression. From what I know even people with kidney disease tolerate this medication well. Sure, the Ribavirin is no fun but less than 2% of people in clinical trials dropped out due to side effects. And according to these same clinical trials less than 2% had virologic failure. So our chances of a cure are excellent!! I would give you some links but I forgot to copy any to paste right now. Try posting in the "on treatment" section here since you are now on treatment and well on you way to being cured of Hep C. These new drugs are break-through drugs! I hope this helped a little and don't worry O.K.? Just keep posting and you will learn even more. And remember that you are not on Interferon. That is what most people, including myself have been trying to avoid. Drink lots of water and eat healthy and get plenty of sleep. Type Viekira Pak into your google search bar and you can find a lot of info there as well. Just avoid any site that wants to sell you something. Gotta go. My dog won't leave me alone. He wants his walk.

See you around and keep posting_Greg



__________________

55 yo male-Genotype 1A  Started treatment 3-5-15 Viekira Pak+Ribavirin 12 weeks. Less than stage 1 fibrosis.  Previously treatment naïve. VL- SOT-21.8 million/ml  Log 10IU/ml-7.34, VL-4wks-UND, VL-7wks-UND

Greg
Femapples


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Thanks for your responses. I look forward to this communication.

__________________

Hep C, viral load 26,000,000, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (kidney), glomerulonephritis (kidney). 1994: Interferon, 2005: Interferon & ribavirin, 4/1/ 2015: Viekira Pak & Ribaviron, 12 weeks EOT: virus UND
mallani


Guru

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Hi and welcome Fem.

I also did the old treatments but you'll be fine this time.

The Ribavirin is still the pits but I guess you're only doing 12 weeks. I had 48 weeks with my Victrelis combo, but it worked.

Best of luck.



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Geno 1b, IL28B CT,  x3 prior relapser,  ex-cirrhotic, 75 yo, did 48 weeks with Victrelis/Peg./Riba.  VL 1.28m at start, UNDET. at 8 ,12 ,16 ,24 ,30  and 48 weeks.  EOT 15 Feb 2013 , UNDET. at EOT + 28 weeks. SVR!  Still Undet. at EOT +5 years

Malcolm
lonewolf


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Hi Femapples and welcome. I am relatively new here also. I saw your post and I can assure you that you are in the right place. I'm glad to hear you have started treatment. I am on the same meds you are and I was nervous at first also. Other people with far more experience with treatment than I will see your post and guide you much better than I can. You just relax and read what they have to say. These new meds are very tolerable compared to what many others have been thru and I guarantee you that once the others that I spoke of see your post you are going to get many replies. I'm on break at work right now and don't have much time. I've learned a whole lot from them and you will too! Gotta get back to work. I just wanted to welcome you_Greg



__________________

55 yo male-Genotype 1A  Started treatment 3-5-15 Viekira Pak+Ribavirin 12 weeks. Less than stage 1 fibrosis.  Previously treatment naïve. VL- SOT-21.8 million/ml  Log 10IU/ml-7.34, VL-4wks-UND, VL-7wks-UND

Greg
Femapples


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I'm new to the forum and, of course, didn't read the directions so immediately posted to the Viekira area.

I've had Hep C for probably over 40 years.  I had a treatment about 20 years ago, Interferon only.  I had another about 11 years ago, Interferon and Ribaviron which almost killed me.  Now I just started taking Viekera Pak and Ribaviron yesterday after a long batter with Express Scripts (Accredo, actually). 

My kidneys had become involved but my Hep specialist and nephrologist assured me that the kidney disease will reverse with Hep C treatment.

I'm genotype 1a, viral load 26,000,000.  I'm trying not to be a nervous wreck.

Femapples



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Hep C, viral load 26,000,000, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (kidney), glomerulonephritis (kidney). 1994: Interferon, 2005: Interferon & ribavirin, 4/1/ 2015: Viekira Pak & Ribaviron, 12 weeks EOT: virus UND
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