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Hep C Discussion Forum -> On Treatment -> 24 wk results on tx in!!!
Post Info TOPIC: 24 wk results on tx in!!!
Gracie


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RE: 24 wk results on tx in!!!
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It must be a Canada thing. My hepologist swears it will make no difference. My best guess would be that if our blood counts are low, then the meds are working well, so a dose reduction has no affect on outcome. He said the extra burden of the rescue drug would just be adding more risk that is unnecessary. He did say if I got too low he would give me a blood transfusion though. I did reduce, but when I'm feeling good, I take extra riba's. It's a difficult choice, but I certainly don't want to be taken off treatment so I listen for the most part. He must have some kind of knowledge .... Plus he's very handsome so that helps!

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  1. Gracie

1A. Previously treated non responder Rebetron in 2000 And Incevik in 2014 with a breakthrough at week 12. Fibroscan 15.5. VL 6,000,000. Finished 24 weeks harvoni on Dec. 19, 2015. SVR. Latest Fibroscan 8.8.
kristi6


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My hep. nurse called me Monday and told me they don't use neupogen. She said she did 15 yrs ago, but found there were more side effects. She said you achieve the same result by reducing the dose of interferon. She also said once a person achieves undetected @ 24wks, that you can adjust doses if need be. That it doesn't really effect the vl at this point. I'm @ the full dose again,0.5. She's going to moniter by blood work biweekly for awhile.  I hope my levels stay pretty steady and acceptable without having to do any reductions for the remainder of my treatment. A day at a time!.... Thanks and I'll stay posted.  Kristi



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57 y.o. 48 wks tx, peg/rib 2008. Relapsed @ EOT. Started peg/rib/vict 08/07/13. Geno type 1. VL Pre-tx 1.46m.@12wks Undetected!!! 24wks Undetected! F 3-4. 2nd time around. Hope to achieve SVR!!! EOT 7/7/14 Undetected 3 mon. Looks good for SVR!!!
kristi6


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Hi, I see the nurse this Wed for more blood work and see what she says about the neupogen. If its available I'm going to insist on it as I don't want to reduce any doses. I'll even ask her to run it by the specialist. Hopefully I can get it, than reduce. If I cant get it here, I'll see if I can stay on the original dose as long as possible. Even though I feel like crap!!!.... Either way, lets hope for the best! I will keep you posted. Thanks      Kristi



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57 y.o. 48 wks tx, peg/rib 2008. Relapsed @ EOT. Started peg/rib/vict 08/07/13. Geno type 1. VL Pre-tx 1.46m.@12wks Undetected!!! 24wks Undetected! F 3-4. 2nd time around. Hope to achieve SVR!!! EOT 7/7/14 Undetected 3 mon. Looks good for SVR!!!
Tig


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I would prefer Neupogen over a dose reduction of the Ribavirin. My Hepatologist felt that was the better choice from his own experiences. I had no additional SFX from it and I actually felt better after starting it. It worked very well too. I was able to take the full doses of everything all 28 weeks. It does get confusing when some doctors and/or insurance companies have their own "better" idea. It all comes down to those three letters, UND & SVR. Let's hope whatever decision is made, it works for us! Good luck!

Tig

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Tig

68yo GT1A - 5 Mil - A2/F3 - (1996) Intron A - Non Responder, (2013) Peg/Riba/Vic SOT:05/23/13 EOT:12/04/13 SVR 9+ years!

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kristi6


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Thanks  for the good wishes and and all suggestions! I called my nurse, but she was off Friday. I left the name neupogen with her secretary to mention it Monday, when she comes in. She had never heard of it either. Maybe it is a Canada thing! When I reduced my dose to 0.4 I noticed I did feel much better physically and even mentally. But, I'm back up to the 0.5 for now. More side effects again!!! I see my nurse on Wed., so see what she says about the neupogen. I'd like to keep going on the original dose as long as I can, as I achieved undetected on it. I don't want to chance anything to change that. See what happens next week. Will let you know.  Kristi



