Lufkin, Texas
Diagnosed with Hep C in 2010

I was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2010. I was treated in a clinical trial, but with no success. My viral load was undetectable, but two weeks before the end of the trial, my viral load started to climb back up.

I started Harvoni seven weeks ago, when my viral load was 10,486,000. I don’t have a clue as to what it is now. My ALT and AST (liver enzymes) are both down from the 70s to the middle of the normal range. I wish I were as lucky as a lot of other people with hep C. I have brain fog and it has progressed to the point that I haven’t felt normal for probably three years. Sometimes I feel I’m going in circles, and I have bad CRS (can’t remember stuff/s#*!).

To me, Harvoni is a miracle. I had just gotten to the point where my stool was clay-colored and my stomach always felt sick. The side effects I am having are fatigue, joint aches, headache, and zero patience; my fuse is extremely short. Most of this I can live with, but I want to feel normal or more like myself. Does anyone out there who has gotten to non-detectable know if the brain fog clears?
 
Good luck to all on this new journey.

What three adjectives best describe you?
Tired, confused, sleepless

What is your greatest achievement?
Getting insurance just in time to get the hep C medications covered with a $5 co-pay

What is your greatest regret?
What I’ve done to my body to get this virus and not knowing how much of my life it’s going to take from my significant other, my children and grandchildren

What keeps you up at night?
The thought of less fortunate people with this virus. Often, the insurance companies are not approving the hep C medications unless you are extremely sick from hep C.

If you could change one thing about living with viral hepatitis, what would it be?
Everyone that had hep C would get treatment medications regardless of their financial situation

What is the best advice you ever received?
Don’t give up, and keep trying.

What person in the viral hepatitis community do you most admire?
My girlfriend and son; they have both stood by my side and been the greatest source of support I could have.

What drives you to do what you do?
I’m almost 53 and I want to live.

What is your motto?
I will survive and make it.

If you had to evacuate your house immediately, what is the one thing you would grab on the way out?
Harvoni, my girlfriend and my son