Harvoni Is Here: The Once-a-Day, Single Hep C Pill
Share
Follow Us
The Hepatitis C community has been waiting a long time for a miracle – and Harvoni nearly fits the bill. Approved on October 10, 2014, Harvoni became the first Hepatitis C drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that does not require the patient to also take interferon or ribavirin. In the form of a once daily pill, Harvoni seems to be the medication many struggling with this infectious disease had been hoping for.
Of course, it shouldn’t be surprising that a drug with such fanfare comes with a steep price tag.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 3 million Americans have chronic Hepatitis C, and most don’t know they have it. Part of its insidious nature, the Hepatitis C virus can linger for decades before presenting any symptoms. When issues such as jaundice and fatigue do arise, the liver has often incurred years of progressive damage. If undetected and untreated, Hepatitis C may lead to liver scarring, cirrhosis, liver cancer or liver failure.
Interferon and ribavirin were the standard of care for Hepatitis C for many years, but their high incidence of severe side effects has transformed them into dreaded drugs. Besides their cure rate being about 50 percent or lower, many patients complained that interferon and ribavirin’s side effects – including nausea, diarrhea, itchy skin rashes, insomnia and severe depression – were worse than the disease itself.
Highly effective Hepatitis C treatments with minimal side effects have been in the works for decades. Anticipation of better treatment options has led many infected with this virus to pass on treatment until safer drugs with a high cure rate become available.
Harvoni’s Predecessor
Known by the brand name Sovaldi, sofosbuvir was approved by the FDA in December of 2013 in combination with:
- ribavirin to treat patients with Hepatitis C genotypes 2 and 3
- pegylated interferon and ribavirin for treatment-naive patients with Hepatitis C genotypes 1 and 4
Although Sovaldi boasts high cure rates (over 90 percent) with a relatively low incidence of side effects, it has two undesirable traits:
- Combinations – Sovaldi must be combined with ribavirin and possibly interferon, two drugs associated with potentially severe side effects.
- Cost – In the U.S., Sovaldi costs approximately $1,000 per pill, bringing a one-month supply to $30,000. Most treatment regimens involve three to four months of Sovaldi – plus the cost of the ribavirin and interferon.
Harvoni
Harvoni is a combination of two medications by Gilead: ledipasvir and sofosbuvir. Containing 90 mg of ledipasvir and 400 mg of sofosbuvir, this once daily pill is taken orally with or without food.
Harvoni is officially the first interferon-free and ribavirin-free treatment for those with Hepatitis C genotype 1, the most common strain in North America. Without adding any other medications, Harvoni claims over a 90 percent cure rate.
Different treatment lengths have been advised for different groups:
- 2 months – Treatment-naïve patients without cirrhosis who have a baseline Hepatitis C RNA level less than 6 million IU/mL
- 3 months – Treatment-naïve patients with or without cirrhosis AND treatment-experienced patients without cirrhosis
- 6 months – Treatment-experienced patients with cirrhosis
Harvoni’s Drawbacks
The side effects of Harvoni pale in comparison to those associated with interferon or ribavirin. Nonetheless, all potent medications have drawbacks:
- Interactions – Harvoni may interact with rifampin (a drug typically prescribed for tuberculosis) and St. John’s Wort (an herb commonly used for depression and anxiety).
- Side Effects – During a three-month regimen of Harvoni, the most commonly reported side effects were fatigue (13 percent) and headache (14 percent). Less common side effects included nausea (7 percent), diarrhea (3 percent) and insomnia (5 percent).
- Cost – The wholesale list price of Harvoni is $1,125 per pill. That means a two-month supply is approximately $63,000, a three-month supply is $94,500 and a six-month supply is $189,000.
Financial Help
Patients and physicians have already begun the arduous task of requesting insurance companies to approve Harvoni’s expense. Sadly, many who could benefit from this one-pill-a-day Hepatitis C treatment will find themselves ineligible – at least on the first few tries. Healthcare advocates suggest working with a compassionate physician to help submit repeated authorization requests.
If you are unable to obtain Harvoni, Gilead has a patient assistance program for eligible Hepatitis C patients:
- who do not have insurance
- who are underinsured
- who otherwise need financial assistance to pay for or obtain access to Harvoni
Information regarding their patient assistance program can be found by going to Gilead’s website, clicking on the Responsibility tab on the top, then clicking on U.S. Patient Access on the left hand side, then clicking on SupportPath™ for Sovaldi and Harvoni in the center. In addition, they can be contacted directly by phone at 1-855-769-7284.
Harvoni appears to be the latest and greatest development for Hepatitis C sufferers – one oral pill each day with few side effects that offers a 90 percent success rate is really here. If there is a way to overcome this drug’s price tag, it could be the beginning of the end of the Hepatitis C virus.
362 Comments
I went threw 3 drug treat in 2013,successfully, 42 weeks . I have first stage CIRRHOSIS and continue to have high liver counts and my platelet counts are.low Is this normal after 11 months from final of treatment?
KT, have your HCV doc & you explored the fact that you ~may~ have relapsed after having initially achieved SVR? That was my outcome with (now off the market) Incivek on my fourth attempt @ Tx. Good Luck to you…
Smoothhead Johnny, what is SVR? What are you saying? It sounds like you did some treatment and then relapsed and now you are on your fourth attempt. What are you doing this time?
Carole A, Could you Please enter the wotds I could use to find the article you refer to. I tried twice looking through your posts and can’t find it. Perhaps its one of the posts marked “waiting modify”, or maybe links are not allowed. In any case, I would really like to read it, Very Appreciate it if you could enter in words, perhaps the title, that could pull it up on a google search. Thanks Carole
Are you worse than before the tx? If you read the above article I shared, they say there is no real cure whether conventional or alternative and what we are seeking is 0 viral load and Alt, SGOT in normal ranges. I keep hearing of people who do some tx, normalize and then it comes back…so what is cured? Quality of life is everything and if a pill is going to make me sick for months and then I am told the tx is “successful” yet everything is out of balance, it that normal? I want to do everything I can to keep my immune system strong and that takes more than just a pill/day.
What a Rip off, Jonah Stalk cured Polio, for free, to help society not himself. The $ 30K for the last “Cure” did it for me, I’ll die with it, but at least I’ll have $ to get buried.
I agree with you. I am 66 and have never been treated. I am going to die of something. Might as well be Hep C on my terms and not enrich these greedy pharmas. I don’t have much more respect for the GI Docs who were itching for me to take IF. I have stood my ground now for 26 years.
Good for you Bro, IF only knocked my life down, about your age, and 1977 blood work was my undoing @ a hospital of my then, Faith too, you’re not alone, my very best to you
Don’t be foolish. I am 78, relapsed after grueling ifn/riba, and now have in my hot little hands the Harvoni pills which my ins. is paying for, because I choose not to die from HepC. Financial assistance is available to you through the “greedy pharma” Gilead.
Does Medicare and supplement pay for this? I am 69 and have chirrosis from scaring of the liver caused from hep c and I geonotype 1. I have never had any treatment and was told I have 1/3 of my liver left.
Nanette, if AB is 78, he’s beyond or at US life expectancy, doubtful Medicare would pay, I’m not surprised Pharma has shills here, they can afford it,they need to be nationalized,if this continues, I say tell congress to end this Rip off,
Medicare Part D is indeed paying for my Harvoni, and I assure you I am no shill.
I hear you my friend
Congress! are you serious; they’re the innovators of term rip off. You’ll have much better success with an MD and pharmacy. I have never seen congress do anything but screw their constituents in my 60 years here
Good news 10% of liver will hold a sedentary life, blessings to you Nanette, take it EZ
Yes. Medicare, Humana and Giliad Pharma have funding in place for paying of Harvoni. They anticipated this happening. I am on Harvoni to the 19th day and all is great. I am Geno type 1 with Cirrhosis and had done prior treatment for 90 days and had to stop due to complications. The whole process I went through was easy. Go for it and the door will open. God bless.
They will take the sickest people first. So the sicker you are the more likely you are to get approved.
From the day it came out, Jan 1, after waiting 28 years, I never doubted I would get on treatment.
Why is everyone ranting
rant when they turn you down
I had no other health issues, and was only in stage 1. I do not have high blood pressure or cholesterol, and not overweight and did not drink
I am not sure if this helped me get on or not.
But my doc told me out of 28 that put in for the treatment, at no cost 26 got approved.
I think medicare is still trying to figure it out since it is so new.
As the treatments go to one month, it will, of course cost less and has competition goes up with other pharmaceutical companies the price should go down.
again, I was approved from start to finish within 6 weeks of BCBS turning me down initially and with an appeal
Be patient
I had zero side effects
the hardest thing was remembering to take the pills.
Good luck to you all.
Do you have coverage through Humana? I am trying to prepare to get treatment with Harvoni and cannot get information on which insurance company will be the most cooperative. down to Humana or UHC with advantage plans. Please let me know your experience. thanks.
Hi Jan, I was crazy on the internet trying to figure out which medicare supplement and drug program to get on that would be best for hep c treatment to no avail. I chose AARP UHC and Humana for my drug plan. Went to a hep c team of doctors. Im on my second week of Harvoni. I have no side effects at all and I am on a 8 week treatment. I dont know how or why I was so fortunate with a 0 copay. I’ve had hep c for 20 years that I know of, been waiting, and will be ever so thankful to be cured. Wish the same for all of you.
What good are these latest miracle cures if patients cant afford them or insurers have unreasonable restrictions on coverage?
There is no reasonable justification for the extortionary costs and restrictions on access.
Mexican drug cartels have more ethics than big pharma…
Decades of research and costs necessitate a large price tag, unless you would prefer a low-research option such as iterferon. I watched my mother on interferon and it wasn’t a pretty sight. She just started this new pill today and her copay is $1.50/pill. If you’ve seen Hep C affect someones life like I have then price doesn’t matter. Take out a loan, save their life.
And your comment about Mexican drug cartels? Have you seen the news in Mexico lately? Get educated
Sorry about your moms situation. There are many patients who went thru the same thing. I chose to wait 15 years, only to find out the miracle cure I was waiting for is out of reach. Was denied both Solvaldi and Harvoni coverage thru Medicaid in the past month.
