Hi C.   

   The short straw was a winner!!  I am so happy for you. I have been there right with you all the way. It's feels so good to know that a type 3a dragon is dead. Congratulations! You are a worrior and dragon slayer. I hope some day I can join your elite group and kill the monster in me!!  Really happy for you.   RC

Congratulations Canuck. Maple syrup on your ice cream to celebrate.

awww, tanks ever-buddys, poe-try 'n EVERYTHING! Shucks. Yep, feels good alright!   C.

Well done Canuck.

The klaxon is sounding, anti-virals are outstanding, Hep C's taken a pounding and your viral loud is rounding.

WOOHOO CANUCK!!! You did it girlfriend, I'm thrilled to see this fantabulous news! Dead green dinosaur poo!!! That's what's left after a Dragon leaves the liver. You might want to shower after knowing this... 

Congratulations, WOOT!

the ode 

very happy to welcome you to the zero club.

Victory is sweet. 

WOW, CANUCK. THAT IS FANTASTIC!!! Congratulations you dragon slayer you!  That's got to feel great.

I'm right behind you.  Can't wait to get my next test.

How are you going to celebrate?  Do something really cool for yourself. (I guess you just have.)

This is very good news.

Hi Canuck,

life seems to be overtaking posts at the moment but I sure am glad I took a quick sneak around today. Soooo happy for you!!!!!! You have armed yourself with so much knowledge. 

Plus You have spent so much of your time helping others with it, you really deserve this.

Hoooray!,  Hoorah

Syd

xxxxx

Huh, tried to post late this afternoon and I couldn't log in! Bummer, and weird, I tried everything to see what the problem was, and tried stuff to sort it, but ultimately I just had to leave it alone, until tonight, and now, I can log in just fine. Strange.

I was wanting to announce this afternoon, that I FINALLY succeeding in wrestling my EOT+12 week VL result out of them today (drawn Jul 28). It was like pulling teeth to get the results sent to me. Argh.

I am a big fat ZERO again! Love Gilead, a lot!

Wish I had dreamed up the right music to back up my anthem. I've dragged it over here, from the bad poetry section, so I can chant it again.

Hee hee, wheeee - KILLED IT!  C.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 No, no, no - I didn't say  "Viral LOAD", ... I saa-id ... "Viral ODE" !! You know, like ... as in ... "Ode to a Virus"??

 

Begone you vile

wicked thing,

herald my war cry,

it's your death I sing!

 

Be forewarned,

you'll taste my steel!

Of your innards,

I'll make a meal!

 

I'll pierce your breast,

crush your head,

slaughter your children,

oooh how,  I  wish-you-DREAD!

 

When you're starved and bleeding,

dis-armed, eyes sloughed,

then I'll strangle you thoroughly

'til quite cold enough!

 

And when your flesh

rots and decays,

I will celebrate,

every day!
 

I'll dance on your bones,

no grave for thee,

your evil soul to

purga - to -ry!

 

Hi MommaT,

Welcome to the forum, glad you found us.

I'm sure others will chime in on Epclusa and it's availability as they see your post.

Make yourself at home, we'll do our best to help you get the information that you need.

Linux

Hi MommaT,

I can imagine your frustration. 

I will ponder your problem a bit.

Pablito is correct. I think, that sof/vel (Epclusa) and/or any of the recent sof/vel/vox trials (the trial Pabilto and I were on, for instance) are not recruiting new subjects (as far as I know) there are no "currently recruiting" Epclusa trials  - but I will have a look again.

I just noticed a recent post from "CandaceV". You and she live in dif. states, but might be an idea to touch base with her, to find out how they got their Epclusa.

Will get back to you. C.

I got on via the Royal London Hospital in UK as part of the POLRIS trial. I believe they've closed recruitment for the trial I was in but there are other versions of the trial going on. It's multi-centre so there are centres in the US.  Google it and there should be links.

I think Eclupsa is coming to market soon. 

You are G2, which is the easiest genotype to treat so you'd do fine with sof/dac, which you could get now.

HI! I HAVE A Dr SCRIPT For Epclusa and Insurance but, Not Gilead or Amerihealth will do anything for me. I am Hep c 2b Naive-just got Fibroscan results Compensated Cirrhosis. How do you get on a trial? thanks!

