Harvoni - After Treatment

Blue Skies it is for me! I have kicked this nasty Hep C virus right out of my system! Yippie! Or, I should say Harvoni did it for me! It has been two weeks since I finished the treatment plan and after reviewing my blood tests, my doctor said I am virus free! The rest of my complete blood count was relatively normal except my white blood count was low. I now need to start building my energy level back up with some good vitamins and diet and I should feel like a new person...I hope.

My body seems to be really run down, but my complexion has improved. According to a Physician's Assistant, I should feel great in 8 - 12 weeks...we shall see! I am having some major digestive problems right now and my body feels kinda raw. I guess that is to be expected after feeding my body Harvoni for 12 weeks. Any drug that can wipe out the Hep C virus in 12 weeks has got to have some serious chemicals in it. The doctor said the drug should have been out of my system in a day or two. It feels like it's gone, but my system is raw from the effect of the drug.

On another note; I have accepted the research job that was offered to me and I will be moving on February 15th. I am excited about this, but it's really stressful moving and my body is not quite up for it. What I am trying to do is think of what the future holds for me...health and a great job. What more could you ask for...well maybe if I concentrate on my health and try to remember to relax...I will be like new in another eight weeks!

May the light shine on you and try Harvoni. The new drug that really knocks the Hepatitis C, type 1, right out of your body! I'll check back in 8 weeks. Until then be safe and relax!

Harvoni...The End of Treatment

Hey there! I made it...12 weeks of treatment for Hep C, type 1, with the new antiviral drug, Harvoni! I would really like to say that I feel great, but that is not really the case. My digestive tract is really messed up and I'm pretty weak. I do find myself sighing a lot, though. My body is really relieved to be done with the chemicals I was putting into it for 12 weeks, I suppose. Relief comes from knowing that I am done with my second round of treatment for Hep C and that I can get on with my life now. I have definitely learned patience though my Hep C fight, but you know what...I am done waiting to get on with my life...it's time to do it. Right now!

Ok...I feel better now! I am in a holding period right now and really needed to write about it! Thanks for letting me share. I had my blood drawn last Thursday and will hopefully have my final doctors appointment next Wednesday. During my visit I will find out the results of my Hep C test and complete blood count and I hope and pray they are all great results. We shall see!

On another note...I still have not signed a contract for my new job, doing research, and have a scheduled start date for February 15th, 2015. Another patience issue that I am dealing with. It's like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but can't quite get to it...not yet anyway. I think this is where faith comes in and I have not had much luck in that department for most of my life. Time to get on my knees and pray!

I'll check back in next week with results...so tune in and have faith!

Harvoni Treatment...Over the Hump

Happy Holidays! I am one happy girl here! I only have 3 weeks of treatment left for Hepatitis C, Type 1, and I have just gotten a job doing research. I will be starting my new job on February 15th of 2015 without this nasty virus in me and thanks to the Harvoni treatment that I have been taking for the past 9 weeks! I don't think I could of accepted this job with the virus as active as it was before I started treatment. I am grateful and look forward to 2015!

As the treatment goes on I find that the side effects have gotten worse, but are still not terrible like the old treatment regimen. I definitely have a bad case of insomnia and I get diarrhea almost all the time. The holiday goodies, that have been everywhere, may be a big cause of this though. I also get really frustrated at times and am pretty painful in my joints. I have found that if I take a half of Tramadol when the pain is bad I can deal with it. I also try to think of the end result...being virus free! Yippie! I am anxious as can be and I only have 3 more weeks until that time is here! I know that there is a 4% chance that the virus will not go away, but I have a lot of faith that it is gone forever and all thanks to the new antiviral drug Harvoni!

I hope that your new year is great and if you have Hep C, Type 1, start treatment with this new antiviral drug...it works great!

Harvoni - One Month into Treatment

Picture courtesy of RX List:

It's been 5 weeks since I started the new treatment for Hepatitis C, type 1, with the drug Harvoni and I am now virus free! Amazing as it may seem, I am. My recent blood results showed no detection of the virus! Now...I still have to take Harvoni for another 7 weeks, but there really are no terrible side effects like the ones you get with the old treatment regimen (Interferon, Ribavirin, & Incivek), low platelets, low red & white blood counts, and little to no energy. I have not actually looked at my blood tests, but the doctor said all was in normal range. Seven more weeks is not so bad, I am almost over the hump already! The old treatment lasted nine months and my treatment had to be terminated because my white blood got really low and my doctor lowered my dosage of Interferon ...the virus came back at that time. This new treatment is much better!

In the first month of treatment with Harvoni I have experienced some side effects, but they aren't so bad. My body has been pretty painful and I have trouble sleeping through the night. I also get pretty irrittable at times, when I am tired, hungry, or stressed. Knowing this, I try to be very conscious of my state of mind, exercise, and eat well. This works pretty well for the side effects of Harvoni...the new wonder drug of the cure of Hepatitis C, type 1!

