Anyone else on the Harvoni + Ribavirin 12 week?

[sickpuppy]

I've just finished week one so I have no idea how the Ribavirin is affecting me (I'm on 1200mg). I hope I don't have to dose-reduce because that would be bad. I'm already extremely worried I won't SVR because I'm pretty advanced, borderline decompensated. Have a varices bleeding history but strangely enough my Fibroscan only showed 16 kPa.

My VL was 172,000 one month before starting treatment and 792,000 on the day of treatment start. Weird how that fluctuated so much.

[KimInTheForest]

Hi sickpuppy, and welcome to the Harvoni journey! I just completed 12 weeks of Harvoni+Ribavirin yesterday (in a clinical trial for Geno 3 people in Canada). I believe I am cured. All looks good. But I won't know for sure for another 12 weeks when they check me for SVR12.

There are others of us here on the forums who have just finished or are currently on 12 weeks of Harvoni+Ribavirin. We have been chatting on this thread: http://forums.hepmag.com/index.php?topic=2700.0

I was on 1,000 mg/day of ribavirin (I weigh 120 lbs). I was not dose-reduced at any point, although my hemoglobin did drop to 96 and perhaps even lower by the end. Some of the others were dose-reduced by their doctors.

My 12 weeks were a pretty easy ride apart from the low hemoglobin and the breathlessness that gave me. I did not have any other significant side effects - nothing that caused me any real distress or discomfort. I did have a dry cough throughout treatment, caused by the ribavirin my trial nurse told me.

Virus was undetected by Week 4 and stayed that way.

Best of luck, and keep us posted on your progress

kim

[Lynn K]

Hi

I finished 24 weeks of Harvoni and 15 weeks of ribavirin on May 4th. I also have cirrhosis diagnosed in Jan 2008 and have had varicies that needed banding but never had a bleed.

I was on 1200 mg initially but had to dose reduce to 1000 mg because of anemia I was down to 9.3 after only 3 weeks. After that I stabilized at 10.1

I was told the lowest my doctor wanted to see was 10. I was easily winded and lacking energy but I made it through. Some have less issue with anemia and some have more. Try not to worry about sides until and unless they materialize.

I am a 3 time null responder to interferon based treatment and also relapsed after taking sovaldi and olysio last year for 12 weeks.

I was not detected on treatment and still not detected 4 weeks post treatment. Just had my 12 week post treatment test yesterday currently waiting to hear about my viral load.

Best of luck to you

[sickpuppy]

Thank you both for the kind replies. 24 weeks sounds awesome Lynn.

I hope the 12 weeks works out for you Kim.

I'm currently worrying that I won't SVR and there are no other retreatment options if you failed Harvoni, especially not in the UK which just decided that no 24 weeks DAA will be given to anyone under any circumstance.

[ricpark]

sickpuppy think positive, I just finnished 12 wks and was undetected at wk 4 waiting for 12 wk results. My viral load was always in the mil range, last check before treatment was 12,500,000 or 12.5 mil.
Good luck
rich