Sovaldi + ribavirin

[daveh54]

My Liver Specialist want me to wait until next month or October for a treatment.
I am Genotype 4 (rare in the U.S) and been in Stage 4 for around 5 years.  My viral count is over 5 Million, but the rest if my reading are good.  I have been on very good diet, lately.   I went to the traditional treatment back in 2002, but relapsed quickly.  That is why she or me do not want to take interferon and all of its side affects.  I am disabled with Medicare, Humana Advance Plan and help with my co-pay, and prescriptions with my low income.

Does anyone know are these are drugs I will soon be taking.
Dave

[Verdugo]

Dave,
We just had a woman (HealingAngel) SVR who took Sovaldi and Olysio without interferon and/or riba.  It does not seem like a common prescription ... it worked for her.

[DGA123]

Totally agree with you.  If you can wait, WAIT.  Some people have no choice I realize.

[DGA123]

After two tries with interferon and rib and now Sol and Rib I believe you are right on with that observation.  It's a very nasty nasty drug.  I had to do it for 6 months.  It's very doable I think for three months.  At least it was for me.

[MeWithC]

Sorry to hear that Dragonars....

I made it with those two drugs, after the second time around . First time was Peg & Riba....

Good luck in the hopefully near future...

[dragonars]

I relasped also sovaldi/rib. I would wait for better stuff in dec. I'm starting too see a lot if people relapsing on this combo. It's better than what we had but not the best. This was my second time in tx.

[DGA123]

I would wait until 2015.  I'm 3A   After 24 weeks of S/R I relapsed after two weeks post treatment.  Supposedly there's better stuff on the way.  The Sovaldi was sold as a miracle cure.  It's not.  Maybe the new stuff will be.

[nan535]

    Ribavirin is definitely not a walk in the park but the combo of the two (Riba & Interferon)  is definitely much worse. My husband tried triple treatment with Incivik and lasted only 5 weeks on it.  It almost killed him.
     He just completed the Sovaldi & Ribavirin treatment for 24 weeks. (He's gt 1a).  He definitely had a rough time because he has hepatic encephalopathy and it was worsened with treatment BUT the important thing is he made it through treatment.  We don't know if he will reach SVR but the virus was undetected for 18 of the 24 weeks giving his liver a much needed break.  All his labwork showed continued improvement throughout treatment. So it was definitely worth what he went through.
     This is a personal decision.  I wish you the best no matter what decision you make.

Nan

[daveh54]

I was told that it was not the injection that was causing all the issues, but the daily pills I was taking and I think it was RBV causing it.

[nan535]

Hi Dave.
Welcome to the Hep C Community.

This is taken from the AALSD HCV guidelines:

Alternate regimen for HCV genotype 4, PEG/RBV nonresponder patients.

Daily sofosbuvir (400 mg) and weight-based RBV (1000 mg [<75 kg] to 1200 mg [≥75 kg]) for 24 weeks is recommended for retreatment of HCV genotype 4 infection.

Sounds like this is the preferred treatment for your GT 4. I think you will find it easier than your prior treatment since you won't be taking the interferon shots.  Depending on how advanced your liver damage is, you may also want to discuss what other treatments are in the pipeline for your genotype and whether it would be better for you to wait if there is a higher cure rate.

I wish you good luck in finally getting rid of this virus.

Nan