Hello Everyone,
So, at the risk of giving away the surprise, I was recently diagnosed with HCV.
I self-ordered a bunch of tests last Feb because I didn’t have a GP, had never really had basic labs since I’m pretty healthy, (apart from some dental issues and an old back injury that’s now under control), almost never sick. But I realized it would be useful to have some baseline going forward.
The self-ordered tests had some anomalies that I wasn’t expecting. High AST & ALT (119 & 239 respectively), low platelets (109) and very low cholesterol. A bit of googling, articles on Pubmed and I was freaked. My insurance was new, but I got a referral from a trusted friend for a GP, made the appointment… two months away. He found nothing out of whack in the physical. Specifically said my liver didn’t feel stiff or enlarged; re-tested CBC and CMP and ordered a hepatitis panel. Got the results the next morning: negative for A & B; positive for C. I was truly thrown by that. In the reading I’d done, HCV seemed low probability for me given it’s modes of transmission. My GP did say the “Good news is, there are new treatments that will get rid of this. So we’ll get this.” What he didn’t say is how it’d leave me penniless. Next day I got PCR results, active virus with a V/L of 824,000 and a referral to a hepatologist, which frustratingly, was nearly a month away. Several days later I got the genotype results: 3a.
Of course, I’d started reading and quickly found info on generics which led me to this site. I’ve been reading quite a bit. Many, many thanks to all of you who’ve not only blazed a path to affordable, effective treatment, but also, for sharing what you’ve learned.
Honestly, apart from the anxiety over this, I feel fantastic. I’m in pretty great shape. If I can feel better, I’d welcome it. But mainly, I don’t want to feel worse and I want this unwelcome guest in my body out. of. me. now.
GT 3a, tx naive, dx 4/12/16
4/12/16 V/L 824,000
2/03/16 AST 119 ALT 239 platelets 109
4/12/16 AST 87 ALT 164 platelets 118 (different lab)
5/5/16 FibroScan 8.9 kPa F2
5/16/16 AST 86 ALT 157
5/16/16 Fibrotest 0.6 F3 Actitest 0.79
5/31/16 VL 14,413,000 (uh... YIKES)
Y93H @ baseline
6/20/16 Started Redemption 2 Sof + Dac
7/516 QUANT VL: NOT DETECTED
7/5/16 AST 34 ALT 60 Platelets 128 (diff lab though)
12/06/16 EOT VL UNDETECTED
1/03/17 EOT+4 VL 12,222,000
no new RAVs; IL28B = CC