Thanks all, and thanks for your support along the way.  I know I'm not quite there yet but, as mentioned, I'd have to be exceptionally unlucky at the stage not to go on to SVR.

Canuck - I just get a single line email when I email them about the VL.  It's not quite of the level of getting blood out of the proverbial stone but it's a bit of a struggle so I keep it simple and ask for the most important result.   My LFTs were normal after one week on sof/vel/vox so I assume they have been normal for the last few months.

Pablo

Sydhanrahan wrote:

---

 Evidently it's very uncommon to be virus free at post week 4 and to relapse in the final 8 weeks. 

Syd

---

 98% of folks clear at 4 weeks do not go on to relapse. But who's counting eh? 

Pablito wrote:

---

Got my EOT+4 bloods today= UND.

One step closer to SVR.

---

 EXCELLENT NEWS BROTHER!

Time to change that sig line!

JimmyK

Hi Pablo,

you must be feeling pretty darn good round about now. Evidently it's very uncommon to be virus free at post week 4 and to relapse in the final 8 weeks. 

I have been meaning to post a few of my favourite tv series. One US one I really liked was Six Feet Under. It's far from new now but still great to watch. I'm going through a Scandinavian phase at the moment but most of what I watch is via one of our government channels which focuses on multicultural content. Let me know if you can access that sort of stuff and I'll go back and see if I can make a list.

Take care,

Syd

YAY Pablo!

THAT'S the way we do it!! You and me bud! We are BIG FAT ZERO's now! Well... we also have to include calling our sof/vel (with and/or without vox) buddies tkflex 36 and webtomas BIG FAT ZERO"S too.

So nice you and I have those EOT+4 results behind us eh? Onward, in lockstep fellow warrior, to our EOT+12 results!! Feels good doesn't it - are you sure (now) that you still feel quite so strongly that you would have been satisfied NOT knowing ANY of your VL's until EOT+12?? I will always feel very lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity to know every single one of my VL's (so frequently) via the trial regime.

I sure wish the flux of sof/vel treatment people we expect, would soon start appearing and posting here! It will be so exciting to see even more folk joining the already astounding number of cured we are seeing, in all of us, who are now getting all the new daa regimes. WE are the ZERO generation! I am so happy for you Pablo, and I have been loving reading your posts, you are doing SO good, all round!!

Don't you get your ALT, AST, Alk. Phos., bilirubin, etc. results given to you? Just curious. 

Lovely to hear your news.  C.

Yay Pablo!

With results like that, you're golden ... SVR next stop!

Congrats, I know that you're over the moon right now, LOL 

Glad to hear the news.

Dave

Pablito,  

That is really good news.  I hear that's a pretty good predictor of what you will hear in another 8 weeks.  

I'm between EOT and SVR 12, and am feeling more like Syd all of the time.  Ahhhh.  I didn't even know I was sick and life is grand again.

Cheddy

Got my EOT+4 bloods today= UND.

One step closer to SVR.

Syd said the following--

I feel as though I have spent two thirds of my life under par - tired, depressed and out of sorts. Yesterday I had another day where I just felt like "normal" people do. You know - that sky's an amazing colour, I love the smell of pavements after rain, this tastes good, how amazing I'm spending time with two friends who remember a day we shared 46 years ago. And I'm not even sad that so much if my life has been spent under this filthy cloud. Just glad and lucky I've crawled out the other end in time to find out what's it's all been about.

Syd, you said it all. How did you get into my head like that??

C,Tkflex36, Webtomass,Syd---I would put my helmet on and jump into any spaceship with you all.  You guys are great!!      RC

Hi Canuck,

Pablo, 

My dear fellow astronaut! What a trip we are having with these drugs eh??!! You, me, and my other brothers, webtomass and tkflex36, all of us with same taste in drugs, same sense of direction, no wonder we're going places, fast and having a real good time of it getting there!

No idea whats up with my glucose, they seem completely unconcerned about them, so, is likely unimportant. Immediately pre-trial Gilead did hgb A1C on all of us (as well as regular blood glucoses through out trial). My pre-trial A1C was up a tiny bit but still within normal limits, so that showed no indication of my sugars historically spiking around, over time, prior.

