Hep C Discussion Forum

mcmaklin · Senior Member

RE: ALL ABOARD THE VOSEVI TRAIN

mcmaklin · Senior Member

I will update - things are very new for me and happen very fast - also some side effects like (no matter how water I drink) a month on treatment already) I hope it is normal I started to feel a bit strange tired. Is it normal ? Not tired but tired At the same time I noticed a strange thing in the morning - because my daily routine is to wash, do 40 push ups and then I eat and take Vosevi. Today I got up too late so I ate first. And started doing push-ups after 40min Id taking the pill. I noticed that I will never do this because I had a fast heart rate for a bit too long time. Drugs do something that even if you not sleep too many hours they push you up. Also and now I am sure this is because of drugs - no headake but something you feel that you have some warm brain . I hope all these things are normal .

Canuck · Guru

It IS a pain to have to look for info in a thread when there is not enough info in a signature line - just look at my last post before this one - I had already scrolled (way, way back) for Maks aprox. start date and had been estimating when his 4 week blood draw should be - aprox. around Oct 10 - so none of the rest of you would have had to scroll down very far (only to my last post) to see what the the guessed date was for his 4 week draw. Jes saying, when the info does not appear to be there, we should try reading a little bit further down and figure it out. But, yes, Mak needs a more up-to-date signature line - doing that not always an easy thing for a person to do (or fix). Tig too did the same thing I did, right after i did - he also tried to post/clarify how far Mak was in to his treatment. None of you had to scroll down very far to see my post nor Tigs, but ya, current sig. lines are very good things.

So, if it helps Mak, here is some info that would be good to add to the signature line:

... 2nd treatment - Vosevi 12 weeks - SOT Sept 12?, 2018 to EOT Dec 5, 2018. Pre-treatment - VL 1.2 mil, ALT 45, AST __, ALP 69, GGT 90. 2 week labs - VL 49, ALT 26, AST __, GGT 53. 4 weeks labs - VL __, ALT__, AST __ ...

C.

Tig · Admin

mcmaklin wrote:
Hello this is a message from today:
my 2 weeks VL is 49IU/ml.
It had dropped from 1.44 mil to 49.
Now is 4 weeks almost. I hope it will go further. How was that in your labs? And RobertSamx I know you were after transplant but how was that at you?

He’s not done yet. This was his post from October 5th. Hey Mak, can you put your starting date in your signature? That will help us follow your treatment from start to finish!

polosilver · Senior Member

Righteous indeed! Woohoo!! Drink lots of water today to commemorate this last day of this Vosevi Train Ride!

ps

5-1-18 · Guru

mcmaklin wrote:
Yes- 1 pill in this bottle left

woohoo! biggrin

Iris Dragonfly · Guru

Whooo Hoooooooooo Down the hatch!

mcmaklin · Senior Member

Yes- 1 pill in this bottle left

Cheddy · Moderator

Maybe 1 pill left in this bottle??

Tig · Admin

Hey 5,

If my calculations are right, he’s around about week 5.

5-1-18 · Guru

mcmaklin wrote:
have 1 pill left for tomorrow (there aren28) I am goING now to the hospital for blood tests (it should be tomorrow but they agreed For my Convinience.

so does this mean you are at eot today??????? i'm confused a bit

5-1-18 · Guru

yep, i had to change my diet to make it easier on my stomach during tx.

the good news is your stomach will be better than ever a month after tx

hang in there... there's still chili and cheese in your future

mcmaklin · Senior Member

Hello. As i was satint earlier my results when I started treatment are all normal- before only as always my GTP has been elevated. Today I had tests we will see soon, I hope it is possible now the vl will go down from 42 units to 0. I did not see doctor, only my nurse. About bowels- generally I have less problems my stools are more normal. Only this thing that happens on the morning. I had this temporarily before- but I had also too often heartburn - now I do not have it anymore.

Cheddy · Moderator

Good plan Mc. My digestive stuff was certainly affected when I had hepC. I just didn't know I had it. It has resolved. It sounds like yours is coming with treatment. I think a blander diet is the best idea. You may not enjoy it as much, but it's temporary.

