I received this message:

Hello James, I have received my medications but why am i afraid to start them?

I’m posting this because it is actually quite common.

I had one patient’s family ring me. He was in hospital having had ascites drained. They had the medications to hand but had been delaying giving them. I insisted they go to the hospital and give them. The patient in question, some 2 weeks ago had a MELD score indicating a 20% 3 month mortality. Things have got better and this risk is now reduced to 6%. Still not great but much better.

For this patient the future looked like a game of Russian roulette with 5 bullets and 1 empty chamber. On treatment it looks like 1 bullet and 5 empty chambers.

I know which game I would prefer.

Fear of the unknown is an instinctive response designed to keep us safe. This website exists in part to help reduce that fear that bad things will happen taking generics. We don’t censor anything other than spam, so what you’re reading is everything everyone is saying.

These medications do have risks with an approximate 1:5000 death rate on treatment, and a 1:100 rate of significant side effects.

The off treatment death rate is 1:10 and the chronic HCV effects are well known and impact > 1:2 – fatigue, brain fog, depression, loss of hope, fear of infecting others….

I know which set of odds I would prefer.

There is a phenomenon called Stockholm Syndrome where hostages start to feel empathy for their captors. Like it or not HCV has become part of your identity and for some people there will curiously be a sense of loss when they get cured.

The treatment experience is usually nothing short of miraculous with 3 days of feeling slightly under the weather (like a hangover or the beginning of influenza) and then within a week feeling better than in 20 years.

These medicines are possibly the best development since penicillin where people who were going to die miraculously got better.

If you have your medications but are afraid to start consider this. Brave you of several weeks ago decided to take a leap of faith. Scared you today is second guessing brave you.

Listen to brave you. He or she knew best.

Get a glass of water, open the bottles, and take the medicine.

The only thing standing between you and a better life is fear.

Don’t let it.