Gilead did send me, unsolicited thru my GE’s office, an application for free treatment. Don’t know if I’ll fill it out because I sense they are just trying to shut me up rather than make meds accessible to all.
They cant shut me up by buying me out.
Putting unheard of restrictions on access to life saving medication is reprehensible.
The Mexican drug cartels kill thru violence.
Gilead is no different, they just hide their greed under the guise of unfettered capitalism.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
I agree with the greed of drug companies..
Hey Pete, I also waited 10 years for Harvoni. Gilead gave me 3 months for free. Zero side effects. The best decision of my life was having no Medicaid part B and no medical insurance. Chuck
Hi! Chuck. How did you get 3 months for free. I had pibavirin and interferon treatment but it’s was stopped. Because of side effects. I have hepatitis C virus genotype 1. Also liver fibrosis stage 4 . Thanks. All the best.
Chuck, did you got cure or clear? and about side effects, I am a little scare to do it
This is the same thing I am afraid of. I to went thru the same thing. I took the interferon combo treatment and got pulled off in 4 months, ended up in the hospital to from them. So I am afraid of new treatment. But its said to be with very little effects, tho I am extremely fatigued now and have great challenge in keeping up with my 5yr old but she gets my all and is well taken care of myself gets neglected…I am willing to try, and tough it out for 3 months. Thank God I have a little help from my mom and sister to help with my little one. I hope my insurance covers it. It is medicaid and that worry’s me.
harvoni has hardly any side effects > get it out of your body and take it…
I have had a headache and tired sometimes but everyone I have talked too has had hardly anything worthy to speak about.
As for sides “Very mild”, I have worked all the way through, 5 to 6 days a week. When I get off many times I take the med and drink lots of water and cocoanut water then crash for as long as possible. Be good and loving to yourself. Work is very good therapy for the mental worries when facing what we are dealing with. You will have a sense of pride in your efforts as well, but if you don’t work just try to do for others what you would like to have, be here, advocate, assist and watch funny movies. I do not have TV and stay away from toxic news just enough to keep daughter and I aware.
Save your life, then campaign to make meds accessible!
Really how does that happen. I read all your blogs n I live in canada genotype1a. Had for prob over 30years n I’m stage 0/1. They won’t help me. (Gilead). I’ve Tt them my coverage garbage. & now that they know that they prob closed my file. They think cuz ur bloodwork n fibro. Says your good they won’t help. I wish you guys that’s everyone of you would stop saying things when u don’t know what your talking about & the ones getting it shouldn’t brag about it. Exp the ones that wer eligible when their not sick yet. Or cuz their rich or connected… I’m so frustrated reading all this malarchy.. Get a loan. To glen. Really. Banks don’t give loans for pharma drugs.. Here in Canada they’d sooner spend money on outdoor exercise parks n stupid things than to get people in my stage cured n back to lead productive lives.. I’ve done lots of reading I’ve Tt the Canadian liver foundation to ask where all these donations have gone to because their not curing anyone in Alberta their letting all of us Rott. So quit commenting unless you do as much reading up as I have. Face it. Unless your someone with connections your hooped. My brothers a millionaire n he won’t help his own sister n he could do it thru his corporation n he won’t. All of you getting it. Keep it to yourselves. & quit trying to tell desperate people they can get it to by calling gilead … It’s not true people…
Please don’t keep it to yourself because I’ve seen it work and because people wrote these things I finally got it and its not bragging it’s trying to help people. And I know that’s how many by reading these things and unfortunately it hasn’t for some I don’t know about Canada but people here are having a hard time too and they’re not bragging their just trying to help and believe me or don’t believe me.. their replies have helped many
Send in the paperwork, Gilead covered Harvoni for my mom after her insurance said no. I always thought the little “if you cannot afford” comment at the end of drug commercials was BS. She is now on her 2nd month and her results are great.
they gave me 3 months supply free, and would have done 6 if i needed it. Thanks Gilead
Gilead will send you free medication, fill out that application today!
Karen
I need harvoni, I live in Romania, if you can help me, please contact me : cristina.tudor1985@yahoo.com
Tks
Hi Pete,
My name is Will recently started HARVONI was turned down four times also by my medical insurance after paying into it for fithteen years.
I just wanted to say take the time and fillout the application thats how I got the meds. I just started 8 days in. They gave it to me for free.
Good Luck best wish’s.
I have been waiting to hear from Gilead for (what seems like) an eternity…I applied after ins/Medicaid denied coverage for the costly med… Hopefully I will get GREAT news soon. This waiting and worrying is nerve-racking. I did the peg-intron/riboviron trial years ago, so this is my EVERYTHING put on hold, except taking care of my final business…
Pray for all of us who are in limbo, awaiting a decision from ‘the powers that be’ at Gilead!
Since harvoni another drug has come out that’s cheaper. They also offer programs. Good luck
what is the name of this other drug, please. thank you.
The other drug is on Hep.
Central. Great place to get top of line nutrients and milk thistle.
Right you have to do footwork sometimes alot of it I got a study and hep c free from thids drug, Gilead is good being a pain in the butt is best!!
Thanks Pete. At least a common sense reply and advise. I don’t have insurance. .but so glad I found this blog/thread so I can start trying now…I’m newly diagnosed..with an appointment for 8 months later at lu hospital in Shreveport la. Had no clue it would be this hard. Good bless
Oops sorry that post was to will not Pete. My apologies
You will get the Harvoni-just don’t give up.
What was it like to do the form and was it easy for them to say yes to u right way trying to get my old man medical and all and I have a brain tumor and want him to live longer then I may not for our girls thanks for your advice…
If it is an option and you have been turned down? Go Support Path. Follow the steps, little paper work and help is there.
Good Good!, you have to advocate for yourself. Support Path will come across, but you must show that the other insurance co. have denied 2 or 3 times. In working with the Harvoni, the doctors are good but it is our job to push for the medicine, most physicians have hands full, caring for our health and do not like to do the $ advocating. With this virus and 1a or b status we can stand a better ground once cured ? Than to argue the cost at this time. Yes Pharma has always been an obstacle but let that go for now concentrate on wholeness for your life and loved ones.
I like your comments and they’re good I don’t understand this forum cuz usually people don’t comment or reply to others except for the complaining ones. But if people pay close attention to the positive replies there are many good suggestions there too. I just don’t see a lot of consistent replies to people. Or should I say I don’t see a lot of replies about how the medication is affecting them. Now there are some but I would like to see more. And wish people would focus more on the positive things that people are writing because that’s where the Help is Yes I do understand how frustrating it is because I too had to advocate for myself hard and strong and it was very frustrating. There are a lot of good suggestions on here as well as how people have gotten denied and they just kept persisting and they also write or reply what they did to get the treatment and that it did take some time as it did with me at first. It seems like if there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to this treatment because it seems that most people are getting it after they avocate very hard for themselves and that’s what I suggest others do. Focus on the people that have been denied that have insurance and didn’t qualify for certain things but then kept persisting and follow their suggestions on how they finally got it. I just have a problem with the Affordable Care Act as I can’t understand how anyone could not want insurance. I saw for myself how it is helping. As a matter of fact in 2010 I did not have insurance and had to be a day from dead before I got good Help. I did get to go to the emergency room but blood was not drawn and I didn’t get good care because I did not have insurance. So having insurance was really a good thing. There are people that don’t have Hepatitis C and have just as serious or more serious of a problem that would not be getting help if it were not for the ACA.
Hello Jodee, it is -8/12/15,…I am wondering how you are doing in the process of getting the Harvoni? I have a feeling that you are either on it or very close. It is not too easy to be positive when you are stuck in quick sand! 😉 Stay far from the madness if you can. Ok, as for me, I finished a 12 week course on the 9th of July. Took the post Blood work on the 31st of July, very happy to say No Detectable virus. I take the next B/T, in October for my cured status. I am sort of avoiding being too anything and more pro what ever is the best thing for me will happen. All my BW is as if I never had the virus? I do not eat much protein, or any red meat, so my BUN was one point low, the rest of the kidney liver function tests were within range and so not too concerned. I do not like food, never have. So it is a work in progress for me to get good nutrients and to keep hydrated. I am the one who wants to stay up as I am afraid I will miss something. Total nature freak, no alcohol or rec. drugs. I really do love life except for my job which is pretty normal. Sorry for the rap, but do allow yourself to feel whatever comes up, it is who we are and part of this trip is negative, so try to get a cup of hot tea and breath for a minute when your load is heavy. You are in my heart and I am hoping that you will let me know how all is going for you. As for sides -yes- my body kicked me hard in the last 6 weeks. I feel that is when the anti viral did their work. It was as thou a war was going on inside. Note: I do not have TV, read news, do dogma, or get into politics. I figure it is a trade off. They are all into their own games and those games do not cast a shadow on my part in this life. Your life is “yours”, chose happy for you and let the sour grapes sort of come and then leave the door open for them. I like to think of Alice (Jefferson Starship) feed your head… M.