Let us know what the doc has to say.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

have 1 pill left for tomorrow (there aren28) I am goING now to the hospital for blood tests (it should be tomorrow but they agreed For my Convinience.

Canuck · Guru

Ah, i think I see then - so you're NOT really having the diarrhea right now?? Well, that's good then! NO diarrhea, no one wants that!, and one less thing!

Good you are trying to be aware of what might be causing what - most important is the water intake, so that is very good that you caught your error yesterday and recognized what was wrong and hopefully drank up LOTS of water to rectify the situation! Try not to allow yourself to EVER be "under-watered", not only can you not feel good because of it, but a lack of water while you are on these pills is hard on your kidneys, your kidneys need and appreciate the nice flushing of water while you are on these drugs (even if it is inconvenient to always be peeing).

I think you have answered yourself, about what might be making your acid stomache worse, a blander diet may be required. But try raising the head of the bed a tad as well. My partner has reflux, and he is forbidden to lay down or bend over with a full stomache, and eats mostly a bland diet, not many spicy foods. If you too have reflux, then yes, perhaps smaller, more frequent, blander meals are called for. (Mind you, that spicy chicken sweet chill sure sounds enticing! wink )

So, what day do you go for your 4 week blood draw? - around Oct 10? Did you speak with your doc about your 2 week tests - if so what did he have to say about you?

Later, C.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

And yes before i had some acid stomach and even small reflux and heartburn but only in the evenings. Yesterday I felt unwell because I was not drinking enough water.

i must change a diet a bit because I eat every day neae 5 PM spicy chicken sweet chili.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

I spelled wrong- Acid stomac yes but NO diarerreha, never whatever I rat!

Canuck · Guru

So - sorry you are having these troubles (with night time gas, early AM acid stomache, and lately the diarrhea every day).

For the early AM acid stomache i am wondering of you may be experiencing a little acid reflux, as you say you notice it before you arise in the AM? If so, try raising the head of your bed and inch or so, so that you are sleeping at a slight incline (if you can prop the head of your bed up with a piece of wood, a block, with books or something), or, at least prop yourself (or your bed or your mattress) up a little more with pillows, or whatever, so you are not lying perfectly flat.

If you are bothered by the loose stools or diarrhea, and it is ongoing/continues, then try to modify your diet to whatever you think may help firm up these stools - try to avoid an overabundance of fat, very heavy foods, highly spiced foods - aim for soft/bland/gentle/easy to digest foods, try adding plain porridge, rice, applesauce.

Be sure to keep your doc informed about your GI complaints - he should take note of them, and if you ask for his advice on these things, he may have some suggestions for you.

Did your doc ever make any comment about your gall bladder, or, make mention of your gallbladder from your past U/S's?

We have had quite a few people here who have experienced GI troubles (of all sorts) pre-treatment, (and while on treatment as well) myself included, who (once they were cured of their HCV) either slowly or quickly resolved many of their GI issues. I am hoping it will be the same for you - that your gut will become more used to the Vosevi as you go along, and that these gastric things things will decrease during treatment. And post-treatment of course, we will just continue to look forward to more improvements (and not just GI ones) for you as well! smile

Just be sure to keep your doc informed about your GI troubles as and when they occur.

As an experiment, try raising the head of your bed up about an inch, on a block, to see if that helps decrease your early AM acid stomache. Play around with blanding up your diet a bit and see if that might help with loose bowels.

So, did you actually see the doc (attend an appointment with him) when you had your 2 weeks labs drawn or when you received your lab results?? If, so what did the doc have to say about you and your results and everything?

Next time you get your lab results try to find out what some of the other things are too - current (or old) - like AST's, bilirubins, AF's - it was good to know your ALP (alkaline phosphatase), and some of your current or old LFT's.

If you started your Vosevi Sept 12?, then 4 weeks will be Oct 10?? - so, what day is planned for you to go for your 4 week blood draw? C.

-- Edited by Canuck on Monday 8th of October 2018 04:30:40 AM

mcmaklin · Senior Member

you say you are getting VL's at 4 weeks and then at one month?? ... do you mean (aside from the 2 week bloods you just had), that you will get another set of bloods at week 4, then another set at week 8, and then another set at week 12 (your EOT)?

