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Author Topic: Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant  (Read 7040 times)

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Offline gizmosmom

  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant
« on: June 22, 2016, 07:05:03 pm »
Hi, everybody. I'm new to the forums & was wondering if anyone else out there has taken Harvoni after a liver transplant. I had my transplant 2 years ago, but have had issues getting my labs stabilized, in no small part due to the virus. I was diagnosed 4 years ago, & they had me doing the pegysus/ribovarin combo, but the results were poor & they yanked me off of it. Now they want to start me on Harvoni, and I'm sure they know what they are doing, but I have questions about how it can interact with the 2 immunosuppressants I'm on. I understand there can be great fatigue & headaches with treatment. I read on another thread that grapefruit helps with the symptoms, but I cannot come anywhere near grapefruit due to taking Prograf. They do not mix at all. I would just like to hear from anyone who has been down this road. I'm a little scared.

Offline gnatcatcher

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,372
Re: Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2016, 07:53:08 pm »
Welcome, gizmosmom. I recall reading recent posts by someone who had a transplant and has done very well on Harvoni -- hope he'll be able to answer your questions.  Meanwhile, please know that, while some people on Harvoni do indeed experience fatigue and headaches, many of us experienced extra energy on Harvoni -- so much so that we nicknamed it the "Harvoni High."

Best of luck to you.

Gnatty
9/29/71 transfusions
HCV genotype 1a
7/09/15-9/30/15 Harvoni

Before treatment:
Viral Load 9,490,582
FibroScan 19.5 kPa [F4]
ALT 262
AST 217
ALP 183

Most recent:
VL still UNDETECTED (SVR 102)
FibroScan 7.6 kPa [F1-2]
ALT 15
AST 20
ALP 85

Offline Allen Cunningham

  • Member
  • Posts: 59
Re: Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2016, 08:37:48 pm »
Diagnosed 8/97 with HepC
Liver Transplant 7/2004
Genotype 1b, Biopsy:12/2015: TX Naive, Fibrosis Level 1
ALT: 26, AST: 26
Started 12 wks Harvoni on 1/19/16

Hi Gizmo - I had a liver transplant in 2004, and over the years the HepC never caused any new problems, but viral load slowly climbed over the years, so I waited for a good cure and found one in Harvoni.

I started my Harvoni in Jan of 2016, and it has been amazing, it dropped my viral level within a couple of weeks, and by the first month I was undetectable and have remained that way. I have had no side effects from the Harvoni, and actually it gave me a very pleasant buzz for the first few weeks.

I take Prograf for immune suppression and there are no interactions, and I have actually had to up my Prograf level because my liver has gotten so healthy it's processing the med faster.

I found it to be a fabulous medication, so I would recommend starting on it and hopefully clear your system of this nasty virus

Good luck on it.

Allen

Offline gizmosmom

  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2016, 09:19:00 pm »
Thanks so much for the positive input! My last labs showed my viral load is through the roof, so they did an MRI & biopsy to be sure the new liver is still in good shape. I had been diagnosed with cirrhosis & hepatocellular carcinoma pre-transplant, so they also wanted to be sure the cancer hadn't returned. I guess one can read too many horror stories about side effects & drug interactions, enough to make one a little nervous. Come to think of it, when I was on the pegysus/ribovarin, I never got any of the nasty side effects most folks did. So here's hoping this bodes well for me with the Harvoni. I was just a little concerned about how it would interact with the Prograf & Myfortic. I already deal with daily fatigue from the virus, so how much worse could it be? Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

Offline Allen Cunningham

  • Member
  • Posts: 59
Re: Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2016, 10:10:42 pm »
Glad to help, I think you will do fine on Harvoni

Please continue to update us on your progress

Regards,

Allen

Offline gizmosmom

  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: Starting Harvoni post-liver transplant
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2016, 11:18:27 pm »
Will do & thanks again!

 


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