Hi PP,
Show her this:


This brings me to the next topic, flying to Australia for generic Hepatitis medicines.
Australia is now unique in the 'developed' world because there are three compound chemists now compounding Chinese Hep C APIs into consumable doses. The catch with this is that these pharmacies can only supply the medication to people who have an Australian prescription. The patient does not have to be an Australian citizen or resident but they must have an Australian doctor's prescription.
As a result of this a lot of people from countries where their government obstructs access to generic meds being sent by courier, like Canada and the USA, are now flying to Australia to get see an Australian doctor and then buy their Hep C meds and fly home with them, a totally legal thing to do.
The process is quite simple.
I can supply you with a list of doctors who will prescribe Hep C meds for you and you can make an appointment with one of these doctors, fly to Australia with your most recent test results, see the doctor, get the prescription buy the meds begin treatment (swallow a tablet) and fly home where your own doctor can monitor your treatment.
Ideally you should also bring a letter from your doctor explaining your situation. Even a prescription if you can get one. This makes it all the easier for the Australian doctor.

If you are short of time this process should take less than one week. If you have spare time then stay a couple of weeks and enjoy the natural beauty of Australia.
If you are really pressed for time then you can speed this process up to a 3 night stay by doing it this way:
1. Make an online appointment with GP2U, an Australian online medical consultancy.
2. Meet the doctor online, with reports etc and explain the situation.
3. Get the prescription sent to you by email. (total cost AUD$100)
4. Send an email explaining your situation and attach a scan of the prescription to Sydney Compounding Chemist This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
5. Pay for the meds before you leave your country so they are made up and waiting for you when you arrive.
6. Fly to Australia.
7. Get the meds delivered to where you are staying.
8. Start treatment
9. Fly home.

If you need any more information of this option then just email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SVR 12 is within easy reach. Get yourself healthy and well... LIVE LIFE

Mike

Sounds like all is good Joan the drugs are working and i'm sure you will start to feel better shortly. I've only had a couple of really crap days when my liver got very painful but thankfully thas passed and I now have more energy than before. Wife has noticed I have a spring in my step that I didn't have before.

cheers

Good stuff Sirchinenge it seems to me that many people have zero side effects at all but the ones that do still don't do it too tough. Well not in comparison to the old treatment and considering the sickness we have lived with for years.

cheers

That's awesome news Joan So glad your side effects are minimal. I am on day four and have had insomnia from the first dose. Legs feeling a bit "rubbery" today but that's about all. Tend to get tired in the afternoon due to lack of sleep the night before but am hoping that will ease as I only have this week off work then back to normality next week.

My nervous system is a bit shot at the moment but that, I am sure, was the build up to getting and taking the medication. I am going to take myself out to lunch (with my better half) as I need to do something other than sitting in the lounge watching telly.

Stay well and I look forward to seeing your posts, they are very encouraging.

Hello
Today is day 10 and I am about to take my morning meds. Sof/Dac. The main symptoms I have are insomnia and fatigue. I go to sleep for about 3 or so hours and then go into a very light sleep like half awake half asleep. But I am starting to wake up feeling ok. Not too tired.

Last week I was impacted with fatigue and rested when I had too and pushed myself to do some social outings which really helped.
I am basically living my life as I would with a strange sleeping pattern and a different type of fatigue which comes and goes.

All in all these side effects are minimal. I was really expecting to be 'wacked' by these drugs and so far that hasn't happened. I am not bedridden and I can socialise, cook, go shopping walk the dog etc. And I am starting to feel better in myself. Like I am not dragging body around. Feel a little spacey and thought this may be what people feel like without a sense of overwhelm 24/7. The absence of overwhelm/anxiety is a relief. No nausea the last few days and thats amazing and I have a ravenous appetite and am enjoying food.
My diet is pretty simple. Steamed veggies, chicken casseroles, lentil stew, Quinoa and fruit. Drinking lots and lots of water. No alcohol or sugary foods. Whats called a clean diet.

Thank you all for the well wishes…this is a really huge thing to do and I appreciate your support. Taking my life into my own hands has empowered me and every day I am reminded what and amazing thing I am doing and how different my life is already. I have no doubts that I will be cured…I just know that I am on a new trajectory and how exciting life is. Who would have thought 6 months ago I would be on the 'New Treatment' embarking on this path and with the help of Dr. Freeman his team and many others this is all possible.

Wishing you good health and god speed throughout Joan. Em

Dear Cindi, After all our years as fellow travellers, it is great to see that J is finally receiving treatment. You endured painful years of IVF & four cruel HCV treatments - I always admired your courage & spirit. Nevertheless; across two previous forums you always treated people so kindly. Any harrassment from the previous forum appears conflicted & self serving. Don't credit it with any further thought. Life is too precious.

