Home Forums Main Forum Patient Stories Ariel takes the Plunge

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  • #13882
    Avatar photoisaing4
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @isaing4
    Chejai wrote:

    I’ve decided I want to do the 16 weeks, maybe longer, now it’s on PBS. I want to be rid of it and no return visit like an unwanted house guest :angry:

    I’m still very fatigued, struggle to get things done and have bad dizzy spells when bending/crouching down.
    But the scariest thing is this burning, numbness on the left side of my face, my cheekbone swells right up, my left eye becomes really blurry, hurts to blink, pain all-around eye socket, becomes bloodshot and half-closed by night. I start out ok but as the day progresses so do the symptoms. You get migraines, like me and I get the aura, it’s like the prodrome phase (the days leading up to an attack) and the days after, the pain and tenderness and lurking headache, light sensitivity etc BUT add to that burning tingling pain that starts at temple/cheekbone, and travels down side of face, around left eye and even down the left side of my tongue!! As well as really swollen cheekbone and can’t wear glasses properly, have to sit them sideways :dry:

    I am so sorry for how you are feeling Chejai! :(

    The hep C problem is in good hands and you are a fast responder, UND at 4 weeks! :cheer:
    So hang in there, all will be fine. You will sort out all the problems, one at a time!

    I wish you all the best and only UND!

    #duck #love #flower


    HCV since I don’t know. Diagnosed in 2010.
    GT1b, F0/F1, VL 9M, ALT 44, AST 42, Tx naive,
    started 12 wks Twinvir on 06.12.2015. Feeling great and grateful 🙂
    virus not detected 06.02.2016 & SVR24
    isaing4@gmail.com

    #13884
    Avatar photoisaing4
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @isaing4
    Ariel wrote:

    I cleared to UND early like you too, but as tx nears its end I am having that little voice saying ‘should you extend…”

    I hope you get through your move okay. I helped move my elder daughter last week and had the younger in and out of hospital it can all seem overload sometimes cant it. At the end of it all I visualise you plonked in new digs surrounded by boxes and stuff. Time for a takeout meal lo!

    Yay! EOT is approaching!

    Don’t worry you are a fast responder too, almost 5 weeks UND! And you had little liver fibrosis F1-F2!

    Happy EOT and only UND!
    I wish you and your daughters all the best!
    #duck #love #flower

    Edit: Oops ! Sorry, my mistake with fibrosis! :(
    Your signature is clear, F0-F1! :)


    HCV since I don’t know. Diagnosed in 2010.
    GT1b, F0/F1, VL 9M, ALT 44, AST 42, Tx naive,
    started 12 wks Twinvir on 06.12.2015. Feeling great and grateful 🙂
    virus not detected 06.02.2016 & SVR24
    isaing4@gmail.com

    #13890
    Avatar photozhuk
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @zhuk
    Chejai wrote:

    Hi Ariel,
    Originally Dr James prescribed 16 weeks of Sof/Dac because Genotype 3 is a bit tougher to beat and research so far indicated 12w tx-96% ( hope I’m remembering this correctly) success rate; 16w better; then 24w if I wanted 99.9% (I don’t think there’s ever a 100% guarantee?)
    It is always that last few% that are the tough persistent mutants, who may appear to be lying low while the war is on but when the DAA Army recedes they can multiply very quickly. :lol:

    So, if I felt any sides I’m experiencing ok then I give it my BEST SHOT doing the longer course. Since most of my bad symptoms seem related to pre-existing conditions, I don’t really think – but won’t KNOW – how much of what I’m experiencing is a DAA side effect until after EOT.

    I’ve decided I want to do the 16 weeks, maybe longer, now it’s on PBS. I want to be rid of it and no return visit like an unwanted house guest :angry:

    I’m still very fatigued, struggle to get things done and have bad dizzy spells when bending/crouching down.
    But the scariest thing is this burning, numbness on the left side of my face, my cheekbone swells right up, my left eye becomes really blurry, hurts to blink, pain all-around eye socket, becomes bloodshot and half-closed by night. I start out ok but as the day progresses so do the symptoms. You get migraines, like me and I get the aura, it’s like the prodrome phase (the days leading up to an attack) and the days after, the pain and tenderness and lurking headache, light sensitivity etc BUT add to that burning tingling pain that starts at temple/cheekbone, and travels down side of face, around left eye and even down the left side of my tongue!! As well as really swollen cheekbone and can’t wear glasses properly, have to sit them sideways :dry:

    Anyway, I’m glad you are doing well and happy your daughter is safe. Start moving today so I’m off to sign contract etc.

