Hep C Discussion Forum

Hello from a former 1a. (man that sounds good) I did 2 of the old treatments like your family and was not cured until harvoni. As everyone has mentioned, hydrate and you will be fine. Eat healthy and listen to your body are other suggestions

wendy

Thank you, Alison. Yes, I've seen how important drinking enough water is. 

Hi Jenny,

Welcome here from me too. I'm glad you landed here and shared your story.

Lucky you are to be getting the drugs of the day.

What ordeals you have seen and been through, the accident/transfusions, your hubby getting cured with the interferon, and your sis, her Gi bleed and transfusion and her cure via inteferon/riba, those must have been very hard times (for all of you). Luckily they did get cured despite the meds of then.

Ah the late '70's, about the time I contracted both B and C, at the same time! In the same "lucky" kind of way you are getting "todays" drugs, I feel lucky too that I was able to be successfully treated (just recently) with todays drugs (know one knew I had C until 2015!). So, I understand why you felt you wanted to wait a while! In a way, I am glad I was only finally diagnosed, so late, and not many decades ago.

I'll say! it must have been a shock for you to find out you also had it! (NOT funny, but it is funny, the events which bring us all here!) This is a good place to come, lots of nice company and info here.

I'm so pleased your doc has got your treatment approved for you now, despite the one denial - you sound aware and knowledgable (given all your prior experience with your loved ones having beaten this) and to your benefit, you get to do the slam/dunk new drugs. 

HCV will soon be a thing of the past for you too.

I am glad your liver (biospies/fibroscan) look OK. THAT is always good!

Just start firing away if you have any burning questions, we will all try to help where we are able. C.  

What lovely welcomes. Thank you!

In 1972 my husband and I (newlyweds) were in a really bad car accident and both got transfusions. Some years later, but when Hep C was still called "NON A NON B " my husband was diagnosed and became part of a trial at Mt Sinai Hospital in NY - three  injections of Interferon weekly for maybe a year. Don't remember exactly. He was fortunate and it cured him.

My sister received a transfusion after a GI bleed and years after, when her liver enzymes were off the chart high, she learned she had Hep C.  She suffered horribly on the Interferon/Ribavirin combination but also was cured.

I've always had totally normal liver enzyme levels  but got tested at age 50 when the test was available.  It was pretty shocking to me when the doctor called to tell me I had tested positive since I'd had no clue anything was wrong.   I'm 68 now - have taken a lot of liver supportive supplements over the years and even did hepatic IV's. I'll never know if any of that actually helped but my two biopsies showed mild inflammation and mild scarring and a fibroscan last year came out with my liver looking happy enough that the doctor didn't want to submit the results to my insurance company when requesting authorization for the Hep C drug for me.

I'm genotype 1a. I don't know the viral load number but it was high enough that Harvoni was ordered for 12 weeks,  not 8.  I knew I wasn't going to put myself through what my sister dealt with unless my condition deteriorated a lot and I waited to start any of the new Hep C drugs till I felt comfortable that they had been around and used long enough that negative surprises were not likely. 

Hi Jenny,

Welcome to the forum and your soon to be Harvoni family! Can you tell us a little more about yourself? If you know your genotype, and any current blood test results, fibrosis stage, etc and put them in your signature line, it helps us when replying. As you progress with treatment, knowing that stuff helps us.

Has your doctor mentioned how long you'll be on treatment? If your viral load is under 6 million and you don't have cirrhosis, you may qualify for 8 weeks. 

These new treatments are easy and as long as you drink at least one gallon of water per day, you should avoid the most common complaint of headaches and fatigue. When you take the pill is really up to you. If you aren't taking any antacids or PPI's, there aren't many precautions to worry about. Taking it at the same time everyday, is about it. I think I've noticed more people taking it in the morning. You may notice some mild changes in how you feel during the first couple of weeks, but that's common as your body adjusts to these drugs. Most people sail through treatment without any problems at all.

I see you have met a few others already, and I'm sure others will be along to say hi. You're among friends and if we can help you, don't hesitate to ask!