Also did the 3 votes

Back in February 2015 I met a patient with Hepatitis C who was looking to access Harvoni.

What followed was a journey of exploration looking first the India, then to the Middle East, and then to China.

The goal was pretty simple – find a reliable legal way to get the right medications to the right patients.

THANK SO MUCH DR JAMES FREEMAN FOR YOUR DILIGENCE & DETERMINATION .
You are changing this world one country at a time.

Yes Sven, glass half full is a great way to look at life.
Not sure if you’ve done any previous treatments & have experienced relapsing after doing 12 months of peg interferon / ribavirin. It was devistating after being tested as undetected at EOT & then at post 3 months as positive (relapse).
Of course I would love to not think about it but for me it’s a reality, & of course it depends on what stage of treatment or post treatment you’re at.
I agree with you about just focusing on the immediate & don’t worry about looking too far ahead.
Good luck with acquiring your meds & all the best for a successful treatment.

Forum Main Forum Experts Corner Viral Load and SVR Understanding SVR – Why don’t we call it cure?
REPLY TOPIC SUBSCRIBE FAVORITE
TOPIC: Understanding SVR – Why don’t we call it cure?
Understanding SVR – Why don’t we call it cure? 2 months 4 weeks ago
#13685
James-Freeman-facebook
James-Freeman-facebook’s Avatar
ONLINE
Platinum Member

Posts: 820
Thank you received: 3038
Karma: 40

SVR means Sustained Viral Response.

When we stop the medications if there is no virus left you will remain undetected and this is SVR.

Undetected at 4 weeks post finishing – SVR4 – predicts a 96% chance of permanent cure

Undetected at 12 weeks post finishing – SVR12 – predicts a 99% chance of permanent cure

Undetected at 24 weeks post finishing – SVR24 – predicts a 99.9% chance of permanent cure

So if you finish treatment and there is virus left it will grow back, your viral load will increase again and you relapse.

If we can not detect any virus you are at SVR and the longer that remains the case the more certain we are it is permanent.

Patients reaching SVR24 post interferon/ribavirin have remained virus free for 18 years of follow up.

With DAAs we don’t have that length of follow up but basically with no drugs to hold the virus off if it is still present it grows back, and if it is not still present it can not grow back because it is gone.

You can be confident at SVR4, really confident at SVR12 and pronounce yourself cured at SVR24. There is a strong suspicion that anyone relapsing after SVR24 is not a relapse, but rather a reinfection because if the virus has had 24 drug weeks to grow back and has not…..
YMMV
Report to moderator
QUICK REPLY REPLY QUOTE
THANK YOU
The following user(s) said Thank You: tweakmax, Chapel, Joy, LondonGirl, coral, 2b, mgalbrai, CJ, Debs, Paul-Jarman-facebook, Ariel, Gaj, Lynne-Francis-facebook, isaing4, magpie, jay kim
Understanding SVR – Why don’t we call it cure? 2 months 4 weeks ago
#13691
Lynne-Francis-facebook
Lynne-Francis-facebook’s Avatar
OFFLINE
Elite Member

Posts: 177
Thank you received: 264
Karma: 3

So do you recommend being tested at 24 weeks as well and 4 & 12?
Lives in Bendigo, Victoria
No prior treatment Genotype 1b Fibroscan 0 (only showed a bit of a fatty liver) Diagnosed in February 2015 Currently on my last week of treatment taking led/sof Last LFT normal
Insomnia the only side effect
Undetected at 4 weeks
SVR4 – undetected – all bloods good and GP very happy
SVR12 bloods to be done at end of April 2016
SVR12 – undetected!!!
Report to moderator
QUICK REPLY REPLY QUOTE
THANK YOU
The following user(s) said Thank You: LondonGirl, Ariel, IRMA88, isaing4, magpie
Understanding SVR – Why don’t we call it cure? 2 months 4 weeks ago
#13695
James-Freeman-facebook
James-Freeman-facebook’s Avatar
ONLINE
Platinum Member

Posts: 820
Thank you received: 3038
Karma: 40

Yes, it’s probably not a bad idea but unless you were one of those asymptomatic people with normal liver functions if you did relapse you would expect to feel sick and this to be obvious on your liver function tests.

After SVR24 maybe check it in a year to satisfy paranoia and declare yourself cured beyond all reasonable doubt.
YMMV
Report to moderator
QUICK REPLY REPLY QUOTE
THANK YOU
The following user(s) said Thank You: CJ, Ariel, Lynne-Francis-facebook, isaing4, magpie, Michael-Henry-facebook, jay kim
REPLY TOPIC SUBSCRIBE FAVORITE

Forum Main Forum Experts Corner Viral Load and SVR Understanding SVR – Why don’t we call it cure?

yes of course GF.
Sorry I got that arse about
I’ve just been looking for “negitive” PCR RNA VL results for the 24 weeks of treatment.
Never thought of looking at SVR as a positive result.
Positive attitude , Positive outlook, Positive result.

Hi Mike,
I agree 100% .

Thanks guys for the thoughts & encouragement .
Yes, one dragon at a time lol.
It was interesting to see the link between HCV & Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
The good thing is, that not everyone that has HCV will contract CLL . (Only me )
One thing I found out from my haematologist, was that CLL is very hard to treat if you have the hepC virus.
So it’s starting to be very important for me to clear this virus before I need treatment for the CLL .
There’s only about 1% that reach the point in needing treatment in the first year. The rest could be somewhere up until 10 years later. ( let’s hope that’s where I am)
Having my SVR 12 blood test done tomorrow. Boy!!!!! Is that 12 day wait for the results going to feel like a lifetime.