Meds came today, start date 4/6/15

Hi all, Kathryn here, Hep C diagnosis 1997, always good biopsies f0-f1, every 6 years, last one came in f3, time to start treatment! Solvaldi/RIBA 12 weeks. Have been reading your posts every night for a month... Such great information (thank you Mama Lama)... Have read every word of folks sharing their daily experience with treatment. Never been treated, feel like its a God thing to have it come up now, with all the new treatments and better tolerated meds... and actual cures! Still a bit apprehensive of the unknown - I'll live :) that's it for now, just wanted to dip my toes in the water "say hello". Thanks for being here!

My genotype is 2b, yes I've learned about the food to take meds with and water. Thanks. One more day at work and then I'm taking the time off for rest and healing. I am 59 and work full time as a surveyor... Thank you for the welcome :)

Oh Mama Lama what a journey for you both... Wishing you all the best too! I've been very tired this past year and chalked it up to "age" and kept pushing myself... Time to step away from the hustle bustle and focus on healing. I too am so grateful for new meds! I'm a bit nervous about the unknown but one foot in front if the other!!!

Thanks LA - your posts were ones I followed... I too have fear about starting meds and I loved that you said that out loud! AND I'll take my medicine grateful every day I have it and the chance of cure so high! I expect / hope to breeze through as well, it seems that is more the norm... thanks for your well wishes and participation here!

Hello GC, thanks for sharing. Congrats on your SVR and enzymes! I still find it amazing that we get to say "cured"... What a miracle! I am a bit apprehensive at starting and glad I'm off work the first few weeks... I just wanted time to see how I felt and to rest. My boss is supportive of me taking all the time I want and it feels good to have that support. I'd not heard that about the estrogen... But it DOES make some sense... So much changes at this age of the female human body. I was pretty flabbergasted when I heard F3, so unexpected! Did blood work for baseline prior to treatment and my liver counts had gone up a few hundred in just the past month. Treatment not a moment to soon! I plan on getting a new book, my husband bought me a new chair and cushion for the deck and I plan on reading with my pups around me :). Again YEAY for your health! And thanks so much for sharing. GK

Thanks LA! So far so good :). I was up early to start and we had a busy Easter afternoon with freeze tag, puzzles and Farkle dice, so today is lazy & beautiful after yesterday's rain and I'll walk the dogs in a bit. So funny the comparison between you and your girlfriend... There are great jokes that speak specifically to that :). I've learned as I've aged it's not so IMPERATIVE TO SHARE EVERY THOUGHT haha... I now know what they mean by the saying "beauty is wasted on the young" I so often keep my thoughts to myself! I lost my first husband to Lou Gehrig!s disease when he was barely 55 and I just 49. Boy that was a lesson in what's important and what's not!

So today is a pretty restful day. I may choose to work if I'm feeling great and tolerating the treatment well OR I may take the gift of time off and tolerate meds well while tending to yard, animals, lunch with girlfriends, matinees and hikes in the American River canyon. I'm not one to be idle. Today I'm luxuriating in truly what is the first day if the rest of my life :) thanks for well wishes and so glad to hear you continue to do well!!!

Hi G'ma Kate. I am type 2 also. Have 3 weeks left on treatment Sol/Riba. Had some side affects to deal with mostly between 2nd and 4th weeks then things have mostly leveled out. No more headaches or dizziness. I just pace myself with the fatigue. You are going to do fine. None of the sides are anything you can't deal with. For me they tended to come and go and have not be constant. I was very scared to start treatment and now I feel like it has all be much easier then I anticipated and had no reason to feel that scared. Good luck

My leaflet on Riba said that a rash can be an allergic reaction and is not the same as itchy skin. If it were me I would notify the doctor.

g'ma...

My partner was not on this specific treatment and it is good that you will be seeing your doc. This treatment is new and the "true" side will make themselves known as more folks are on the drug than in the carefully controlled trial populations. Hopefullly this is a side, to be borne, not an allergic reaction.

While on several meds, my partner has had horrible skin "stuff." Rashes and a spate of skin cancers that are way more than the normal "sun exposure" type of thing. He took Olysio and Sovaldi a year ago and had a rash all over, but mostly on the top of his head....it is a wonder to me that he kept his hair, it looked so awful. The dermo tried every type of thing as it progress onto his forehead and onto his ears...ewww. But they tired a chemo type cream and it went away (after it appeared to have the worst sunburn ever.)

During treatment the Olysio was know to have sun reaction and he wore long sleeves, hats, and even lightweight fishing gloves while driving. Long pants all spring and summer. And then SPF 50 on his face and ears.

He cleared the virus a year ago and the rash long gone...and his is sooooo thankful all he had to deal with was a RASH....that Virus can KILL YOU... and needs to be gone.

Let us hear what the docs say,

Hugs,

Mama Lama

Hi all, rash & eczema fine, not an allergic reaction AND Liver enzymes AST was 211 pre tx now 37 and ALT was 319 pre tx now 54.... Thrilled!!!! It's a beautiful day!

Post Edited (G'ma Kate) : 4/17/2015 8:32:30 AM (GMT-6)

This is good Kate, that your liver functions are normalizing quickly.

Mike's LFTs did the same, about half each time, 200, 100, 50, 15 detected, then 15 undetected. I hope the same for you..

Hugs,
Mama Lama

Morning all! 2nd labs in and AST 31, ALT 32... So in the normal range!! Hemoglobin took a good drop so they've adjusted the ribaviron dose to slow that down, I had been experiencing some shortness if breath upon exertion, so they have added extra labs to keep an eye on that. AND 24 years clean and sober today!!! Thank you God!!! A good day indeed :). Wishing you all a fantastic day!!

Woo Hoo.