Yes exactly this is how they do in the UK.

I feel well, more then well, i do no feel already that much energy, the only thing- it was not happeningfor first week- i started to wake up as before with a bit Acid stomach, this is because of gas at night- it happens now every day, until I get up. It was happaning also before treatment, so I know This. But it was off first weeks of treatment. I think a coincidence. Apart from that now diarrhoea whatever I eat.

Cheddy · Moderator

Yeah, treatment deals out some stressful guessing games. So many ifs: What if.. but why...what's this... and the worst one: am I really going to be okay?

You are on a highly successful treatment and it's looking good already. Relax? Sure, good idea and the right idea, but it's hard to do sometimes. Take a deep breath, reset the worry button, and keep giving yourself the courage to beat this thing.

The last test is the real test. You're on your way.

Tig · Admin

If they had waited until week 4 to do the first viral load, I’m guessing that it would have been zero (undetected). 2 weeks simply tells us that treatment is working exactly how it should. You’re probably undetected by now and I wouldn’t lose any sleep over the 2 week VL. If you worry about each test along the way, you’ll drive yourself nuts. Let the drugs work their magic and take care of yourself. The best advice I can give you right now is to relax... All will be right in the end. wink

5-1-18 · Guru

its scary once having a treatment and then comparing....or worrying that will happen again.

they usually test at 4 weeks cos it takes 3 weeks for virus to die, which means that newly born virus from 2 weeks ago still have a week to live

that's pretty good for 2 weeks and it takes a lot of focus to believe this is your turn to be cured

Canuck · Guru

49 is infantesimal, and is a fantastic early robust response!

You should be pleased, along with being pleased about that drop in your ALT at the same time as well. It looks very good.

Early drops are a nice and good thing - and are good indicators of success, but the "official" VL that still only really counts is the EOT+12 weeks one - if you have sustained your UND viral response (your SVR) to EOT+12 weeks then that is the date that constitutes your "cure".

Be patient, your VL will (like Tig suggests) go UND right shortly, when exactly nobody can say, but we all are guessing you will be UND quite soon.

Many people don't even get their first VL (or LFT's) done until at least 4 weeks, and many of those folks are seeing they are UND or have dropped their VL's substantially by 4 weeks. And for these people who get their first LFT's (only) drawn at 4 weeks, many of those are seeing a significant drop in their ALT. You, in comparison, (at 2 weeks) are already ahead of the game.

So now, you have me confused, you say you are getting VL's at 4 weeks and then at one month?? ... do you mean (aside from the 2 week bloods you just had), that you will get another set of bloods at week 4, then another set at week 8, and then another set at week 12 (your EOT)?

It is hard, I know, to feel confident when you have experienced failure once - but this time will be different - you have Vosevi - and it was designed just for people like you. You will get cured this time! We are very lucky Gilead created Vosevi. Stay strong and confident. smile

How are you feeling otherwise, as far as anything you might think is a Vosevi effect, energy/fatigue or such? C.

-- Edited by Canuck on Friday 5th of October 2018 06:25:20 PM

mcmaklin · Senior Member

if it dropped down to 49 why Could not it be 0? Is 49 much? If within 2 weeks it did 49 from million so why it is still there?

mcmaklin · Senior Member

If you look to my history this is interesting because on previous treatment I was also starting from 1,4mln and it fallen down quickly.

I will have tests 4 weeks, one month and 2 months

Canuck · Guru

Hey! Really impressive Mak!

I was like you, in that both our VL's went down very quickly.

It's nice to have this early lab feedback, isn't it! smile The results just speak to the potency of these new miraculous drugs and your inevitable cure that is just around the corner!

RC's VL went down much, much more slowly than ours did, but he could tell you that he had many other different contributing factors and conditions. Slow, or fast, we were cured.

So, tell me again, how many more times will you have bloods drawn (with VL's) throughout the rest of your treatment? You have had this two week labwork done, but I am guessing you will also be getting some additional labwork done, between now and EOT? Will you get labs drawn now (at 4 weeks) and then again at EOT?, or what?