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57 y.o. 48 wks tx, peg/rib 2008. Relapsed @ EOT. Started peg/rib/vict 08/07/13. Geno type 1. VL Pre-tx 1.46m.@12wks Undetected!!! 24wks Undetected! F 3-4. 2nd time around. Hope to achieve SVR!!! EOT 7/7/14 Undetected 3 mon. Looks good for SVR!!!
Gracie


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Kristi,
My doctor also reduced my dose as opposed to giving me neurogen. Maybe it's a Canada thing. He swears it has the same outcome as using a rescue drug when it comes to triple therapy, and that it's easier on your system. He also said if I didn't listen and dose reduce and my counts went too low, he'd have to stop treatment...yikes!
Anyhow, I did reduce, my counts went up, and now I sneak extra when my counts are up of I'm feeling good. It's weird but I can almost tell when they are up as I feel stronger.
It's a hard call, but if you have a hepologist who has treated lots of patients, best to listen to what they say for the most part. We want to clear and we for sure can't do that if we don't finish treatment and also don't want too many lasting affects that may not go away.
Your over half done.... That's amazing. I just finished week 8! :(

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  1. Gracie

1A. Previously treated non responder Rebetron in 2000 And Incevik in 2014 with a breakthrough at week 12. Fibroscan 15.5. VL 6,000,000. Finished 24 weeks harvoni on Dec. 19, 2015. SVR. Latest Fibroscan 8.8.
mallani


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Hi Kristi,

You're obviously on Pegintron (Interferon alpha-2b).  Sorry, my mistake, we don't use that over here.  As you say, the recommended dose is 120 mcg/week  (0.5ml), and 0.4 ml is 96 mcg.  I would ask whether you could go back to the full dose, and use Neupogen. That's just me, as your doctor knows best.

Anyway, keep the Undetecteds rolling in. Cheers.



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Geno 1b, IL28B CT,  x3 prior relapser,  ex-cirrhotic, 75 yo, did 48 weeks with Victrelis/Peg./Riba.  VL 1.28m at start, UNDET. at 8 ,12 ,16 ,24 ,30  and 48 weeks.  EOT 15 Feb 2013 , UNDET. at EOT + 28 weeks. SVR!  Still Undet. at EOT +5 years

Malcolm
Tig


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Hi Kristi,

I agree that Neupogen is the way to go vs any additional reductions. I had such a low neutrophil and white count that I started "Noop" injections twice a week from about week 15 until I finished treatment at week 28. My doctor didn't want me going outside if it wasn't necessary because the risk of infection and catching anything is so elevated. So be careful til you get that up some. Even though there shouldn't have been any noticeable difference in my strength from it, I began to feel much better after a couple of weeks on it. Maybe it was psychological, but I didn't care, it helped!! I'm happy to hear you're UND at week 24, that's a real good indicator for happy days ahead! What you're doing is working, pat yourself on the back! Good luck smile

Tig

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Tig

68yo GT1A - 5 Mil - A2/F3 - (1996) Intron A - Non Responder, (2013) Peg/Riba/Vic SOT:05/23/13 EOT:12/04/13 SVR 9+ years!

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kristi6


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Hi Mallani , I checked my interferon dose. It is 120mcg/0.5ml per week. I had it dropped to 0.4ml for 4wks. I'm not sure what that would be in mcg. Maybe 96 mcg per wk. 24x5=120. 24x4=96mcg.I'm not sure how if that's how you figure it out???? My prescribed dose is 120mcg per wk. I will call my nurse tomorrow and ask about the Neupogen. Thanks. I would rather not reduce my dose during my treatment. I take 5 ribavirin 200mg 3 in the am and 2 in pm daily. Victrelis 12 200 mg (4  200mg every 8 hrs,(800mg x 3  times per day).I hope you can figure that out? Sounds pretty confusing!..... I dont want to play around with my doses as i achieved undetected on the original dose. I hope I can get the Neupogen. I will let you know.smile

 



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57 y.o. 48 wks tx, peg/rib 2008. Relapsed @ EOT. Started peg/rib/vict 08/07/13. Geno type 1. VL Pre-tx 1.46m.@12wks Undetected!!! 24wks Undetected! F 3-4. 2nd time around. Hope to achieve SVR!!! EOT 7/7/14 Undetected 3 mon. Looks good for SVR!!!
Matt Chris


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Hey Kristi

That is great news, more than half way and being where you want to be is Fantastic !

