Need support

[valhoney]

I have had hep c for 29 years have known for 8 yrs. After my DR. told me geno type 1a not cureable, i opted not to do tx. Now 8 yrs later had blood work done viral load gone up frpm 2,400,000 to 7,561,276. Now this Dr. (new one) says I have 60 percent chance tx will work. Do I want tx,?  NO, will i do tx? YES. I have such a good life now compared to 8 years ago, and I want to grow old with me husband! I am scared out of my mind, not just about the tx but also how much of a toll this is going to put on my marriage and the people around me.............. I feel so selfish for having this diease, and putting so many people through this crap...........Sorry yall just babbiling, need to get this out some where and no one to really talk to who understands....... Thanx

[charm27]

I have not yet heard of a 12 week protocol either ? Where did you see this ?

Charm

[pjhep80]

that is great news...

[APKhaos]

The 12 week protocols are what Vertex and others are shooting for with their PI drugs, based on the large data set compiled from their Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials. I'm not saying it will happen, but it looks entirely possible based on the data. It became clear as far back as Prove 1 that subjects who responded to the treatment did so very early in the dosing. Prove 1 was 24 weeks [12 weeks of Telaprevir + Pegasys + Riba] followed by 12 weeks of Pegasys + Riba. I believe almost all of the SVR cases had reached UND within the first four weeks of treatment.

For example, the recently announced Teleprevir + VX222 trial comprises four arms, each with a 12 week protocol:
"The randomized, parallel-group, dose-ranging trial announced today is designed to evaluate the safety and antiviral activity, including SVR, of multiple 12-week response-guided telaprevir/VX-222-based combination regimens."

[Trinity4]

Haven't heard of a 12 week protocol either.

[WriteItDown]

I haven't heard of any 12 week protocol for Geno 1's.... it may be 24 weeks, though, if you get RVR.  And that could be another very good reason to wait and do the Telaprevir.

[APKhaos]

You should definitely wait until the new PI drugs are available, which should be within a year. The progress of HCV is slow, so the wait should not put you at any increased risk unless you have very late stage liver damage. Get a biopsy to check that.

Why wait? The current SOC is 48 weeks of treatment that is rough on you and both scary and rough on your loved ones. The treatment protocol for Telaprevir is likely to be 12 weeks with a considerably higher probability of SVR [another dead dragon].

FWIW, I was Geno 1B with a VL of 24,500,000. I treated in an early Telaprevir trial. VL went to UND by day 15 of treatment in 2006. Still SVR. Its worth the wait for the shorter treatment protocol. Keep the faith, don't drink, eat well, and get yourself ready to kill the dragon next year.