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Hep C Discussion Forum -> On Treatment -> My treatment plan
Post Info TOPIC: My treatment plan
patiently_waiting


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RE: My treatment plan
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Oh I forgot to mention one thing...I was able to get payment coupons on the co-pay so my bill only came to like $39 for 30 days. That was a pleasant surprise. I was ready for over $200/month. Cigna just asked me a few questions over the phone and that was it.

__________________

42 yrs old: geno 1b, 23mil VL, ALT/AST 269/94 as of Apr '14.  Got HCV when I was 16.  Relapsed from Peg/Riba twice, last time in '08.  Completed Sol/Oly on 9/2/14, UND as of 10/7/14
patiently_waiting


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Looks like we'll be going through this together Rob! We'll have to compare notes. Hopefully those sides might lessen once you get used to the meds.

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42 yrs old: geno 1b, 23mil VL, ALT/AST 269/94 as of Apr '14.  Got HCV when I was 16.  Relapsed from Peg/Riba twice, last time in '08.  Completed Sol/Oly on 9/2/14, UND as of 10/7/14
Fireman Rob


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Congrats PW! 

I'm so happy for you! I just started S/O today and have already had a couple of minor side effects (tingling in legs/feet and slight itching) but overall I'm very happy as everything today is manageable. Lol

That's very cool your insurance company came through! It's like a dream come true to actually have the opportunity to destroy this virus for good! I'm sure you will do great- keep us posted!

-Rob



__________________

Age 33, Male. GT-1 for ten years. Diagnosed in March, 2014.

Treated with Sovaldi/Olysio: SVR 24 on February 16, 2015!
patiently_waiting


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Just got off the phone with Cigna. I've been APPROVED and meds are being shipped today for delivery tomorrow morning. I've never been so happy to start taking meds that will likely make me feel like garbage. :)

I have to also say I've been very pleasantly surprised at how great Cigna has been through this process. If it weren't for my doc's office sending the wrong form (honest mistake - no big deal) I would have gotten the meds last week, only a 2-3 days after being ordered. My doc's office got them the right form on Friday and it was approved same day. I don't know if it made any difference that I called daily or not. :) My doc's office has been great too - very responsive and on top of things, even though I know they're busy.

So long story short, I will be starting meds as soon as they arrive tomorrow morning.

__________________

42 yrs old: geno 1b, 23mil VL, ALT/AST 269/94 as of Apr '14.  Got HCV when I was 16.  Relapsed from Peg/Riba twice, last time in '08.  Completed Sol/Oly on 9/2/14, UND as of 10/7/14
Huey


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patiently_waiting wrote:

I had my dr appointment yesterday to initiate treatment with sovaldi/olysio/riba.  We did labs, meds were ordered, and paperwork is being submitted to Cigna today.

- Riba 600mg twice daily (1200mg)

- simeprevir 150mg once daily

- sofosbuvir 400mg once daily

Next step is to starting pestering Cigna daily, starting Monday, with "are we there yet?" phone calls.  They're going to hate me until they respond.  I'm not sure how long it will take to get an answer from them but I'm planning for it to take up to 2 weeks.  I hope it's sooner though.  We also discussed refill issues people have been having and decided that starting 2 weeks in advance should give us enough time to work through issues.  She said they may want to see labs before granting the refill, but we'll just have to tell them they will follow.

 I have Cigna and it took a week for the Dr. to set it up, Hope yours is quick too.



__________________

  HCV Genotype 3a , now Psot-Tx was on S/riba. First VL was 5.8 mil on 7-5-13 then "und" at 3.8 weeks. 06/13/14 still und. off meds 3 days back on 7/29 Last pill 08/10/14 SVR+4

 
Fireman Rob


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PW,

That's great you're starting the process! Hopefully your insurance works out. I heard back from my insurance the first time in one week. It's definitely a mentally trying game but it will be worth it regardless. I'm sure you will obtain treatment sooner than later. Keep us posted!

