Starting treatment

FINALLY! It took me alittle bit to register but before that I have been reading blogs and you guys seem like the support I need right now.

Ok to start, I chose "The caregiver" because I am a care giver for the elderly i have hep c, I was diagnosed in 2001 which is when I contracted it.

My most recent lab work was done 2/24/2014 be patiant with me I do not know the viral load.

HCV RNA QUANT:2147500

HCV RNA QUANT:6.33

AST:16

ALT:20

GENO TYPE:2b

Ok can someone tell me what my viral load is? lol

My new gastro is very persistant and she is quickly starting me on sodalvi and ribavirin, at first I didnt take it very serious because there was no way I thought my insurance would cover it but I am fortunate I am only paying $5 a month for copay, i wish this was available for EVERYONE suffering with this disease.

I already suffer from debillitating fatigue, panic disorder and ptsd, most of the side effects I have seen on your blogs I feel on a daily basis without the treatment, will the treatment make that worse? I am very very afraid to take ANY kind od medicine already so the anxiety the last couple of days just thinking about starting tx is almost paralyzing.

My husband and I both are very hard workers, we pretty much live pay check to pay check, I am anxious about Not being able to work because of treatment I dont want something good to turn into something bad, I am an Inhome health caregiver and the clients I have been with for the past 2 years are pretty laid back but its still an 8 hr a day job that will definitly need my attention.

I understand side effects are different for everybody and the most complaints im hearing is the fatigue.

If my anxiety gets real bad will they be able to treat it? I DO NOT take ANYTHING for it now,

My medication will be available to pick up on wednesday, (today is friday) I didnt plan on starting them until sat so im home that first day with my husband, ANY advice from ya,ll before this would be greatly appriciated, I will definitly blog my progress and continue to ask for your support.

Thank you for listening and takeing this journey with me, I am ready to rid myself from this horrible disease

Michele

Welcome to the forum, I am also Genotype 2B Girl From Missouri and you can read all about me treatment here for the past 10 weeks or so www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=25&m=2984761

I am nearing the end of my treatment and have just under two weeks to go(11 days), initially my viral load was at 4.7 million and after one month of treatment it was down to 79 and I suspect a week after the blood test or around week five I was probably 100% clean as others were but where I live they only did the viral load after 1 month and then at the end of treatment and then three months after that.

Please don't be scared, I was probably the most worrisome person on the forums and was panicked when I found out and I also have anxiety and learned to calm myself down without medications and the members of these forums helped me stay calm and walked me through my treatment providing encouragement all the way and they will do the same for you, you're amongst friends you never knew.

I was sick some days and had a sore stomach but truthfully if I had to work every single day I probably could have and again, I was probably one of the worst on this forum that complained and I did it and I'm almost at the end and you too will beat this and finish the treatment.

I did the same treatment of Sovaldi and Ribavirin and had some of the side effects you mention before treatment but went head first into this knowing this is the BEST treatment you will find at this moment and the success rate at curing people is 90% + so lets be positive and know that you can and will beat this and their is nothing to get too worried about.

I also used to take Atavan for stress/anxiety likely related to work I do but I stopped taking it regularly at least three years before when I learned to get better at controlling my anxiety and to stop panicking, I had to learn what the feeling of my anxiety was BEFORE it it and when I felt it coming on I would try to retreat to another location where I could be by myself and then relax...take a deep breath! In no time I found I could get the anxiety under control in 10-20 seconds and because of this I decided to not use Ativan during treatment and never during the treatment did I get so much anxiety that I felt I needed it and I honestly believe just thinking of the end result of all this, the thought of being CURED made me so much stronger and I marched on and didn't worry so much.

I had thoughts I was gonna die in the beginning(stupid assumption), until I read about all the other members here and caregivers and I cried, more than a few times and felt really sad to hear the stories of those who fought for years with Hepatitis who didn't have the luxury of this treatment, these people fought for their lives for years and were very sick and even a popular forum member Connie lost her battle just the day after I joined the forum so I knew I had to do this treatment and fight it and keep a record for all those who come in the future so they also would have support or reference to look at and say "Hey, this guy did the same treatment and is around the same age and he has anxiety etc, how did he do?"

You're gonna be ok, you will beat this and the side effects are VERY minimal and you will be cured and most of all you have support on these forums, I also wanted to rid myself of this disease and it bothered me even thinking it was in me and I didn't know why but that didn't matter I had to get it out and after one month and the first results I started to feel clean again, my body was fighting and winning the battle!

So this is it, PLEASE don't be scared(as my wife would say) and yes she was RIGHT! Their is nothing to be scared of and you CAN do this and its nothing to worry about and as a person who has been online since before the Internet was graphical I can tell you sometimes the Internet and self diagnosis can be your worst enemy and make things worse.

This treatment was so new their was no real reference for us, together with my brothers and sisters of the forum we all shared our experience since February and I honestly feel we were like the pioneers of this treatment for testing and seeing "What Will Happen?" and I tracked it all and in the end I look back and honestly it wasn't the big deal I thought it would be and in 11 days on April 30th at 6:00 P.M I will take my last dose but I already am sure I am cured and mentally this whole ordeal has made me stronger and you may find when this is all over your anxiety is easier to cope with.

The members of this forum will seem like family soon enough, my wife could not always be here to support me but no matter what time of day I could come here and let it out and tell people how I really felt and usually within hours some helpful advice was posted or something heartfelt to make me stronger, they will do the very same for you and I am FOREVER THANKFUL! for everything these total stranger's did for me...now they feel like friends I have know forever.

Everything is gonna be fine Girl From Missouri, you have nothing to worry about and soon you will be cured and all this will be behind you and in the end you will become an even stronger person, you can and will do this so lets get started and when you need answers ask away and the members of this forum will do their best to help you.

