Thanks Gaj. Sorry to see that you relapsed but am sure that you will eventually succeed what with all the options available. Good luck with everything!

Sounds like a plan, Life!!

good on ya, life! caipirinha sounds delicious, may need to add that into the dream

“Do ya feel lucky….Punk? Well….do ya?”

The things we ponder at 2:30 am when sleep is elusive seem so relevant at the time but in the light of day maybe not so much. Though I tell my brain to let logic overrule emotion it seems to have a mind of its own and peppers me with unwanted questions, as I guess is happening to others.

Regarding the weight issue (and how it impacts the length of treatment issue).

Does this mean that those of us who are DYI need to reconsider our treatment regime? As someone mentioned, the long-term effects are not known so I would like to do the minimum amount, as I guess some others would. I had decided to take all of the meds as I thought the extra Sofo & Dac would benefit me but after reading various posts including Dr. Freeman’s “GT3: High SVR rates with Daclatasvir” I am undecided but am (strongly) leaning toward not doing so.

1. It seems that many of us DYI folk have about 100 doses. Is there a benefit to taking the “extra” Dac? Is it indeed “extra” as the “overall” dose we are taking is/was less than the recommended, though most of us probably fall within the “one dose fits all” category? After redoing the remaining capsules (54) to get to the recommended dose I will have about 10 days “extra” of both.
2. Is taking the extra Sof worthwhile/potentially harmful in the long term? I rounded my order up so have extra Sof.
3. Is it dependent on Genotype, cirrhosis or not, past treatment meds/relapse or treatment outcomes, our weight, whether there is a Santa Claus?
4. Is it dependent on when one becomes undetected – at 2 weeks vs. 4, 6, etc? Out of the hodgepodge of determinants this is my favorite as it would seem to suggest the meds have been cleaning out any remaining bad guys for a longer or shorter period of time so would necessitate a shorter or longer treatment regime. Is this an accurate assumption?
5. Are these questions an exercise in futility as no one really has a clear answer so we should stop thinking of these things in the wee hours and just base our decisions on Clint’s question, “Do ya feel lucky….Punk? Well….do ya?”

My specifics are: GT3B, taking Mesochem Dac/Sof, treatment naïve, no cirrhosis, no Fibroscan, AST down from 74 to 23, ALT down from 140 to 21, and viral load down from 5.6 L.IU/mL to 2.2 L.IU/mL as of tests after 16 days tx, now commencing 6th week.

Any advice/guesstimates would be much appreciated

Sharky00, great idea starting the GT3 topic. Hopefully it will be much easier getting info specific to GT3 in one place. I am GT3B, which seems to be rather rare in N.A., Europe, etc., and seems to be more prevalent in Asia, particularly around the Philippines area. I started tx on Oct 26 and some numbers are: AST down from 74 to 23, ALT down from 140 to 21, and viral load down from 5.6 L.IU/mL to 2.2 L.IU/mL as of tests after 16 days tx. I am doing 12 weeks of the Mesochem Sof/Dac but bought it and encapsulated it myself. I actually rounded up the order so have extra and will probably do the entire 14 weeks of meds that I have. Sides have been minimal, sleeping 5 or 6 hours nightly but not tired upon waking, much, much more energy – almost too much so was/have been a bit wary as to whether it is “real”, much better mentally and physically, much more patience with everyone/everything and a return of an appetite, which I need to start controlling. I feel so good that I have started exercising on a more regular basis. I had been considering adding Riba depending on the results of my next blood tests but after reading the study that Dr Freeman posted I will definitely not be adding it and will do 24 weeks, if needed, of Sof/Dac only. Anyway, good luck to everyone with their tx!

2b, I have been doing a bit of research and came across various sites that discuss using castor oil. Some suggest putting it on your eyelids for insomnia and others recommend a compress for liver/ lymph detox. It may sound a bit unusual, the eyelid part, but the compress seems to have been used for years and there are some studies supporting the effectiveness of using it. I actually have some oil and compresses I bought recently but did not use so am going to test it over the next few days, especially interested in the eyelid part. According to TCM when the liver is not functioning well people tend to wake up in the early hours due to congestion, etc. Anyway, if you are interested google it and see what you think. Regards, Gary

2b, I am also having some sleep issues, getting to sleep after taking the meds is sometimes difficult, but am not taking any sleep meds. However, I am changing the time I take the tx to morning. I confirmed with Dr Freeman and you can simply take your meds at an earlier time – around lunchtime/afternoon – one day then the next day take them in the morning and stay on the new schedule. I will be doing the changover this weekend as it is a 3-day long weekend here. Maybe you could consider doing the same thing. I am on day 26 of Sof/Dac. Best of luck. Gary