-Rob



__________________

Age 33, Male. GT-1 for ten years. Diagnosed in March, 2014.

Treated with Sovaldi/Olysio: SVR 24 on February 16, 2015!
patiently_waiting


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Thanks all. I'm ready. I left out that he wants me to get labs at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks, so I should know how well it's working soon after getting started and when I'm done. They mentioned sometimes people skip the 12 week but said they wouldn't put me through that anxiety. That's a relief. :)

__________________

42 yrs old: geno 1b, 23mil VL, ALT/AST 269/94 as of Apr '14.  Got HCV when I was 16.  Relapsed from Peg/Riba twice, last time in '08.  Completed Sol/Oly on 9/2/14, UND as of 10/7/14
jimbob


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Congratulations and best of luck PW. Tig is right, you should at least know most of the loopholes/ horror stories by now. Stay proactive with these people. It was good advice when given to me, and still is. You have certainly lived up to your screen name....

__________________

jimbob: 64 y/o, GT 1A, F1-F2, diagnosed 1996. Since 1970. SOT 3.5 mil VL on 3/10/14 with Sov/Rib/Peg for 12 weeks. Tx naive. UND @ week 4,8,12. EOT 6/2/14.
Zlikster


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Great combo PW! :) u gonna get rid of liver subtenant pretty soon...good luck! Try to get on much Riba dosage as u can and yeah getting out of it mid treatmen would be a really bad thing. Get a proper stock/refill ;)

__________________

GT 3 dg. 08-2012 / FibroScan: 5 kPa F1 / FibroTest: F0-1 A1 / SoC TX: PegInt 120mcg+Riba 1000mg UND from w8 relapse EOT+4w
01-2016 Sof+Dac+Riba UND from w8, SVR24!
Tig


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Congrats PW! You've been waiting and working on this for quite some time and it's finally coming to fruition. You've also got the advantage of seeing what has happened to others in the recent past, so you should be well armed and as prepared as you can be for any bumps in the process. The combination you've been prescribed is as good as it gets and you should do great. Time to get your mind in gear and prepare for any potential side effects, and hopefully they will be mild and controllable. The refill conditions are understandable and often typical in some instances. That has been a practice for all previous protocol's, but I've yet to see an established set of futility rules that applies to Sovaldi backbone treatments. I'm beginning to believe that since the course of treatment is so fast and the action so rapid from one week to the next, they're hesitant to halt treatment based on a mid course VL, and allowing it to go the full course. So you may or may not be required to have a mid course viral load.  We used to see viral load testing done at least every four weeks with the old SOC's and in the earlier days of Sovaldi (all 6 months), many doctors and insurance companies followed that practice, but with it's overwhelming success, we're only seeing reports of EOT viral load tests and a follow up EOT +12 to determine SVR. It's nice to have that mid treatment morale booster, but at the current price (of the test) and success rates with Sovaldi as the backbone , I understand why they aren't pushing for it. 

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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patiently_waiting


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Posts: 170
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I had my dr appointment yesterday to initiate treatment with sovaldi/olysio/riba.  We did labs, meds were ordered, and paperwork is being submitted to Cigna today.

- Riba 600mg twice daily (1200mg)

- simeprevir 150mg once daily

- sofosbuvir 400mg once daily

Next step is to starting pestering Cigna daily, starting Monday, with "are we there yet?" phone calls.  They're going to hate me until they respond.  I'm not sure how long it will take to get an answer from them but I'm planning for it to take up to 2 weeks.  I hope it's sooner though.  We also discussed refill issues people have been having and decided that starting 2 weeks in advance should give us enough time to work through issues.  She said they may want to see labs before granting the refill, but we'll just have to tell them they will follow.



__________________

42 yrs old: geno 1b, 23mil VL, ALT/AST 269/94 as of Apr '14.  Got HCV when I was 16.  Relapsed from Peg/Riba twice, last time in '08.  Completed Sol/Oly on 9/2/14, UND as of 10/7/14
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