Regular drug screening?

[petite-a-leet]

Hello everyone
I was recently told that my insurance company requires drug and alcohol screening. I wondered if this is just something that seems to be a requirement prior to treatment or an ongoing thing I’ll be doing randomly during treatment. I am not a drinker and I have been clean from hard substances for over 12 years. I do, however, like to smoke some pot occasionally. I have abstained for a few weeks and have been running and drinking a lot of water. I have passed a few home tests and think I am ready to take my test. I just worry that if this treatment is as stressful on me as it has been for others and I take a couple puffs to relax here and there, might they request random screening and pull me from treatment after I have begun if I fail?

[gnatcatcher]

p-a-l, all I can tell you is my experience. My hepatologist ordered tests for all sorts of substances because he said the insurance companies want them. (It didn't seem to matter to him which insurance I had, or that he knew I'm a teetotaler who never got into drugs.) Once I was approved for treatment, however, I never had any of those tests again. That was in 2015.

Treatment will be only 8 - 24 weeks depending on the medicine and your genotype. There are plenty of other ways to relieve stress, so why take a chance? A lot of us didn't find treatment stressful -- I felt much better on Harvoni than before treatment.

The running you're already doing is a great de-stresser (especially out in nature), and you'll need to stay well hydrated during treatment, so you're already doing things that should make treatment easy.

Best wishes,

Gnatty

[Lynn K]

My insurance (BCBS) was through my employer. I did not have to do any drug screening.

I do not use any drugs or drink. I had an easy time with treatment worked full time even took a business trip many time zones away from me while on treatment.

Most people have an easy time with treatment with the most common side effect being some mild headaches. As Gnatty said, the headaches seem to be helped by keeping properly hydrated. While some folks have a harder time with treatment that is not the common experience.

Good luck