what now ?

[diesel1959]

I have completed triple therapy and have 10 weeks left of Ribo and Pegesys and I got great results back from my blood work, I am undetectable. YES! Nurse told me to keep takin procrit because levels are low and to come back   after ten weeks for visit and more blood work. My question is the first 72 weeks of double therapy I was undetectable, then after 3 months it came back and I started triple therapy with Incivek added to daily routine. What is the main ingredient  in the incevek ? What is the incevik's primary function in the therapy ? I am glad its over feelin a little better already , it felt like I was over dosing on salts! Thank you every body for your support!

[diesel1959]

Thank you very much for the compliments, prayers and encouragement they are very much appreciated. It really does matter when it comes from someone who knows what I am dealing with. I am going to do as you and Pooh suggested and call nurse and ask that I be tested more often. This is the toughest fight I ever been in but I have a 12 year old daughter and I want to be there for her. The support from this group and wanting to be there for my daughter is fuel for me. Thanks again and stay well

[diesel1959]

Thank you pooh for the detailed explanation about incivek that is a big help you put it in laymen terms. I had blood work when using incivek it was @ 8.1 and after procrit It went up to 9.5, but I think your right I am going to call nurse and ask that I have blood done every 2 weeks, thanks again

[Gerbils]

Dear Diesel and Pooh,

Diesel, my hat's is off to you. Doing 72 wks of SOC, relapsing, and then charging in do a round of triple therapy is really amazing. You are one tough dude and you will win this fight. I hope and pray for your success this time! You sound like you are up for it.

Pooh is right on in everything said. I never took Procrit but once my hemoglobin started dropping I went every two - four weeks for blood work as well and my doctor was always quick to return a call so I felt he was on top of it. 10 weeks just seems like a long time. However, there are many more people on this forum more knowlegdable than I so I hope they will chime in. Take care and best wishes,
G

[pooh55811]

Here is a link to a website with some information on Incivek:

http://hepatitis-c.emedtv.com/incivek/incivek.html

How Does INCIVEK Work?
"INCIVEK belongs to a group of medications called protease inhibitors. It works by inhibiting the activity of enzymes called proteases. Protease enzymes are used by the hepatitis C virus to clip long protein strands into shorter, usable strands. The virus then uses these shorter strands to replicate itself (reproduce). By blocking the protease enzyme, INCIVEK prevents the hepatitis C virus from reproducing."

I am not the expert here, but you mentioned something that I would be concerned about if I were you. You did not say how low your hemoglobin is but you said your levels are low and you are on Procrit and the nurse told you to conntinue Procrit. Yet it appears you won't see the nurse (or doctor, I presume), for ten weeks. In addition it appears you won't have any further blood work for another ten weeks. That would concern me. If your hemoglobin is low enough to require Procrit, then you probably need your lab (blood counts) done weekly or every two weeks. A lot can happen in 10 weeks. Actually, a lot can happen in a week. If I were you I would ask the nurse about getting more frequent blood counts done.

When I was on Incivek my doctor had the blood counts done every week and the metabolic/chem. panel done every month. In addition, other lab was monitored (like thyroid tests). Now that I am off Incivek, I had blood counts every 2 weeks for 2 months and now I will have them every 4 weeks. I also saw my nurse case manager every week while on Incivek, and now I see her every  4 weeks. The lowest my Hemoglobin got was 11.1 and it is 11.8 now.

I really think you should be having more frequent blood counts to monitor your count and, if I were you, I would talk with the nurse about this.

Hopefully, others who are more knowledgeable about Hep C treatment  will chime in here and tell you what they think.