Hi everyone

I have a question ideally for Dr James. I just took my 28th Epclusa pill today and I have an appointment with my GP next week as well as a blood test booked. Hopefully everything is on the track.
What worries me is I have been given 12 weeks of Epclusa only and I have fibrosis F3 (11.6 Kpa) and GT3a. Doing my research in this amazing and supportive forum I discover that the recommendation for severe fibrosis/cirrhosis is 12 weeks Epclusa WITH RIBAVIRIN or 24 weeks Epclusa.
Here are my questions:

If I'm not undetectable next week would be worth it to take Riba half way the treatment
or even if I'm undetectable should I take Riba just to be safe?
Or should I extend my treatment?

I don't mean to be negative and hopefully everything go well next week but the fact that I'm not taking Riba worries me.

Please your opinions/recommendations

Thanks a lot

Chris

Hi Kaju,

Please let me add my congratulations.

I know what you mean about it being a bit like magic when you have carried the burden of Hep C for years and then it is gone.....

Spreading the word is a great way for us all to pay our good fortune forward. Best wishes for 2019 and onward.

Coral

Hello OregonDaisy, Dr James was not suggesting that you return Harvoni generic at all, you definitely need to take it, he was suggesting that you add another medication (Daclatasvir) to your Harvoni treatment. This will enable you to take antacids, such as Protonix, without worrying about potential medications interactions. You do need a prescription for Daclatasvir if you decide to get it, please let us know if you need help with that.

The alternative would be to take the lowest possible dose of Protonix 1 hour after taking Harvoni, and hopefully everything will go smoothly. If you prefer to take Protonix at night, you can take Harvoni at night too with a late dinner (instead of in the morning), then take Protonix 1 hour after that.

Hi Guys,
Thank you very much for your good wishes
I am very happy and this is like kind of magic.
When I look the past ıt has been almost 2 years and now ı can not believe ı am hep free
All you guys are awesome and gave me very good positive feeling and motivation.
Sometimes I felt bad and pessimistic but your msgs always give me hope ..
I was alone with the hepc every single day it s like kind of my dirty secret and always feel press on my shoulder.Every morning and night. Before sleep and after get up. Always in my mind.I know how I get this and this is bad seal from past.but now we beat it. I am very happy and feel free.
Thank you very much guys and again especially thank you very much Dr James.
I will try my best for help the people in my country who needs treatment. Medicine are quite expensive and lots of people doesnt know here. wish you a great day and happy new year...
Cheers.

Fantastic news!! Have a spectacular 2019. You have a whole new life waiting for you. Enjoy.

Hello Daisy, welcome to the forum . There is no need to worry about the side effects, unlike the old Interferon / Ribavirin treatment, side effects with the new DAA medications are generally very mild. Many patients do not experience them at all, the most important tip to minimize them is to drink plenty of water throughout treatment.

There is reasonable coverage of what to expect in terms of side effects here: fixhepc.com/treatment-side-effects.html

For most people, it goes like this. For the first few days, you feel something is happening. It's a bit like the feeling you get before you get influenza - you know, that I'm not quite right, but can't put my finger on it.
At this stage, some people (1 in 5) will have a headache and feel a bit unwell (aching joints).
Then it just goes away. This corresponds to the drugs wiping out most of the virus.
Then most people feel better than they have for years.
About 1 in 5 people have problems sleeping, which does make people tired.
Other than that, it's pretty much like taking any other antibiotic. Some people get an upset stomach, the occasional person gets an itchy rash.
All up, it's generally smooth sailing, with little in the way of noticeable side effects other than feeling better.

Finally, the 'During Treatment' section of the FAQs page has some very good tips to follow as well fixhepc.com/frequently-asked-questions.html
Best of luck to you, and looking forward to hearing great news from you in the future. Happy holidays.

Hello TwoBee, thanks for sharing your Hep C story and congratulations on your SVR 24, that's really awesome. Don't worry, once you're SVR 24, there won't be a relapse, please see this post from yesterday by Dr James Freeman for a more thorough explanation fixhepc.com/forum/new-to-forum/1748-need...html?start=120#27503 Sounds like you're really taking care of your health after getting cured, that's excellent, enjoy your Hep C free life, and happy holidays.

Hi everyone! guess we share the same genotype. Back in 1997, when I first got the HCV bug, I knew that I could not afford the Peg-Intron standard of treatment at that time with its 47% average cure rate. So, I decided to wait until a cheaper and hopefully a more effective cure was to be found. My life coasted along until I began to feel far worse symptoms in 2016. I was so depressed and I thought that my life was spiraling towards its end. But hope glimmered when I stumbled on the internet news about a non-injectable HCV medicine that promised more than 90% cure rate - the DAAs were emerging.

Now, it's 2018 and I am SVR24 and even more... I would like to think that I am also at this time, SVR48! I really pray that I am really cured and that it is permanent and definite. No late relapse.

I have also changed my lifestyle that I no longer drink alcohol and watch my food intake. I shun meat (I still eat fish and seafood though) opting instead for veggies. Hope to lead a clean and spiritual life with my extended years.

Truly wishing you Happy Holidays. God is good and He is great!

Thank you Hazel for your very kind words, Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year to you. Congratulations on getting your law degree, that's really awesome. You already kicked butt by playing a part in New Zealand's decision to offer free Hep C treatment to the rest of its citizens. Now that you're officially a lawyer, look out world

At SVR24 we are 99.99% certain there will be no relapse. The 1:10,000 who do relapse are suspected to be reinfections, rather than true late relapse cases.

This makes sense when you think about it. The incubation period for Hep C is 14-180 days. It only takes 1 week for the drugs to wash out of your body (1/128 level) which is below the therapeutic level. By 2 weeks there is only 1/16,348 the level on treatment. So after this time the virus (if there was any left) has, by SVR24 had a full 22 weeks to grow back unimpeded by the effect of the drugs.

It's logical that if it has not grown back by this stage then the reason is there was nothing left to grow back.

That’s great news Kaju and Congratulations on being Hep C free!!

S

Very happy that you got rid of this terrible disease Rightsaidfred, it's amazing how many health problems Hep C ends up being responsible for, the Liver is obviously just the start. Glad you got lucky and didn't have to go through Interferon and the old horrendous treatment. You're right about Gaj, what an amazing human being he was. Merry Christmas and a happy 2019 to you.

Congratulations Kaju !!! You can finally relax for sure now as rightsaidfred said, be happy, no more Hep C

Hello Kaju,

I'm very pleased to hear your news. You must be feeling really good about it. Perhaps you could afford to relax a bit now? I say this because you mention that you're looking forward to the next set of results but if your viral load is undetectable at 24 weeks it is almost completely certain that you are fixed. Dr James could give you the statistics which support what I am saying.

With all best wishes for a healthy 2019,

RSF

Firstly, wish Merry Christmas to everybody Hope you are having a great time with your family and beloved.

Second , MY test result is VIRAL GENOM NOT DEDECTED. I reached SVR24

Thnak you very much specially TO dear Dr. James and all other friends who reply my paranoid and unusual questions. You guys gave me very big motivation and positive feeling in my journey. Hope after six month I will be undedected again and everthing will be more clean.
Thank you very much guys. Everbody is awesome here..
Cheers and happy new year from now ..