During trial, so far, my glucoses have shown as (barely) overlimit, 5 out of 7 tests. (Norm. ref. 70-100 mg/dl), mine were as follows: 108, 107, 94, 115, 104, 86, 104 - all done fasting, 2 were well within limits and other 5 highs were not very high over at all. No rhyme or reason for it, it seems. Altho you hear talk of treatments temporarily affecting BS's, bilirubins and such, I really don't know why my glucose has been a tad over.

I have no prior comparables really. In my life I don't think I had more than a few fasting blood sugars done, and none of these must have been out of wack enough to warrant further discussion.

Historically, I have practiced bad eating habits, maybe causing my sugars to spike and crash regularly (that's what I guess, and that's kinda what it has often chronically felt like before), but I have NO idea if I have some kind of tendency to maintain a higher (or on the high end of normal) BS, when tested in a fasting state or not! My pancreas looked unremarkable on U/S, and of all the lipase testing Gilead routinely did on me, all were normal.

My trial sugars are barely over limit, NOT high, so, probably means nothing of any consequence to anyone in the long run. I have no idea really. But it's a good thing, that makes me think, about how I should try to eat better to avoid BS up's and downs. That is always a good thing!

I keep wondering about your ALT's, AST's - you don't get your bloods given to you? What counts most is getting that big zero - that's the most important telling one!  C.

Wendy/Lisa,

I used to be in the 3 club - now, I'm just a great big zero! heehee C.

Shadowfax wrote:

---

I am so happy for you Canuck and in this case boring is welcomed.

Great results and it occurs to me that I have never seen a hard copy of my VL since that report is different than the one I get online. I was told B und and C und but I don't know if C <15 und or just GONE ... I think I should call but then again, June 25th will be my EOT+12 so I suppose I can wait until then since we all know, nothing really counts until then... well.. yes, It sort of counts because it could be DET.

What is next? When is the next check? It all looks so good! I think you deserve a DQ .. and have one for me

---

uh, oh! - SF's gone all potty mouth Syd!! Saying bad words like DET and DQ!! But ... I can handle it - I love ALL words ! - ALL the ones I receive from ALL my friends here (from poetry to well wishes). I might not be able to handle another DQ celebratory treat right now tho, the last one was TOO much! Linux has got me on some kind of dietary rehab/clean-up prorammme! syd and wendy have me on that move yer butt program. Tig, wmlj, jimmyk, and RC are making sure my brain still gets a work out, and all of you, explain the rules, keep me on the straight and narrow, and babysit me so well. It seems that EVERYONE is looking out for my welfare!! Man, this is nice! So many personal trainers! SF, if you get your draw on Jun 25, how long after until you get the results? THAT one will NOT be boring, it's gunna feel reeaaal good! You too syd, your next one is going to be SO GOOD to have, when is it again? ... you have to remind me!  My EOT+12 will be drawn the end of July. If I was Gilead I would be letting magic stardust fall all over the earth, thick and even, in every hemisphere! I am sure WE are cured, and will have no further need of it, but, there are many more out there who really need this sprinkle.

I differ from the "norm" (ha!, so what's new!), if I could have had a mainline installed so as to monitor my VL every blinking minute of the day over the 8 week treatment, and maybe over the next few years, I would have!) Weeelll, maybe that's a wee bit of an exaggeration, but I have appreciated knowing every bit, every molecule of data, and feedback over the course, but that's just me. Every VL I have ever had or will have will always remain very important to me, some more than others, but I was VERY glad for every single one.

Aren't computers grand? This virtual stuff is mind boggling!, for instance, yall may not realize it, but almost all of you, as my most important personal trainers and good travel companions, often come right along with me!, to attend each one of these appointments - trippy eh?! And I must say, it is quite a gangly crowd of you I drag along with me for company, but nice, and (mostly) real well behaved! heehee   C.

Canuck wrote:

---

At one point I tried and tried, for days to get a poem I had banging around inside my head, out of me and onto the keyboard, it was at that moment, one with you and syd, and Jimmy in mind about the tides of riba - but it would not cooperate - you inspire me to try again. C.

---

 LOL, Oh please do my Cascadian, Canadian and most Charming Canuck and Northern friend.

