Looking for Hope...What changed for you once you were cured?

[trisha1234]

I want to hear what happened when you kicked this thing out of your system. How do you feel now? ...I need some hope to keep on feeling brave as I move into my first treatment

[lporterrn]

Many things changed, but by far the most thing that changed most wasn't something I had even thought about before I did treatment. I did it for my health and my future. But the freedom I feel because I can't infect anyone else is the best part. Like a giant boulder was removed.

[trisha1234]

Thanks for your reply Yes it is that "boulder" I want gone also

[gnatcatcher]

Hi, Trisha --

It's coming up on 2 years since my first undetected result. I actually enjoyed taking Harvoni because I was one of many people to whom it gave lots of extra energy. After decades of having low energy, that was quite a gift.

Tests show that my liver is much better now: enzymes down from way high to normal, fibrosis level down from F4 (cirrhosis) to borderline F2-F3. I was already a senior citizen when I started treatment, so there's no offsetting increased age, but being cured has kept my health from worsening quickly (which it had started to do before I got treated and cured).

Here's wishing you an easy journey (which is what most people experience with the current treatments).

Gnatty

[Lynn K]

Well I never really felt physically bad but my platelet count has risen from 85 to 110 still below normal but improved. My platelet count is low because I have cirrhosis.

Now I can at least have the hope to live a normal life span and not die from liver disease.

I got a cut a work the other day and no longer feel like a walking virus for the first time in 28 years since I knew I was infected. What a great feeling that was.

[Philadelphia]

I didn't feel like I was going to die before I hit 60. That was a big one for me.

[KimInTheForest]

Like Lucinda, I too felt a big boulder had been lifted. And I wasn't expecting that. I  had never realized how much 'weight' I had been carrying for so many years, living with this - and keeping it secret for my own health and happiness. (I outed myself quite publicly after being cured, so I could do some public education work on the issue.)

The other noticeable effect for me (and it began after first week of treatment, when nearly all of virus had been eradicated) was a big improvement in mental clarity.

Good luck with your treatment!

kim