Best of Luck and if you need help just ask, this forum has helped me so much and it will do the same for you.

============================================================

"Sovaldi - Everybody deserves this treatment option and it should be made affordable for all!"

Sovaldi + Ribavirin Treatment began February 6th 2014 - 12 weeks of treatment. After 4 weeks treatment VL has dropped from 4.7 Million to *79*

Post Edited (AllenM) : 4/19/2014 4:17:05 AM (GMT-6)

Hi gfm, Welcome to the forum.

I'm on the other side of the treatment story...my partner is on Sovaldi and Olysio for Hep C 1a. He was a non responder years ago and deemed Interferon intolerant, so this is the regimen for him at this time.

You may have read about his treatment. He has had few side effects but for difficult skin stuff, which isn't really NEW.

He also was sick a really long time..since 1969...and had a liver transplant 3 years ago. Unfortunately Hep C lives on in the blood and it has started to destroy his new liver...stage 3 fibrosis already.

So he is really really fortunate to have held on long enough to get treatment. He feels better already. He will be finished the end of May. He was undetected at 4 weeks. After transplant his Viral Load went up and down, once it was 37,000,000. His blood tests are all normal now but for his CBC...red, white, hemoglobin and hematocrit. His kidney numbers are a little off, but expected because he takes anti rejection meds.

In addition to welcoming you, I wanted to say that treatment is for a few months. Liver diseae is forever and the end stages are AWFUL. Whatever side effects the regimen brings are small stuff compared to how sick folks get with untreated liver disease.

YOU CAN DO THIS. No matter what!

Hugs,
Mama Lama

Thank you EVERYONE for your replies, they are encourageing I went and spent the day at the beach yesterday, I am trying to ease my anxiety about starting treatment, I keep going back and forth, one minute im highly motivated and the next im trying to talk myself out of it, I know its better for my liver and over all health in the long run, as mama said "3 months is nothing compared to end stage liver failure" I have spent the weekend trying to prepare, learn as much as I can about eating healthy, medications that may interact,and how to cope with a possible side effects. I am trying to educate my husband and my daughter in case I have a off day, they are pretty spoiled to my cooking lol. I go tomorrow or Tuesday for initial cbc, just waiting on order to come in the mail,I have to take a copy of a past abdominal mri result to GI DR that revealed a very small hemangioma on my liver, and I think I will go ahead and do the class, I would like to see if Hubby can attend also, im not sure what their training me on??
I did talk to my pharmacist and had him check for ANY interactions between my treatment meds and possible meds, ativan and prilosec. I already suffer from gerd and off and on take prilosec otc 14 day treatment, I have a prescription for ativan, ive NEVER takin it yet but I want to be able to take it if I have to during treatment.
I am still haveing quite a bit of anxiety as far as missing to much work, I guess I should stop dwelling on something that may NOT happen......my anxiety talked me into googleing today lol, I got a sudden thought about my history of afib and treatment, I did find someone give the contact info for Gilead on here so I jotted down that info, I will call them tomorrow. Well Im sure I will rant on here again in the next couple of day,s and I will definitly let ya,ll know when treatment starts.
I hope everyone had a good easter with your families, I appriciate your support

Michele

M -- I forgot...even if there are sides...remember that you should clear the virus in about a month and then, WITHOUT that darn virus in your blood, you should be feeling BETTER, not worse! And if you do have sides, they should ease off once the virus is gone. It may take a few days, but this WILL happen. Or I hope so in your case. C

I'm no doc. But I b think all lived patients should be, seeing a hep doc not just gi. But v you have me do now so yippie.

As there can be, sides having a good care plan in place js x a good idea...pcp apt sou b do good in case other issues flare up.

Wow! Dog LeDon.....Interesting! Very very good read :-D I've also noticed some recent changes in the past year in my lung function, its not the typical smokers thing it just feels different, my cough is ALWAYS dry and seems to come from my throat but my lungs feel tight and wheezy, I can't get a deep bark clear out your lungs cough......I to have noticed I'm getting winded, even as a smoker I like to casually ride and walk and it use to feel great now my lungs will burn.
OK now on to your most encouraging words "working everyday while on treatment" :) so far no sides have caused you to miss work? I'm a bit anxious about loseing my job during treatment because of missing work :-\ any tips on how to cope with possible sides at work? Thanks, M

I had the same problem with the first GI I visited. She wanted to do about $700 worth of blood tests. I told them no thanks and visited another with better results. I've seen three in all.
Once treatment starts, the main thing is to stay hydrated. Buy a Brita pitcher filter and refill water bottles for a couple of days and then replace water bottles. Drink at least 1/2 to 3/4 ounce of water per pound of body weight a day and eat good food. The ribavirin will lower your blood platelets and cause you to feel a little tired and you will lose your appetite. Don't look at this as an opportunity to lose those 10 or 15 pounds you have wanted to get rid of. What will happen is you will lose 20 - 30 pounds and start to look very noticeably sick. On my first treatment in 2000, I went from 215 to 176 in just a couple of months. I was living alone, so I had no one to keep me in check. People at work thought I had HIV. It was just another thing to depress me.

This time I am eating, even when not hungry, and I feel very stuffed afterwards, but I am maintaining weight. The crazy thing is I don't think about it during the day. I don't have headaches, heartaches, depression, nothing.

Stay away from vitamins and other drugs if you can. Weed is bad for the liver if not used very sparingly. Quit the cigs if you can sweetheart. You know you don't need them. They are hard to quit if you have a spouse that smokes, so good luck with that.
And don't tell anybody about your HCV. People are petty and will make you feel bad. After it's all over, I don't know if I will even talk about it then. Anyway, that's what works for me.
I hope this helps. Good luck.