TOPIC:

Hello,
I for one would be thrilled to shorten treatment if being assured there would be no risks.
On day 24th today, having gone through ever changing side effects, at the moment one being daily fatigue.
It would be such a relief to do six weeks as opposed to 8.
I guess it is too early into research for my benefit, but something to consider in the very near future.
Has anyone heard or discussed the contents of the article in the below link?

www.loyolamedicine.org/news/hep-c-treatment-shortened

It looks like the reason for shortening treatment is to save money. With generics this is much less of an issue. Doing a bit longer makes sense for many of us.
The 8 week course for Mavyret now is pretty quick! We used to do a year.
It is a shame you are having so many side effects, it does happen but is fairly uncommon.
Timing the meds, drinking a lot of water, going for a daily walk, eating well, those good routine habits seem to help. I hope it is over quickly for you and you feel better soon.

Hello Tototo, extending treatment duration has been proven to increase cure rates in a large study conducted by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Please see this thread in which Dr James Freeman discusses its results fixhepc.com/support-forum/experts-corner...s-harvoni.html#24591 Hang in there, it will be over soon enough, and as Hazel said, drinking plenty of water helps most patients minimize or avoid side effects.

Keep in mind tototo,that study you were looking at is still in it’s infancy looking to see if duration can be shortened for some.
Who knows, maybe someday this will be the case, but for now the recommended dose is the only way to go, so hang in there.
If you are doing 8 wks. ,Iguess only about 4 to go.

Yes, drink lots of water,Idid 16wks. this last go around and found the water intake helped immensely.
Be over before you know it!

Hi Mar and thank you for your reply, input... and... OMG that link!!
Now I am leaning to wanting to do 12 weeks!I was approved only for 8 weeks only, and yes I did interferon and Ribavirin, if only for two months.
My Dr. does not listen. He basically looks at the computer.
I tried to get Harvoni since I did not have mutations therefore not needing to take inhibitors.
No one listens. The rule now is to give Mavyret to all.
Not sure if Mavyret is the ideal medication for my case.
I am far from being an expert, I am just a patient who has acquired a little knowledge.

My viral load at the very start of Mavyret was 1.900000, but just a month prior was 3.900000!

I am still waiting for tests (first since starting tx) and anxious to know.

Hello Songbird,
Thank you for your message.
This medication is so strong. I feel all or most medicine prescribed should be individually dosed.
We are "all different" is it not this, the mantra of the medical world ?

I drink lots of water. Probably was drinking way to much water at the beginning of treatment.
I actually had to cut a little as I believe I was lacking electrolytes.

Today I had an amazing day! Energy and clear head! feels so good.
Hope I can say the same tomorrow : ))

Hi Hazel,
I know, you are right, this is a breeze even with the side effects. But I am saying that because today I had very good day!
Eating well and drinking lots of water.
Exercise not so much, but if I continue to feel like I did today, yes!

Hello tototo,

For any of the DAA medications the cure rate looks like this:





Below 4 weeks there is virtually no cure rate. This relates to the 1/2 life of the replicon being around 4 weeks so you need to "keep killing" it for at least this long otherwise it will recover.

Then on the far right you see the reality. Every extra week of treatment adds a little more to the cure rate, but each extra week adds less than the previous one.

We know that for any patient who is cured we were giving them drugs for at least one day, maybe one week, maybe one month too long but we have to strike a balance between cure rate and duration and our tests are not sensitive enough to detect cure.

For Harvoni the cure rate @ 8 weeks is ~90% and 12 weeks is 95% - that's from the VA data not the Gilead company data. Most of our retreatment cases got only 8 weeks Harvoni.

Maviret is good and the 8 week treatment should give you a ~95% chance of cure. Longer would be nice but you probably just have to chance it at this stage as at day 24 you're almost 1/2 way through. The odds are 20:1 in your favour.

Hi Tototo

"Dr. Dahari said that in addition to cutting costs, shorter treatment regimens would make it easier to treat hepatitis C patients who have limited health insurance benefits."

Crikey, says a lot about the state of medical care in that neck of the woods if this is the direction of medical research now.

I would think that this study would have limited benefits for people who can afford the DAAs at a reasonable price.

Hope the good days continue for you - the being undetected after treatment is well worth it, even with some bad days on the way through (thoughts of Ribavirin for me).

I was stoked when undetected first time round, and after needing to be retreated, stoked the second time as well.

Still stoked after being bug free for some time now.


Yours


Jeff

Hi Tototo,

I just want to chime in here for your benefit. I really hope the Marivet works for you.

If it does not, please contact Dr. James here. He will prescribe other medications and help you to be cured.

He can help you obtain generic medications that are the equivalent Harvoni/Epclusa or Marivet. He is the leading expert on the treatment of Hep C. I took generic Harvoni and I am close to 3 years now being cured.