Hi Josie…I live in Bendigo, Victoria. I am on a waiting list at the Bendigo Base Hospital and have been for 10 months and counting (I will notify them soon that they can take me off the list)! I chose to take my treatment into my own hands and went through the Buyers Club to have my meds imported from China. I am now on my last week of treatment (3 months all up). The virus was undetected at my four week blood test. I also have a very supportive GP. You will no doubt know that in March some of the HEP C drugs will be listed on the PBS…..but I’m sure there will be protocols etc. that patients will have to meet to be able to have access to the drugs. I arranged to see a specialist (paid for it myself) to get the right tests run (i.e. genotype, fibroscan, viral load) and then made contact with Dr Freeman. Given you have private health cover you should be able to be referred to a specialist with minimal cost to yourself rather than be on a waiting list.

I was diagnosed in February 2015 and to say it was a shock was an understatement (as I am sure it is for everyone when they are diagnosed). Please take the time to read some of the stories on the forum and you will find that the information you read will give you a lot of hope and take most of your fears away.

Hi Josie, you can get the generics in Melbourne ok, they can be posted to your home address, you don’t have to wait for the Australian clinics to come on line if you want to jump their que so to speak. Not much monitoring is required on these drugs, I have not seen a doctor since I started tx or felt the need to do so. People in Sydney I know are going the generic route via the club despite the Governments announcement on PBS listing, They want to get cured now is all.

Get a script through gp2u.com if your doctor won’t give you one. if you use gp2u or monkmed get pathology referrals for 2 viral load tests at the same time, one for the start of treatment and one for a month after starting,

Look at http://fixhepc.com/home/redemption-etrials.html to see if you can get into the Redemption Trial 3 or 2, there are no placebos in these trials.

See a Doctor, either on gp2u.com, or use monkmed.com if your GP won’t give you a script,

You can be feeling better within a month or so, your LFTs don’t look too bad,

You will need skype to set it up, but its not that difficult, you sign an import document, scan it and send it through to the club, once they receive the money, the medicines will be posted to you.

Takes a couple of weeks usually in Australia.

The gastric issues you are having sound rather bad and I would get them investigated by a gastro specialist or GP at the very least, if possible, you can’t keep dropping weight like that. My observation of Hepc is that those issues don’t usually show up for some time if for years after initial infection, there is often just an initial jaundice after infection which most people don’t even notice and then no symptoms for years until the bloody thing starts its nagging destruction of your liver and brain,, depression is very common with this virus.

Tx(treatment) takes 3 months or 6 months treatment depending on the Doctors recommendation, if you have a recent viral load test or a fibroscan that will help the doctor to choose the correct medications,

Its all very doable, I have not missed a day off work during treatment, I started feeling better in 7 days after starting the medications, my guts were terrible also, couldn’t eat anything almost. Now I can eat anything again.

And keep posting if you still need more information, many here will help out, its like some big weird family where no one cares about anything but getting you well again, just like Lynne an CC2B above, we all want you to get your life back again,

regards,
Jim

Hi Josie,

Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place to get the information you need.

Your story sounds similar to mine. I contracted hep c when I was 19 and found out I had it because I experienced a period of acute hepatitis following the intial infection. I think it lasted around 3-6 months before it passed. I was extremely unwell, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, had to resign from my job. I knew something was wrong so went to the doctor to investigate. It was a horrible time, I feel for you! It does generally pass within 6 months.

I actually went on to clear the virus naturally about a year or so later, without any treatment (which can happen in around 20-25% of new infections, I believe). But unfortunately, I went on to later contract it again, a different genotype the next time.

You can treat now by obtaining a prescription (either through a specialist or gp2u) and sourcing generics. This can be done easily and quickly. Or you can wait until the medicines become available to the Australian public from March this year. The difference would be whether the cost matters to you and whether you want to wait.

Do you know your genotype?

All the best, take care of yourself xx

Good points GAJ,
My acute bout lasted close to a year. I was up on a ladder with and I didn’t think I could climb down. It happened instantly. Went from feeling absoluely great to being bed ridden in the blink of an eye. I went to the doc and told him I was dying. After a year of tests, the diagnosis was Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-no HCV back then-and the treatment: prozac. Trick your mind into thinking your body isn’t sick….
Hell of a deal looking back.
One consolation J, HCV picked a bad time to take up residence in your liver.
It can be hammered into oblivion without a whole lot of fuss and bother now.

Mike

I am at Monash too I can help you sweetie xxx you can use the medicine from here I can explain how to keep the peace and still be able to go to Monash it’s our nearest clinic after all
I have private health insurance too xx we may have sat side by side at last liver clinic not sure but I did talk to a lovely young lady who was anxious
Lots of love Ariel xxxx