Greetings

[billmorr]

Hello to all. Diagnosed last july chronic hep c 1b vl 50 mil stage 2. Been lurking for a while and have learned much from everyone. I have the chance to start new trials next week at Weill Cornell Cntr for Hep C. Combo of peg/rib plus SCH 900518 and ritonaver. Sounds like a good one. Will update as i go.
Blessings,
bill

[Virusbuster]

I expect a lot of progress in treating virusses like HCV as a spin off of research in HIV. Combination treatments (the norm for HIV) no doubt will prove to be more efficient with other virusses as well. Ribavirin is a nuceoside analogue, so adding a protease inhibitor like boceprevir (SCH 503034) sounds very logical to me. If I could have signed up for the trail, I definately would have.

[Bill1954]

LOL, we’re all wimps at heart :o). I take it this is your first go around with the HCV meds; the trial info Virusbuster posted indicated this was for treatment naïve patients. The meds can be… um… interesting, but most of us find them doable. I took Lexapro for a few years while I was undergoing treatment; it works quite well, at least for me. I wish you well as you begin, and especially with the outcome. I’m SVR now after a bunch of treatment; it works sometimes :o).

Take care, and I’ll be watching your progress—

Bill

[billmorr]

No HIV, retonavir is to boost pi. Virusbuster has got it right on. Gearing up with lexapro for a month now. Try'n to give it my best shot. Im such a wimp.
Thanks for the welcomes
bill

[GSDgirl]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

Denise

[Virusbuster]

Yes, it sounds interesting, indeed. I recognized retonavir, since I'm using it in my HIV cocktail, too. In my case to boost lopinavir. (The other two I use are emtricitabine and tenofovir). Daily, I use 200 mg of retonavir to boost 800 mg of lopinavir. I read in the study that 100 or 200 mg of retonavir is used to boost 200, 400 or 600 mg of SCH 900518/boceprevir.

My HIV is successfully suppressed (i.e. UND) after two weeks of interferon -- that's three weeks ago. My current HIV drug cocktail was working (too) slow, and my doc proposed to use the interferon as a leverage to give my HIV the final 'kick' before trying to change meds again. Also, because my liver wasn't doing too well with the HCV. His advised turned out right.

Concerning the side effects of the HIV drugs, the lopinarvir/retonavir argues with my guts. This arguing results in excess gas production, which is aggrevated by consumption of milk or yoghurt (I really miss yoghurt!). Also, my stool is now irregular and often (too) soft. All in all, not too bad. Before, instead of lopinarvir/retonavir I used efavirenz, which made me high. Nice for party or sex, but otherwise pretty annoying. It turned out my HIV is resistant to efavirenz.

[Bill1954]

Hey; thank you for the link! This sounds interesting, huh? I didn’t realize that retonavir was being used as an adjunctive to the SCH product. I tried searching for HCV/Retonavir and came up empty the first try. The little I read about Retonavir, it seems to be used to boost ARV drugs as well.

Welcome to the group here, by the way. I saw you are coinfected; how are you doing with HIV management currently? How are the side effects with the HAART drugs now?

Thanks again—

Bill

[Virusbuster]

I think this is the trail in question:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00797745

HIV co-infection is an exclusion criterion.

The first results seem to be promising:
http://www.natap.org/2008/HCV/121608_01.htm

[Bill1954]

Welcome to the discussion group. I was wondering about retonavir; are you HIV/HCV co infected? Maybe you can tell us more about the trial.

Take care—

Bill

[Ruthie703]

I want to thank you for your reply.  I have been really frustrated with the system here in
Salt Lake City. There are only 4 hepatologists in the state of Utah and one has to jump thru all kinds of hoopes to see one of them.  I finally went to a gastroentorologist that was treating people for Hep C.  He was going to treat me but had a bad experience with a patient. She had a bad reaction to interferon and almost died. Any way my insurance ran out so I can't even see a specialist if I wanted to.  I know it sounds paranoid but in Utah, Mormons are pretty much running the government which runs health care and I think that if the don't admitt to having HIV or Hep C It really doesn't exist here. They all have their head in the sand.  I had a State mental health counselor
tell me that if I lived in any other State but Utah I would have gotten Medicaide&SSI before now its been 5 years!  Thanks again, God bless,RUTH