D

robertsamx wrote:

---

Ground Control to Major Canuck, You took your Gilead pills and put your helmet on

Commencing countdown,with triple engines on

Check your Viral load and may gods love be with you

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-NONE DETECTED

This is Ground Control to Major Canuck

You really made the grade and the people want to know whose treatment regime to use

Now it's time to leave the treatment behind if you dare

Your stepping through the door and floating in a most peculiar way

And the stars look very different today

Your feeling very still and your spaceship knows which way to go

Tell your son you love him so, he knows

Ground Control to Major Canuck

Your Liver alive there's nothing wrong

Your no longer floating around in a tin cup far above the moon

Planet earth is blue and there's always something to do

Go out tonight-look up and thank your lucky stars

Words cannot express what I'm feeling right now. Inner peace and rest come close!!

 

---

RC!!!

OMG, who knew! Secret poets abound! You made laugh and go all aw, all at the same time - I love this, YOU KNOW plagiarism is my VERY favourite kind of poetry of all time EVER, but it does have to be done well, and you have done it amazing justice - I could never have attempted that and made it so good. But poetry has to be backed with inspiration and sometimes hard work, doesn't it, so you and Linux and some of our other poets are obviously very well qualified. You and Linux's poems to me (AND everyone else's really kind comments today) are a real treat for me. Thank you to say the least. C.

Linuxter wrote:

---

On what a happy day this is.

How wonderful the news Canuck!

So very happy for you, UND @ EOT+4 is HUGE and most certainly an express ticket straight to SVR.

 

The Dragon ne'er stood a chance with Canuck at the helm

She stands o'er the beast, shining sword held high

Before her stands a new and better realm

Where ne'er a Dragon shall be.

 

D

Hey Linux,

WHAT a lovely one - many thanks for that - some of us now know YOU really DO have it in ya - that poetry gene. You know I love poetry! Isn't this lovely to be able to glimpse in and see each others talents and attributes, of which you have many, including all your artistic sides. At one point I tried and tried, for days to get a poem I had banging around inside my head, out of me and onto the keyboard, it was at that moment, one with you and syd, and Jimmy in mind about the tides of riba - but it would not cooperate - you inspire me to try again. C.

 

---

Congrats Canuck.

As you stated, we all expected it to be UND but it's nice to have the official confirmation.

Can you fill me in a bit more about your glucose please?  The reason I ask is that my week 4 glucose was raised.  I've never had a raised glucose in my life.  To be fair it wasn't a fasting one,  I fasted for my week 8 bloods but it wasn't my priority tracking down results-wise, the VL obviously being the one I was keen to find out.  I'll get the fasting glucose result when I go to my EOT+4 appointment...

...but I do need something to worry about now that I can't worry about not being undetected anymore ;)

Pablo

On what a happy day this is.

How wonderful the news Canuck!

So very happy for you, UND @ EOT+4 is HUGE and most certainly an express ticket straight to SVR.

The Dragon ne'er stood a chance with Canuck at the helm

She stands o'er the beast, shining sword held high

Before her stands a new and better realm

Where ne'er a Dragon shall be.

D

Way to go Canuck! It looks like your on your way to a Hep C free life. That's awesome!!!

Hi Canuck, 

staying up too late but something made me look at the forum before I turned the light out. Wow!!! I am so very happy for you. Those alt numbers are amazing too aren't they? 

Just as Jimmy said, you have been a very special part of this journey for me and I'm going to go to sleep now dreaming of the special star dust sprinkled on you and hoping that a bit floats down to the Southern Hemisphere too. 

What a fine, shiny day it must be in Canada today. 

Syd

Ground Control to Major Canuck, You took your Gilead pills and put your helmet on

Commencing countdown,with triple engines on

Check your Viral load and may gods love be with you

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-NONE DETECTED

This is Ground Control to Major Canuck

You really made the grade and the people want to know whose treatment regime to use

Now it's time to leave the treatment behind if you dare

Your stepping through the door and floating in a most peculiar way

And the stars look very different today

Your feeling very still and your spaceship knows which way to go

Tell your son you love him so, he knows

Ground Control to Major Canuck

Your Liver alive there's nothing wrong

Your no longer floating around in a tin cup far above the moon

Planet earth is blue and there's always something to do

Go out tonight-look up and thank your lucky stars

Words cannot express what I'm feeling right now. Inner peace and rest come close!!

Hiya Sis to The North.