Let us know, and let us know how you are feeling too - I bet you are feeling quite happy and a bit relieved? C.

Tig · Admin

Congratulations, Mak! That’s a beautiful thing. Vosevi is a powerful combination of drugs and extremely effective. I would say by week four, your results are probably undetected. Doesn’t matter, the results are great and drastically reduced. It’s a sign of even better things to come!

mcmaklin · Senior Member

Hello this is a message from today:

my 2 weeks VL is 49IU/ml.
It had dropped from 1.44 mil to 49.

Now is 4 weeks almost. I hope it will go further. How was that in your labs? And RobertSamx I know you were after transplant but how was that at you?

Canuck · Guru

Yup, and along the same lines, here is another bit on GGT.

... Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) test. ... GGT is concentrated in the liver, but it's also present in the gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, and kidneys. GGT blood levels are usually high when the liver is damaged. This test is often done with other tests that measure liver enzymes if there's a possibility of liver damage ...

... Gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT) is a glycoenzyme found in endothelial cell membranes of various organs. It appears to mediate peptide transport and glutathione metabolism. Elevated serum GGT level remains the most widely used marker of alcohol abuse. Levels typically rise after heavy alcohol intake that has continued for several weeks (Allen et al. 1994). With 26 weeks of abstinence, levels generally decrease to within the normal reference range, with the halflife of GGT being 1426 days. Laboratory tests for evaluating GGT are inexpensive and readily available. GGT may elevate because of increased synthesis or accelerated release from damaged or dead liver cells. It seems to primarily indicate continuous, rather than episodic, heavy drinking, although a few moderate drinkers also produce elevated levels of GGT (Gjerde et al. 1988). Excessive drinking is not the only cause of elevated GGT levels; they may also rise as a result of most hepatobiliary disorders, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia (Meregalli et al. 1995; Sillanaukee 1996). There are also large numbers of false negatives for GGT. For example, Brenner et al. (1997) observed that only 22.5 percent of construction workers drinking an average of 5099 g/d had elevated GGT values, and even among those consuming >100 g/d, only 36.5 percent revealed high GGT levels...

GGT is a good test, but it is not a highly reliable definitive "diagnostic" test (all on it's own), but, it IS a very useful bit of info, in combination with other tests, to help docs deduce certain things - GGT (among other tests) often still happens to be utilized for when they are wishing to rule in or out if alcohol is being consumed and damaging your liver, for one example. A GGT is NOT always used that way, but it can be. There are many tests and other tests and perhaps better test combinations they can look at to deduce to see if a person's liver damage may be from alcohol.

A GGT is often just routinely done along with other LFT's when a person has chronic hep c. I do not think it would be very unusual to see some elevated GGT in someone with a chronic liver disease. C.

Tig · Admin

If you’re interested in the text book definition of GGT, here it is. We have more information on all these tests in our Knowledge section. There’s a link in my signature to information as well.

Gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT)

GGT is also found in hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells. It is a very sensitive test of hepatobiliary disease (both hepatocellular and cholestatic injuries). However, its specificity is poor as GGT elevation can be seen in a wide range of non-hepatic diseases, including alcoholism, pancreatic disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and renal failure. Because GGT is not elevated in bone disease, it is mainly used to confirm the liver as the source of increased alkaline phosphatase.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

The first results was 3weeks pretreatment.

oh thank you- the ALT dropped down but it was normal

Canuck · Guru

Nice numbers Mak - nice indeed! biggrin

It was good to know some of your pre-treatment labs - ALT 45, ALP 69, GGT 90 and VL 1.2 mil, and, at that at your aprox 2 weeks on-treatment mark some of these results are back and are already coming down!

We will wait patiently to see if the VL has also dropped much yet at the 2 week mark, like you said you will probably get that result returning pretty soon.