Hi makena , sorry it took so long to write back I haven’t been feeling good but I wanted to thank you. You wrote that the last 6 weeks were very hard for you and I was wondering in what way? I started Harvoni July 8th. Although I have cirrhosis and have been on triple therapy before the doctor is only keeping me on the 12 week treatment. I had labs done four weeks after starting but I can’t get a clear answer as to when I get more done. I would think it would be around or near my last dose which will be at the end of September however I don’t see him until the beginning of November sometime. I do not communicate with the assistant that works there as it is just too difficult and frustrating. So that makes a little bit harder. I do talk to a nurse when needed. It’s a specialty clinic and they are only open on Wednesdays for half a day and this assistant just reminds me of how it is only and I emphasize only a clinic.It’s very condescending. When I was working as a nurse I would have gotten fired for something like that but I just choose not to speak with her any longer. So the nurse is supposed to find out when I get the labs. I get a little concerned because everything I read had said if a person had treatment before and has cirrhosis they’re supposed to stay on it for 24 weeks but this doctor I do trust. I just really think I should get labs before I’m completely done or at least when I’m done with this treatment not two or three weeks afterwards after I see him. Anyhow… Back to where I was… I’ve been on it since July 8th and just recently started having headaches regularly. For two days it was extremely bad and I’m wondering if you have experienced this? I don’t have to work so I’m lucky with that and I’m very grateful for getting this chance to be cured. But thanks for writing back I tried to write you Personal Email but didn’t know how as it went directly to the site but that’s okay. I’ve always had problems with food myself as you said you have… My weight is always fluctuating. My problem is trying not losing too much. So I calorie count because a dietitian once told me how many calories I need it to intake to maintain and or gain. Also I go by that and if I don’t have much of an appetite I buy boost and the sad thing is I actually like the taste of it. Ok I’ll let you go for now and let me know about the headaches ok. I’m assuming it’s because the medication is building up in my bloodstream now. Ok write later. Hopefully this autocorrect doesn’t auto incorrect
Justin, yes, I’m a mom and my family has seen me yrs of fatigue and just not my bubbly olé self I also have 4 wonderful grandchildren,I was on the interferon & ribir and the shot, only lasted a month due to the side effects, My family and I are praying that I’ll get accepted for the Co pay of 1.50 as your mom, and how you mentioned to take out a loan. Believe me if I could I would and allow someone who is oon disability as I am also, to give them the chance of a golden cure, but I can’t. Was your mother able to get a ‘loan’ so another person that absolutely can’t, could have the chance of refining their own liver? Really,…. just saying,,,
Just so you’ll know- now that WE the almighty united states are no longer messing with Mexico (as much-now the WE have taken over THEIR drug trade) Mexico- especially Ciudad Juarez- life is peaceful and getting back on track. Just like Colombia. When the U.S. decided to leave them alone? A miracle happened. THEY fixed their own problems. Now- Bogota is nice, easy living. YOU get educated.
Take out a loan? Pretty easy for you to say when mom is paying only $1.50 a pill. You might be surprised to learn that banks don’t lend money for prescription meds.
Of course not that easy keep bugging the manafactures of the drug until they know your name I did it for a year with a Study and free from that horrible disease. Don’t give up no matter how frustrating please call, call, write it works lots of love!
Take out a loan? How? No property not able to work. Of course this is a better option if u can find out how to afford it. Don’t be so judgemental to us that can’t afford loans or insurance etc. Damn have a heart.
Have your doctors or Pharmacy carrier gotten in touch with financial help… My Dr in NC is going to hopefullly put me into a drug study.
They can. The company that makes these new miracle drugs have programs to pay, or help pay, for them. I was accepted to a program through Gilead, received 90 days worth of harvoni in the mail, and took the first pill this morning. All for the price of the doctors visits. I believe we live in a world with enough good people that one can’t simply withhold a cure that is so simple, so breakthrough from sick people who could possibly infect others. Ask. Google. Find out. I hear a healthy life is better. Good luck to you other harvonites.
just be relentless call the drug manafsctures look for studys it took me alot of work but got it for free. Don’t give up fight like hell!! good luck!
This is less than a liver transplant. Will insurance cover this treatment? How many years and trials did it take to develop this drug?
ribavirin to treat patients with Hepatitis C genotypes 2 and 3pegylated interferon and ribavirin or treatment-naiveinterferon and ribavirin patients with Hepatitis C genotypes 1 and 4……
Im johnny im 35 years olds…..I have problems with my Liver Hepatitis C genotypes 3 and 6 together…..
do that medicine can help me ?
How many percent I fix the problem for me ?
Please let me know thank
I read or herd that to be completely cured of hepC you need a bone marrow transplant, has anybody else herd this?
Danny, Until this new drug Sovaldi came along there was no cure for Hep C not even a bone marrow transplant at least not that I have heard or investigated. Sovaldi so far is the only known new drug that is claiming a 90% cure rate and I am in that 90% yes it is expensive right now because it is new.
K …You didn’t have geno type 1 Sovaldi is not the only new drug claiming 90% cure rate, Harvoni also claims a 90% cure rate without intreferon and Ribavirin backup that Sovaldi requires. Life is always about the money, Gilead stock is over $100 per share now too. I wonder if you will be hep-c free 5 yrs from now?
95% plus cure rate with Solvaldi for geno 1
this is all way too negative for me.
It is a wonderful thing this treatment and up til now there was only interferon which was ghastly and only 50% effective.
There is NO reason anyone should ever take interferon again, and refuse it if it is offered.
it is just cheaper for them, so if they try to get you to take it, depressed people cannot.
So they could not offer it to me.
I have never read anything about this and not according to any conventional treatment I have read about and my gastro doctor’s are not saying this at all.
Dont know about a bone marrow transplant but I can guarantee you your bones will hurt on treatment. Maybe I am a sissy but this medication is very strong but I had the triple combo
I just finished 6 weeks Harvoni. Zero side effects except more energy, I was given all meds free by Gilead because I was lucky enough to not have Medicare part B or insurance. My guess is around 95% of people in U. S. with CHC will never get treatment. Time for everybody to go Denzel Washington John Q and have or have a million people March on D.C.
Nanette, Medicare will cover cases with advanced disease progression like yours and you should definitely investigate your options.
I’m 60, and do not qualify for my states medicare coverage because I’m not sick enough. I’ve waited over 30 years now for a viable treatment because I/R was never an option and now I’m told I must wait longer?
Sovaldi cost less than $1.50 a pill to make and sells for over $1,000. a pill. Sorry Katy but don’t try and tell me that’s a fair mark up. I don’t care how much research went into it. Patients should not have to wait until they are seriously ill and facing a liver transplant or liver cancer before they can access life saving medication. Shame on Gilead!
Does anyone know of an insurance company that will pay for Harvoni or Sofosbuvir?
If you are critical stage and drawing medicare/medicaid the medicine should be covered by both it was for me
@k is it worth the buy?
Charles, did you do the Harvoni treatment and what was the outcome and did you experience any side effects? Did your viral load become undetectable?
Except for people who were on a company trial, nobody has finished the Harvoni treatment because it was only allowed on October 10th. Most people will be on a 8 or 12 weeks treatment so the earliest news will be 3 months after December 10th! I’ve read a lot on this disease and Harvoni seems to ”punch” through everything if taken long enough. Good luck!
I was told when it was time to sign up for Obama care to do aetna, they were more likely to approve it than BCBS, but you are more likely to get approved if you are sicker.
I shared a very interesting article I don’t see posted here: Are we not suppose to post links? I’m going to try colloidal silver that does not promise a “cure” but it is cheap to make and doesn’t have the side effects and recommended to take like this from an article in Health Wize: ” The minimum dosage should be 5 tablespoons (2.5 fluid ounces) of high quality colloidal silver mixed with 15-20 drops of liquid chlorophyll concentrate. This should be given several times a day for several weeks, but continuing for several months would be wise.” They also recommend a slew of other food supplements most of which I already take but all that has done is help keep my immune system strong and not be “sickly” and terribly symptomatic. I’m going to try the CS before I get talked into the pills that I still want to know what are the other long term effects from?
I would skip the CS/chorophyll. I am a very big natural person but I wouldnt even take any other med I was scheduled to take for fear of interaction. This medication is so strong. It kicked my butt but clear for now.
Champ66, I’m with you!! And Pete hit it right on the nose! These prices are abhorrent and I wouldn’t really expect an insurance company to spend that much money either! Plus, by accepting tratment at this price, we’re saying it’s okay and its NOT!! Gilead has big balls to charge this much for a life-saving medicine that people have been waiting years for. I agree, Mexican drug cartels have more ethics!
You have obviously never seen the effects that the Mexican cartels have had on an entire population. It’s a stupid and false comparison to make.
its actually not far off the mark.
FOR PROFIT healthcare is exactly the same as a drug cartel. Profit before people.
It should be criminal and the federal government could have paid the entire cost of R&D and for each and every pill for LESS than the cost of ONE military fighter jet that they do not even use.
So the comparison is dead on.
You are right man C the effects of the Mexican cartels are different but I can see how people are frustrated as it so difficult to get when if they do the math it would be cheaper to treat then to wait until liver failure. I have to quit commenting as I need to stay focused on the positive and wish people would too and keep persisting and persisting and persisting and do whatever to get the treatment no matter how long it takes. And hopefully before it’s too late. I write a lot of people that have been deny and have the same issues as the other ones that can’t get it but with persistence and taking the suggestions it’s possible and that’s what I suggest others focus on. I did and with much persistence aggravation and wanting to hurt somebody finally was finally
I started the Sovaldi in February 2014 and by March 2014 there were no signs of Hep C in my system but still had to finish the treatment through. I was diagnosed with Hep C, Geno type 3-stage 4 with fatty liver disease in 2012 and went through the first treatment NO Sovaldi after 2 months of my numbers going down they started going back up it DID NOT work for me. Just some information I qualified for Medicare and Medicaid, I was put into a category considered critical through Medicare so all of my prescriptions were covered, yes it was a struggle to get to that point but I made it with a little fight and effort. The treatment ended for me in August 2014 still in remission-Two Hundred Fifty Thousand for the six months of treatment. Yes this is a costly treatment but my life was worth it, push and fight if you have to and I pray that all can get the treatment necessary to fight this horrible disease.
Glad everything worked out for you ! Were there any bad side affects to the sovaldi?
K, please edit what you wrote as it is really unclear as first you say you took sovaldi in February and I assume your viral and liver enzymes went down but then you said it came back up. and it didn’t work for you. ..Then you say “the treatment (which one?) ended in August and you are in remission so what exactly are you saying? Did you do the Harvoni and when you say you are in “remission” does that mean your viral load is undetectable and your liver enzymes are normal ranges now? Did you have any side effects and how long did you actually take the treatment and which treatment please? Please people, be clear about what you are sharing as we only have each other to talk to about this!
I am one of the more fortunate ones that received special funding for this and I am grateful. I have been on it for 2 weeks not with NO side effects yet
No side affects? do you pay anything for the pills?
my cost is $4 per script of 28 pills. Your doctor can help you if you hep c is advanced as it will allow him to request assistance due to risks. I am on Humana or Ameragroup. I am not sure because I just turned 65 and am movie to medicare from medicaide. Good luck
NO side effects? You wait =)
please elaborate. wait how long, what side effects should be expected..
