It will depend a lot on your genotype & your liver function. Do you know? There is a new combo of Solvadi/Ledispavir that is IFN & riba free that some of the geno 1a people are waiting for. One pill once a day for 12 wks. The drug was submitted to the FDA in Feb. & is on the fast track for approval so it should be here this Fall. If your liver is healthy your doc would probably recommend you wait for the newer combos coming up that have minimal side effects & short tx durations..

Hi there. You may have been diagnosed in 2006, but do you know when you might have been exposed. It is thought that I was exposed 30 or 40 years ago and my viral load was so high and fibrosis and cirrhosis was found from a liver biopsy. I was just dx last October when being seen by my PCP for routine check up and elevated liver enzymes were found and oped up a can of worms! I am on my second week of treatment.

I would see a liver specialist or gastro doc, ask for a viral load test and genotype and go from there and see what they say. My symptoms were swelling upon drinking alcohol, tiredness, upper stomach pain. I had no idea I was HCV positive. I didn't even really know what it was other than something like HIV that only "druggies" get from sharing needles. Boy, did I get educated real quick...

They call it the silent killer because often there are no symptoms until liver damage is already done..

IMO, much better to be proactive than reactive on this. :-)

Sorry, not second week. Fourth week... Geez. Brain fog...

Hi adlk.
I'm sorry for your depression, and yes, treatment can sometimes worsen that, but the new meds seem to be a lot easier now. If you've only had hcv 9 or 10 years, you don't have to be too worried. Hopefully you're not drinking. Hcv is a slow moving disease and many people don't experience symptoms at all for years. I had it 35 yrs & started feeling extra tired & kind of generalized sickness. People also experience itching of the skin & yellowing of the eyes, pain in liver area.
It sounds like you haven't had any tests done to check viral load, genotype etc, and also how your liver function is.
what did your dr tell you in 2006?

Are you on anti-depressants? I pray this situation improves for you. I was depressed much of the time while on treatment & it really does suck.

I'd say as soon as you can get any treatment combo that EXCLUDES interferon And/or Ribiviran go for it! That was my plan and God willing in 2 months time I will be iff the meds and virus free! virtually no side effects as well. Im currently 28 days in on Sofosbruvir and simepruvir, just 56 days to go :)

To reply to some of your answers/questions: The earliest I could have been exposed was 2002 and the latest was 2005. I am genotype 1a. When I was first diagnosed I know my count numbers were low and the gastro doctor didn't suggest treatment at that time. In January of 2013-a year ago- my ALT, AST, ALP, albumib, protein, GGT were all normal which I believe all measure liver function. The only thing that was low was bilirubin and not by much. I have my annual with my family dr. on the 24th and will ask her if I should be seen by my gastro dr. I do not have any symptoms except nausea BUT I have gastroparesis which is delayed stomach emptying and nausea is a prominent symptom. I also have had a HCV RNA and and log HCV done twice by my gastro dr. and never heard from her as far as anything needing to be followed up on.

It doesn't sound like there's any need to rush into treatment, but naturally it's best to talk to the dr about it.

HCV is called s silent killer because s many have it and do not know - it is almost always asymptomatic until very late stage.

I had HCV for 39+ years before diagnosis. When i was diagnoses i was Interferon ineligible and that was the only treatment at the time (2003). So i remained "warehoused" but under the careful eye of a liver specialist (heapatologist) who did routine blood work, physical exams, mris, ultra sounds and biopsies as he felt necessary to monitor my liver's condition. This is what i suggest.

New txs are coming out every day, many that do not exacerbate depression, depending on your genotype which you need to know.

Find a good doctor.Not your run of the mill GI doc. One who specializes in liver disease. I now see an infections disease specialist. Learn your GT and then you can also start to research clinical trials. You do NOT want to wait until you have symptoms! treatments today are milder and of shorter duration with higher success rates than ever before, all depending on GT.

Does anyone know offhand what the treatment would be if your genotype is 1a?

Depends on if you are tx nave or tx experienced as well as if you are eligible for IFN or not. Depression is one reason for IFN ineligible. The current recommended guidelines for geno 1a can be found at hcvguidelines.org

Based on what you have shared with us & if I were in your shoes I'd wait until this fall for the IFN/riba free tx & make sure my doc was on board with that.

Why would a person be ineligible just because they have depression-which I do have and have had since 1998? And what is IFN/ribafreetx?

Treatments with Interferon & ribavirin are known to increase depression. IFN/riba free tx is treatment that does not include interferon or ribavirin.