That's a nice ALT drop from 45 to 26. Yes the GGT means something, good that is has come down from 90 to 53 too. biggrin Your GGT (like some of your other LFT's and labs are just more helpful information for your doc. An elevated GGT can (when taken into account with all your other LFT's/lab results) be an indicator of possible liver disease/distress, but we already know you have had chronic hep, so, it is not a surprising to see this or other enzymes and LFT's to be elevated. GGT like other labs can also be used as a rough general indicator of the presence of various liver diseases or liver distress, such as HCV, and sometimes seen in those with cirrhosis and/or with people having large boluses of alcohol.

Nice these labs have already started to drop! I wonder what your current and pre-treatment AST was as well?

I'm very happy about your results! smile How are you feeling about it all? C.

5-1-18 · Guru

i would think that more normal bloods mean your liver is happier.

hopefully you'll hear about you VL this week; or call your dr all eager to know . sometimes they have results but dont get back to us right away.

so glad you are on the new meds. you will do well

mcmaklin · Senior Member

So does indeed GTP mean anything?

Tig · Admin

That’s great, Mak! Excellent results to date, let us know when you get the viral load back. I’m sure it will be vastly improved (reduced) as well. Thanks for the update!

mcmaklin · Senior Member

Hello, just to let you know, No viral load yet, that took it last Wednesday so I hope they need a few more days...

I have my blood tests done the 17th of August (2,5 weeks before treatment starts, and the viral count 1,2mln) and then 18th of Sep which was my 2 weeks of treatment.

So in both cases all was normal, but Haemoglobin was H 174 and the 18th it was normal 164

My ALT was 45 (normal) and the 18th it was 26

Alkaline Phosphatase was 69 and the 18th it was 66

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE that may say something is GAMMA GT, when I compared all data in computer it was always elevated within 5 years like 90-100 and while on my previous treatment it was normal (but I relapsed 4 weeks after EOT) and then it started to go up. The 17th of August it was High - 90 and the 18th of Sep it was 53

All other are normal

-- Edited by mcmaklin on Tuesday 2nd of October 2018 07:40:27 PM

mcmaklin · Senior Member

I must say that - as I started week 3 I feel tired those 2 days and those not muscle pains but something simillar, a kind of tiredeness. Drinking water helps but it is also not so good when you do it before sleeping.

Canuck · Guru

Mak,

I didn't feel too great through treatment, but then again, I was not feeling good even before starting treatment.

I was just SO, SO GLAD that i got my Vosevi, just being able to get it made up for everything, even for when i was not feeling great while on treatment. I was very lucky to get it and I only got it because i succeeded in getting into a trial. I am so happy this extremely effective re-treatment drug is now available on the market.

This Vosevi will be the treatment to cure you!! You may feel some things as you go along, but it is VERY, VERY worth it!

So, your most recent "pre-treatment" VL was 1.2 million?, and your GGT was 90? - so, just ask them what your ALT and AST were as well at that same time then. It's good to have these pre-treatment ones to compare back to.

My VL response to the Vosevi was incredibly fast, robertamx's was not so fast - everyone's response to any DAA CAN and will be unique and different. Many people, by week 4, show drops in ALTs. You might have some kind of reduction showing up as early as at 2 weeks.

You are going to be cured over this 12 week treatment - this I am convinced of.

Keep drinking LOTS of water! C.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

Thank you for all your help. I do not remember my results as I asked only, as far as I remember only GGT was around 90 all other were probably normal.

My VL was 1200000 as far as I remember. Canuck I will study your bio. I hope I can find it if you were writing about viral count.

I think I have some small side effects like yesterda ago where I had to be at blood tests and walk up the hill to the hospital and back and then all day in town with a language so after a few hours i felt a bit dizzy. I know now I must avoid going out up to 4 hours after taking my pill. Today up to 4 PM I also was feeling the same, then now while I am writing i feel not flue like symptoms but something in my muscles, a kind of tiredness, like I cannot pick up objects using to much force. But all of this is not too disturbing, not at all. In the morning I did not know if it was a headake but something unwell with my head that I was not able to do anthing logical.

I have found in your bio Week 1 VL 237. THat small amount? 237 units?