I’ve been on the treatment for 3 weeks and I also have minimal side effects. With all I read, I would think it would reduce with time as your body gets used to the medication
From what i hear from Dr’s & patients the side effects GET LESS!!!!
I have been diagnosed for several years now but the only group of doctors locally that treat Hep C are a sad excuse. I went to the doctor about 5 times. Every time I went he was stressing a colonoscopy. I asked him why we should do this first if I am referred to him to treat my Hep C. He was a jerk about it. I finally let him play around with the colonoscopy. After the third time I gave up. The last time I went I was sent to his PA. She asked me when I was going to get treated for Hep C, like I was the one holding out. She was the first person to even discuss the Hep C with me. I have never been told anything about treatment other than I may not be able to tolerate it. She said I had a high viral load. But didn’t really explain anything, like what my numbers were or even any information on how to live with the disease. My education has been from the internet. I feel like several people, perhaps that is what my fate is meant to be. The only symptom so far that I’ve seen is darkening of urine and I’m not sure how accurately I can assess that with a low flow toilet. I am very careful with what I eat, medications and I haven’t touched alcohol since I was diagnosed. Again, I don’t know how bad it is. I’ve had slightly elevated liver enzymes for years. Another doctor told me that. I haven’t been tested lately but I will be at the beginning of the new year. I try not to worry about it. I was thinking of trying the new med but being on Social Security and barely scraping by now there is no way I could come up with the money the new med costs.
ask your DR for an e-care so u can view all your test info
deb w–viral loads fluctuate. What really matters are you enzymes. If they still do biopsies, that is the best way to know what state your liver is in, They have blood tests now that are supposed to be almost as accurate as a biopsy. Dark urine would be a relatively ‘late’ sign of problems. I would not put up with a PA for tx–I wouldn’t send my cat to a PA.
Hi Deb, with dark urine you need treatment. If you do not have Medicare part B, Gilead will treat you free with Harvoni.
Hi Deb; I to am on social security , if you opted into AARP or one of the other med programs affiliated with Social security you can get approved, I just did with a “0” copay. Social security made a commitment to cover 80 percent of the cost, and for my AARP picked up the remaining monies. I think a lot has to do with the state you live in, and what they’ve legislated. I know for me mine was done on a rush before the new budget hits in January. I used a pharmacy that had a team dedicated to get meds to patients classified in catastrophic condition, they pushed mine thru in 4 days; I had the meds in hand. Get a Hepatolagist they usually have a working relationship with these kind of pharmacies..good luck
I just want to say thank-you to all the brave people who have posted comments here. They have been very helpful to me. I recently was diagnosed with the Hep C type 1A and am currently awaiting approval from my insurance company for treatment .. Basically scared to death.. Again Thank-You..
Good luck Mark I am in the same boat that you are. Just waiting to hear.
same here mark and mary
Nice to see the ongoing discussion about recent advances in HCV treatment, and to have a forum to share info and ask questions. Here are some highlights.
Patients remain uncertain about what new advances in treatment mean to them and whether they qualify.
There is a good deal of distrust over the pharmaceutical industry because the astronomical cost of the latest treatments, including Harvoni, means only the sickest or wealthiest can afford or access it because public and private insurers simply cannot afford to treat all in need.
A few lucky ones will be treated as charity cases by the industry so they can act as spokespeople for the industies generosity.
Some patients will die, or suffer needlessly, of HCV because they cannot access treatment or have become so cynical about the process
Again, I am not the sickest or the poorest or wealthiest. They ask nothing about money, only want you to be turned down by the insurance company. I was not charity. I applied and followed through.
Please everyone, I just did it. I am just a person like you all. Just go and ask with a good attitude.
No one that applied got turned down and I even have information of where to go if you are turned down.
I had NO side effects and the ONLY way to know the state of your liver accurately at this point is a biopsy.
I am not sure where you all live, but I am in Austin, and even when I went to a low cost clinic all the docs were aware.
I suggest getting the news letter, yikes, I cannot think of the name…Liver something, just google
I got ALL my information from it, and knew about the treatments when the docs did.
Educate yourself, but not from the internet.
If I remember the name of the on line journal I will post it.
Amy,
Thanks for your encouraging responses. I decided not to apply for Gilead’s “support” program. Here is why…
There is something funny going on when a drug company charges $1,000.00 a pill (more for Harvoni…), artificially inflating treatment cost and putting it out of reach for most patients and public and private insurers, then mounts an aggressive campaign to offer “free” treatment to those denied access.
On the face of it, they look like good guys coming to our rescue. At that price, they can afford to treat 100 patients free for every paying patient and still come out ahead. But artificially inflating life saving medication costs places an unfair burden on insurers who are forced to limit treatment coverage to only the sickest.
You call for patients to “educate yourself, but not from the internet…” then state “I got ALL my information” from an industry sponsored newsletter “…Liver something, just google”
What if patients less than stage 3 did not apply for mercy from Gilead after being denied treatment? More would end up getting sicker and approved for treatment which would then increase pressure on Gilead to drop its prices before prospective patients start dropping dead in increasing numbers and put a dent in their bottom line. There would be fewer “charity” cases beholden to pharma, and increased access to treatment overall.
I’m not suggesting other patients should follow my example. Just saying that is my personal response to dealing with the crisis.
That and supporting congressional hearings on disparities in infectious disease burden, priorities, and funding. HCV treatment can get a public airing it has not got to date.
Pete, there is nothing funny going on. Gilead made a huge investment in research to develop these drugs. HCV is a very complex virus. It exhibits astounding levels of genetic diversity in chronically-infected
individuals, which is driven by a high replicative ability of the virus
in the liver! Up to a trillion HCV particles can be produced in a
chronically-infected individual per day. Every possible single mutation in the virus genome is generated at least once a day. Basically, all the mutations that render HCV resistant to any one direct-acting antiviral (DAA)
probably already exist in patients even before they are ever exposed to a
specific HCV antiviral drug! It took the pharmaceutical industry 25-years to figure all of that out and another +10-years to find a combination of DAAs that prevented viral breakthrough during the course of therapy! We are talking about how to attack viral molecules with the correct combination of antiviral molecules here! Trying to understand the amino acid changes and protein sequence involved in this virus is simply mind boggling! Add to that the fact that these drug-resistant variants are different in every patient; the antivirals are some of the most potent ever produced; and the dosing has to be enough to prevent a virus that replicates at a rate of a trillion particles/day from replicating, while at the same time not killing the patient then maybe…just maybe an initial cost of $1125/dose starts to sound a little bit more reasonable!?! Gilead has a responsibility to produce a return on the money people invested in them. Many of the major pharmaceutical companies have the NS5A inhibitor in their arsenal and are close to developing similar DAA combinations. Gilead has a right on return for being first to market and it won’t be long before prices start to come down as other major pharmas bring their combination DAAs to market. Patients my friend, let the free market enterprise run it’s course! 🙂 Oh and by the way, Gilead is bound by HIPAA regulations just like any other medical provider. Your medical information is just as safe in their hands as it is in your doctor’s. Now how safe is that? Well that’s another subject all together… 🙂 I am not a doctor, scientist, or Gilead shill…I’m just a guy that contracted HCV before it was even identified as such and has been reading published research on HCV since 1981, two years after catching this nasty virus.
Thank you for your reply Hawkster. I’m contacting my GI’s office tomorrow to get more info about why Gilead, and not my medical provider, is handling the appeal process (I was told by a receptionist over the phone that it is a new policy.) Judging from my experience, he is not active with ALF although his practice partner is. I’m getting tired of well-meaning NPs and PCPs and MDs making me feel like I’m a hypochondriac when I’m clearly in a fight for my life. Am getting a new GI (liver doc) real quick.
The fact remains that at no time in history has a treatment with the potential to save so many lives and reduce morbidity for so many been priced beyond the reach of so many – unless you are poor and living overseas. It is small consolation to those of us who slip through the net that the poor in the US are somehow less poor than those in, say, India.
And it troubles me that it is not advocates chosen by the patient community that represent our interests. It is AIDS lobbyists (NVHR and NASTAD among the more notables) who are not accountable to us who control the infectious disease agenda and cut deals with their pharma partners to insure that HCV remains just a road bump in their campaign for an AIDS free world by 2030.
I’m not going to engage in a discussion about the clinical aspects of HCV with you. And like you, my diagnosis dates back to when it was called acute Non A/B. I’ve been involved in advocacy since the (re)diagnosis as HCV in 1999 and for the past 15 years watched as advocacy was stymied at the state and national level by folks who viewed HCV as more of a threat to the status quo than an opportunity to build on past successes.
We need to wrest control of advocacy from the bureaucrats, entrenched lobbyists, and those with political agendas that do not always coincide with the HCV patient community.
I think the best way to achieve that is through congressional hearings about HCV and disparities in infectious disease burden, priorities, and funding.
Once the truth is out, we can shame both liberals and conservatives and spur them to action. Lets make HCV a campaign issue in the 2016 presidential election!!!
This is a side topic, but yes, the poor in the USA really are “less poor” than those in India. The bottom 5% in the USA make about $5000 per year, whereas the bottom 25% in India get by on less than 1/10th of that. They have literally nothing but the rags on their back and maybe bowl in their hand, if they’re lucky.
Of course, the poor in any country still can’t afford these new drugs. The lower pricing overseas is aimed at their middle class.
Hey Pete, it sounds like maybe you don’t really have Hepatitis C because all the other 3 million people in U.S. who really have Hepaitis C would be extremely delighted to get free treatment from Gilead. The day UPS truck arrived with my bottle of big pink pills I was extremely overjoyed.
Oh, I really have HCV – GT 1a and 1b. There is a bigger issue that you seem to miss Chuck. Patients have been locked out of the advocacy process because some of them prefer to grovel rather than fight back…
Hi Pete, I totally agree with advocacy. This is terrible situation. All 3 million American with HCV should be treated in next 5 years including all prisoners and Hep C should be wiped out in this country. The bad guys are insurance and govt that will not pay. Harvoni is a miracle cure and very few people are getting treated. Probably 90-95% may never be treated. However Gilead is the good guy and anybody who can get free Harvoni from Gilead should take it. All Gilead asked me for was a Tax return and a utility bill to show US resident and statement about genotype and then sent the meds. You call their help line, real people answer; they are amazing nice. I have to grovel more at McD to buy happy meal than to get $100,000 worth of meds from Gilead. And zero side effects, no kidding.
