The day after Thanksgiving? It’s a sign! It’s a sign! ,)

Great news spook. Love those super duper RVRs.

I don’t understand how they are going to do this with the amount of money allocated. So I understand people’s scepticism entirely. I look forward to hearing the detail.

What I do know, what I do think makes this a truly historic announcement are 3 little words – “available to all”. This is a shift in the zeitgeist that shouldn’t be underestimated. That only the sickest get treatment at all had become the accepted mode of treatment delivery and was more and more cemented into the public mind with each passing day as just the way hepatitis c was handled.

Now the concept of universal access is out of the bag with a bang. While I don’t know how they can pull it off (without generics) for that amount of money or if they will, I am at least very grateful they’ve had the courage to shift the agenda that dramatically.

Hi Jean Marc and welcome,

Great to hear you have been able to get treatment. That’s a great result after 4 weeks. You are well on your way to being undetected and probably are already given that test was a while ago.

I can’t say for certain what is going on in regard to the different length of time it is taking to get results. But based on what I know about how VL testing works in Australia, I can make an educated guess.

VL testing in Australia is only done in a small number of pathology labs (think it’s a somewhat complicated test and maybe requires someone with specific training to do it). I live in Tasmania and, as far as I know, no labs here do the test. I believe Royal Hobart Hospital send their VL blood tests to a lab in Melbourne on the Australian mainland and I think I read that the pathology lab Doc Freeman uses send theirs to Brisbane, also on the mainland. And I think in both cases the samples are only sent off one or two days a week. Because of this my results usually take from 10 – 14 days to come back. For people living on the mainland, especially in a city that has a lab that does the test themselves and doesn’t have to send it away, it can probably be quicker.

It sounds like the same thing may be going on in Thailand. The first test was quick because you went to Bangkok. Maybe you also had the blood drawn on just the right day when they were running through a batch of samples soon after so it came back even quicker than expected. My guess is that on your island they have to send the samples to the Thai mainland (either Bangkok or some other large metropolitan centre) so the results take longer to come back. In other words, the time it takes to get results can depend on what lab you use, whether they do the test themselves or send the sample away, and how often the lab that can do the actual VL tests does them.

This is just speculation but it seems to fit with what I know about VL testing times in Australia. Hope this helps.

It’s currently pretty standard to do an end of Tx test but as the nurse at RHH said to me she doesn’t know why they are bothering because, provided you continue to comply with Tx, you will be undetected immediately after completion. As if the virus returning wasn’t enough incentive, I think the added fact that we have paid for our own meds is a pretty good reason to think there’s unlikely to be any problem with compliance from us.

You only need qualitative PCRs now except in the unlikely event that you relapse after Tx. The good news is you get 4 qualitative a year as opposed to only 2 quantitative (that measure VL) under Medicare. Not sure if they count them from your first test or on calendar years. Perhaps the doc could enlighten. Qualitative just look for any virus RNA. If there is none then it follows that a quantitative would also be undetected.

However, I found the first two weeks after Tx rough going and became super paranoid. So I asked the nurse if I could get a qualitative done at 4 – 6 weeks for my own peace of mind. I haven’t used it yet and am 4 weeks post Tx now. But now that I just feel consistently good and feel confident the virus hasn’t returned I’m just going to hold onto the form and only use it if I feel I need some reassurance. I may not get it done at all. While SVR12 is considered cured, I don’t think I’ll be completely convinced until about the 12 month mark so I want to have some tests to spare for later on. I’ve also factored into my own considerations the possibility of relapse and should that happen, I want to treat again sooner rather than later.

I would suggest consider all the above and “spend” the tests available to you according to your own requirements including what you think you need for reassurance and in consultation with your doctor. The only one you really need to factor in definitely is the 12 week post Tx one.

Way to go, Lynne. Happy, happy Xmas this year.

Should’ve called him Dr Mahatma Cote.

Looks like EvilJoy may have met her match.

hmy:

EvilJoy has entered the building! She’s just about writing the script for you:

THANK YOU so much for sharing your story – it will help countless others who are just beginning that rocky pathway to approval . . but after the approval, then the healing begins, and it is SO worth the work and worry to make sure you’ve got the best possible drugs to see you through to being HCV-free . . for LIFE . .

I thought you’d given the game away with that FDA post. But they’re totally oblivious. Or should I say SO totally oblivious . . for LIFE. Because I like to RANDOMLY capitalise WORDS. It’s like having SOMEBODY suddenly SHOUT at you in the MIDDLE of a sentence.