Looks like 2015 is going to be a great year for me...yippie!
Hope it is for you too! I'll check back soon!

Harvoni Treatment - Two Weeks In

It has been a little over two weeks since I started taking Harvoni for the treatment of Hep C and I feel pretty good! I do have a little bit of all of the side effects (Fatigue, Headache, Nausea, Diarrhea, & Insomnia), but they only occur if I overdo anything. For instance if I eat a lot of processed food, I get diarrhea and nausea and if I sleep or rest to much during the day I get insomnia. Headaches come with to much stress! So my advice to anyone taking this treatment is to eat well, (little to no processed food with high fructose corn syrup or high glycemic indexes), exercise, drink plenty of water (64oz per day), and try really hard to eliminate stress from your life.

Easier said than done though...I know! Just having this nasty virus is stressful and the thought of the treatment not working and the consequences of it not working are even more stressful! The treatment time is relatively short and just having a little faith does wonders though! I try to not obsess on what used to be and think about how wonderful my life is going to be. I eat well and exercise every day. I also mark each day off on a calendar which reminds me that I have gotten that much farther into becoming virus free!

Til' the next time...be good and have faith!

Harvoni & Me - Treatment

Hi there! On Wednesday, October 29th, I started the new antiviral drug for treatment of Hepatitis C, type 1, Harvoni, and I have to say I have little to no side effects from the drug! I take the pill...yes...1 pill, 1 time per day, with my Nexium (for acid reflux) together, with water, on a fasted stomach, first thing in the morning, and then go about my day. I already have more energy and really look forward to becoming virus free!

I was amazed when my doctor said I didn't need to come back to get blood tests for another month and then again when my 12 weeks of treatment were done. She said the virus should be undetected in a month and should not reappear again! Hooray!!!

This is definitely history being made! For those of you that don't know my history with Hep C you can read about it in one of my previous posts or to give you a brief summary; I went through 9 months of treatment with Interferon, Ribavirin, & Incivek (3 months). I was virus free in 3 months and 1 week and continued treatment for another 6 months because my detection levels were not undetectable at 3 months. I had a very adverse reaction to Incivek, a bad rash, but continued the drug for 3 months as prescribed. At 9 months my white blood count went to dangerous levels and my doctor lowered my Interferon dose to help bring it back up. At this point the nasty virus came back and my treatment was discontinued. Needless to say, I was devastated! It took 6 months to get the drugs out of my system before I could start another treatment. I hoped and prayed that, in that time, a new and improved drug would come out because it was pretty obvious that the treatment I tried was not working for me.

It was a year before I was ready to try treatment again and during this time the virus had taken over my system and I was going down fast. I knew it was imperative that I start treatment soon or I was going to die from the Hep C virus. I was and am very nervous about the effectiveness of this medicine due to my past experience, but I have to say I now feel great about it and am very hopeful about my future because of this new Hepatitis C, type 1, antiviral drug, Harvoni! I really look forward to the upcoming holidays!

History is being made - Ledipasvir & Sofobuvir - Harvoni

History is being made with the new FDA Approved Hepatitus C - Genotype 1 treatment: Ledipasir-Sofosbuvir, otherwise known as Harvoni. The new antiviral drug is a single pill, once daily dose that has up to a 99% cure rate!

Duration of treatment varies due to the amount of liver damage and past treatment experience.
Treatment naïve with or without cirrhosis 12 weeks
Treatment experienced** without cirrhosis 12 weeks
Treatment experienced** with cirrhosis 24 weeks

*Consider treatment duration of 8weeks in treatment-naïve patients without cirrhosis who have a pretreatment HCV RNA less than 6 million IU/mL
**Treatment-experienced patients who have failed treatment with either (a) peginterferon alfa plus ribavirin or (b) HCV protease inhibitor plus peginterferon alfa plus ribavirin
Source: Harvoni Prescribing Information. Gilead Sciences

There are some side effects, but none of them appear to be serious: Fatigue, Headache, Nausea, Diarrhea, & Insomnia.
Source: Harvoni Prescribing Information. Gilead Sciences

You can read the full article here: Ledipasvir-Sofobuvir (Harvoni)

This is a major breakthrough for the many people that are infected with Hepatitus C - Genotype 1, which happens to be the hardest hepatitus to cure.

Cures rates are as follows:
Among the 440 patients who underwent randomization and were treated, 20% had cirrhosis and 79% had HCV genotype 1a infection. The rates of sustained virology response were high, 94% in all treatment groups:
12 weeks of ledipasvir–sofosbuvir = 96%
12 weeks of ledipasvir–sofosbuvir and ribavirin = 99%
24 weeks of ledipasvir–sofosbuvir = 99%
24 weeks of ledipasvir–sofosbuvir and ribavirin = 99%
Ledipasvir and Sofosbuvir for Previously Treated HCV Genotype 1 Infection

I hope and pray that this is the antiviral medication that will cure my Hepatitus C, type 1a. I will be starting treatment in a couple of weeks!