^^^ What she said! Great post Amy! Take responsibility for your health and educate yourself. The American Liver Foundation is the best place I’ve found to find current information on HCV therapies. They care about one thing, healthy livers! PS, Austin, TX rocks!!!
Just to add to Pete’s comments. Finding a physician that fully understands HCV and the system is not just a priority but an absolute must to have any chance of getting insurance approval. The American Liver Foundation is the leading expert and advocacy group on HCV therapy. They regularly hold conferences that focus on updating physician on new HCV treatments and how to get the them approved by insurance. Ask your doctor if he participates in ALV activities and at what level. If your physician isn’t a Gastroenterologists, Hepatologists or Infectious Disease Specialists they probably don’t understand all the intricacies involved in filing a successful request for HCV therapy with the insurance providers. For example my doctor filed the request based primarily on my failure to clear the virus with interferon/ribavirin therapy. He also made it a point to highlight the fact that I fought being removed from the therapy after 30-weeks. The first was done to avoid an insurance company recommendation to use I/R therapy in combination with sofosbuvir. The second was done to ensure the insurance company wouldn’t deny the request based on a risk of quitting Harvoni therapy. Insurance companies can’t simply deny an approval based on high cost. They have to demonstrate there is some sort of risk involved that outweighs the expense. They have come up with a set of figures that say there is a higher occurrence of people aborting Harvoni therapy than was experienced through the clinical trials. Harvoni hasn’t been approved long enough to develop these kind of figures and very likely include I/R-sofosbuvir therapy. In my case, my doctor knew to take a proactive approach by stating my willingness to stick with a previous therapy with a much higher occurrence of being aborted. Your doctor has to know how to take a proactive approach in order to get high cost therapy approved. In a couple of years a lot of this information will be common knowledge. But right now it’s specialized knowledge and unless someone from your doctor’s office has participated in ALF conferences, your chances of failing to get approval increase significantly!
Yes ! We have to wait until near die. then Kaiser in Southern CA’s MDs will treat for you . However some other NP and MDs will denied because they planed to. save money for their comp. The answer of Kaiser i: you are type 5, type 6, the FDA NOT approved, wait and wait .. good cause to denied .. So sad .. However they called and ask to make apt. To come their office for follow up? But nothing happen..see your face shown their cold face :; you ok not near to die.. Go home Wait to die.. Done paper work this visit..
Kaiser has always been restrictive. They ration medicine like no other insurance company.
Has anyone with genotype 1 been cleared of the virus after 12 weeks? Also, if cleared has anyone found that their fatigue has improved after being cleared?
Many Thanks!
Hi Vintag, ‘i cleared after 12 with Geno 1, Stage 4, with Ribo plus Interferon. I am amazed with people sating i was a breeze, it was horrible. I always knew 12 hrs after my shot I would have new side effects. Platelets went down 50 percent after 4 weeks, still tired and lost a lot of my hair.
my2sun, you are confusing the subject matter here and as a result, you are providing misinformation. The article above is about Harvoni, a combination of two powerful direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medicines named ledipasvir and sofosbuvir. Harvoni therapy does NOT require the patient to also take interferon or ribavirin. I have been taking Harvoni for a week now with virtually no side-effects and I can assure you this pales in comparison to the side-effects I experienced from the interferon/ribavirin therapy I had 5-yrs ago. You most assuredly took a 12-week course of sofosbuvir in combination with interferon and ribavirin, which was the standard treatment since late 2013 for genotype 1a, prior to the FDA approving Harvoni on Oct. 10, 2014.
Btw, consider yourself lucky that you only had to poison yourself with interferon and ribavirin for 12-weeks. Many people had to suffered through 48-weeks of I/R therapy, which was standard prior to the introduction of sofosbuvir! I feel fortunate that I was pulled from I/R therapy after 30-weeks due to viral breakthrough!
I was cleared in 2 weeks 20% of lucky people clear in 2 weeks. I had no fatigue, but I never had fatigue cause I am still in the first phase. I am geno 1 can’t remember A or B, but the most common one. I was never sick although I had it since 1986. I always took milk thistle but they tell you absolutely to get off any supplements for the liver during treatment. My numbers which were not that high, like 73 are now at 18. My viralload was 400, 000 but went to undetecable (7-14) in two weeks and then O for the past 2 blood works.
From what my wonderful doc told me, 99% of people were cured, and it was not based on how sick you were. It cures you only by stopping the advancement as you know. The liver can regenerate some, so as long as the virus stops eating at you, you will not get worse!
Of course, I am only 2 weeks off meds.
They check again in 3-6 mos and then say it is gone.
Any relapses, which are a teeny amount, like 1-2% happen if you stop the meds early
that is why they picked 12 weeks.
It is optimum.
I took two of the same pills one night so I was short two solvaldi at the end. The pharmacist was not sure what to tell me, but said people had taken the wrong pills for up to two weeks and it still worked. It is a miracle.
They rushed an overnight package to me with the last two pills.
This was Gilead and they were great.
Amy thanks for the good words. I am waiting for insurance to approve. I’m 63 in good health and spirts having geno type 1a since 2000 and earlier. Can’t wait to get rid of this virus from me.
Amy have a great life HEPC free.
I had a liver transplant 4 years ago, too sick for interferon prior to transplant, my platelets never got very high after tp so I still can’t do the interferon, my hep c has now returned and liver enzymes are elevated to where I have a MELD score again. I still can’t have access to the new drugs being post transplant. any suggestions? Los Angeles hep c patient.
My only suggestion is to use a diet that helps build your immune system so that you do not have to deal with other issues like cancer and the like. By then you should be able to take the newest meds. The hepc business is progressing very fast and better drugs are being released all the time. Stay as healthy as you can under your sad circumstances.
I wish you all the best
Let me restates my earlier post: The question should be, has anyone with Harvoni cleared the virus for Geno type 1 in 12 Weeks? AND after clearing virus did any of the standard HEPC fatigue go away?
Thanks All
Yes mine was cleared in 4 weeks but I am taking Harvoni for 12 weeks. My doctor told me that 8 weeks treatment is a trial and not standard. The standard period for treatment is 12 weeks and 24. I believe my hep c went away the second week though the blood testing was not done until the 4th week.
The hep c fatigue went away in a few weeks but I have some fatigue from the drug. you don’t know how much the fatigue goes away until you finish treatment. let me put it this way: you get an amount of energy that you’ve not felt in YEARS the first few weeks of taking the drug. Your skin begins to look better and people tell me I look younger each day.
What is the situation in the UK?
Go to http://www.gileadscienceblog for updates.
I’m 59 yrs old, F4 borderline cirrhosis with two failed attempts with interferon (and Peg) and I thank the Lord to have this brand new medication from Gilead (Harvoni).
I have 24 weeks of treatment to undertake because of the state of my liver. I’m now 2 weeks into it and there are no real side effects worth talking about. What a change from Inteferon!
To respond to people saying the company is unfairly pricing their medication I would answer that 3 years ago they purchased a company who had a new product, Sovaldi, but it wasn’t fully tested. Gilead paid $12 billions to buy this ‘unproven product’. They went on spending $200 millions to test it and bring it to market. Although the chemicals used cost $250 per month, the $12 billions purchase must also be repaid! This helps explain the high cost of Harvoni. There is no other way to bring a successful product to market than to reward the company investing in research! If we don’t ”reward’ the companies, they will invest their money into something else!
Finally, on a happy note, all medications will become cheaper as new versions are put out. Already the companies are fighting for a 4 weeks pill and so on. This should help bring the cost of medications down. So, if you’re Hep C positive and are into a F0-F1-F2 and do not have the money now, those meds should sell for 1/2 price in a year or so. So, good luck everyone!
That’s strange how people paying into insurance for so long should be denied. Also the drug company’s for creating this monopoly with they’re product. I am on medicaid and have been approved after three try and others don’t even get close with good insurance.
I have Healthnet (very pricey) insurance through my employer and have just received my letter of denial for Harvoni. I’ve been infected for over 30 years. I’m stage 0-1 and most of my test results are still good, but I am often fatigued and have lots of brain fog. I’m sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. This is so infuriating.
All your blogs scare me. I’ve also had for prob 30years n only 45yrs old. Found out in 95 n hv bin stressed since then. I’m going fr fibro on 22nd April. I heard my spouse coverage will pay also I’m up fr a trial or my names in the bingo ball. Last Fibro 2.5yrs ago I was stage 0. But fatigued and having I think brain issues. Ev morning I wake n urinate my stomach hurts. I’ve never taken treatment b4. Don’t drink n never really did or liked it anyway. but I do smoke cig. Ya. Pretty freaked out cause I couldn’t afford it either no carreer grade 7education OMG. My body hurts all time n lost a lot of muscle tone over last 10years But my doctor is good n his secretary asked me last week if I was getting excited about finally being free. Having energy back. I can’t remember the last time I could work 8/12 hr days n not come home n sleep the rest of night. Now I barely work we don’t go anywhere n I’m always yawning so. Am I getting excited yes I am. But I’m not gonna get my hopes up. God bless.
I agree!! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!!!
In other words 3 Million Americans could be completely cured of Hep C for the measly price of the cost of ONE military fighter jet that they do not even use?
The Federal government should be footing the entire bill.
FOR PROFIT Healthcare is a national disgrace, disgusting, and should be criminal.
Your health should be a RIGHT not a privilege.
2009 I was diagnosed with hep c…I watched my mother who was 48 die from this disease. In 2009 I decided to wait for a diffrent medicine because I was so scared of the medicines that they offered at the time. I started harvoni 3 weeks ago and all my numbers have dropped..the only side effects that I had was in the first 2 weeks. Mild headache nausea and diarrhea..but I did experience a little shakiness and my body ached for 2 days…that scared me. I pray that everyone gets this medicine and that it works for you all.
Pete
Gilead approved me in 2 weeks after being denied by my insurance twice (that is the process)
I got 3mos for free and cured it in two week.
and have been clear since.
