I had 40+ years of HCV, started Epclusa 2.5.18, and was VL Undetected at 3.7.18.

The drug works!

This morning I had the first ride of the season with my tri team and was immediately dropped. I can really feel the dehydrating side effect of Epclusa.

I was a middle of the pack marathoner in the 1990’s (PR 3:45), then shifted to triathlons for balance in the early 2000’s. One of the cool things for tri geeks to do is get a complete stress test with assessment of performance related data (e.g., functional threshold power) that the tri geek can obsessively monitor. I went to the local physical therapist who offered this service, and who also had an MD on staff.

The most instructive element of the visit was the MD wagging his finger at me, saying “you are borderline, and need to watch it”. He was talking about high blood pressure, of which at the time I was completely ignorant.

Although I (i) am essentially a vegan, and deliberately include all the BP friendly foods, (ii) meditate daily with a Resperate device, (iii) do not abuse alcohol, and (iv) appear to others to be the fittest 59 year old they know, my BP remains sky-high. It will drop to normal levels after a long (3-4 hour) workout, but, of course, this is merely correlative to the fact that my heart rate has averaged 80% of max heart rate for the 3-4 hours. My BP returns to the stratosphere after my heart rate returns to resting level.

There is no other explanation for my high blood pressure than portal hypertension caused by fibrosis around the portal vein. This is the HCV complication that will kill me unless it is addressed. With this self-diagnosis, my game plan is to (i) have my NP arrange for a fibroscan when I go in at week 6 for a VL test, and (ii) shift focus to fibrosis reversal.

Questions for the community:

1. Will a fibroscan identify the concentration around the portal vein, either confirming or discounting the portal hypertension self-diagnosis?
2. In addition to elimination of the HCV, what supplementation (e.g. Phosphatidylcholine?) is helpful for a fibrosis reversal strategy?

Thanks for the advice and counsel!

This morning I (i) took my hit of Epclusa, then (ii) mounted my trainer bike for Coach Troy Jacobson’s “Pain Cave”-Spinervals 33.0.

When I got off the bike I had a peyote/mescaline type high for about 90 minutes. I interpreted that as a good thing.

Any words of wisdom about getting your heart rate to lactate threshold right after taking a pill? Does that increase or inhibit absorption of the medicine, or does it matter at all?

I commenced Epclusa 2.5.18, and look forward to contributing to the Fora.