Michaele, in a word, yes. I'm going to be on Vict. for 44 weeks. If I was on Inciv. I'd essentially be on triple therapy for 12 weeks, then only on double therapy for 36 weeks.

Mallani, your findings are very informative, does it mean victrelis is less toxic ? I see mention of fewer side effects. All 3 drugs have some brutal SE. Im concerned with the interferon . Thanks for the info.   Michaele

I have been fascinated by the differences in the protocols for Incivek and Victrelis. After going through the old Journals, I may have found my answer in the New England Journal of Medicine of April, 2010. In the pre-registration trials, the intention was to use a 4 week leadin for both Inciv. and Vict, followed by 24 weeks of triple Rx.

For Incivek, the arm using 24 weeks of triple Rx had more than 55% patient dropout (usually from severe acute anaemia), compared to a dropout of 15% for patients on the 12 Inciv. arm. For Vict., there was little difference. It was concluded that Inciv. was too toxic to be used for more than 12 weeks.

The leadin with Peg. and Riba. was meant to lower the VL, prior to to adding the antiprotease. It was thought this would lower the risk of drug-resistant mutations. However, in the Incivek arms with and without a leadin, the SVR rates were virtually the same, so this was dropped from the Inciv. protocol.

AMEN  ,     Bloomster , Glad to hear of your husbands bonus of weight loss. I could lose a few kilos myself. I also am 1b , I need to get new VL done , it was about 9 million in 2004. Im depressed already, so I am starting back on prozac. The strange thing is, I dont think Id be as depressed if I didnt have as much contact with my adult children .Still have to do alot before I start TX. Bless you for being there for him. I know its difficult to watch those we love suffer. Michaele

@Michaele - happy that you've got the Victrelis

@ Bloomster - good to hear a positive from the sides 

Steff xx

AMEN! 

My husband is on Victrelis.  Definitely the 'no fat' with taking the drugs is a bonus as he is losing weight.  Since starting the treatment he has lost about 12 kilos.  His weight loss has slowed to about 1 to 1.5 kilos each fortnight which is now ideal to go for the long haul, as he is only in Week 9 of 48.  Ideally he needs to lose another 15 kilos.  The downside feeling low part of victrelis has been countered by his newfound happiness in being slimmer.  So a good trade off for him.

That`s great news, Michaele, I know you were worried about the fat intake issue if you had to do the triple with incivek.  Carry on doing your no-fat dance, there`s no shame here!    Keep hold of that great sense of humour, girl...it will come in handy!  

Best of luck to you, Jill xx

Hi , thanks for good wishes. I used to pop ; chopped  raw garlic for natural HBP control, now thats nasty. So given a choice between popping pills 3 times a day for a year or bleeding and burning out the butt and having my skin feel like its on fire, I'll pick the pill every time. My 3  adult children are enough  pain in the butt @ this time. LOL  Sorry if I seem rude , its early and I have to be at the gastro in a hour for a test.  Hope you are finding some distractions. Boredom can be a dangerous animal. Like watching paint dry.  Best to ya. Michaele

Hi, I was getting ultasounds and CT scans every 6 mo to a year before liver  biospy. They would find things like cysts on my pancreas/scarrier that cirrhosis! Now new spot on spleen,  and change in those portal vessels. Test this AM were neg for varices, but show gastritis I was popping chewable asprins like candy, Chest pain/headache . Dr took a few cold biopsies. I'll see her next week. Im happy, can I get an AMEN!!!  Michaele

-- Edited by Michaele on Tuesday 18th of September 2012 03:00:04 PM

Welcome to the Victrelis club Michaele. We don't do fat, don't get nasty rashes, don't get anal fissures, but we do get to be a bit more anemic. You will probably be doing 36 or 48 weeks, so the pill load is a pain. The Inciv people have it easy after 12 weeks. Good luck!

Hey,  Biggyb.   Im actually from chicago Il.  Thanks for reply. Im so happy I could dance. I was afraid I'd have to get gallbladder out before Tx. No way could I eat all that fat and not be in ED. My biopsy said stage 3 , but CT showed change to portal vessels , CT done 2wks  after biopsy, go figure. Dr.  thinks portal hypertension.  Im 1b never treated, I just turned 62. And now Im feeling happy as a clam, doing the no fat dance. I should be ashamed.  Michaele    Good Luck to Ya. 

Hey there , I just got approved for the victelis. I didnt know jack about it  because I was given  an Incivik   freeB ad box; full of lit and an alarm. So can you imagine my shock when I read " no fat requirement." Is it true? Dare I believe my eyes?   Hope your feeling better.  keep the faith. Michaele

Yeah, it would have been great to have these drugs before, but it's also great you have them now!

I got my results both in units and log.  My starting V/L was log 6.14, which they computed at @ 1.3 million.  Very close to yours.

I hope you kick this crap to kingdom come!

Brad

Hi Mallani.

Since I am non-cirrhotic, and treatment naive, I chose Incivek because of the chance of a shorter treatment time if I was lucky enough to be undetectable at week 4.  I got lucky.

But, If I had been cirhrotic, standard of care suggests to do the full 48 weeks.  In that case, I would have chosen Victrellis because the side effects of the Incivek seem to be worse.  They were pretty nasty for me. 

I did get an ultrasound and a biopsy before starting TX, so they knew which regimen to follow.

You'll find quite a few pople here on the Vic.  My Doctor told me many doc's are leaning toward Vic now because the Incivek rash can be very difficult to deal with if it gets bad.

Good luck on your TX!

Brad

(Geno 1a, Incivek triple Tx, Und since wk 4, In wk 24 of 24...Yay!!!)

Hi all,

Just staring week 3 of Peg and riba. The plan is for 26weeks of Vict to be added after week4. Geno 1b, VL 1.2m. In Australia we have had delays in getting access to the protease inhibitors. My doc suggests Vict as I am cirrhotic and a previous partial responder to Inter and riba in 2000.

After 26 weeks, another 26 weeks depending on VL.

Reading the forum, Inc seems to be used more often in the USA, and is reported to have a better chance of SVR. At age 69, I have had this virus for at least 30 years.

Do other people on treatment (cirrhotics) have 6 monthly ultrasounds or MRI? HCC is one of my main concerns.

I also have a yearly gastroscope for varices- none so far.