J was just a munchkin when we sometimes talked on the phone & laughed ourselves silly when he shared with me how he had hidden your computer because it had turned to spaghetti - and he couldn't fix it. Cherished memory. Now he is a bigger lad and finally receiving HCV treatment. Hopefully, you will soon be finally free of this burden so long carried - though you were innocent and deserved no reproach. Let us hope for sweet freedom and a richer future.

Tell J to keep his big boy pants on (joke) - cause he's shown a new maturity in how seriously he has taken his tx decision. Archer xx

GT1 F1 only needs 12 weeks so you have 8 weeks spare. Taking them may offer a slight benefit, but it would only be slight. Treatment success is probably already in excess of 95% so there are not a lot of spare % points to be had.

A hypothetical alternative would be to sell them to someone wanting to avoid a $10-15k copay, fly Business Class to Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Australia etc and source 12 weeks generics, stay in a luxury hotel while you're there, and return home.

Now you have an extra 12 weeks medication (unlikely to be required), just had a luxury holiday, one extra person got cured, and you have spare money for Christmas.

Now that would certainly breach one or more US laws but as somebody pointed out, it would be cheaper for US insurers to fly patients to Egypt, put them up in the Presidential suite at the Hilton, get the same medication there, then fly them home.

In brief you can walk it in on your person, but not post it in. Here is an email from somebody in France who researched it. He picked up his medication in Australia a couple of weeks ago and is now back in Paris on treatment.

James,

I have found the text of the relevant French laws on importation/exportation of medicines. This confirms my previous indications that mailing medicines into France is not allow, but that importation by personal transport of a treatment for up to 3 months is allowed and does not require authorisation (Article R5121-110, below).

.

... So if you are thinking in terms of mailing from Bangladesh, and given what you know about the UK law already, it might seem that travelling to the UK for a pick-up could be a workable option for many European citizens (see again the link to French customs at end of this mail).

Best,

D


Source: www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do?idS...LEGITEXT000006072665


Section 10 : Importation et exportation.
Article R5121-108 En savoir plus sur cet article... <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...5&dateTexte=20151020>
Modifié par Décret n°2013-66 du 18 janvier 2013 - art. 2 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticl...2&dateTexte=20130121>

Tout médicament qui n'est pas pourvu de l'autorisation de mise sur le marché mentionnée à l'article L. 5121-8 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid>ou de l'autorisation temporaire d'utilisation mentionnée à l'article L. 5121-12 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid>ou de l'enregistrement mentionné à l'article L. 5121-13 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid> ou de l'autorisation mentionnée au 12° ou au 13° de l'article L. 5121-1 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid>ou qui n'est pas un médicament nécessaire à la réalisation d'une recherche biomédicale qui a fait l'objet d'une autorisation au sens de l'article L. 1123-8 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid>fait l'objet, avant son importation dans le territoire douanier, d'une autorisation d'importation délivrée par le directeur général de l'Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé, soit dans les conditions prévues aux articles R. 5121-109 à R. 5121-114 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid>, soit au titre de l'autorisation d'importation parallèle définie aux articles R. 5121-115 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid>et suivants. Cette autorisation peut être refusée si le médicament présente ou est susceptible de présenter un risque pour la santé publique et, pour le médicament nécessaire à la réalisation d'une recherche biomédicale, si la recherche biomédicale a fait l'objet d'un refus d'autorisation.

Article R5121-109 En savoir plus sur cet article... <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...5&dateTexte=20151020>
Modifié par Décret n°2012-597 du 27 avril 2012 - art. 5 <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexteArticl...6&dateTexte=20120430>

Pour les produits finis, définis comme des médicaments ayant subi tous les stades de la fabrication, y compris le conditionnement, à l'exception des médicaments destinés à être stockés dans un entrepôt national d'exportation mentionné à l'article 277 A <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...e=&categorieLien=cid> du code général des impôts, ainsi que des médicaments importés par un particulier par une autre voie que le transport personnel, une autorisation d'importation est requise pour chaque opération d'importation.

Pour les médicaments autres que les produits finis, pour les médicaments destinés à être stockés dans un entrepôt national d'exportation défini à l'article 277 A du code général des impôts, ainsi que pour les médicaments importés par un particulier par une autre voie que le transport personnel, l'autorisation d'importation est requise pour une série d'opérations d'importation envisagées pour un médicament pendant une période maximale d'un an et pour une quantité globale donnée ; dans ce cas, l'autorisation précise le nombre d'opérations prévues, la durée de la période pendant laquelle les opérations peuvent être effectuées ainsi que la quantité globale du médicament considéré pouvant être importée ; à l'issue de la période d'autorisation, le renouvellement ne peut être obtenu que sur présentation de l'autorisation précédente et de l'indication des opérations effectuées et de la quantité importée pendant la période. L'autorisation est retournée à l'Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé dès que les opérations d'importation prennent fin et au plus tard à l'issue de la période couverte par cette autorisation, revêtue de la mention des quantités effectivement importées et des dates des opérations correspondantes.

