12 week labs. I was so excited to get the results a couple days earlier than I expected. Imagine how I felt when I discovered the virus is back, viral load 1.5 million. I kept thinking I wanted 24 weeks, with my liver damage. I think viruses were caught behind scar tissue and as my liver got better, they got out and got back to their vicious cycle.
Honestly, I feel better mentally and emotionally now than I have in a long time. The stress of waiting for my 12 week lab is gone, and I am truly happy right now.
I know the drugs work! I was undie @ 12 weeks, but not at 4 weeks. I really wanted to do 24 weeks of Harvoni, with the advance bridging fibrosis F-4 I was told I had from a biopsy in Feb 2011, 4 years before I started treatment.
It made sense to me, that with liver damage, there might be some viruses trapped behind or inside fibrosis. The only way they and the drug travels is in the blood flow. And I remember hearing 8 or so years ago that the virus can "land" anywhere in the body and take a vacation, then get swept back along by the blood into the liver and get back to business.
So as my liver is getting better, the trapped viruses got loose and life repeats itself. I'm happy to be a demonstration to Gilead that people with Fibrosis need longer treatments, and especially with cirrhosis. I was also told I had possible early cirrhosis, so reversible.
I'm looking forward to taking the journey once again. For all of us. WE ARE WARRIORS!
"There is no state of physical decline or damage that you could not recover from—none—not any, if you knew it... If you wanted it and knew that you could. And that's those miracles that they talk about every day. They're not miracles at all, they are the natural order of things. But because they are rare, people think they are miraculous. They're not. That's the way it is supposed to be. You're supposed to thrive."
---Abraham
I feel a sense of assurance.
It's like a great burden has been lifted, this whole game of Harvoni, and HCV and all the other jazz, I just don't feel like a victim anymore, I feel I'm just enjoying the ride, wherever it takes me
I feel like I've been at war for the last 10 years, and now the war is over. I feel peace.
My head is clear, there is no fear, just a feeling of trust that everything is going to be alright.
Our internet service is down, I'm using a Hot Spot. So I have to be brief. But I am fine. Love you all!
Honestly, I feel better mentally and emotionally now than I have in a long time. The stress of waiting for my 12 week lab is gone, and I am truly happy right now.
I know the drugs work! I was undie @ 12 weeks, but not at 4 weeks. I really wanted to do 24 weeks of Harvoni, with the advance bridging fibrosis F-4 I was told I had from a biopsy in Feb 2011, 4 years before I started treatment.
It made sense to me, that with liver damage, there might be some viruses trapped behind or inside fibrosis. The only way they and the drug travels is in the blood flow. And I remember hearing 8 or so years ago that the virus can "land" anywhere in the body and take a vacation, then get swept back along by the blood into the liver and get back to business.
So as my liver is getting better, the trapped viruses got loose and life repeats itself. I'm happy to be a demonstration to Gilead that people with Fibrosis need longer treatments, and especially with cirrhosis. I was also told I had possible early cirrhosis, so reversible.
I'm looking forward to taking the journey once again. For all of us. WE ARE WARRIORS!
"There is no state of physical decline or damage that you could not recover from—none—not any, if you knew it... If you wanted it and knew that you could. And that's those miracles that they talk about every day. They're not miracles at all, they are the natural order of things. But because they are rare, people think they are miraculous. They're not. That's the way it is supposed to be. You're supposed to thrive."
---Abraham
I feel a sense of assurance.
It's like a great burden has been lifted, this whole game of Harvoni, and HCV and all the other jazz, I just don't feel like a victim anymore, I feel I'm just enjoying the ride, wherever it takes me
I feel like I've been at war for the last 10 years, and now the war is over. I feel peace.
My head is clear, there is no fear, just a feeling of trust that everything is going to be alright.
Our internet service is down, I'm using a Hot Spot. So I have to be brief. But I am fine. Love you all!
I pray for peace and special wisdom.
Wow, I didn't expect to hear that from you but I'm thrilled at how strong you are. I've been thinking about you this past week. The meds do work, and this time you can get the amount you need. Have you been approved by SupportPath for another round? Sending love,
B
I don't know if they retested the blood, or if they made a mistake, but we will test again before treatment starts so no worries right now. I did a very strenuous hike 2 days earlier. about 2500 elevation change and a 2:50 average time hike and I did it in 2:10. I was sweating and panting when I reached the lift down to the car. I read that can cause a spike in ALT and AST without affecting Bilirubin or ALP, and that's what I experienced. SO hopefully my spikes have gone down a bit. "A shot or injection of medicine into the muscle tissue, or strenuous exercise, may increase ALT levels." "Pregnancy, a shot or injection of medicine into muscle tissue, or even strenuous exercise may increase AST levels. Acute burns, surgery, and seizures may raise AST levels as well." https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/liver-panel/tab/test/
I don't know how my TX ended. T he viral load test is expensive, so my insurance only covers one every six months. I was undie at 4 weeks post tx. The real test will be when I redo the bloods in NOv.
He didn't do my liver functions.
I read somwhere about risk factors for relapse -- having one TX before, being African American, being overweight. I forget the others. I only had 2 out of 8. It has to work because I got a letter kicking me off support path(fortunatley,I'd finished.) My income for last year was a bit too high . I'd gotten approved by my taxes from the year before.
