Week 9 Riba/Sovaldi and doing well.

Just joining the forum but have been following it for some time. I like how this forum does not seperate all of the liver diseases and allows you to educate yourself on all related maladies. You all seem to be a caring group so I thought I'd participate and hopefully help and/or empathize with some of you.

A bit of background...
I found out I had HCV in the mid-90's and probably got it from a transfusion I had in the 70's. My biopsy showed no damage and a more recent Fibrosure test confirmed that my liver is still doing well. I went thru a rough menopause three years ago and feel like the disease revved up then. I'm genotype 2 and decided to treat now instead of waiting for the ribavirin-free treatment, which I would have much preferred. I'm in my 9th week of 12 on Sovaldi and Ribavirin. Although I was very frightened to take the ribavirin, I have had a fairly easy time. My greatest fear going into therapy was depression, as I've dealt with it in the past and find it very difficult as well as debilitating. Happy to report that I haven't experienced any at all. Fatigue (and a bit of sleeplessness) has been the greatest hurdle but that's more of a recent issue. My hemoglobin dropped to 10 in the first two weeks and has hovered around there since. It's a drag and makes exercising difficult. But that's it really for the negatives. I did have had two days of euphoria, although I read that that was a potential side effect of the ribavirin. I'll take it tho. And I've been non-stop dreaming which is unusual and interesting.

I was UND at 4 weeks with the test able to detect down to 2 copies. My LFTs dropped at 2 weeks into normal range but did an even greater drop at week 8, so it's been nothing but good news for me.

Hope I'm not coming off like a cheerleader because I do have a very healthy respect for these drugs and can see that everyone's experience is very varied. But this treatment, so far, has far exceeded my expectations but that may be because I had set the bar pretty low to begin with. One of the best pieces of advice I got from this forum was to eat healthy fat with the ribavirin. (Avacados rule!) Going into treatment, I was recovering from an ulcer so I make sure to eat a big meal with every dosing and I haven't had one moment of nausea or upset stomach. I also graze all day and I credit that as stabilizing.

Looking forward to hearing from others.

Be well and Hold Fast!

Post Edited By Moderator (MamaLama) : 6/28/2014 8:44:03 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Hold Fast,
Welcome to the forum. Your RVR at week 4 is a good sign of SVR at 12 weeks post end of treatment.

The euphoria is a new side fx to me. I learn something new every day around here;) My husband, themister, treated twice with Interferon/riba. First time in 2005, 2nd time in 2011-12. He did obtain SVR the 2nd time. Sadly, he had cirrhosis stage 4 and too much damage already when diagnosed in 2005, and now is on the transplant list.

These are exciting times in the Hep C world. Really happy you hopped into our place. Please stick around and don't be a stranger. Big Hugs

Welcome Hold Fast...we are glad you joined and thrilled you are doing so well with treatment! Another dragon heading into the sunset!!! Keep us posted on your progress. Mama Lama

Feeling wired and tired at the same time! It's a very odd sensation to feel like you've ingested too much caffeine yet you can barely pry yourself off the sofa!

Be well all.

Almost there! Finishing on Sunday, yahoo!

This past month has been like walking through jello - everything seems to take way more effort than it should and have been napping liberally -even fell asleep for the final minutes of the World Cup finale (the only sporting event I watch every 4 years) - pathetic, LOL. All in all, treating has been a cake walk, nothing like what I had expected.

HF.

Congratulations! Just found your thread tonight. I am on my 3rd day and have no side effects, thus far. Interesting to hear about your dropped hemoglobin. The literature from the pharmaceutical company does not list that for G2 tx, like we are using. Hmmmm. I wish you the best in staying Hep C free! :)

Went to the eye doctor yesterday and discovered my eyesight has gotten a bit worse. Actually my eyesight improved but my astigmatism is worse so it's the same but different I also found I have a "lattice" in both eyes which is a condition when the retina detaches. Hopefully won't be a problem. Time will tell.

Today my IBS symptoms have subsided and feel like I may be on the mend.

Blood drawn yesterday but no PCR. Will be anxious to see my LFTs as that will be a good indicator if I'm still undetected.

Hope all is well tonight for all of you treaters and caregivers!

HF

When Mike was on Inf and Riba he had eye changes. The eye doc keep close track of changes but said not to change glasses because it might change again. After sevreal changes, and treatment concluded, his eyes went back to jormal...same rx. That retina situation is a new one to me though.

This recent time he was on Sovaldi and Olysio and had few side effects.

Good luck,
MamaLama

Got my results from my 4 week end of treatment blood work. My doctor didn't plan to run the PCR (as he believes it to be wasteful) but the panel he did do did not include my LFTs either so I'm in the dark about my status. Kind of annoying but I'm learning to cultivate patience... NOT!

Hope everyone doing ok this Sunday morning

HF

Fingers and toes crossed for UNDETECTED.

We have had very few who have not cleared.

Best

ML

I did it, with a little help from Sovaldi and Riba, I'm SVR!

Cheers and SVR to all!
Hold Fast

Great news!!! Congratulations. SVR TO ALL