L'autorisation d'importation peut être suspendue ou supprimée par le directeur général de l'Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé. Sauf en cas d'urgence, ces décisions ne peuvent intervenir qu'après que le titulaire de l'autorisation a été mis à même de présenter ses observations.

** Article R5121-110 En savoir plus sur cet article... <www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle...5&dateTexte=20151020>

* Les particuliers ne peuvent importer un médicament qu'en quantité compatible avec un usage thérapeutique personnel pendant une durée de traitement n'excédant pas trois mois aux conditions normales d'emploi ou pendant la durée de traitement prévue par l'ordonnance prescrivant le médicament. Lorsqu'ils transportent personnellement ce médicament, ils sont dispensés d'autorisation.

(truncated here)

.... more Articles on the French web site....


And here is the same advice from French customs (in French)

www.douane.gouv.fr/articles/a11946-le-tr...par-des-particuliers

---

Brief translation: an amount necessary for the treatment, or by default up to 3 months of treatment, is permitted when carried by the traveller himself; the prescription should be presented to customs, but it is not compulsory. For more than 3 months of treatment, the traveller must produce the original prescription. For narcotic or psychotropic drugs, a prescription is required, and special authorisation to transport bay also be required.

dointime wrote: ........One minute we can't get our hands on the drugs for love nor money, next minute we have an oversupply from every corner, including our 'legitimate' sources who have been nothing but a source of uncertainty up until the point where we give up and order the generics. Does that action somehow open the floodgates on some mystical plane to make our docs and insurance cos. suddenly bend over backwards to cough up the drugs that have hitherto been harder to extract from them than blood from a stone?
dt

I won't suggest what each of you should do as that is a decision you must make for yourselves. However as food for thought on the above quote:

Imagine you are on the board of a large insurance or medical corporation. Your job as a board member is not just to make a profit for the shareholders, it is to grow that profit each and every year. There are a few ways to do this including cutting/minimising costs as you have successfully been doing (especially with all those publicity shy hepers) but the real growth is in an expanded customer base which you have been instrumental in achieving and for which you have been well rewarded.
But today you are staring out the boardroom window at the dark clouds gathering........you can see the storm of bad publicity that is coming when cured and no longer shy ex-hepers start telling the press that they cured themselves after your business(XYZ Corp), who they had been with for 30-40 years, repeatedly denied them treatment until it would have been too late. Now, you didn't get where you are by being stupid......so you are pondering how many "not too late" customers you need to treat to convince potential new customers that you will look after them better than your competitors......thus growing your business faster so the shareholders will continue to reward you.

Surely they will consider those labs as meeting the pretreatment requirements. Less than two months.
M

Yeah, frustrating is about the mildest way I can phrase it. Since my insurance only covers people on the transplant list, I don't think I'm going to skew any data for them. They just pay if they are looking at having shell out half a million for a transplant-until persistant me comes along.
They will probably change the language in their treatment criteria and take the EHM language out because of me. That is my only concern.
CM

There is another possible hitch and that is the Insurance company thinking that 8 weeks and 12 weeks treatment respectively is enough treatment. Whilst it won't affect you guys it may compromise their statistics and others later unless you tell em later that you added to the supplied treatment. Just a thought.

So, the new ALLY 3+ is different to ALLY 3 because of the sign (+) that stands for Riba addition to the double DAA tx ?

From the article:

"Hepatitis C’s genotype 3 can be hard to cure, but researchers presenting a study at the Liver Meeting (AASLD) in San Francisco, CA, said they have found a regimen that works. Vincent LeRoy, MD, of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble, La Tronche France, and colleagues at other institutions reported on a trial known as ALLY-3+.

Fifty patients with HCV-GT-3 were treated and most had already had other treatments.
The patients got daclatasvir (Daklinza/Bristol-Myers-Squibb) sofosbuvir (Sovaldi/Gilead) and ribavirin (Rebetol/Merck).

One arm of the group got the combo for 12 weeks and showed SVR4 rate of 88%.
A second group took the drugs for 16 weeks and their SVR4 rate was 96%.
There were no virologic breakthroughs.

In an abstract presented at the meeting, the team concluded that the combination therapy “Achieved high SVR4 rates” in patients with HCV GT3 with compensated advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis “and was generally safe and well tolerated.”

Hey DT,
I told my GI I was going to start the generics in October. She said my lastest labs, done in July, were all she needed. Thats in MY case. When I dumped the plumber and saw her the first time, I knew I had found the right care giver. Sure enough, when I told her my plan to import, she simply asked if I was certain they were the real deal and if I wanted her to monitor my treatment.
Like I said, I found the right doc.
I plan to self pay for my four week labs. If the insurance company gets nosy, I will just tell them I was anxious about only treating for 8 weeks (they are SO tight) and wanted to see what my levels were after 2 weeks of treatment. If the results were questionable, I was going to self pay for the extra month. I'm pretty sure my "2" week results will be stellar!
Mike