Hello Radover,

Your aunt will have no safety issues taking antivirals. You can actually give them at the same time as chemo and the SVR12 (cure) rate is the same for the Hep C.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5123740/

With a liver in "good shape" the treatment should be straightforward.

For most patients with Hep C treatment delivers meaningful real-time improvements in quality of life as well as long term benefits.

Good news from Denmark:

Today it is exactly 2 years since I got the best message for many years, after 4 weeks of treatment with HepC Medcin from India, I was told that HepC virus was undetected. my treatment took 12 weeks.
I am very grateful that I bought my own generic HepC medicine
I've got so much better quality of life, much better sleep, much more energy
A big thank to the "stranger" in India who helped me. often sends many thoughts to the "stranger"

The generic HepC medicine it works.

Hi MAGA,

Congratulation on your end of treatment and those excellent results. Looking forward to hearing about your SVR12.

Hi everyone and thanks very much for your support.
Sorry for leaving this post unattended for a while.

UPdate: I was undetected on my week 5 under treatment and after a conversation with doctor James and my GP I decided to take the long way. I'm going to continue treatment with another 12 weeks. Being a self founded patience is hard so took me a while to decide what to do and get the money for it.

Anyone in the forum that have taken the same path? 24 weeks seems like a long time but sometime you have to do what you have to do.

Thanks Again

Hello MAGA,

That's as good as it gets at the end of treatment!

Fingers crossed for SVR12 but it's all on track.

If you need to take a sneak peak over the next 12 weeks of waiting, a relatively cheap set of liver functions tells the story. If your ALT/AST stay at those 20 +/-5 levels all is well.

Hello Bobraas,

Tests themselves don't cure you so they can all be viewed as optional.

Testing 4 weeks into treatment is when we expect the virus to be undetected (78% of people will be undetected at this time). It can be useful as we know from our data, and VA data that the 22% of patients still detected form 44-50% of the treatment failures so it can be worth considering a small 4 week treatment extension if this is the case.

Psychologically it's nice to see undetected @ 4 weeks. The PCR RNA test is expensive so can be skipped as we also see the ALT and AST in the CMP (Complete Metabolic Panel) fall dramatically - this also show you the meds are working fine and is cheap.

At the end of treatment (EOT) the PCR is not really required - once it is negative it will stay negative. The CMP gives EOT AST/ALT levels which allow us to have a sneak peak once the medications finish. If these numbers stay down all is well.

12 weeks after the tablets finish is the point we call SVR12, standing for Sustained Virological Response. When the tablets finish they wash out of the body almost completely within a week giving any remaining virus 11 weeks to grow back. If it remains undetected we are 99.7% certain that will remain permanent.

At SVR24, 24 weeks after the tablets finish, the virus has has 23 weeks with no drugs to stop it. Undetected at this point is 99.99% certain of being permanent and the 0.01% is probably reinfection.

Hi Bobrass, as Splitdog mentioned, two blood tests are recommended at 4 weeks into treatment, then again recommended at the end of treatment, and finally required 12 weeks after the end of treatment (to prove cure). Here are the tests names :
⦁ HCV RNA PCR (Quantitative)
⦁ CBC + CMP

This is day 6, no real side effects. Need a schedule of required testing during treatment. Thanks, Bob

At 7 months post treatment the <15 means ZERO - the virus has now had 6 clear months to grow back in a DAA drug free environment. It has not grown back because.... it is gone, and gone for good.

Congratulations SHarmon, that's fantastic Being <15 IU/mL 6 months post treatment definitely means that you're cured, please see this post by Dr James fixhepc.com/forum/end-of-treatment-eot/1...u-ml-what.html#24954

Finally got the results back 7 months post treatment and it's "HCV RNA target not detected" but the explanation in the comments says that it is equivalent to "<15 IU/mL" but that Health Ontario will be using the new nomenclature from 2019 on.

It's a little mind blowing that such a physically and psychologically damaging disease is not regularly screened for. I had to reach out across the ocean to find someone that cares. Thank you Dr James and the great bunch of people on this site for really giving a damn about people with nowhere else to turn to , God bless.

I have to tell you English is not my first language and I don't quite understand all this.
I didn't make Hep B tests, now I realise I should have done it.
It just happened because I've never experienced any problems with my liver.
In last couple of months I did four blood tests.
First AST/ALT were around 180/150
Second 200/180, I was under a lot of stress
After Christmas they dropped to 32/54, I was very happy. This is all before I started with SofoDac
January 2nd I started SofoDac treatment
Now first four weeks finished, I figured its time for tests. Somehow I expected it to be lower than 66/110.
I have to underline it's been a very stressful month, still is. Problems at work, etc.
I have a fatty liver.
So, please tell me, what happens if I make a Hep B test and it shows positive?
Thank you so much for your help and support.

Hello Miodrag-Tui,

Having your ALT triple on treatment is not normal and is not expected and does need urgent investigation.

1) What was the source of the medication?

2) Did you get checked for Hep B prior to commencing treatment?

Either of Hep B surface antibody positive OR Hep B core antibody negative mean you are either immune or never exposed. Often we just see Hep B surface Antigen done, and while this means no active Hep B at the time (if negative) it does not tell us if Chronic Hep B. In Asia chronic Hep B rates reach up to 10% so it is quite common.

Your Hep B surface Antigen should be done as a matter of some urgency as we do see the reactivation of Hep B in some patients treating their Hep C.

No, I'm not exercising, God forbid.
I'm just somehow dissapointed. Couple of days before starting the treatment my AST/ALT were 54/32. Now after one month of treatment they doubled. Don't know what to think.
Anyway I'll keep you posted. An hour ago I gave blood for the viral load test. Fifteen days or so. Patience is a virtue.
Thank you so much you replied so quickly.

Hello Miodrag, and welcome to the forum. Do you exercise in the gym? Some activities, such as heavy exercising, can temporarily increase your ALT/AST levels. Please continue your treatment until the end, and let us know your viral load result after 15 days. At any rate, you shouldn't be disappointed, 75% of patients who are still detected at end of treatment, go on to reach SVR 12 (cure). The overall cure rate with Sof/Dac and other modern DAAs is about 95%, so the odds are very much on your side.