It has been very cool to have walked this path with you. To be able to exchange thoughts, before, while waiting for and during treatment has added to my life.

I am extremely happy for you and it is an honor to be part of your happy celebration.

Your Brother

JimmyK

Hey Canuck,

HOORAY!!!!   CONGRATULATION PARTY UNDERWAY!!!!  

Canuck is in the ZERO club

So happy for this day to have arrived.

Wooohooooo, great news Canuck and well deserved, its official, you are released from that demon. Wow, that was a really fast treatment too, impressive!!! Great stats as well. I love when a 3 cures, everyone else too, but 3's have the most troublesome one. :D

Well the cyber celebratory chocolate cake is on me!

CONGRATULATIONS -ballons everywhere! :D

Awesome report Canuck.... we are so happy for you.  Polaris is the bright shinning star for so many out there.   It was the ticket to your  new life.  Best Wishes with your new journey.   CC

I am so happy for you Canuck and in this case boring is welcomed.

Great results and it occurs to me that I have never seen a hard copy of my VL since that report is different than the one I get online. I was told B und and C und but I don't know if C <15 und or just GONE ... I think I should call but then again, June 25th will be my EOT+12 so I suppose I can wait until then since we all know, nothing really counts until then... well.. yes, It sort of counts because it could be DET.

What is next? When is the next check? It all looks so good! I think you deserve a DQ .. and have one for me

Hey all,

Posting my "official" (sof/vel/vox 8 week trial) EOT+4week result drawn Jun3 - as:  VL = UND (or in other words) ZERO!! 

And my other lab lovelies that came with it: ALT 20, AST 24 - almost everything else was also (yawn) boringly normal, save the glucose and C&G Crt&Clr. 

Boy!, THAT was a long time coming - I don't mean the achieving of the "Zero", which I did long ago, halfway through, at week 4, but rather getting the actual "paper" confirmation - it was like pulling teeth to get the lab work results released to me this time! Argh! Just got it, today (Tues. Jun 21)!

Prior ones have been much easier to obtain, and much quicker too - this one required MANY communications - I really don't know exactly why this one seemed so hard for them to convey - I thought I practiced great restraint waiting until Jun 10 to request copies of all the lab work drawn! They initially said - "if it wasn't good news we would have notified you", uh ... then they gave me a telephone "verbal" only that I was UND, but no paper!! And I do not post until I can see the whites of their little viral eyes for myself! 

We all knew I was going to have ZERO VL anyway!, but still, it would have been nice to have been provided the confirmation and copies of all the labs sooner, as most of these routine labs often come back within just a few days, and the longest VL result took about 10 days, some were shorter! Oh well.

Yes indeedy, this IS magic star-dust that Gilead has made for us. I am a happy Velparized/Polaris-ed camper. Along with my enchanted fellow passengers (who were also sprinkled by Polaris star-dust), we grabbed the same tail end of the velpa comet as it sped by, and what a ride it has been with tkflex36, webtomass, Pabilto, and me - it has been a very nice trip, feels more like we are rocket ship astronauts returning from outer space explorations of the North Star! Hey, hum along, I'm doing a happy rendition of my Velpa National Anthem! We got your helmet ready RC.  C.

______________________________________________________________

 Update(s) as follows:

 Signature Line update : March 10, 2016 - accepted for and started DAY ONE of 8 week SOF/VEL/GS-9857 trial.  (SOF/VEL/VOX)

March 10 labs taken just before starting treatment - VL 844,000, ALT 86, AST 64,  (my VL in last 6 months, before treatment, decreased from being over 10 millions to under 1 million!)

Other pre-treatment labs: IL28B - CC. Ferritin 541 (ref. 15-300), Iron 37 (ref.9-32), Iron Sat. Index .71 (ref.15-.45).  PT 13.6 (ref. 9.7-12.3 sec), INR 1.3 (ref.0.8-1.2). C&G Crt&clr 58.6 (ref.75-115.0). Glucose 107 (70-100). Urine ph 5.0.  

March 18 labs - WEEK ONE - VL 247, ALT 29, AST 23, C&G Crt&clr 60, Glucose 94, Urine ph 6.