Keep up the spirit and drive it will carry you through.

matt 



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"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

61 year old Geno type A1, F4 Cirrhotic, started 24 weeks on Harvoni 12-17-14 ,EOT-5 week = UND, 8-31-15 =UND , SVR-24 Baby YES! 
newmex


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Congratulations Kristi, and Sarah, you've both got it whupped now,



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John
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Hi kristi....Congrats on your UNDETECTED!!!!!  Wonderful news.  biggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrin

I so admire all you 48 weeker's. You are all champs and my hero's.  I am doing week 23 dart tomorrow night and the last 2 weeks have been awful.  Feeling like crap ALL the time.  Don't think I could go another 24 weeks. nonono

 

 

 



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55 yo female.  Diagnosed 9/2011 Geno 3A.  Treatment delayed because of 9 Month antibiotic tx because of TB Positive test. Began tx 9/20/2013 Interf/Riba 24 wks.  Week 4, 8 undet. 1 year.......UNDETECTED!
mallani


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Hi kristi,

Congrats on the 24 week Undetected.

I presume you mean Neutrophil, not Nutricell. If they're down to 0.4, that's pretty low. I would ask about getting Neupogen to increase the WCC.  I'm also not sure about your Interferon reduction- has your dosage been dropped to 135 mcg/week?  Personally, I would want Neupogen rather than an Interferon reduction.  You've fought hard to get Undetected, and you want to stay that way. Your Hb is OK, so don't let them reduce your Riba.  Cheers.



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Geno 1b, IL28B CT,  x3 prior relapser,  ex-cirrhotic, 75 yo, did 48 weeks with Victrelis/Peg./Riba.  VL 1.28m at start, UNDET. at 8 ,12 ,16 ,24 ,30  and 48 weeks.  EOT 15 Feb 2013 , UNDET. at EOT + 28 weeks. SVR!  Still Undet. at EOT +5 years

Malcolm
kristi6


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Hi everyone, My 24 wk VL results are finally in: UNDETECTED!!! Yay!!!.....biggrin  I got 20 more wks left on triple treatment (victrelis,peg&interferon).48 wk total treatment. My regular blood work results as of yesterday have been pretty low. Hemoglobin 110, Red Blood Cell 3.16, White Blood Cell 2.7, Nutricell 0.7, platelets 128. My ALT & AST have been good for the last 4 months @ AST 21, ALT 17 & Bilirubin 4. The nurse had me reduce my interferon from .5 to .4 a few weeks ago. After 1 wk my counts went up. My nutricell went to 1.3 from 0.4. But, this week they have dropped again. I was on antibiotics(Cefprozil 500mg 1, 2xday), during the last week. Could this explain the drop again? The antibiotic didn't work. I've had fever all most daily for months. But, I think I have a tooth infection. I'm seeing my dentist next Tues. The side effects have subsided a little. The itch is alot better. Alot of shortness of breath and fatigue still.  I'm really happy with my VL results though. I can't believe it's over half over already!!! Pretty soon I'll be counting down the weeks on my calendar!smile I hope to remain undetected for the future!!!smile

Oh ya, Alot of hair loss(thinning) still. I guess tha'ts why I was blessed with thick hair as its really not that noticeable. More annoying than anything. Hair, hair everywhere!..... But, that's the least of my worries as I know the treatment is working!!! smile                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    



-- Edited by kristi6 on Friday 21st of February 2014 12:56:50 AM

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57 y.o. 48 wks tx, peg/rib 2008. Relapsed @ EOT. Started peg/rib/vict 08/07/13. Geno type 1. VL Pre-tx 1.46m.@12wks Undetected!!! 24wks Undetected! F 3-4. 2nd time around. Hope to achieve SVR!!! EOT 7/7/14 Undetected 3 mon. Looks good for SVR!!!
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