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1722607 tn?1335747858

interferon

Which drug is the interferon? Is that the VIC I keep hearing or the RIBA? I'm so confused. What drugs do what? I thought there were 3 drugs for treatment. One is a shot? What is incivek? Can anyone help explain? I feel like a idiot on this forum.
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Avatar universal
Yay!  :)  One thing at a time.  That's what I had to do.
Advocate1955
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1722607 tn?1335747858
Thanks!! I feel like I learned something!
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Avatar universal
Inc and Vic are both so new and have only been approved and used for 6-7 months, other than in the clinical trials, so for the most part doctors are introducing them slowly into their practices, as patients on the triple therapies require close monitoring for side effects and response.  Therefore many doctors and nurse practitioners who directly manage the care of triple therapy patients are still learning as well.  The pharmacists in the specialty pharmacies are still learning too.  That's why they ask patients so many questions each month when meds are being scheduled for delivery.  Information is still being gathered.  One of the forum members, HectorSF, posted information from a survey that was done with medical doctors regarding their opinions and preferences about Incivek vs Victrelis.  I posted the information in my journal, and you can see it here:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/index/1739543?personal_page_id=2242526
Advocate1955
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Avatar universal
Correct.  Interferon and Riba are required, and you and your doctor can choose between  Inc or Vic.  Generally speaking, Inc and Vic are very similar in their make up and the way that they work.  My husband's doctor said that she is seeing similar results with both medications and about 1/2 of her patients are on one and 1/2 are on the other.  She did indicate that possibly slightly more than 1/2 are on Inc.  Also, generally speaking, she said that she is seeing more problems with rashes with patients on Incivek and more problems with anemia with patients on Victrelis.  That seems to be what people here on the forum who are using one or the other of these two new drugs seem to be finding as well.  Feel free to ask any question.  It is a big learning curve.
Advocate1955
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1722607 tn?1335747858
So which is better...INC or VIC??
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1747881 tn?1546175878
Thank you so much!! I feel like I'm learning a new language. So the interferon and RIBA are required. But you can choose between the INC or the VIC??

Yes that is correct for the triple treatment
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1722607 tn?1335747858
Thank you so much!! I feel like I'm learning a new language. So the interferon and RIBA are required. But you can choose between the INC or the VIC??
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Avatar universal
If you scroll down to the bottom of the righthand side of the forum web page, there are some frequently read web pages listed as links.  One of these is a list of abbreviations and acronyms used often in discussing Hep C.  I have also copied this into my journal so that I can refer to it easily.  Here it is:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/328922/Acronyms--Abbreviations--and-Definitions--Hepatitis-C
Advocate1955
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1747881 tn?1546175878
Incivek is the same type of drug as vic just dosed in a different way but still used in combination with inf/riba as explained by OH.
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Avatar universal
Interferon is the drug that is injected subcutaneously, usually once a week.  You will often see it abbreviated as INT or PEG INT, or referred to as Peg.  It is peginterferon alfa-2a.  There are other varieties of Interferon, but the one that is being used most often in the triple therapy is peginterferon alfa-2a, 180 mcg/0.5ML.  Ribavirin (RIBA) is a tablet that is usually dosed based on weight.  A typical dose is about 1200 mg. per day (3 200 mg. tablets twice a day), or for smaller people it might be a smaller dose.  Victrelis (VIC) is one of the new drugs used in triple therapy.  It was approved, along with Incivek (INC), in May, 2011.  I am assuming Victrelis is a tablet, but since my husband was on Incivek, I don't know for sure.  Incivek is a tablet that is taken three a day, in my husband's case 375 mg, 2 tablets 3x/day.  Both of these drugs, VIC and INC are protease inhibitors that, when combined with Interferon and Ribavirin, significantly improve the chances of getting rid of Hepatitis C.  Hope this helps.
Advocate1955
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163305 tn?1333668571
This is my simplistic understanding:

Interferon is the first drug used to successfully treat hep C.
It was found it works best in combination with ribavarin, ( riba).
Interferon is injected. Ribavarin is in pill form.

For years this has been the standard of care SOC for hep C treatment.
It had a poor success rate for genotype 1.
Geno 1 is the main strain of hep C found in the US.

VIC is a PI which is a third addition to SOC for genotype 1 patients.
It has vastly increased  the likelihood of success for those with genotype 1.

I hope that helps.
No doubt someone else will explain it better than I.
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