was it the right decision?

[rexx73]

hello everyone,

I wonder sometimes if I made the right decision to treat with incivek 2011.
I know nobody can tell me what could have happened if I decided instead to wait for the new so called 'walk in the park"treatment.
I was f3 maybe early f4 already and I wonder if here are some people who waited in the same situation as I was.
Don't get this wrong as I reached SVR,but I am thinking sometimes were I would be if I delayed this treatment, maybe I would be death or more sick but maybe not.
my doc always tell me you had no choice and had to treat and it was successful just sometimes thinking what if?

Best wishes to all
Marc

[Dee1956]

Hi Rex,great to see you posting.  Sorry I just happened to see this.  I think everyone probably wonders if they could have waited.  Like you, I had to treat.  There was no waiting.  I have already waited for VX950 from 2008 on When Incivek was approved, I was ready.  At that time there was no new drug about to be approved There was talk, that is it.  Seeing how long it took for the VX950 to become Incivek, it could have been that long for the newer tx's.  Plus there was always the chance of more damage, we knew we were getting older:)

It has been over two years since I finished tx, while it was very difficult, much harder than the first tx with Inf and Riba.  I did it, it is over and I am cured.
Like you I am happy to say! Now it is  onward and upwards :)
My best to you, Dee

[pcds]

I also treated in 2011 when telaprevir first hit the market.  Yes I could have waited but am glad I did too. There was not guarantee when this new tx was to be approved.  So be happy it's over. Yeah!! I've had a great 3 years.

[BigDaddy_59]

I'm pretty sure thet most of us "old-timers" who went through any of the Interferon Based tx's wonder that ("you kids got it so easy today, sit back and let me tell you of the bad-old interferon days").

The Incivek added was no cake walk either (really, 20 grams of fat 1st thing in the morning when I'm already so nauseated?).

I'm cirrhotic, the Incivek was my 3rd try and I am glad I did it and SVR'd. Don't know if it's wisdom old old age but I don't do the coulda, shoulda, woulda thing so much and need to only worry about today, and today I am Hep C free!

Still dealing with cirrhosis but we all deal with something.

Would I do it again? In a second!

Chris

[nan535]

I think you did the right thing at the time you did it. It was the new miracle drug triple treatment.  My husband had end stage liver disease when it came out.  He was on the transplant waiting list. His doctor at the time  knew that if he wasn't cured before transplant, it would reoccur more aggressively after transplant and damage the new liver. So my husband agreed to try. It was so tough he almost quit after one week. The doctor told him that if he quit he could never take it again because of resistance issues. So he stuck with for 4 more weeks. He needed weekly blood transfusions because if the anemia and then almost went into kidney failure. That's when he had to stop.

Do we regret his doing it?  No!  He remained below the level of quantification for 8 months until he got his liver transplant. So though he only lasted 5 weeks on treatment, it helped save his life by reducing the amount of the virus in his bloodstream.  

So you definitely did the right thing. You are alive and you reached SVR!
That is the biggest blessing you could have hoped for.

Nan

[dontworry_behappy1]

I know how you feel.  I treated with Incivek also.  I think you made the right choice to treat.   Your Hepatitis C was heading for cirrhosis and that's nothing to wait for.  I know your reading about this "walk in the park" treatment.   But I'm also reading about some of the same sides we had with Incivek with the latest approved treatment.  I am glad that treatment is behind me and I'm recovering from all this.  Remember that any Hepatitis C treatment is going to be strong drugs. That's what it takes to kill the Hepatitis C virus.  The treatment will always effect people differently.  Some good and some bad.  It much depends on a lot of factors how you will personally respond.  Your current, past health has a lot to do with how you will handle treatment.  How your body handles the effects of the treatment drugs etc etc.   I don't think we have a magic bullet that kills Hepatitis C without side effects yet.   What I see is it starts out really good and progresses to many of the same side effects.


I'm glad I had the opportunity to treat my hep C when I did.  It's now in my past and we both are SVR!  Thank You Thank You Thank You