    Happy days My Dear Friend #love #love

    I’m very sorry to hear you are having such a rough time, Chejai :( It sounds hard enough to endure without going through treatment as well

    It does sound a lot like your pre-existing conditions, definitely. It must be difficult especially since you were feeling relatively good at the start of tx….hang in there seems like a platitude but I really mean it mate! So being Gen 3 inclines you towards extending the course? Since you were UND like me at 4 weeks, just wondering. I know that I will not be extending or retreating, in any case no matter what. Re the PBS though, I don’t think anything has really filtered through as yet – my recent extended hospital experience suggests than no one has heard of these meds, at least so far at the coalface. Maybe its different with a GP, you might want to start making some enquiries now if that’s the way you’re leaning atm.

    All the best Chejai – seriously it sounds awful what you are going through. Fingers crossed you will find some relief for it.


    GT1a since 1988, diagnosed 1990
    F0, tx naive
    VL 262,000 ALT 40 AST 26 GGT 13 Fibroscan 04/12/15 – 2.9
    Started Mesochem sof/dac 12 weeks 01/01/2016
    11/02/2016 – 6 weeks UNDETECTED
    AST 26
    ALT 26

    #13898
    Avatar photoAriel
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @ariel
    isaing4 wrote:

    Ariel wrote:

    I cleared to UND early like you too, but as tx nears its end I am having that little voice saying ‘should you extend…”

    I hope you get through your move okay. I helped move my elder daughter last week and had the younger in and out of hospital it can all seem overload sometimes cant it. At the end of it all I visualise you plonked in new digs surrounded by boxes and stuff. Time for a takeout meal lo!

    Yay! EOT is approaching!

    Don’t worry you are a fast responder too, almost 5 weeks UND! And you had little liver fibrosis F1-F2!

    Happy EOT and only UND!
    I wish you and your daughters all the best!
    #duck #love #flower[/quote]

    Thank you so much for your kind wishes
    I’m doing fine around 19 days to go I think
    I had bloods done again yesterday by my GP
    YES the previous UND was taken at Day 32

    Just to say no I have never been F1-2
    I’m 5.6 Kpa last time which is F0
    I don’t want to be written up as F1-2 never have been.
    Highest ever reading was 6.0 which is F0-1
    Here are the charts but it is in my signature the correct and most generous F score even allows for my highest reading
    Ariel

    Not an F2 :( never been one or an F1-2. :(
    Not my signature :(

    http://hepatitiscnewdrugresearch.com/fibroscan-results-the-scoring-card.html

    #13901
    avatar876.jpegGaj
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @gaj

    Hi zhuk & Chejai,

    Gt3 often presents as a bit more aggressive and difficult to treat than the other genotypes even if initial RVR is similar. The usual recommendation is to extend the treatment somewhat which seems to bring the success rate up to something similar to the other strains.

    I’m also sorry to hear of your issues during treatment Chejai, I don’t think they can just be put down to sides so would advocate getting things like the headaches checked. Some may be pre-existing conditions that won’t resolve with EOT but many could well still be HCV related and just take longer to heal. After all, while these new medications are miraculous it is a lot to expect 35 years of your body fighting the virus to just be cured in 10 or even 24 weeks. Some symtoms may take much longer to go away or fade and so require watchful patience.


    G3a since ’78 – Dx ’12 – F4 (2xHCC)
    24wk Tx – PEG/Riba/Dac 2013 relapsed
    24wk Tx – Generic Sof/Dac/Riba 2015/16 relapsed
    16wk Tx – 12/01/17 -> 03/05/17 NS3/NS5a + Generic Sof
    SVR7 – 22/06/17 UND
    SRV12 – 27/07/17 UND
    SVR24 – 26/10/17 UND
    :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

    #13903
    avatar876.jpegGaj
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @gaj

    Ariel,

    Looking forward to hearing the results of your latest tests. :) Do they include VL or just LFT and others?


