Oops! Forgot to say that I made 12 weeks supply!

Just so that anyone getting an appointment with a doctor other than their regular one is prepared.

The doctor will want to see your baseline medical info:

1) A full set of blood tests. The consultant at Pall Mall Medical is very thorough on this, and will insist on you getting done any that are missing. Because my NHS Hepatology clinic were being utterly obstructive to my attempts to go down the generics route (I’m still waiting for my case notes which I purchased several weeks ago under the freedom of information laws), I got a full set of tests done at Pall Mall Medical which cost me nearly £300. I’ve attached a copy of the results to give an indication of what’s required.

2) A recent biopsy or fibroscan result, though an ultrasound scan result may be accepted (it was in my case).

3) Any previous or current medical issues, including any current medication. You shouldn’t need documentary evidence of these, just a verbal explanation.

https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=how+long+does+eid+last

Gary, you don’t need to mix the APIs with any excipients, so a size O or OO will do the job. But if you want to mix the APIs with something, lactose is as good as anything else. You will then need the biggest size capsules, OOO, which hold about a gramme of powder.

You won’t find a chemist in the UK who will encapsulate API’s for you LondonGirl, unless you know one who will do it as a personal favour. Here is a more detailed version of my method that Greg asked me to put together for him:

Encapsulating Daclatasvir API into useable form

The Process

1) I bought some ‘precise digital scales’ from myprotein.com, which I first calibrated with a couple of quantified small weights. These scales weigh in increments of 10mg.

2) I then put the Daclatasvir into the big end of pharmaceutical grade gelatin capsules (size 3, which I had check weighed at 40mg), which I had bought from The Alchemists Apothecary on ebay.

3) I then weighed them with the capsule cap loosely fitted. It was trial and error, but I soon got a feel for aproximately the correct amount (60mg + 40mg capsule weight) without having to re-weigh several times.

4) I weighed each batch of 20 filled capsules to check that the total weight was 20×1 dose + 20 capsules, which they were. I did this process 4 times.

5) I followed the same methodology as above (4) to produce 5 more loaded capsules.

6) I check weighed the whole batch, divided the weight by 85 and subtracted 40mg (the capsule weight) from this to triple check that I had the correct dosage per capsule.

7) I pressed all the capsules tight (the large section and cap click together). I then put them into an empty re-sealable vitamin container with a sachet of silica (it helps eliminate moisture from the air in the container).

Notes

1) myprotein.com is a UK company. You should be able to obtain a similar product in most countries. It should be easy to find them by Googling ‘precise digital scales’.

2) If I was to do this again, I would try to find scales that weigh in increments of 1mg if they were not too expensive. This would eliminate the need for so much check weighing (though I would probably still check weigh for peace of mind).

3) The Alchemists Apothecary is also a UK company (you can collect from the ebay counter in Argos stores). But, again, it should be easy to find capsules through Google in your own country.

4) Don’t get the enteric-coated delayed release capsules. This medicine is designed for immediate release in the stomach.

5) This method is best suited to encapsulating individual medicines, but the same process with adjusted dosages can be used for Ledipasvir (90mg) and Sofosbuvir (400mg).

Greg has info about some private consultants in the UK who are amenable to our predicament. Obviously, you have to pay them (£225 to £250 for a consultation), and you need to go prepared (as per Dr Freeman’s info in the relevant thread here). If you can’t provide them with a documented state of your liver, they will insist on you getting the groundwork investigations done privately. But if you get all that info from the NHS and don’t need Riba, just join Dr Freeman’s club.

It’s an immediate release medicine, and all the excipients are bog-standard ones that don’t do anything more than get the pill into one’s stomach and help it to break up there (you can google each one with the word ‘excipient’ added to find out more).

You can just load the API straight into a pharmaceutical grade gelatin capsule. It’ll do the same job as branded or generic Sovaldi.