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Hi again!

Thank you all from your support! It means a world to me really!
Some great news I got my viral load results are undetectable!!!
Tomorrow I have time with my family doc and then next week at the liver center doc.
I'm over the moon and back and I know that the tests after stoping taking the meds. counts but I feel great that atleast now the virus is gone away...

Best wishes,
Vivcus

Brilliant news Vivicus, it is an unforgettable moment, isn't it. May all your tests say undetected forever. A way to go before that, but you can't get better news than no virus visible. It is not just words on a page, is what your body's new reality is. It really is incredible.

Awesome Vivcus
Wooohooooo best feeling ever UNDies yay!
Now onwards to SVR and new life without HCV
Very happy for you Vivcus
We used to have a dancing banana emoticon here for celebrating, I don’t know how to make one but it’s appropriate just now! Maybe someone else can make you the dancing banana haha!
Sending happies to you
Keep us up to date we will be here at the finishing line and beyond
Ariel x

HI, am new to the language here, but that sounds like great news. I have just started on Dac/Saf, day 4, and am hopeful to report positive results further down the line. Certainly feeling empowered in making the decision to take this journey, but feeling somewhat out of my depth. Sure I will be throwing medical terms around like an old hack further down the track!
G3 with F3, and definitely had this beasties as a freeloader for 20years, possibly longer
Cheers

Hello Balance,

Welcome!

Yes, there is a fair bit of jargon but you're right that it does not take long to get a handle on it...

It is all explained in the Glossary (which is a tab up the top of the forum)

fixhepc.com/forum/glossary.html

How long are your planning to treat for with the Sof/Dac?

Hi!

Thank You Ariel and Hazel! I was a dancing banana Yesterday while reading the news ha-ha.
Just came from family doc and we wanna be sure that the virus will stay away so I will do longer period of Epclusa.

Welcome Balance! Hoping for you the same results with me. Undetectable is the result we are hoping to see near future for you to.

Best wishes,
Vivcus

HI Dr James

The clinician seemed really confident that 12 weeks of Sof/Dac combined with ribavirin would eliminate the virus. Though hopeful that this will be proved true, I maintain a certain sceptiscim, or at least a preparedness to continue for longer than 12 weeks.

I wonder about if there is an optimum time to start the ribavirin? Would starting it at 4 or 8 weeks provide the same benefits as starting immediately? I would like time to put some safety nets in place !

Cheers and thanks for the welcome

Hello Balance,

Ribavirin needs to be started at the beginning to deliver full benefits.

If you are GT3 with high fibrosis (fibroscan >10 kPa) then you definitely need either Ribavirin or 24 weeks Sof/Dac without ribavirin.

Thanks very much for the info Dr James

, I haven't been able to make contact with my doctor regarding the dosage required (understand that it's based on weight). Will pursue again tomorrow, and start the Ribavirin asap.

Big learning curve....

Hi Balance,

Welcome and congratulations on starting your treatment. I had no idea what I was talking about when I first joined this site (still don't sometimes) but you'll be throwing around abbreviated medical terms before you know it!

I took Ribavirin with the Veikira Pak and Sof. Although it caused me a few additional side effects (headaches, a bit of sleeplessness and worst of all really really dry thin hair!) it was manageable day to day so I'm hoping it will be the same for you.

I'm a bit fond of the old Riba because it provided some of the heavy lifting that the treatment needed to get rid of my especially stubborn virus.

What Dr James doesn't know about Hep C isn't worth knowing so with his input, your own medical support and your community on this site you'll beat this for sure.

Coral

Hi Coral

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. I bit the bullet and started Ribavirin yesterday morning. 4 days later than the sof/dac, but in some ways this might be a blessing. A blessing in being able to determine what is making me feel a particular way, rather than building the effects of the ribaviran into something it isn't! Hope that makes a little sense.

It may be due to the relief of surviving my first week (it has had some rocky moments), but other than feeling a mental fatigue, I actually feel lighter, as if something as shifted inside of me. Curious sensation☺

Very grateful already for the guidance received by Dr James, and the support in importing the meds, and this awesome knowledge is everything based site.

Thanks for sharing your story, and hope your locks are back to being sleek and glossy

Cheers☺

Hi Balance,

I think you've made the right choice.

There is no doubt that PEG Interferon and Ribavirin was hard going, but most of that was the PEG.

Most people tolerate the Ribavirin pretty well with 25% getting nothing much, 50% getting a few sides like the irritability, and only a few getting significant issues.

We can always reduce the dose or stop it if needs be...

THANK you

I seem to be doing ok, bit of a wobbly tummy, and some heartburn, but all manageable.

The bogey man behind the wardrobe door wasn't quite what as bad as imagined

Hi Balance,

I had to retreat adding Ribavirin to Sof/Dac after relapsing the first time. Liver is a bit scarred and Sof/Dac on its own was not enough.

Second time appears to have worked a treat.

I used Ribavirin many years ago with Interferon and had all sorts of side affects, mainly emotional ones.

This time with DAA's not so bad, but I noticed that Ribavirin and me are not good friends.

Two ways I managed through it was knowing the treatment would work and the second, if Ribavirin was getting me down, I just cut back (one pill, not the prescribed 2) for a day which seems to have made me feel better, then full dose again.

This seems to have kept a therapeutic amount in my system without tipping me right over the edge.

Been enjoying SVR since then. You soon will too.


Jeff

Hi Balance,

Yes, like sabrecat say riba is a lot easier without the interferon which was the main cause of the side effects.

Dose reduction is something we do have to do sometimes.