    G3a since ’78 – Dx ’12 – F4 (2xHCC)
    24wk Tx – PEG/Riba/Dac 2013 relapsed
    24wk Tx – Generic Sof/Dac/Riba 2015/16 relapsed
    16wk Tx – 12/01/17 -> 03/05/17 NS3/NS5a + Generic Sof
    SVR7 – 22/06/17 UND
    SRV12 – 27/07/17 UND
    SVR24 – 26/10/17 UND
    :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

    #13907
    Avatar photoAriel
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @ariel

    Hi Gaj the bloods were:
    VL assay range 15-100000000
    PCR RNA
    FBE LFTS

    19 days left and public hospital wrote up only EOT and post tx 12 weeks

    GP doing the extras, better assay than hospital.
    More vigilant too. Just a last full check b4 EOT expected. He will also order same earlier after EOT. Big hospital, lots of people waiting and least monitoring but at least they see me they didn’t have to after all I bought my meds here.
    I’m sure my result will be similar to the one taken at that path on Day 32 after Hosp only wrote up a VL no PCR for the 4 week one which if you check back in my thread came back unquantifiable
    That’s why I went through my GP and he sourced a good path and did both quantitative and qualitative
    Nice day today here
    Cheers
    Ariel

    #13915
    avatar876.jpegGaj
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @gaj

    Thanks Ariel, useful to know there is a local lab with that capability in case I need it for any ‘confidence’ tests after EOT. It is a superb day, but have to drag myself up to Prahran :( in an hour for tests myself. It seemed like a good choice of clinic when I worked up that way……still is but the long hike is a nuisance. :lol:


    G3a since ’78 – Dx ’12 – F4 (2xHCC)
    24wk Tx – PEG/Riba/Dac 2013 relapsed
    24wk Tx – Generic Sof/Dac/Riba 2015/16 relapsed
    16wk Tx – 12/01/17 -> 03/05/17 NS3/NS5a + Generic Sof
    SVR7 – 22/06/17 UND
    SRV12 – 27/07/17 UND
    SVR24 – 26/10/17 UND
    :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

    #13920
    Avatar photoisaing4
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @isaing4
    Ariel wrote:

    Just to say no I have never been F1-2
    I’m 5.6 Kpa last time which is F0
    I don’t want to be written up as F1-2 never have been.
    Highest ever reading was 6.0 which is F0-1

    http://hepatitiscnewdrugresearch.com/fibroscan-results-the-scoring-card.html

    I apologize for my mistake! I have edited my previous post with that! :(
    I am really very pleased for you, being F0-F1 . :)
    Thank you for the link with fibroscan scoring!

    I just wanted to say that you are a quick responder, UND at 32 days, and odds are on your side for SVR!

    Good luck with your bloods!
    I wish you and your daughters all the best!
    #love #love #love


    HCV since I don’t know. Diagnosed in 2010.
    GT1b, F0/F1, VL 9M, ALT 44, AST 42, Tx naive,
    started 12 wks Twinvir on 06.12.2015. Feeling great and grateful 🙂
    virus not detected 06.02.2016 & SVR24
    isaing4@gmail.com

    #13921
    Avatar photobeaches
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @beaches

    Weight gain? Noooooooo :(
    Small price to pay


    Genotype 1a
    Diagnosed in 2004, had HCV for all my adult life. Until 2016!!!!
    Harvoni treatment, started 19 March 2016
    4 week results Bilirubin 12 down from 14 pre treatment,
    Gamma 25 down from 52, ALT 19 down from 63, AST 19 down from 47,
    VL <15 down from a lazy 6 million or so

    EOT Results
    Bilirubin 10, GGT 18, ALT 19, AST 21, VL UND

    12 Weeks post EOT
    Bilirubin 11, GGT 16, ALT 22, AST 20, VL UND
    Cured baby

    #13952
    Avatar photoAriel
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @ariel