I go back Monday for my last bloodwork, 2 weeks after my last pill.
They were wonderful
They are not trying to shut you up
you are the one who is shutting them up
You will get approved, I did.
good luck
Amy
Does Gilead pay for the treatment?? I am 23 and Hep C was transmitted to me when I was born… I have Gen 1/ Stage 4 Fibrosis now and cirrhosis (it was stage 3 when I was 10 or so) … I tried Interferon ~15 years ago and it failed and my doctor said half of the new treatments would be ineffective on me. I’m fairly certain the insurance co just wants me to die, so I need to figure something out. …
Have you gotten your Harvoni yet?
So happy to hear your cleared of this disease. I think it sounds like a “miracle” drug.
Hi dear, where can i get the treatment? one of my relative suffering from it..Thanks a lot in advance !
To Amy. When you say you got ‘cured’ after 2 weeks, what did you mean? The least amount of weeks you must do is 8 weeks. Since the medication has not been approved before oct 10th, no one has finished their treatments yet. In any case, happy to see you had good news. Also, you’re right in telling people to keep trying to get approved. Insurance companies will always deny and say no first. Only after numerous demands will someone human (rather than a computer) will read your story and actually make a decision. Gilead is also willing to accommodate patients with missing funds if the patient has tried his/her best to come up with the money. I also got approved for a portion of the cost by them.
Dear Readers, I am from the Netherlands Amsterdam I have Hep C Genotype 1 for about 3 decades and no not drugs abuse related back then still living in Germany. However I believe Harvoni is not accessible over here and the predecessor I still do not get subscribed as the Minister for Health wants to treed only the people that have already cirrhosis and other extremes of the disease. I was so hoping for a cure now there is a cure and I cannot not have it as I am not ill enough, takes the wind right out of the sails. Apparently one is able to purchase the needed pills of the predecessor of Harvoni in India for about a 1000 Euro received that information from a Doctor that did my Fibro scan…..what is wrong with this world ….does it need to become en true pandemic before getting access ??????
I agree with you.. the cost is crazy.. However i think that is 1000 per pill. A 12 week treatment will cost $84,000 US dollars.. CRAZY…Its all about the money as usual.. GOD BLESS YOU.. and good luck..
Only millionaires will pay that much. Both Gilead meds will be highly discounted.
Inga Giliad sciences just approved generic manufacturing in just about every country; I dont remember if your country was on their list. If you go to their site they have a list under the “commitment” tab, you’ll probably find good news there, I know in Pakistan the generic in $20 dollars a day, and Mexico is $800 for the 3 month treatment. The highest prices are here in the US. The countries with the highest rate of infection are the cheapest. They claim only 5.2 million people in the US are infected, which I know is absolute bullshit, probably closer to 25 million and I feel thats a conservative number
Consider all the UNDIAGNOSED cases walking around with this plague !!!
As I entered earlier this AM, I am awaiting LifePath for a nod for Harvoni.
Genotype 1a, dx in 2000-2001-did the peg-intron/riboviron and it was discontinued due to not responding to it, altho my viral load went from somewhere in the 400,000 range, which dropped to 500…I was on Medicaid and SSI at the time, and lived thru hell on that treatment, but was grateful to obtain it!!
Now, I am still on SSI Disability, Medicaid (?),&
Meridian insurance. Denied 2-3 times. Again, I’m hoping LifePath can help me but every day my depression and fatigue worsens, itching bouts,
nausea, & feel like this is my Hail Mary….been waiting for approximately
Mid October(??)— and no word. I had a biopsy years ago before starting
the devil’s drug duo…not sure of fibrosis STAGE, but biopsy revealed it 15 years ago…now, I’m dx with fatty liver disease,& have had a significant weight gain since being off the initial treatment. I’m like the others who posted that they are scared to death, waiting….arthritis in c spine flaring up after falling and small fx in top of humerus the Sat after Thanksgiving…
Am spastic as well ….. Hoping this drug company will bless me and all others with Harvoni soon…patience is not my strong trait, but I have no choice at this point….Good luck to you all, and may God and Gilead have mercy on us all.
Has anyone here tried Milk Thistle?
Can you take Milk Thistle while on Harvoni?? My Dr wasn’t sure. I am a vitamin FREAK and have had hep-c since the 80’s Could not deal with the sided effects of InteFEARon & Ribavarin and quit after a few months…. I had stage 1 Fibrosis and have been using the following natural supplements for liver function support: (Siliphos)Milk Thistle, Lactoferrin. NAC, R-Lipoic acid, Quercetin Olive Leaf & low doses of Zinc & Selenium for the past 10 years.
When i had my liver functions checked 2 months ago I was still stage 1 Fibrosis so I’m assuming these supplements were working???? i am now on Harvoni and not taking any supplements because i don’t know if they will interact with my tx (treatment)
Adam if your DR. didn’t tell you to take anything else with this med you shouldn’t . Make sure you ask your Dr. if you need anything else. That med is so expensive you don’t want to ruin the strenght
I just received my first months worth of Harvoni. I have Cigna and it took almost 2 months to be approved. They have certain criteria for approval, you must have fibrosis of 3 or greater on the 6 Ishak scale. We had to keep resubmitting the request, but it eventually worked. Don’t take no for an answer, keep trying. When all else fails, contact Gilead for their program for people with no insurance, or those that are under-insured. I have treated for a total of 4 years, 4 months over the last 20 years and failed or relapsed every time. I feel that this is my last chance and am grateful for it. Do not give up, keep trying, never quit…Mark
I am employed full time in a high stress job that is physically demanding. In anticipation of treatment, and waiting for decades for these new drugs, should I anticipate having to use short term disability insurance secondary to side effects? Also, has anyone dealt with United Health? Scared and uncertain…..overwhelmed.
I have UHC and my doctor’s office spoke to the medical director for UHC. He indicated the fibrosis level has to be at a 3 or 4 in order for UHC to approve tx. Husband and I are infected w/ geno type 1 35 yrs. Next dr apt in a few wks to see where the fibrosis levels are. Feeling very concerned UHC will NOT approve us. Fibrosis check in 2012 I was at zero and husband at 2. I was hopeful we could be treated together but now I doubt we will if these are the rules…..husband also has Medicare with UHC as secondary. I am hopeful for him but feel its stupid if UHC refuses tx for me. I am concerned about the chances to I pass it on to husband after he finishes treatment.
My name is Mike and I have been on Harvoni for 5 weeks now. I was excited to hear about and try this new treatment. One of the main reasons was because of the horrible side affects of other treatments. However I was told that there were little to no side affects for this new treatment. I have found this to be totally untrue. The first couple of days I had diarrhea, a terrible headache, stomach cramps, and I was very shaky and dizzy and felt like I drank 5 cups of strong coffee.
I have had sleepless nights and have had extreme fatigue.
I have missed several days work and several partial days.
Financially this treatment has cost me about 50 percent of my normal income. I am a commission salesperson in the automotive field.
Is there anyone else out there that are having the same difficulties?
I would like to hear from you.
I am grateful for this treatment and am hopeful for great results.
I plan to continue treatment as I am almost half way through.
Mike
Mike – I started getting dizzy on week 11. I have 2 pills left and then I am done with the 12 weeks. The other side effects I have had through this were fatigue and stomach indigestion. Most is gone.But by 9pm every night I just fall asleep in a matter of seconds watching TV. I went through the first 5 weeks feeling very good.
Mike were you ever on InterFEARon!!!???? I was and had the WORST PANIC ATTACKS DEPRESSION SUICIDAL THOUGHTS & would BURST into TEARS for NO REASON!!!! I do have some side effect from Harvoni such as headache & insomnia but NOTHING COMPARED to that RAT POISIN I was injecting into my body! Hang in there we are all in this together!!!! I am just going into my 2nd week on Harvoni These side effects are a LOT more TOLERABLE than Inter FEARon Ribavarin!!!!!
My doctor has just requested harvoni treatment of 6 mos. for me. I have medicare and part d coverage. Does anyone have the same situation, and if so, how did it work out for you? How much did it cost you? Did you get help for funding the additional costs, such as co-pays.
Medicare part d has just put my “1st” 28 day supply in my hand, but I’m worried what the new budget will bring, hopefully all continues, but Im scared
I have Medicare part D and “SilverScript” Ins (which is a Medicare add-on similar to AARP) My medicare premiums are no longer covered since I no longer qualify for extra help like Medicaid. So my cost for my Medicare is approx $120 a month. SilverScript is $22.20 a month. My Hepatologist had requested Harvoni and Ribavirin for 3 months. I am Geno type 1c stage 4 with some cirrhosis but normal liver enzymes. I was approved in a week and have received my first months dosages for both meds and had to pay a $3.36 copayment. My whole treatment will be $10.08.
Four years ago I had Medicare and Medicaid and was taking Interferon and Ribavirin (No premiums for the Ins but the $3.36 copayment was the same). The side affects were horrible and after 12 weeks they discontinued the treatment because it wasn’t working.
The success rate for Harvoni is high 95%-99%. So I am excited about being treated now.
I took my first doses yesterday so I can’t really say anything about side effects. I wish you luck in your treatment, my only suggestion is to acquire a secondary Ins that works with Medicares part D coverage.
People who work for Big pharma companies, spent years in school, and are thousands in debt…they did not do this to work for free…Its not the peace corp…and there are thousands of failures before success, and miles of red tape.
Where God is there is freedom. faith is the key. never give up hope.
I’m just finishing week 6 of Harvoni. I just picked up my blood results from testing at week 4 and my viral load was undetectable at that point. My ALT and AST scores are down to normal range (34 and 28 respectively). I am on the 8 week program, so have two weeks left. I won’t know for sure if my body has permanently cleared the virus until I do my final blood test at 6 months post-treatment, but for now I am hopeful.
I’ve had Hep C for 32 years; I got it when I was 16.
The first couple weeks of Harvoni I had super waves of fatigue, especially late in the afternoon. I set up FMLA just in case, and have taken an afternoon off work here and there to go home and rest. I could have “made it through” without that extra time, but having sustained through a lifetime of having this disease, I decided that I would allow myself to nurture my body through this short treatment. I also had joint pain in the first couple of weeks, which I haven’t seen anyone else mention.