If more people are going to have to repeat, they will really need to bring the price down to make it possible.
I was also on support path, glad i finished 24 weeks. They did deny me for harvoni but i got approved for viekira pac+riba.
It is soo expensive and i found that in my state the county health department will test you for free regardless of income. My NP doctor gets tested regularly as she does alot of iv's and blood draws. it might be the same where you live. They want everyone tested.
Sometimes it is cheaper to get your own reqs for blood tests.
I have a membership to life extension and they offer very reasonable blood testing without a dr involved. The liver enzymes are around 30 bucks and i can get blood draws for anyone else at those prices. I have found other places on the web where you can get your own. I don't like alot of their products as they are mostly synthetic, but i get a magazine every month with lots of interesting reads and tons of access to health issues on their website.
I hate to be so dependent on Doctors for my own health when i have soo many other great resources. I like to make my own decisions but the biggest problem is the reliability of everything you read.
I hope the best for you even against a couple of odds that i am sure we all have the cure rate is over 90% for treatment naive and 97% for the rest.
I think the pharma companys are afraid someone will find a cheap cure and they will miss out on more billions of dollars they are making.
I hope we both clear it.
So glad for this group where we can all support each other.
I don't think they do cheap blood work here. They do free testing for HCV, but not viral load. So I wait...
Sending you good wishes that you cleared.
BTW, you said results are worse for tx naiive. I thought they were better...
I had rlaxed, assumed I was cured. Stopped worrying if I got a cut while cooking dinner. Sounds like that was premature...
I went 4 years of thinking i had cleared. I guess i should do some proof reading before i hit that submit button.
i did the interferon and riba which didn't have a good success rate, but back then there was nothing else.
What treatments did you do before.
I pray we will all put this virus behind us. I am sure all of us have soo many other mountains and battles in life to deal with without this battle.
I do feel it has made me stronger in many ways. I certainly have made many friends here, and learned to rely on God in ways i never had. God, You and all my other friends here have been such a big source of strength and peace.
When i found i had hep c I also through naturalpathic doctors tried to find ways to keep the liver healthy even with the virus attacking.
I feel i would have been in such worse shape without this.
I also did lots of praying and asking for wisdom and direction.
There is no way i can learn everything there is to know about staying healthy and fighting viruses.
I do believe the answers are here. I am not religious and I'm sorry if it offends any one but i do believe in the bible, and one verse i cling to is in Ezekiel 47 where God talks about the plants for our food and the Leaves for healing.
I believe when God created this world he also created a way of escape from all these deceases and struggles we have in life.
Honestly, I'm still shaking my head about relapsing. The only thing I can guess is virus caught in scar tissue got loose as my liver got better and started cycling again. I saw a YouTube video about how many viruses a day are made in an infected liver. It's mind numbing. I'm already getting symptoms again. Nausea, cramping, peripheral neuropathy, stiff painful joints, fatigue. I hope my doctor gets back with me soon. I left a message today. I saw him last Tuesday and he was going to consult with the Liver Clinic at the U of U and get recommendations for retreatment.
Good news is, my waistline, which gained 3 inches on Harvoni, has come down 2 inches. I'm juicing. I made 2 gallons of juice yesterday for me and hubs. He is dealing with a lentigo that went malignant and turned into melanoma, Appt to remove the tissue is tomorrow at 4. I'll be there with him.
The juice? All organic. peeled carrots and beets, tart Braeburn apples, celery, cilantro, collard greens and tomatoes. I strained the tomatoes after running them through the gears in the juicer without the strainer screen, then used a tomato juice strainer that takes out the skins and seeds, but lets the pulp through. My own version of V-8! SO good. I'm planning on 3 pints a day for each of us. The juice is fresh for three days, so I put 18 pints in the fridge, and we also drank 2 pints, so that's 2.5 gallons. Wow, most I have ever made at once.
I have read that we with liver scaring or cirrhosis are susceptible to liver cancer. I am hoping that juicing will reduce my risk.
My husband thinks i juice too much but if you drink 3 pints a day then my 20 oz should be fine. I actually looked up to see if it were possible to OD. couldn't find anything and sometimes i do drink maybe a quart the first day i do it or to just get rid of the rest so i can make a new batch.
I have to make it strained for my husband and he will only drink the carrot with apple.
I do the beets and greens, chard, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, and whatever other veggies i have. I read where throwing the pulp back in the garden is good. it seems a good place to dump it.
I looked up what things are good for the liver so i am hoping i am on the right track.
I am really open to healthy living. I never gave it much thought when i was younger.
I am younger, but now, just months after finishing Harvoni, I seem to be in full menopause. (From bleeding every few weeks to not. Which would be fine, but I'm also having digestive issues. For over a month now. Maybe unrelated, but it feels like it might be. Also, hot flashes, anxiety. I've been meditating, praying, doing lots of Reiki. The anxiety and hot flashes are better. Digestion still sucks.)
I have no idea how my liver is. Fibrosure said on the border of F1/F2. Fibroscan said F1. I had the virus for a long time. I wanted 12 weeks of Harvoni but they said no. I hope 8 was enough...