I have not seen one post here where sovaldi or olysio have failed...
Understanding how these new drugs have come out is important too.
Daa's. In 2011 the first Direct Acting Antivirals hit the market, two years later we have sovaldi and olysio, this fall there will be Ledispavir and early next year, yet another...and they all keep getting better then their predecessors. So, you see, help is indeed coming for you even if your current tx fails. Not that it will, I think they have to put in that small 5 or 6% fail rate for very rare occurrences, co morbidity, also an idiopathic margin so their bases are covered? Just a thought.

On a further note and just to be a smartass and make you smile;

I dont think anyone on this road would say "only 95% chance of killing this virus and mild side effects? Na, Im going to play it wise and wait for the next better drug to come out" :)

YES!! I was given a 4 week VL test and it was 20 and i was not a happy camper because i expected it to be UD and it wasn't. It caused me needless worry as i am not SVR4.

Beachy, I fully understand your concerns and the frustration of being in the dark and wanting to KNOW! Are you getting other lab results? Cat was able to see her other markers improve even though she didn't get VL.

If you get results and they are not UD that's worrisome, too! Sometimes not knowing is better. And i think that is why some docs don't do that...also some ins won't pay for VLs that are not considered necessary....unless you would stop tx that isn't working, it's not necessary to know until EOT. With gentler mote tolerable tx there would be no reason to stop before completion.

LOL! Touche'!

On a serious note, I REALLY, REALLY hate not knowing. I trust my doc, I like my doc, I am lucky to have him, but I don't like his protocol. I am too much of control freak to not at least get a HINT at how I'm doing so far. Especially dealing with side effects that have been a bit more than I expected them to be. I gotta roll with i and see it through and wait for an answer. But begrudgingly. Must be a side effect! :-/

Hang in there sweetie and have faith in S & O!!

Having failed twice i am concerned about that as well and i get it. Still, i think if i were in your shoes i'd be far more optimistic. You will know soon enough and it will be what it is but ii'm betting on svr for u..

Thank you WG. If I had been told I was VL 20 at 4 weeks, I am not sure how I'd feel not being undie either, but with a pre-TX VL of 4 million which I was told was high, 20 would look pretty encouraging at least. But, like you, seeing others going under, I would still probably worry.

Thank AAL. You are right. I'll try to stay positive. And wait. I am gen2b, so supposedly easiest to clear. I am on Solvaldi and Riba. 95% SVR rate.

You better believe when I finally do find out, I posting in ALL CAPS! ;-)

Yep - like WG said, my first labs at 2 weeks - CBC and CMP - showed HUGE improvements in all things that matter - ALT, AST, and platelets among other things. So it was obvious S&O were working. My 10 week labs showwd platelets at 207, and for me, that is a miracle!

My 4 week (and next one not until 12 weeks) VL was the "quantitative" type test - Quantasure. NOW I've figured out that the tests that show "Undetected" are the QUALitative VL tests. My quant. showed less than 2 IU/mL - and that's as far down as that assay goes, and it's WAY low compared to a lot of other tests that go to only 15. I fretted over that "less than 2" for weeks - even though my nurse insisted that meant UD. Drove myself half bonkers - like my HCV NURSE wouldn't know what it meant? Duh.

I am having my next VL draw on Monday - EOT - 12 weeks. I asked for a QUALitative one so I can see "undetected" if it is that, but nope - seems my insurance wants the QUANtitative test and won't pay for a qual. - and either of those tests is expensive.

So best I'm going to see is "less than 2" again, and I finally accept that it means UD. Here's the best info. I found on the quantitative and qualitative VL tests: http://www.hepatitiscentral.com/mt/archives/2010/07/how_to_better_u.html

So you are getting NO labs done during tx? If so, I am very surprised. Your doc. should want to know (not as much as you do, but...) if your markers are improving. I'd sure ask for at least a CBC and CMP. I get those every two weeks, and they results have made me feel a lot more confident that this is working.

My dr orders quant, too, & it threw me a loop trying to figure the viral load but now I get it.

I don't even look at the 12 week picture, I'm only focused on 4 week intervals & honestly a day or two is enough for me. I'm sensitive to medication. I'm on solv&riba. We all have doubts especially if we've been through this before. I remind myself that this is my choice and I can change my mind any time...but hey I want to give this the best shot I've got! Why not slay that dragon now? Not going to let fear rule my decisions.

I have only had CBC w/plts - weeks, 1, 2, 4, 8 (today) and last test at end of week 12 will be CBC w/plts, CMP(?), and Heptimax (not sure if that is qualitative or quantitative?) If I talk to my nurse on phone at doc office, she pulls my labs and tells me everything "looks great" and not to worry.

I have appt on Monday, so I am sure we'll go over end of 8 week CBC w/plts labs then.

Next appt will be after week 12 labs come back.

OK, just read that CMP is Complete Metabolic Panel and includes:

Normal ranges:
Albumin: 3.9 to 5.0 g/dL
Alkaline phosphatase: 44 to 147 IU/L
ALT (alanine aminotransferase): 8 to 37 IU/L
AST (aspartate aminotransferase): 10 to 34 IU/L
BUN (blood urea nitrogen): 7 to 20 mg/dL
Calcium: 8.5 to 10.9 mg/dL
Chloride: 96 - 106 mmol/L
CO2 (carbon dioxide): 20 to 29 mmol/L
Creatinine: 0.8 to 1.4 mg/dL **
Glucose test: 70 to 100 mg/dL
Potassium test: 3.7 to 5.2 mEq/L
Sodium: 136 to 144 mEq/L
Total bilirubin: 0.2 to 1.9 mg/dL
Total protein: 6.3 to 7.9 g/dL

Good! Your appointment is Monday? List the sides you are experiencing, tell them your family is noticing behavioral changes and plead to get dosage adjusted. Also you darn well need some encouragement to keep plodding along if you're going to continue, tell them you want to now if this is working and request the heptimax now.
Don't shower for 3 days & go in with 2 different shoes on ;)

Lol Triss! Thats my kind of humor.
I just looked, got my comprehensive metabolic today as well, thanks for posting normal ranges I cant wait to see how screwed up my metabolic numbers are, I have lost so much mass last few years, I only weighed 195lbs today and I was so shocked.

Honest to goodness Trish, some days I am lucky to have on matching shoes!! I do squeeze in that shower, however. Hahaha! You're funny, but that's not a bad idea. TX is messing with my head. Not that I can't manage, but sometimes I feel like I am losing some control -- similar to the end of a course of steroids for me. I avoid steroids if at all possible because of that reaction. I am extremely sensitive to almost all medications for some weird reason and embarrassingly low alcohol tolerance as well, and have been as long as I can remember. Hmm... maybe it's the HCV that's caused that all along?..