March 29 labs - WEEK TWO - VL <15 detected, ALT 20, AST 23, C&G Crt&clr 58.7, Glucose 115, Urine ph 6.3

April 7 labs - WEEK 4 - VL UND, ALT 21, AST 23, C&G Crt&clr 63.2, Glucose 104

May 5 labs - WEEK 8 - EOT - VL UND, ALT 20, AST 24, C&G Crt&clr 64.2, Glucose 86

June 3 labs - EOT + 4 WEEKS -VL UND, ALT 20, AST 24, C&G Crt&clr 59.3, Glucose 101 

(Just in case anyone is curious to see all my ALT's and their fluctuations, from my initial diagnosis of HCV July 2015, through treatment start of March 10, 2016, to EOT May 5):  86, 89, 75, 78, 87, 83. 65, 86, 29, 20, 21, 20, 20

Hey Pablo... congratulations on your undetected result!! 

I remember how concerned you were about whether 8 weeks would be enough, and this is really excellent news.

I`m very happy for you, now onwards to SVR!!

Pab,

Maybe you have already looked at tkflex36's thread (sof/vel 12 weeks) and webtomass's thread (sof/vel/vox 12 weeks) before, and just did not recall that webtomass "was" also a 4! Don't be feelin lonely!

But I am in complete agreement - 4's and 3b's ARE special, and us 3a's too! (tkflex36 "was" a 3a like me.)

You should have a read of their interesting threads if you haven't.

I can't figure out the dates (exactly) but webtomass's (sof/vel/vox) EOT+12 weeks should be coming up right soon - possibly drawn the second week of July I think? I sure hope he posts his results again! 

And tkflex's (sof/vel) EOT+12weeks should be drawn at the end of June (I think).

I am looking forward to knowing both of their results and of their joy!

All of us, sprinkled with Gileads magic star dust! - first there were millions ... and then ... there were none! Getting "velparized" - it's real magic!

I just love writing in the past tense - using that word - "was". hee hee  C.

Pablito wrote:

---

Thanks Lisa.  It's lonely being a G4.  I've never met anyone else with this genotype. And having to reply on extrapolated data from G1 studies.

---

 It means you are special :D

I've never met another 3b either, everyone seems to be 3a. :)

Pab,

YES!! Good going!!, I did note that wonderful tidbit about your arranged fibroscan. Will be REALLY nice to have that feedback. Nice she agreed, and good on you that you got that bagged now.

Oh gee, I AM JUST SO SCREAMINGLY HAPPY FOR YOU (and for me) - we did it - we really do feel like pioneers, don't we! Well ... you and me (and webtomass and tkflex56, all of us, playing astronauts in virus space - kinda scary, but, a very nice feeling being in this ZERO gravity.

Don't ja just love Gilead!

3's and 4's are orphans NO MORE! 

BTW - do you have some other labs, I would be interested to know what your "other parameters" looked like, before treatment, during and after - just an aside.

Oh, it is such a lovely day, isn't it!  C.

Canuck - did I mention that one of the nice nurses on the trial has agreed to do a repeat fibroscan at my EOT+24 appointment even though it's not part of the trial protocol?

Thanks Lisa.  It's lonely being a G4.  I've never met anyone else with this genotype. And having to reply on extrapolated data from G1 studies.

Pablito wrote:

---

Mike, Robert, Wendy, Linuxter, Jimmy, Wimj1960 and Lisa and Cinnamon Girl too...

...a big thanks to all of you.  You have been of great support.  And, of course, when I had my wobble at week 4 when I was still detected you all knew what I didn't....well, I did intellectually but emotionally I was terrified.

And a special thought for Robert and your ongoing battle.

I'm so happy.

Pablo

---

That is fantastic news, I am so happy for you wooohoooo!!!!!!

It is so fantastic that being a G4, you've been able to treat so fast and effectively. I think you deserve a huge bar of chocolate, and a big sigh of relief. I don't doubt you'll remain UND!!!!

You are soon to be hung in the Dragon Slayer hall of fame! :D x

Mike, Robert, Wendy, Linuxter, Jimmy, Wimj1960 and Lisa and Cinnamon Girl too...

...a big thanks to all of you.  You have been of great support.  And, of course, when I had my wobble at week 4 when I was still detected you all knew what I didn't....well, I did intellectually but emotionally I was terrified.

And a special thought for Robert and your ongoing battle.

I'm so happy.

Pablo