    Hi Beaches #love
    Gaining weight has been a good thing for me. I have had a rough trot with peginf tx leaving skinny legacy and this is the first time in four years that I have successfully overcome that issue. I was truly skeletal from that tx and despite effort such as sport, growing my own food, taking ensure plus when urgent, eating no sugar, no true appetite suppressant foods, no alcohol and doing yoga etc focusing on weight gain through solid balanced diet, rebuilding muscle deteroriated completely by peginf I was never truly “hungry”, and had to force myself to eat. It was like an induced anorexic state that I had to mindfully fight off, all part of my peginf ride. During that regime I often vomited more than a dozen times in a day. In hospital they worked hard to fatten me a bit so I could get home again.
    So now I am astonished at my appetite it’s returning. Somedays I am absolutely starving no matter how much I eat!!! <img style=illy:' /> I hope it’s a sign of a future full SVR and at present I have external stress in my personal life so that’s going to be a good indication of the appetite trigger of these DAAs
    I’m not really up with this as a general sx for all patients but for me it’s a godsend. At clinic they ask if I had any nausea! Hardly, more like pass the food now thanks :evil:
    We are all different here, and so my happiness over my weight gain is just a personal anecdote, a sign things are working. That’s what is clear about these meds, everyone seems to present with different sx at various times, some have none, but the common thing is that they work and almost everyone is cured. Most people report good progress in many life areas. I think that taking away the anxiety of living with hepC is going to be the best feeling I have had in a long time and I can see the good outcome now. Thanks to this team at FixHepC
    Looking back before I got my meds it’s a different place and I don’t want to go back there. We are so blessed to have access to treatment that really works.
    Sending love
    Ariel

    #13979
    Avatar photobeaches
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @beaches

    Wow you have really been through it! I’m even happier now that I decided not to try the interferon / riba treatments. Sounds like you are loving feeling ‘normal’. I can sense the joy in your post. From what I’ve heard that treatment is brutal.
    I thought tomorrow was going to be D day for me but apparently no. Tomorrow is going to be baseline bloods and fibroscan. Then when the blood results come back I’ll get a script.
    I’ve been asking where I can get the actual meds from but no one is telling me. No doubt I’m over complicating things but I imagine that not all pharmacies will be stocking Harvoni or whatever they decide to prescribe.
    I should not complain. After all I chose to wait for the treatment to become available on the. PBS but now it’s just so close!


    Genotype 1a
    Diagnosed in 2004, had HCV for all my adult life. Until 2016!!!!
    Harvoni treatment, started 19 March 2016
    4 week results Bilirubin 12 down from 14 pre treatment,
    Gamma 25 down from 52, ALT 19 down from 63, AST 19 down from 47,
    VL <15 down from a lazy 6 million or so

    EOT Results
    Bilirubin 10, GGT 18, ALT 19, AST 21, VL UND

    12 Weeks post EOT
    Bilirubin 11, GGT 16, ALT 22, AST 20, VL UND
    Cured baby

    #13984
    avatar876.jpegGaj
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @gaj

    Hi beaches,

    I suspect that very few if any pharmacies will carry these in stock given the label pricing. They will likely order in on presentation of a script. You may need to check around your area to see which chemists are prepared to do that. Likewise those who are wanting to fill repeat scripts should probably present them to the pharmacy a few days to a week prior to running out of the previous one to ensure continuity of treatment.


    G3a since ’78 – Dx ’12 – F4 (2xHCC)
    24wk Tx – PEG/Riba/Dac 2013 relapsed
    24wk Tx – Generic Sof/Dac/Riba 2015/16 relapsed
    16wk Tx – 12/01/17 -> 03/05/17 NS3/NS5a + Generic Sof
    SVR7 – 22/06/17 UND
    SRV12 – 27/07/17 UND
    SVR24 – 26/10/17 UND
    :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

    #14096
    Avatar photoAriel
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @ariel

    A TOAST TO MY BLOODS

    Little boast
    From the coast
    With the most
    Just repeat after me
    Ariel doesn’t G&T
    Her FBE history
    Says 17 GGT

    WOOHOO first bloods update in from Tuesday
    Alt still a magic 18 blah blah etc and now also the GGT is so good

    #14101
    Avatar photobeaches
    • Guardian Angel
    • ★★★★★
    @beaches

    Hi Gaj,
    I went to my local pharmacy. They are good people.They are getting it for me. In fact they went above and beyond with a bit of begging on account of I missed the supplier’s midday cut-off :)


    Genotype 1a
    Diagnosed in 2004, had HCV for all my adult life. Until 2016!!!!
    Harvoni treatment, started 19 March 2016
    4 week results Bilirubin 12 down from 14 pre treatment,
    Gamma 25 down from 52, ALT 19 down from 63, AST 19 down from 47,
    VL <15 down from a lazy 6 million or so

    EOT Results
    Bilirubin 10, GGT 18, ALT 19, AST 21, VL UND

    12 Weeks post EOT
    Bilirubin 11, GGT 16, ALT 22, AST 20, VL UND
    Cured baby

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