Hep C Discussion Forum

wmlj1960 · Moderator

RE: Hey old friends and people I haven't met...

Tig · Admin

Kristen,

I know you'll be chugging along without a worry, so look at these tests as a day of celebration. The day the Dragon died, maybe we should write a song and find some old folk music to mix it with!

The guidelines have changed since the all oral DAA's have become so successful. Some of the members are only allowed a pre treatment VL and the EOT +12 to confirm SVR. Not enough testing imo, but they're trying to cut costs at every junction. Lab Corp now offers an online service, you can request your own tests, without a doctors order. You have to pay for it, but they seem to be affordable. I think doctors are being "advised" to cut costs by the carriers and some are following orders to the letter. I hope the next few years sees some common sense improvements in our insurance coverages and access to care. I think I'll have you write any needed letters for me when the time comes. I recall the one you sent, it was very effective! Look at you now, 2 years later and life is good!!

Linuxter has had quite a time with the Riba sides. He started out strong, but it snuck up on him and decked him for a time. He's tough though and has done remarkably well. It can be a difficult weapon to tolerate in this war, but it still offers some distinct advantages for certain people. I'd use it again but glad I don't have to!

Stay in touch and good luck!

Enavigo3891 · Senior Member

Hey Tig!!!

Yep - cannot believe it's been 2 years either! I actually didn't expect to have a f/up with the liver specialist as where I left off with him after my 1 year f/up was sort of like - well done and best of luck (in a nice way though). I had actually been thinking recently that I should make an appointment with my PCP and ask him to run a VL and LFT's for me however I was skeptical as the PCP's don't know much when it comes to this dragon war and figured with my luck he'd run the wrong test. Then much to my surprise the liver specialist's office called last week to schedule a follow up - I wasn't sure if they'd send me lab orders or make me get them there (it's cheaper to go to LabCorp plus then I get my results AT the follow up!) but sure enough the doc called about an hour later to confirm he was sending them out. He wrote for a VL quant. by PCR and a complete hepatic function panel. So to answer your question, no I have not had any interim LFT's done as on my 1 year my AST was 10 and ALT was 7. I've had no other changes in health so I figured at the next year mark would be fine. I'm not sure how many years my insurance will pay for the VL but if i'm still undetected at this one maybe I'll skip until the 5 year mark - for my own mental well being! LOL As for the LFT's i'm sure my PCP will run those annually if I'm not getting them done elsewhere. As you know, I can be quite persuasive (LOL) so I know someone will run them for me even if they don't feel they are necessary! Best of luck with yours next week - we are all professional pin cushions by now so you'll be good. Maybe shove some donuts and OJ in your pocket just in case!

I spent some time reading through Linuxter's story today and it certainly brought me back to the days of Riba hell. For the most part that stuff did take a full 6 months to almost a year to get out of my system but unfortunately even 2 years later I have some residual skin issues that flair up. I can only relate them to the Riba as I never had any before. They are manageable though and well - far better than death so I'm cool with it! Glad to hear Linuxter is down to his final days - the ultimate battle between the intense desire to throw a party for yourself after chuckin' back those final pills but so damn tired to do much more than think about it! LOL

Hope you're doing okay otherwise good man - saw in a post you were having some "growing pains" ... something about becoming a moldy piece of bread! HA You sir too have a way with words that I for one thoroughly enjoy!

Tig · Admin

Hi Kristen,

How good it is to hear from you!! Man, has it really been 2 years already? I remember when you were fighting tooth and nail to get treatment. I've told people about your way with words, lol! You were a very good appealer! Now you're continuing to prove what an awesome Dragon slayer you are too.

I'll look for some specifics, but I can tell you that I'm unaware of any GT 2 relapses, at least here. There will always be a very small percentage until they hit 100% across the board, but the <1% after SVR 12 still holds true. The longer you go the better they say, so you should be down to nearly nothing on the scale of possibility. I certainly wouldn't be concerned with it. Have you had a Liver profile done recently? If so, what were your enzymes? That's the only thing you need to watch really. I will be going in next week for some annual blood tests and I don't even know if there is a viral load ordered. I haven't been concerned about it after SVR 52. It's always nice to see though! I never tire of reading that UNDETECTED on the report. We have sure been seeing them pour in here lately. Unfortunately, there are still a few that have had to restart their battle after either a breakthrough or relapse, but the options now are so plentiful and effective, in my opinion it's not an "if" but a "when" for everybody. It's a good time to treat. Still having some deal with the dreaded Ribavirin, but we've got some tough Warriors and everyone is making it successfully to EOT and SVR.

You be sure and let us know what you find out. I know it'll be good news, you should count on that! I hope you check in often, it's always nice to hear from our friends. Everyone around here is golden and we're lucky to have such a great family of members! We'll be waiting on your report... smile

Enavigo3891 · Senior Member

Hey old friends and people I haven't met before... It's been just about a year since I've logged in here but I think of you folks often! I hope the world has been treating you all well and I'm super excited to see that the signature line on the bottom of some people's posts have three wonderful letters added: "SVR". That's fantastic news.

I am coming up on my 2 year labs and was trying to do some research on whether the success rates of Sovaldi + Riba for GT2's has been holding up as originally claimed as time has gone on. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find much information. I'm hoping that's a good thing and that there haven't been many relapses. I got my lab orders in the mail today, will get my blood drawn the last week of the month. I have a follow up with my liver specialist on May 6th to get the results which is exactly 2 years from first pill free day following treatment. Hopefully that's good luck!

It's good to see familiar names around these parts! You guys still rock!

-- Edited by Enavigo3891 on Saturday 9th of April 2016 11:54:53 PM

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