-- Edited by mcmaklin on Thursday 27th of September 2018 04:58:36 PM

Canuck · Guru

Mak,

As Tig and I have already said ... (and we repeat) about your 2 week VL and LFT's ... it's "very early feedback ... there might be and should be some early downward motion showing already in your VL and LFT's, if not, then probably there will be further likelihood of a downward direction showing at week 4 - so fear not - it's coming! Sometimes as soon as within mere days, or weeks, the downward trend starts to show." ...

Did you have a look at my early (and all) treatment VL and LFT's, that I directed you to, in my bio (from my last post to you)?

I really hope you find out and tell us what your "pre-treatment" ALT/AST and VL was, so we have something to compare to when you get your "on-treatment" results back.

Can't wait to hear what your first results are! smile C.

Tig · Admin

Hi Mak,

A viral load at week 2 is a little early in my opinion. It should show a significant reduction depending on what the pre treatment numbers were. I have seen some people with undetected results by week 2, but more often, the viral count is either much lower, or is found to be below the LLOQ (Lowest Level of Quantification: <15 copies) but still detected. When you get into weeks 4-6, that’s usually when you see most of the undetected results coming in. Not always, but most of the time you see markedly improved results during that period. If that isn’t confusing enough, I have friends that weren’t undetected at week 12, but did test SVR12! These are effective drugs, but they work on their own schedule. Do your part and they will do theirs.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

About blood tests they took my blood today- it was the liver profile, diff, and I do not remember what - all general Tests and the viral load at 2 week of treatment.

how should it be in week 2 with the viral load?

Cheddy · Moderator

I'm tapping my fingers on the table, 5. October is soon to be. Geez, you've been fighting this for so long.

I snuck a cyber peak at Tig's Magic 8 ball (don't go there) and all indications say you kicked ass this time.

I'm cheering already.

Canuck · Guru

Hi Mak (and Nathan - welcome Nathan!),

Good to hear from you Mak - it sounds like you are doing so VERY WELL!! Yay! I couldn't be more pleased for ya.

I believe your doc has your best interests at heart (and always has) helping you to get the Vosevi you needed for your re-treatment, and he knows how much stress and strife you went through with your prior failure and how long you have had to endure carrying this virus, while watching your sister and others get more easily cured - I am betting it may NOT be a mandatory "requirement" that your doc is performing a blood draw at 2 weeks - he is likely doing it out of his own good discretion, and the results will provide you and he some very early feedback - I can not know (exactly) what all he is testing you for at 2 weeks (and then again at 4 weeks), it could be both LFT's and VL, but also, it could be more than those things too (or less) - we (I) cannot possibly know for sure - but he has probably told you what these blood tests will be. I AM just assuming your 2 week test IS for VL and LFT's. If so, there might be and should be some early downward motion showing already in your VL and LFT's, if not, then probably there will be further likelihood of a downward direction showing at week 4 - so fear not - it's coming! biggrin Sometimes as soon as within mere days, or weeks, the downward trend starts to show.

You are lucky to get early blood tests done at 2 weeks (and then again at 4 weeks), period, (no matter what they are testing for) as it just goes to show you how kindly, attentively, thoroughly they are watching your re-treatment. You and they will know, as soon as is humanly possible, how things are progressing and how you are doing. You can go to my bio and see the frequent VL's and LFT's that were done while I was on my Vosevi trial and how they dropped, but everyone will drop theirs differently.

Mak, it is hard to compare yourself against anyone else who is ONLY taking Epclusa because you have another (third) very potent, totally dif drug being added to your regime in the Vosevi that you are taking (namely the VOX - the NS3/4A). But I will post a link here to one fellow i have mentioned to you before repeatedly - tkflex36 - (see "TK's Solvaldi/Velpatasvir 12 week Dragon Slaying Adventure!" - Jan 10, 2016) - he had no sides to speak of while on his trial of Epclusa, and there have been others, with minimal sides if you read through the other Epclusa-taker threads ... tkflex36 said ... "Day 5 So five days in and can honestly say I have had zero sides I can attribute to the meds. If there were a placebo arm in this trial I would think I was in it. Can't really notice any positives either except maybe a bit more energy and focus. I go in for 1 week labs on wed. Hope everyone has a great upcoming week! " ...

