Hello hope all is doing well and someone can help me. I was diagnosed with hep c last year and haven’t started treatment as of yet due some personal circumstances. About three weeks ago I woke up with a crazy headache like I have never experienced before, this lasted for about three hours but I am still getting random pains in certain different parts of my head to this day but not as bad as my initial one. On top of that my concentration levels feel totally different , I find I am focusing intensely on one object all throughout the day and often find myself extreamly tired and short breathed. With all these symptoms it’s making me extreamly anxious when talking to people because I feel spaced out with this foggy feeling on my head. I have booked an appointment this Friday with the doctor but not really sure what to say and I’m a little worried he may just think I’m going crazy, I am starting to get worried the feeling won’t subside ever.....does anyone know if this is hep c related or experienced something like this too? If so is there anything I can do in the meantime to help reduce the symptoms?

Hello Protagor,

Genotype 1 is easier to cure than Genotype 3.

Cirrhosis makes patients harder to cure and both patients have cirrhosis.

Women are (slightly) easier to cure than men

While it is entirely possible both patients will be cured with 12 weeks Sof+Dac+Riba

1) The response of the man with GT1 is slow - a viral load of 148 @ 4 weeks is unusually high. I would estimate his current chances of cure at 85-90% rather than the ~95% we expect

2) The response of the woman with GT3 is much better (at 4 weeks test) but expected cure rate for GT3 with cirrhosis is 90% with 12 weeks treatment.

The effect of extra treatment is small. In rough terms adding 4 weeks (so 16 weeks total) might add 4% to cure rate, adding another 4 weeks (so 20 weeks total) might add an extra 2% and adding another 4 weeks (so 24 weeks total) might add 1%

What you should see is that going from 12 weeks to 16 does add quite a bit to cure rate, but each extra lot of treatment adds less benefit.

For both patients I would suggest going out to 16 weeks total or longer if this can be afforded. For GT3 patient I would like more than 16 weeks if this is possible.

Daclatasvir does have some drug and food interactions that can either raise or lower the levels in the blood. Are any other medications being taken? What does diet of both people look like - is it the same food every day or is there good variety? (if good day to day variety any problem food does not tend to appear for many days in a row).

Dear Sir!
We need your advise pls. Our history and therapy by Hepcinat Plus (Natco):

Patient 1 (man) :
Hep type 1A since 1994г., 1.8*10*6, F13.2, ALT 148, AST 58
Start therapy 21.07.19, Sof+Dac+Rib1200
4 week: + 148Ме (test 10), ALT 17, AST 15
7 week: - (test 10), ALT 14, AST 15

Patient 2 (woman) :
Hep type 3А (~20 years), 2.9*10*6, F12.8, 2.3*10*8, ALT 193, AST 113
Start therapy 21.07.19, Sof+Dac+Rib1200
4 week: + (from 10 till 29Ме by test 10), ALT 20, AST 20
7 week: - (test 10), ALT 15, AST 18

Our doctor recommends further treatment because:
1. the virus has been present for a very long time,
2. genotypes 1A and 3A heavy for treatment,
3. stage of fibrosis on the verge of cirrhosis,
4. the "minus" was only the seventh week.
But at the same time our doctor says that 12 weeks may be sufficient.

Do my wife and I need to continue our treatment after 12 weeks, until 16 or 24 weeks?
What do you think?

Waiting for your reply! Thank you!

Best regards,
Alex

Hi G, I'm glad that you're following the doctors instructions to the letter, even if it's a bit difficult at the beginning. Hopefully it will be completely worth it at the end, and as Sven said, the treatment/cure will checkmate these sleepless nights. I understand your pessimism, especially since your work in suicide prevention, but being more optimistic can help with any difficulties during treatment, after all, on paper you have a 96% chance of cure as Dr James noted.

I think you're doing just fine on the forum, I can't think of anything else that you can do. Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the positives! I'm day 5 in to the treatment and following the doctors instructions to the letter. Insomnia is still an issue for me but that's also because of the quetiapine no longer being used. I guess I'll get used to that and hopefully it'll improve as time goes on. I'm a natural pessimist and that's hard to shake as because I work very closely with people in suicide prevention I guess its also a kind of emotional "insurance" that I've naturally developed in response to losing people from time to time.Also, my support network is small and mainly consists of a dog and cat but this forum is a major element for me now as I don't do social networking at all. I guess this is my "facebook"!
Thanks for all the support and for the chance to try again. Also, please tell me if there are things I should be doing on the forum that I'm ignorant of as the whole internet thing is something I haven't really embraced.
g

I just had my 6 months testing after my 12 weeks on medication. I am still completely clear and undetectable. Isn't it considered cured if you've made it 6 months undetected after treatment?

Dear Barry,

I’m NO doctor but I’ve seen the blues when HCV has taken hold of most all of us. In my own experience you’re just a short jaunt away from coming back to your old self.
The HCV treatment/cure will also checkmate the sleepless nights your having and that will give you more energy, relaxation and mind clarity.
Remember to follow Dr James’s recommendations as he is a world renowned expert in treating this issue, I know that 1000%.
Yes I treated here and this Dr’s protocol made me HCV free and you’re success is just right around the corner.
Be well.

