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Post by zippydedodah on Nov 3, 2015 11:26:38 GMT
I contracted HepC type 1-A in the late 60s. Had several hospitalizations late 60s, then after i kicked all the IV drugs i was using.. my health got better. By the 80's I was basically asymptomatic. Over the years i had 3 biopsy and so cirrhosis. In the late 90s i was being monitored by my doc and he suggested Interferon treatment - with only 40% chance of success. I went for it and it failed. Last time i checked (2008), my viral load was 2.4 million but all other liver functions were normal or barely 10% out of range. At that time my doc told me i was more likely to die of old age than liver complications. I left it at that.
Wrong Move...
3 friends recently did Harvoni tx in the USA (they have excellent health insurance) and got rid of the disease so they asked me had i sought treatment (i am retired in Thailand)? I still felt fine and in my mind WAS fine. But i decided to check anyways. So last week i went for all the necessary tests.
Well... long story short - i have a F4 fibroscan reading, viral load of 9 million and significant liver tests are double or triple normal levels. Luckily, i will go to Bangladesh this week and get generic Harvoni (Twinvir) and take for 24 weeks and be rid of this disease (i hope). The takeaway message - if you or a friend has HepC, stay on top of your testings... get monitored regularly. Just cuz you feel fine, does not mean you are fine. I might have continued feeling fine, until i wasn't and smiled my way into an early grave. Knowledge is one of the best ways to fight this disease...
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Post by Alsdad on Nov 3, 2015 13:42:48 GMT
Whilst HepC isn't quite the 'silent killer' that it's claimed to be, it's symptoms tend to build up slowly and insidiously. Most of us tend to put these symptoms down to 'I'm getting older'. And our healthcare providers mostly agree with us out of expediency. It took a discovery that my joint and muscle pain is often associated with HepC, whilst I was researching said pain in an arthritis context, to meke me research new treatments for HepC. Going down the NHS route wasted several months of my life, then I discovered Greg Jefferys.
Zippydedodah, you will realise a few weeks into your treatment just how much better you should have been feeling all these past years. The effect of the meds is quite a thing.
To repeat Greg's mantra: Get treated now. Don't wait. You won't regret it.
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Post by londongirl on Nov 3, 2015 15:15:48 GMT
NHS route has caused me much stress and wasted 18+ months of my life. I do not believe it is symptom-less, although it may be for a while. Different people have different symptoms. I have no idea why Drs say they don't connect the dots. I was diagnosed due to excrutiating joint, lower back and pelvic pain. The lower back pain was wore at night - a red flag. Here is a very interesting article written by one of the top hepatologists at London's Royal Free hospital Professor Dusheiko : (Click) "You can't always get what you want but you might get what you need..."An extract : "Chronic hepatitis C causes progressive hepatic fibrosis, and, in a proportion of infected patients, leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Severe extrahepatic manifestations are well recognised, including mixed type 2 cryoglobulinemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, and possibly type 2 diabetes. In addition to the major extrahepatic syndromes associated with chronic hepatitis C, several studies have pointed to a decrement in health-related quality of life (HRQL) in hepatitis C, in comparison to the general population [[1], [2], [3]]. HRQL is defined as a person’s subjective assessment of a range of conditions that can affect that person’s perception of their state of health [3]. The most common symptoms cited by patients with hepatitis C and that impact upon their quality of life are fatigue, depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment and painful muscle and joint symptoms. The biological mechanisms and pathogenesis of these symptoms remain uncertain. Some symptoms may be due to the release of inflammatory cytokines, or the direct presence of HCV in the central nervous system. Those with greater histological hepatic inflammatory activity may have worse fatigue, but symptoms tend to be present irrespective of the degree of hepatic fibrosis".
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thurl
New Member
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Post by thurl on Nov 4, 2015 7:47:24 GMT
Best of luck with your trip to Bangladesh, Zippydedodah. I am still considering whether to go there to get Twinvir or whether to wait for the Indian Harvoni generics to appear. Are you relying on getting a visa on arrival? If so, I would be interested to know if this is straightforward to obtain or not.
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Post by zippydedodah on Nov 7, 2015 12:05:52 GMT
Best of luck with your trip to Bangladesh, Zippydedodah. I am still considering whether to go there to get Twinvir or whether to wait for the Indian Harvoni generics to appear. Are you relying on getting a visa on arrival? If so, I would be interested to know if this is straightforward to obtain or not. got my twinvir today at Incepta - great group of folks working there. No problems. I carry US passport and got visa-on-arrival. Very straightforward, as long as you don't miss the little desk that issues them. On the right, when you come down the stairs before the immigration lines. You pay there (51 USD) and then go to line one (very few people in that line) at regular immigration desks. It is slow work at the VOA desk. I had 15 people in front of me and it took ONE HOUR... so don't be in a rush...it all works out fine. make sure to have the telephone number of the hotel where you are staying - they insist on that and can slow things down if you don't have it.
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thurl
New Member
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Post by thurl on Nov 8, 2015 10:09:40 GMT
Congratulations on getting your medication, Zippydedodah. Fantastic. Hope you now have a trouble free path to SVR.
Thank you for the travel report - glad to hear no major hassle to get the visa on arrival and that the Incepta people were so helpful.
I was getting prepared to go out there, but then I got a bit spooked when I learnt about the security situation in Bangladesh. It seems Islamic State have been active there recently and have been specifically targeting foreigners.
That leads me to maybe wait for a few more weeks to see if the Indian Harvoni generics appear. Greg's blog indicates it could well be out as soon as this week. However, many people, including yourself, seem to have gone to Bangladesh to get Twinvir without any incident - so perhaps I am being excessively cautious. If the Indian generics don't appear soon it's good to know there maybe the option of getting Twinvir from Bangladesh.
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