llory, thanks for the reply. I am glad to see that your Dad is doing so well on the Viekira Pak. I really had a hard time with the RBV the last time. I think the weight basing really makes a difference in prescribing the RBV.

With the trial results near 100% for geno 1b, he has a great chance of winning this time. Keep us posted on his lab work if you can.

I'm tryng to post them all his exams but I don't know why I cannot so:
pre txVl Rna

pre tx vl rna

Hi Texan from a fellow Texan (Houston)! I'm genotype 1 failed tx with SOvaldi and Ribavirin. Riba made me depressed and suicidal, worse when I found out it didn't work after 12 weeks of suffering. 12 weeks of Harvoni seems to have done the trick although I am still in my 12 weeks waiting period. (Same thing with Sovaldi/Riba, seemed to work but relapsed immediately). I think the Vikeira is a relatively new thing. Odd, I have Aetna and they didn't say anything at all about that drug. My Dr. got me on Harvoni the instant it was FDA approved.
If you have nausea here's a hint that worked for me! When it hits you bit into a fresh lemon or lime slice. Not orange or grapefruit, only lemon or lime. According to Dr. Glombicki the enzymes in lemons and limes stop the nausea. It seemed to work. BEst of luck TExan!

Thanks for the nausea tip oilfieldtrash61. Thankful I have not had any side effects so far. Aetna/express scripts did not make the deal with Abbvie (Viekira Pak) until late Jan. I was trying to get the Harvoni early too, but my Doctor made me do an upper Endoscopy, Fibrosure test, and liver ultrasound before he would prescribe me (to see if I had cirrosis). By the time I got through with all the tests, Express Scripts had done the deal with Abbvie. Good luck on your 12 week test - I am sure you will clear. With these new wonder drugs clearing everyone, this Hep C forum is going to run out of followers, and that is a good thing!

just got approved for the viekira paks today start hopefully tomorrow we can be guinea pigs together lol if I can help in any way for anyone I am here was denied the harvoni thru express scripts but they approved this quickly so if any1 has express scripts request this med ith your dr if you want to start this treatment they say this has a 90 percent cure rate so we will see I have no liver damage only known about this for about 4-5 mths and got it from an ex husband who has since died from liver cancer I am geno type1b and if u need anything else let me know thanks

Glad to have someone else on this Viekira journey. I was also upset that I couldn't get Harvoni, but now I am changing my mind. Since I only had F1-F2 metavir score, I am not sure they would have prescribed Harvoni to me. The deal that Express Scripts made with Abbvie is that they would prescribe it to ALL Hep C patients no matter the range of their liver disease. It is an ideal drug if you are geno 1b. Don't need the Riba with it. So far it has been great - 5 days in and NO side effects. Just like taking vitamins!

thanks for this thread. i have been waiting for someone to report on Abbvies newest drug.
i too was turned down for the harvoni through express scrips. since they (viekira pac) claim a 97% cure rate i will go with that.
I am a relapser, did the interferaun and riba 6 years ago.
I have a months supply just delivered here today. I did have much side effects with the previous treatment but stuck with it for 11 months. this should be a breeze compared to the older therapys.
I will be looking in with you and hope the sides are mild or null.
Please keep us posted on how you feel.

Good luck to all of you !! I am on the Harvoni 12 wk tx geno type 1a I truly believe these new drugs are gonna do the job !!! Fingers crossed for all of us and it is so wonderful to not have side effects after actually living through the old tx plans

just got my viekira meds ups today can't start till Tuesday next week as I have to let other drugs get out of system premarin and phentermine go for baseline bloodwork Monday and away we go can't wait to be cured maybe all this joint pain fibro fog ect is hep c and I can get my life back how u doing Texan still no side effects?

Still doing great here after almost a week of the Vpak. Almost seems like I am taking sugar pills. Feel great and hoping it is knocking out the hep c - no side effects at all. My wife and I are amazed. Big difference from the last tx.

Good point about letting the other drugs you are on clear your system. Viekira Pak has a drug in it called Ritanivar (sp?) that slows the liver's metabolism so that the drugs stay in effect longer. This helps the Hep C meds, but may cause an adverse reaction with other drugs you are on.

That may also be why my Dr wanted Harvoni because I am als HIV infected and take Atripla daily to control that. If Vikeira slows the liver metabolism it might mess wit tat. Another month to go before my 12 week SVR blood test. Good Luck to all! Maybe someday they can get rid of HIV as well! The C is worse than HIV in my case it was easily controlled although expensive and who knows what these drugs are doing to my body long-term?

If you do have a drug that would be compensated by the Ritanovir, and it is something that you need to continue taking, the Doctor would have a good case with the Insurance company to opt out of the Viekira Pak treatment and go to the more expensive Harvoni.

So far, I am glad I went with the Vpak, but if I had geno 1a, I would be fighting for the Harvoni (and no Ribavirin). Good luck on the treatment!

so happy for u Texan my husband was worried about side effects me not so much as I kow what the old meds for this disease did to people having watched my ex go thru them I knew this had to be a cake walk compared to that but helps knowing for sure am anxious to see all of us cured and now I want the medical field that controls prices to make getting the blood test to check for hpc cheaper so anyone can get the test it should be a routine test so we can eliminate this disease forever so future generations won't have to go thru this well sorry kinda got on a soapbox but just wanting a disease like this eradicated love all of u keep fighting and stay strong I really appreciate all of you