Hi Chris1234,

Congratulations on starting your treatment. Most people are pretty surprised at the low number or complete lack of side effects and I wish that for you.

I did get a bit fluey initially and my particular treatment caused some (bearable) headaches but as time goes on it is the improvements rather than the side effects that become apparent. The brain fog that was such a big issue for me improved during treatment and continued to improve long after I was cured.

I can now see that there was some depression mixed up in all of the crappiness of having Hep C as well as the exhaustion of trying to maintain some sense of functional normality with the heavy burden of having the virus on my back. For me there was a gradual improvement in my energy levels and general sense of well being.

Now that I am a couple of years cured I can absolutely see the differences between pre and post Hep C and those improvements started as soon as the medication started to take effect.

The best advice is to take every single pill at the same time every day to the very last. Drink lots of water, eat well, get some exercise and have faith that this treatment works. You also have Dr James, one of the most experienced Hep C experts in the world and all round amazing human, in your corner.

Wishing you all the best for your treatment. Let us know how you are travelling.

Coral

Hi Chris1234,

Mavyret is a very clean drug combination that tends to cause very few side effects. The most important thing is simply to take the 3 pills at roughly the same time of day, every day, and not forget to take them.

The effect of treatment tends to depend on how symptomatic you are.

During the first week, the vast majority of the virus is killed off and some patients notice a mild flu like illness.

By week 2, if you've been (say) getting some brain fog you may well find that starting to clear.

By week 4 it's not unusual for patients to say "I have not felt this good for 20 years"

Hello Everyone,

I'm on my fifth day of a Mavyret treatment and was just curious what advice anyone has for the treatment process. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. What I'm most curious about is after the treatment is there a noticeable difference in certain things? Thanks in advance. Glad i found this website.

Thank you Dr James,
I do start worrying and wondering what happens with the shitty virus, as I didnt do any viral load during treatment, especially since finishing the pills (did any remain that will start to reproduce again!?) but I guess I'll need to be patient for 12 more weeks and do the PCR test. The enzymes look good now versus before, but than, I also used to have them within the normal ranges for years after the infection, so I know that, even though they are a good sign of the liver health, they are still not a 100% proof that nothing's going on behind.....

Lets keep patient for a while more:)

All the best!

Hi G,

There is a 96% chance this treatment will cure you. Cured you are unlikely to die of liver disease, your liver function will improve, but you will still require monitoring for HCC.

In the event you're in the 4% (again) then yes, your disease will progress and it will quite possibly kill you.

Transplanting the livers of patients with end-stage Hep C is common - it's the commonest cause of liver transplantation. Patients with active Hep C are transplanted and then cured post-transplant - we find that Hep C is much easier than cure post transplant than with cirrhosis. Because the DAAs have been doing such a good job getting rid of Hep C it's much easier to find a liver transplant these days as the demand (from Hep C) has virtually disappeared.

Hello beahavan,

Although there is a form of HCC that does not produce AFP the pre test probability of you having an HCC are the less than the general population (without HCV) because of all the monitoring we have done excluding it.

H there.
I have my first months supply of Mayvret sitting here and a script for three months more teed up at the Pharmacy. The extra meds are on their way to me. When they are all here I can start my treatment.
I have my 6 monthly appointment with the specialist nurse on Tuesday morning so Im hoping that they will provide support to me in some sort of capacity.
I know it isnt advisable but Im 5 days into cold turkey Quetiapine withdrawal which isn't pleasant but Ill get through it dead or alive so that it is out of my life before I start the Hep treatment. It feels like Ive been hit head on by a train but my eyes are on the prize. Sleep is erratic but my GP has advised that he will help me with that and I only have to ask if it gets real bad.
Not scared about the treatment at all apart from knowing that this will be my last chance due to Cirrhosis etc and that state of my insides. Withe the treatment taking 4 months and the 3 month wait after that to check whether I have cleared it, it'll be around April 2020 before I know. I have to look at both sides of the treatment coin as I am a hard headed pessimist (realist) so need to prepare either way.
I need to clarify with you all the outcomes and need an honest answer if you can.?
1. If the treatment clears the Hep and depending on the variables, I will be left with maintaining my cirrhosis and checking regularly for cancer and more deterioration right?
2. If for some reason it fails to clear it, the liver disease will slowly progress over time and eventually will turn into liver failure/cancer. I know that a transplant wont be offered to me if Hep C is still rampant and I don't think I would ask for one even if able to.
Are those scenarios reasonably accurate? I realise you cant predict the future but in general terms that's the way it would roll wouldn't it?
Thanks all. Ill keep you up to date on the treatment as it starts and goes on.
This forum has been amazing to me and has not only allowed me to get the treatment opportunity, it has also given me answers to questions I simply cannot get answered locally.
So glad FixHepC came into my life.
cheers all
G (Gordon)

Congratulations Karen on finishing your treatment, and also on your liver enzymes result, it looks great Things are definitely on the right track for you, especially with your blood count and iron deficiency issues resolved, I think you should feel quite optimistic about your test result 12 weeks from now. Looking forward to excellent news from you.