I have already guided you to the threads of people here who have taken Vosevi and what our experiences were like, and RC (robertamx) said he did not think he had pointable Vosevi "sides", but he was also on many other additional drugs and was not feeling particularly well due to many extenuating circumstances. It is hard to easily compare taking Vosevi against taking Epclusa. VOX is a totally different drug to add into the mix.

Nathan, it is hard to compare your blood draw plan against someone else's schedule, when they are being "re-treated" and you are treatment naive, and perhaps when you live in dif countries where docs operate differently or are employing different standards and protocols. We are all subject to our docs use of their own discretion in how often they will want to do blood tests. UK/Aus and Canada may all be "common-wealth" but our health systems veer somewhat from each other, just as we see differences between US and Canada in North America.

Mak, it will be good for you to know exactly what blood tests will be done and when they will be done throughout your treatment, (you should be made aware of what the tests are for anyway) as some might simply possibly be for things just like fasting blood sugars or such, etc., we would not know this - so it's good to know what the tests are for, and when they are due, and if there are any special instructions to know before the test is drawn. It would be good to record/list (and hopefully show us as well), all your lab results - to have some of your last pre-treatment LFT's (ALT/AST's) to be able see the changes in those as you progress through treatment. Good to have the old LFT results to compare to, against the new ones as you go along. You have been through all this once before with your last treatment, so I am sure these ropes should be familiar to you.

Both you two are on excellent drugs! biggrin C.

5-1-18 · Guru

nathan, every hepC specialist does testing dif.

i had a VL at 4 weeks , not at eot 8weeks, and now will get one at 3months eot at the end of this month.

the daa's work so good they don't seem to test as much as before. some docs still test a lot tho.

when i did the interferon we tested a lot... i didn't like that

mcmaklin · Senior Member

I am a year older then you are, and have the HepC since I was born. yes they test after 2 weeks and then after 4 weeks. I am on day 12. OK and now do you have any side effects?

nathanW wrote:
hi mcmaklin,
im on the EPCLUSA meds , i am confused with what you just said ?
bloods after 2 weeks of treatment ?
i had my bloods taken 4 weeks after start point and they came back HCV undetected ..
At the start i got a welty rash on my neck and thy but that went with some steroid cream i felt all spaced out n queezy and had an itch reaction about 5 hours after every pill i took .
but its all gone apart fron the dam rashy itch .
still wouldn't say the med's aren't worth it , taking EPCLUSA was one of the best things i've done since i was 18 when i caught hepc n im 42 now .

nathanW · Member

hi mcmaklin,

im on the EPCLUSA meds , i am confused with what you just said ?

bloods after 2 weeks of treatment ?

i had my bloods taken 4 weeks after start point and they came back HCV undetected ..

At the start i got a welty rash on my neck and thy but that went with some steroid cream i felt all spaced out n queezy and had an itch reaction about 5 hours after every pill i took .

but its all gone apart fron the dam rashy itch .

still wouldn't say the med's aren't worth it , taking EPCLUSA was one of the best things i've done since i was 18 when i caught hepc n im 42 now .

Tig · Admin

Hi Mak,

It’s possible the virus could be undetected in two weeks, it has happened before. I wouldn’t count on it, however. We typically see a great reduction by then, often an undetected result will follow the 4-6 week mark, but there have been documented cases of detected results at the end of treatment and the patient is undetected and SVR at week 12 following the end of treatment. That’s not common, but it has happened.

There are many people that have little to no side effects from Epclusa. Most are mild and completely manageable. That’s the beauty of these new drugs, theyre easy on the body and mind.

mcmaklin · Senior Member

My blood tests this Wednesday and then I should know anything in a week time.

1.Is it possiblwe there is no virus after 2 weeks? How should it be Or how it usually is?

2. I have absolutely no side effects, I am not sure if those previous feelings where because of more fatty food or drugs, or weather. but anyway I feel better then before treatment. I do not feel so high after pills so now I am drinking again some coffee.

3. Where there any people on Epclusa (there were more taking it) who did not have ANY side effects. This is important to me, you remember better the forum then myself focusing on my problem.

Hep C Discussion Forum

Gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT)

Legal Disclaimer: