TOPIC: New Here

I am new here. I was diagnosed nearly 8 years ago and have mostly ignored it for the last 6 years mainly because I felt there wasn't much I could do about it. I do not have health insurance and do not qualify for assistance.
Now I am in a better position to do something about this demon. My primary is supportive of my decision to go the generic route, but he will not write a script. He wants me to be followed by a gastro. Unfortunately, he has referred me to 2 and neither will follow me on generics. However, he will write orders for blood work. So I am mostly going at this alone with minimal monitoring. He just insists that I get some preliminary blood work for a baseline.
I'm not exactly what step to take next, but I'm ready to take it. Any guidance would be much appreciated. I am in the USA and am curious if anyone has had difficulty getting medications in.

The meds will come to you. Don't worry. I would just schedule a call with the doc-$100 and you're in. He'll stick by you all the way through this. Good luck!

Hello and welcome Panthyra,
Like you I ignored my HVC for years (in my case decades). Actually, looking back it was always niggling away at the back of my mind. Now I love that when I do recall, it is with the sense of rejoicing in its now being gone.

First steps for you are to get that blood work, then seeing as how you've no support nearby you'll (as Splitdog says) want to make an appointment with the doc here. For that you'll need to know: which genotype you have, and
an idea of whether you have any fibrosis and if so, how bad.
If you cannot get a fibroscan, then do't worry, the liver function blood test panel results provide a proxy for estimating fibrosis score.

Keep asking questions too, it doesn't usually take many hours for someone to come on this forum to get an answer.

Go well! Mnem

Welcome Panthyra,

Your situation is not unusual, and is, in fact, better than some have found. At least you have somebody to monitor you (not that much is actually required).

Both Dr Debasiss and I can be found on gp2u.com.au/ and we both write prescriptions for Hep C generics and have been doing it for years so will make sure you get the right treatment for you.

All you need to do is register and book an appointment and that bit is easily sorted.

Hi Panthyra,

Welcome. You found this site which has changed your life, believe it. Follow through with this site and get cured as so many have. I'm in the USA. You won't have any problems getting your meds.

Welcome Panthyra
So happy you are getting tx sorted here. I’m just one of the many many miracles that hang around here it’s so easy I just ordered my meds from here and yep they arrived, I took them, got labs done locally making sure that the assay ranges were top notch up to date of course, got all that help and more here, help during tx, and like GFighter says yes it works. I was clear by day 25 myself! It all varies for everyone we’re all different genotypes and different things coming into this tx but all the help you need is certainly here! Can’t wait for your first post saying you have received your meds.
Happy Splashes
From
Ariel

Hi Panthyra,
You have chosen a good time and even better place to seek treatment and get well. I don’t have anything to add to the excellent advice you have received thus far. Dr. Freeman and his colleagues will see you through this relatively simple process.
You are in good hands.
Get well,
Mike

Thank you all for the support. I have my lab script and will try to get there either tomorrow or Wednesday.
I know that I am Genotype 1 a. I just found blood work from last week when I went to the ER for Anaphylaxis (weird story). They did a "Liver Function Panel" the only numbers that were out of range in this section were ALT - 55 and AST- 60. They did a lot of other blood work as well. I still need a Viral Load. I will register to get a script.
Thanks again for the great support and advice!

Hi Panthyra,

You've had lots of good advice already so this is just to say welcome. I was also a Genotype 1a who ignored the virus for decades hoping it would somehow disappear if I pretended it wasn't there.

I was cured through GP2U and FixhepC. Dr Freeman and this forum was with me all the way as we will be for you.

Looking forward to reading that you have started your treatment.
Coral

Hey Panthyra,
Good to know you now have all the data required to get a script got the DAAs. A viral load measurement is a nice to have, but not a necessity.
Looking forward to hearing about your next steps.
Mnem

Hi Panthyra,
Welcome to the HepC forum that helps ppl like us all over the world! I'm from the US as well however my situation was a bit different than yours. We're all here to support each other through tx and beyond. I've already cured at the end of 2016 but I still stop in on occasion. Mainly because I appreciate the work Dr. Freeman and Monkmed are doing for my fellow heppers. Good luck going forward!!