Do I have new energy now? I’ve always struggled with definitions of fatigue and energy, as I’ve had Hep C my whole adult life. Who knows what my “natural” energy level is… I’m doing ok, but I don’t feel mysteriously pumped with energy. I work, go to the gym, walk my dog, deal with stress – having just moved through the holidays, I’m hanging in there. I do notice that I’m waking up with more energy, but I have also normalized my sleep patterns, going to bed much earlier through this treatment time.
Even though the side effects are less than the challenging treatments we’ve had access to in the past, it is still a combo of powerful drugs that you’re filling your body with. I’m trying to really honor that it is probably a challenge to my body – going to bed early, saying “no” to events outside work and home, telling friends and coworkers that I need extra rest… After the 8 weeks, I’m planning to “detox” – likely with some fasting and yoga and more sleep. This science fiction drug combo is so powerful – I’m sure there are many, many additional impacts on the body and psyche…
Thank you so much for your experience with Harvoni. You are the only person so far that has let us know how it feels. I hope that it will continue to clear this terrible virus.
i been on it 12 weeks and im undetectable.i actually look forword to taking it every day because it makes me feel better.iv’e had almost all other hep-c treatments all them made me so sick body and mind i had to stop.iv’e got hep-c 1a and this harvoni is a miracle drug with the only side effect is feeling good!
Happy for you Bobby…looking forward to mine.
I would like to join conversation. Susan hope you stay optimistic, it helps. Where are you in the treatment at present? I am finishing up with July 9 as end date. I am geno type 1,a, tx naïve, The 6 months following treatment with Harvoni will be a long stretch! I have waited a long time to treat as I have child and job so had to keep moving. Harvoni and Support Path have made this possible for me. Very grateful for all who persist and get this opportunity. I work so can’t communicate often but will be sure to answer all e-mails and comments at week end. Hope to hear. I have a degree in Nutrition and will be very glad to help anyone who needs it. Have a positive and happy week. Makena
Hello, I was diagnosed with Hep C in 2004. I am genotype 1a and I my viral load was undetectable until Feb of this year it was at 40,000 I believe. I didn’t start researching treatments until a month ago despite my doctor telling me treatment is not a concern right now but why does one have to wait until they are very ill in order to get the Harvoni treatment. I was just wondering how you were able to get funded?
Good Morning Lee, I am very happy to say that “Support Path”, is what you need to get Harvoni. ? is your income something that is considered a road block? That was it for me, and after 3 denials from Medicade, Support Path took me in and have been wonderful. Your physician should help, Mine is a Very Very good and caring person. As for your ?, re: why wait for greater damage, indeed!!!. Get Max Milk Thistle, stay away from junk food and as always alcohol. Read labels and push for Harvoni. I started 4 million + copies, “it has been higher at times”. Now at 4 wk., 320 copies; all liver tests came back excellent! My 8 week was un-detectable, next is the final TX test, 7/10/15. Then await 3 mo. test and final 6 mo. test, . But will he vigilant for the rest of my life. Let me know if I can do anything for you. Get Well and stay well. Would highly recommend Maximum Milk Thistle and lots of cocoanut water.
I’m on medicaid and have been denied 3x for Harvoni. My Dr is now talking to the company for financial assistance. My understanding is the company will send my Harvoni through the mail. Have you heard of this? My main question is how long did it take after your 3rd denial from medicaid to recieve help from the company?
Shannon I got a call Frm gilead themselves about a month after my third denial so just be sure to answer ur phone when u see an out of state # or 800# calling on the phone. I received my first month of meds a week later. So keep ur head up and be patient it will happen soon. I’m 5 weeks into my treatment, and so far so good. Keep me posted
Yes they send it through the mail through FedEx you have to let him know monthly right before you run out for the month. Approximately a week before but they get it to you FedEx within a day or two and have to sign for it
My boyfriend of 17 yrs kept getting denied for Harvoni by Medicaid or Medicare I can’t recall right now.His doctor finally found a way to get it for him but by then the liver damage was too bad and he died within a month.
Had HepC for yrs with no symptoms. Suddenly his abdomen and feet swelled up, a month later his Dr cut a small incision in that membrane to drain the water and ten days later it split so peritonitis killed him within two days. I can’t help but feel that if he had the Harvoni six months earlier he’d still be alive, I’ve heard such amazing stories about it. I have HepC too and it’s never bothered me or my Dr, but since I saw the horrible pain my bf was in before he passed away I am so scared I’m petrified. I absolutely do not want to go thru what he did. The Drs don’t seem to want to treat until someone is really sick. It makes me so mad.
Milk thistle & Moducare were what has helped my husband keep his liver functioning at higher levels for years now until Harvoni!
Able to buy over the counter, actually online was cheaper.
My insurance paid for Harvoni treatment.
did you take herbs while on harvoni? milk thistle?
not enough, Milk Thistle kept my load safe. Before tx with Harvoni I was getting pretty ill, I just took my 3 month out Blood Test and will soon know If I get the cured……. My last pill was 7,9 and I was on 12 wks. My 4 k test came back 320, then at 8 not detected and at 12 post tx I was still clear so I am hopeful! Good luck to all, I am finding out so many have taken tx and beat this, people I would never have thought ?
this really needs to come out of the closet with all other issues as humans we have, and we need to support eachother, it is a hard time. Many Blessings. <3
Thank you for the suggestion of “Support Path” (whatever it is 🙂 I’m going to look into it. I’m so happy for you!
I was told my brother to qualify for this new program he is on Medicaid he has stage 4 liver cancer his mind is very unclear at times. He has had Hep C for over 20 years. He was recently in the hospital for internal bleeding he has been told he needs to have his gallbladder removed.. I just wonder how this new med can help stage 4 liver cancer reverse the effects it’s done to his mind… He has been taking methadone or silver year so pain if any of you can help me understand what kind of prognosis he might have I would greatly appreciate it..
stage 4 cirrhosis you mean? I take lecithin 1000 mills and milk thistle 800 mailgrams a day the thistle and 600 mailgrams of selenium I also have stage 4 g etting ready to take harvoni my viral load is low cause I started selenium 0ne year ago it was 2 million now its 86 thousand I read selenium could help lower it its my only explanation for it being lower that and prayer to the ,lord
I hope by now your brother is better. My bf of 17 yrs just died from liver failure from his HepC. He was on Medicaid and his Dr finally got approval to put him on Harvoni about three weeks before he died. I have HepC too, and have never really worried about it, my Dr says I don’t need treatment yet… But after seeing what my bf went through, omg I’m so scared now…
When his liver began failing, you know, your legs and abdomen fill with water. He couldn’t handle it, so his Dr cut a small slit in the thin membrane holding your insides in…to drain the water periodically. He warned him it could easily rupture. And it did about two weeks later. Within a couple hours his abdomen got so toxic and he was in so much pain, they put him on IV antibiotics and put him under for the pain. He never regained consciousness, then died two days later.
Sorry, thanks for listening… It was only about a month ago. I’m scared of going out like that but am not too hopeful about getting Harvoni, being on Medicare, or Medicaid… Whichever one I have, I don’t know. Im disabled, on Social Security. It’s bad though, they wont do anything for my teeth except pull them out. If they don’t care if I can eat I don’t see them caring if I get my HepC cured….
Again, thanks for listening, I got kinda carried away… 🙂
I’m getting ready to start I would love some nutrition help thank you
hi makena ,this post was 6 months ago,from what im seeing on here,please tell me,how are you today after taking harvoni? im going to be taking it as well,i think im geno type 1 like you,can you please tell me what that means? im going to be seeing my doctor about it,but was hoping you could answer it sooner,thank you so much for your willingness to help others,i could also use some nutritional help,im over weight thank you
Hi today is day 1 for me my count is approximately 9 million I’m nervous excited and scared
Hello Bobby, I am finishing the 12 week also. I am genotype 1, and was 4 mil at beginning, at 4 wk, still detected at 330, big drop, at 8 week was clear- no decetable virus. My next test will be 7/10/15. Then the wait for 6 months puts me into January. If you are interested I would like to compare notes with you at that time.
I got the same feeling, feeling good
My husband refused the other meds as he has the genotype that didn’t respond very well and the side effects looked hideous.
So glad you’ve found the drug to cure you without them!
Beachmom64
Agent of Gilead, everyone need Harvoni. Do you people know how much depression you are causing to patients when you price the drug way far beyond the reach of most Americans?
At the same time, you people are making unethical and unprofessional restrictions in Asia on who should and who should not get the drug in the name of profit. Due to your pricing the government retorted to unfriendly selective procedures to only offer cure for the sickest community of Hep C. Mental health is equally importance as physical health.
REDUCE THE PRICE AND CURE HEP C
The company that makes harvoni has made it access able to everyone in the U.S. that needs it.
Just call gilead and discuss the inabilety to pay full price with the agent
I disagree somewhat. If you are uninsured then they will help. if you have insurance such as medicare d – too bad and they move on. my money goes for my insurance and basic needs but the copay with medicare d plan is about 4k a month! That is ridiculous. It needs to be more affordable. pray that everyone will be cured.
Yeah, there’s only one problem with offering a drug at discount to people without insurance coverage. Thanks to the ACA, everyone either has insurance, or has declined it in favor of paying their own way. So you’d just be offering the discounts to the people who are most able to pay the full price, or who are living on such a tight margin they don’t have the money to spend on them no matter how cheap they are. And “people who are underinsured”? Who are so only because of the high prices certain companies extort out of their customers for their life-saving medical supplies? Which insurers don’t want to pay for either? Do these guys ever look in a mirror?
Plus, I really love that insurance companies won’t pay for an expensive, but almost sure-fire cure, when they can continue to pay for maintenance drugs and therapies that are cheaper, but don’t cure the disease. Because you really have to appreciate the concern for the overall health of their policyholders demonstrated by deciding they’d be better off continuing to live with their (formerly) incurable, deadly disease. Because, statistically, they will die before the bill ever gets that high. On average.
You know, just like it is with everything else in this screwed-up country, now entirely owned and operated by corporations. They have arrived, as always, at the most cost-effective solution by eliminating any moral factors from the equation.
