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Author Topic: Regular drug screening?  (Read 8726 times)

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Offline petite-a-leet

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 2
Regular drug screening?
« on: March 12, 2018, 07:58:19 am »
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?

Offline gnatcatcher

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,372
Re: Regular drug screening?
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2018, 01:27:27 pm »
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
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 Lynn K

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 4,543
  • Get tested, get treated, get cured, fight Hep c!
Re: Regular drug screening?
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2018, 02:57:20 pm »
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
Genotype 1a
1978 contracted, 1990 Dx
1995 Intron A failed
2001 Interferon Riba null response
2003 Pegintron Riba trial med null response
2008 F4 Cirrhosis Bx
2014 12 week Sov/Oly relapse
10/14 fibroscan 27 PLT 96
2014 24 weeks Harvoni 15 weeks Riba
5/4/15 EOT not detected, ALT 21, AST 20
4 week post not detected, ALT 26, AST 28
12 week post NOT DETECTED (07/27/15)
ALT 29, AST 27 PLT 92
24 week post NOT DETECTED! (10/19/15)
44 weeks (3/11/16)  fibroscan 33, PLT 111, HCV NOT DETECTED!
I AM FREE!

 


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