5 weeks into Epclusa treatment

[athor21213]

Hi everyone, new to the forum but seems to be a good community here. I was diagnosed with Hep C about 5 years ago, most likely had it for approx 9 years, genotype 1a. Never learned my viral load, just that my GI doc said it was considerably high. Prior to starting tx my labs showed elevated enzymes (the last two blood workups), a slightly enlarged liver, dilated common bile duct, and a gall bladder polyp. I was so fortunate to finally be approved for treatment after a few years of seeing my GI doc for this. I was nervous at first. Probably because of everything I'd hear about side effects from anti-virals in the past. So I finally started my Epclusa. I got in the habit of drinking lots of water, and improving my diet and overall health, to make sure I was feeling my best when I started. I was mainly worried about the fatigue some say they experience with DAAs. I'm a stay-at-home mom of a very active 3 year old.
Now, I'm over 5 weeks into treatment. I can't say I've noticed any side effects, at least none that I'm aware of. So this was a huge relief. I had my one month labs about a week ago. I was relieved to learn my liver enzymes are now within normal range, as well as everything else checked on the CBC. However, the HCV still shows as "detected." I haven't been able to speak to the doctor or nurse since learning this. I see a lot of people on the fortums say their one month lab work has already shown HCV as "undetected." I see this very often, so I was hopeful for these labs and a little worried when it was still detected. Now the receptionist Did say my viral load has significantly decreased. So I'm hoping that IS a good sign, and all she said was to continue the Epclusa as prescribed.
I guess my question for you guys is- has anyone that has taken Epclusa or another DAA and still had the virus detected at the one month blood work? If so, what was the outcome after completing treatment?
Im so sorry for the long post. I'm a very big worrier and don't have a ton of people I'm able to talk to about this. Thanks for listening, guys!

Anna

[Lynn K]

Hi Anna and welcome

While most are not detected at 4 weeks in not everyone is. And being not detected at 4 weeks means really nothing. The only test that matters is the 12 week post treatment test.

I was a three time null responder to the old interferon treatment. I was likely infected for 30 years when I was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. Finally 7 years later the new DAA’s started to be approved. For someone like me having treated several times in the past and having cirrhosis put me in the category of difficult to treat.

I received one of the newest treatment combos back in 2014 Sovaldi and Olysio. I was not detected at 4 weeks of treatment and at my end of treatment of 12 weeks. But 12 weeks after I finished treatment I was found to have relapsed. So I treated again with Harvoni starting in Nov 2014 finishing 24 weeks later (double the normal duration) in May 2015. That final treatment took and 12 weeks after finishing my meds I was not detected and remain not detected to the present with normal liver enzymes.

Reason I tell you my story is to say if I can be cured with my history so can you. Epclusa is more effective than the first meds that were approved. For people like you who don’t have any liver damage and have been infected for a relatively short period of time with no prior treatment percent cure rates I believe is as high as 99%.

We all had the same stress as you’re  experiencing hoping that treatment will work.

Another member here DragonSlayer was detected all through treatment and at end of treatment as well as 12 weeks post treatment. He was weakly detected with a viral load too low to give a number to. He went on to be not detected 6 months after he finished treatment. The only thing we could figure out was maybe the test was detecting basically dead virus that was still circulating in his blood but no longer viable. The way the meds work is they prevent the virus from replicating. If the virus can’t make copies of itself eventually they will all die off and be flushed out of your body.

So long story short, try not to worry and hang in there. Try not to worry about on treatment test results. The only test that matters is the 12 week post treatment. All on treatment test results really don't matter. While not detected is nice to see it really doesn't mean much.

Best of luck you’ve got this