Hi all and a special shout out to Dr James…

My test results made their way through the queue of covid 19 samples finally and I have been informed that I have cleared the virus from my system. My Hepatology nurse rang me to let me know this and its still not quite sunk in yet.
I really want to thank you all for putting up with me and some of my dark and pessimistic posts on the forum, and your efforts to keep me positive about the chances of destroying the virus and especially during the horrible effects that the meds delivered up to me as side effects.
In particular, I want to thank you Dr James for extending your generosity in making the treatment possible for someone who had no hope in hell of paying for the drugs and had resigned themselves to coping with the deterioration of body and schooling up on how to best cope with that.
You are a legend to me Dr James and have helped me to again believe that their are some good people in the world who make positive changes in peoples lives.
Again thank you for helping me. I will now be able to more effectively and for a greater period into the future, help those who are suffering with the thoughts that lead to suicide and help them back from the brink or look after them after they entered the embrace of darkness but survived.
again this is us and what we do: http://www.taranakiretreat.org,nz. If you are in NZ and know someone that needs our non-clinical but enbracing support, or if you yourself cant climb out of a dark hole, reach out to us through the website above.
I will be lurking on the forum and website and hope to be able to have some input here if needed

my unfathomable gratitude and respect to you all

g

This is the correspondence I received from my test if it is any use to you at all:

Patient Details

Patient Name: PITCAIRN, GORDON A

NHI No: BAK7206

Date of Birth: 18-Aug-1971

HCV PCR RNA: <15 not detected

Copy To:CC Doctors: MADISON, BHAKTA.

Ordered by:CAMPBELL WHITE

Laboratory:

Observation date:08-May-2020

Hi there.
I had my bloods taken the other day so I should know the verdict next week sometime, after which Ill post an update here. Trying not to get the Armageddon virus but our service has been deemed essential work so I have to occasionally go to check in on some of our people who are getting affected by the isolation. Very strange to communicate to people standing at their front door whilst I sit in a vege garden or backed up into a hedge.
On a not so funny note I got some xrays of my fingers which have been locking up and aching for a few months now. I get psoriasis in small patches here and there on my skin which came up quite rampantly during the antiviral treatment I finished some months ago but the x-rays showed that I have psoriatic arthritis. I understand its an immune system issue and you can treat it but not cure it. I want to get the doc to prescribe something for it but I would like your opinion on what would be safe taking into account the current state of my insides.
Hope you are all well!
g

Dr James.

Sorry about the delay in getting these results uploaded.

g

Hi there.

Can anyone tell me (from my blood test scan in a previous post) what particular item refers to my viral load (?) and how to read the result/score/figures and what they indicate compared to the desired number indicating someone is clear from the virus please? I just want to compare the first blood test I had years ago to the test I did about a month ago. Its all hieroglyphics to me!

Also, over the last couple of months, the joints of my fingers have started to become increasingly painful to the point that attempting to make a tight fist is almost impossible. A couple of my fingers (the two next to my thumb) sometimes “lock” when I’m holding/squeezing things. Any relation to Hep C or Cirrhosis or am I just getting old? I only ask as its been a reasonably quick process rather than over a long space of time.

Hope you are all well and happy. Im rostered off for three days and being a gardender (30 year green fingered obession), Ill be propagating dozens of ferns and ornamentals for the Taranaki Retreat landscape I manage and The Te Henui cemetery where I volunteer by growing specimens for them. The amazing volunteers (my mentors unofficially) have transformed the cemetery to the point that it is now a major attraction in our garden festival. Check out the news article below!

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/garden/114323181/how-taranakis-historic-cemetery-became-a-tourist-draw

Inspirational

g

Hi all!

An update from me and where Im at with the treatment so far. On the 18th of Dec I will have 3 weeks left to go of the 16 weeks taking Maviret and Sofosbuvir. Things are still a bit rocky mentally and the headaches still occur, but Im almost there. I’ve lost a lot of weight (close to 10kgs) which is connected, I believe, to the depression and its associated disinterest to food, insomnia etc.
I have another general meeting with my specialist next week but I havent had a blood test for this one.

I know I have to wait 3 months after the last dose to get a verdict, but should I have a test done at the end of the treatment i.e day after finishing or thereabouts (for a general overview of functions etc) or just finish it and then do the 3 month purgatory ending bloods?

I usually have to remind them of things so should I be asking for an ultrasound sometime between now and the final blood test and if so, when would you recommend is an appropriate slot along the time frame between now and mid April?

The 3 month wait feels like its gonna be intense, so does anyone have any suggestions or tactics to get through it or is it basically strap yourself in and count off the days?

Of course the result could go either way come mid April 2020, so Im wondering whether there is an existing thread, website, book or other resource available that would be informative and helpful in guiding someone through the stages, steps or realities of being left with Hep C and Cirrhosis? Something that addresses the changes in health that will occur and useful strategies to cope with the progression of the illness? Would it also be useful to yourselves and general research to create a diary of thoughts, observations and test results should that be the outcome? Remember I am a pessimist and have to prepare for any outcome as a rule of thumb, but you generously opened the door for me to try once more and have supported me through this and I would like to give back some of that energy if I can.

Anyway, I hope you all have an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas if I don’t get the chance to post again before then. Have fun with your loved ones and don’t take things too seriously!

Respect to you all

g

Hi Dr James. Sorry about the late reply.
The nausea is getting easier to handle and the headaches usually occur at the end of the day so early to bed is a goods way to deal with them.
I’m still getting some horrendous lows, so I can’t wait til the treatment is over.
I have just over 5 weeks left so I’m gritting my teeth and persevering with the treatment until the end.
Thanks for the interpretation of my results too Dr James. The specialist nurse told me that my platelets are not really in the ball park though. Not sure what that really means but hopefully its nothing too dire.
Are there any results on my bloods that are abnormal in some way that I should be worried about? I feel that there may be scores that are glossed over in my appointments and that the nurse seems overly positive and may not be giving me the whole story.
As I have no people supporting me through this treatment I find it crucial that the specialists and doctors tell me the truth even if its something I don’t want to hear.

g

Thanks for your support DR James but im not sure my computer can do that. I do have a question for you which I will email rather than put it on here.

g