I guess we finally found the “death panels” those guys were trying to say the ACA was going to stick us with. Looks like the private sector is trying to show they can do it better, and for less. Is it just me, or has the entire focus of insurers now become to take your money and then try NOT to pay any of it out to you to, you know, ENSURE your continued existence, as a company selling INSURANCE is obviously not implying they are going to do, because it’s surely not their fault people don’t notice that INSURE doesn’t mean quite the same thing as ENSURE? And after lobbying the govt to enact universal coverage, making insurance mandatory, no less.
With all that, it’s most mystifying why longer, and thus more costly regimens of this stuff are required for those who have already received treatment via other drugs. Having more physical damage from the disease, that I can understand, the body has already suffered some permanent damage, and doesn’t snap back as easily. But previous treatments, too? These are mutually exclusive treatments, or what? Or they alter body function in such a way that one drug has to undo the chemistry alterations of the first, before it can begin its own adjustments? I am not understanding this part at all.
I had the honor of gilead approving me for the treatment free of charge and I’m a simple restaurant worker. I will forever greatful to the, for giving me this chance and I’m sure if u follow there instructions many others will get the chance that I am given. I’m only on week 4 but no side effects thus far…
That is great news – I am happy for you. I have a relative who is receiving the treatment courtesy of the VA, for his Vietnam service. His out-of-pocket will amount to something like $80, he said. I hope Gilead makes it available to as many of the afflicted as possible in this way. They could earn serious PR value through a concerted humanitarian gesture in this regard. Its not like they arent already making a tidy profit off the many other products they produce or license. Think of the respect they could earn worldwide by selflessly choosing to help eradicate a horrible disease while making profits secondary.
I have a low regard for Big Pharma in general, but a company which did that in the US would earn my undying respect, I dont know about you.
Anyway, my best wishes on a positive outcome for yourself and everyone else facing HepC. FWIW, I’m rooting for you all!
Thank you for your post! It’s exactly how I feel, and it’s a total rip off by the insurance companies. First they told me it was free, (Kaiser) then they said I had to pay $3000.00 because I was in the donut hole. (medicare part d) Thank you George Bush. So, I find out no, I’m actually in Catastrophic which means I pay $12.00. That was wrong too. I did find funding with Patient Access Network. Easy as pie but Kaiser won’t take the payment from them. I have to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement. I called Customer service 4 times today trying to figure out if I could just wait until next Jan. when the donut hole thing will be gone. No way around it they tell me unless I’m willing to go on Medi Cal. Hah, I don’t qualify. How much $ do these robbers need. Something else will probably kill me anyway, but I’m hoping to feel better so I’ll charge it and pay the interest until I get reimbursed. No, you are not alone. If you can’t find funding and you are in the US Patient Access Network is picking up all Hep C co-pays. It takes about 2 minutes to qualify. Healthcare for All!!!
I just have to say something about the Affordable Care Act. It may not be beneficial in some cases but I can tell you in a lot it is. I never can’t understand why somebody would not want insurance. In these cases yes it may not help but a lot of the people on this forum say to keep persisting as they have got it… The harvoni paid for that is. There are many other people that don’t have Hep C type 1 and due to having insurance because of the ACA they are benefiting. There was a time I was close to death because of having no insurance. Yes the hospitals emergency rooms would see me but didn’t draw blood or do their best because I had no insurance. It is so much different now. I’ve seen the Affordable Care Act do more good for people the not. So we can blame a lot on the ACA but then those that wouldn’t get the help they needed if there were no Affordable Care Act then they to would be complaining. And the same for those people… Because of the Affordable Care Act and because they have something terminal they now are getting proper treatment and I’ve witnessed it. So if there were no Affordable Care Act then those people would be suffering and their disease is just as bad as ours. That’s all I’m going to say about that I wasn’t quite sure what’s the person meant… If they had a 12 dollar copay or that thousands of dollar copay. If it’s the $12 then I know it can be a lot but it sure beats the $200,000 treatment cost. I have about a seven dollar copay. Anyhow there’s pros and cons for everything and I’ve seen more pros and again I don’t know how anyone would not want health insurance. But that’s just me. And again I’m not going to get into it anymore I would just say to continue to listen to the ones that are being positive and how they were able to get treatment and how they very persistent as I was. To the point I was ready to do more than screen. It took a lot of time and a lot of energy but luckily I did get it. So my only suggestion is to follow the ones that had problems getting treatment as they were denied and how they kept persisting and finally got it after many denials. That’s just a suggestion and those are the people on the forum that I paid attention to and thank goodness because it worked
Geez Johnny I totally agree with you I just saw this reply from you. I got my 12 week treatment for a $6 copay. But even though I have cirrhosis and had treatment before the doctor only had me stay on it for 12 weeks instead of 24. He said it was because I wasn’t on the triple therapy for very long. Anyhow my viral load after 4 weeks went down to 22. He having me get my blood drawn again until April fourth which will be exactly 6 months from when I stopped or finished the treatment I should say. I don’t know why it took so long for me to get this
Oh and by the way I had some blood drawn for something else and it was the first time ever that my liver enzymes where within normal limits
Thank you for sharing that. Glad to hear you cleared the virus and that it was thanks to the Affordable Care Act as we hear so much negative stuff about it. I think I would be covered with Medicare/Medicaid but I’ve been afraid to do it because of sides and that it might just come back like it did with a lot of people who took interferon.
hi glenn,this is what ive been trying to find out,i need to feel better,im so sick right now,if i call gilead,they will help? im on masshealth right now,oh god please ? i hope so…thank you
Ask your Gastrologist or Heptoligist about getting on a Harvoni treatment. If you do not have a doctor that can help than I hope you can get one. The doctor needs to prescribe Harvoni then you may contact Gilead & ask for help.
Best of luck. This is a true miracle drug for the Hep group.
thank you i will,i will let you know soon what happens,again thank you,i feel like there is hope
Te sting only
I’m so glad to hear positive outcomes from the Harvoni and hope that people who want to take it can afford to get it.
The Gilead web site says they may be able to help if you cannot afford it. Of course you must get your doctor’s prescription for it.
I have to read some of the comments to see if anyone answered your question because this forum doesn’t always do that. I noticed a lot venting. But to answer your question about what is genotype 1 or what does it mean… I was explained something to this effect… If you think of a bird of prey as your hepatitis C or anyone’s hepatitis C being the genotype … And then and think of the number as a bird of prey. And Your letter is a specific bird of prey. I have genotype 1A:.
So I think of my genotype 1a like this… the genotype is hepatitis C and my number 1 is a bird of pey say 1 is an eagle (as opposed to somebody else with another number). So I think of my number 1 as let’s say an eagle which would be my bird of prey . And my letter A would be my specific bird of prey… So let’s say a bald eagle and maybe somebody else’s is an American Eagle… I don’t know how many different types of eagles there are… But that’s how I think of it. And if anyone else can give a better explanation please do.
Hello my name is Kate Adams from Indianapolis and i met doctor Bongani Gumede post, i was diagnosed with Herpatitis B, I started taking some vitamins and other prescribed medications but i wasn’t cured, I saw a comment about Dr Bongani Gumede on how he cured someone with herbal medicine, and it takes 9 days for the patient to get cured, I contacted him and he guided me. I asked for solutions he started the remedies for my health, he sent me the medicine ups COURIER SERVICE. I received the parcel a week later, so I started taking the medicine as prescribed by him, within 14 days i started to see some changes in my body, and before the completion of the 14 days i was cured, so I’m urging you to contact him for help, he’s the only one that help you get cured from the virus and once you are cured you are cured forever, its not reversible okay! you can reach him on ….. bongani.gumedeherbalhome@gmail.com +27787166394
Have you heard of many people who have taken the Harvoni and it cleared the virus and didn’t come back?
Is this drug Harvoni expensive?
Yes $1200 per pill, My Doctor told me there is all kinds of way to get help, I have Medicare, Humana and LSI Rider and I am paying $6.15 co-pay per month. Being broke sometimes help
Hi what is LSI Rider?
I know I call it the perks of being poor. Isn’t that pathetic. Anyhow my insurance have Medicare and Medicaid spendown hose approved the appeal and I get blood work done well I’m going to get it done after this weekend. I have the labs and then I guess I’ll start the 24 week thing. Just wondering about the guy that said the only side effect is feeling good. I was wondering if that guy has ever been in treatment before and has cirrhosis. cuz I’m really hoping not for many side effects. it can’t be worse than that triple therapy I know. Anyhow I hear some people get really really really tired. I’m hoping not to but I’m a tired person anyhow ok so any feedback would be appreciated thank you
not hose but has… This damn autocorrect actually Auto incorrect hope that’s the only mistake it was
This is a response to lee. Not sure why it says my name and then an arrow with my name. Only once the doctor decides if you should start treatment he puts in a pre authorization and then once it’s approved he should instruct you. I received a phone call and I believe papers from the company I can’t remember. But the company will know if the doctor puts the prescription and he doesn’t actually hand it to you at least he didn’t to me. Then I had to call the company and they asked for a lot of information like my name birthdate the medications I was on Exedra. I had this set a date as to when I would be home so that they could deliver it because it is sent through the mail FedEx. So I imagine in all cases the prescription is not actually handed to you. The pharmacy is in another state and it’s a specialty pharmacy called a acaria
I have Medicaid and 2 children. I am genotype 1a and my last apt in Feb of this year my viral load was 40,000. Did you have to get a script first then you requested help from your health insurance. I’m sorry but I just don’t know where to start. I’ve been seen by the same doctor since I was diagnosed in 2011.
Yes you do need a script. Most people have been diagnosed for many many years and their viral load is in the millions but still better to get cured now before it gets bad and turns into cirrhosis. Your doctor s to feel you have a need for treatment and put in a pre authorization to get it as well as blood work before treatment can even be started. Yes its a strong drugs so it needs a prescription. But again this prescription he has to get pre authorized from the insurance even if its Medicaid The problem auth needs approved before the tx will get paid for since it is a very expensive medication . So it does need a pre authorization and again its a strong medication so yes it’s not over the counter and needs a prescription. So that’s why you should start by going to your doctor ask and if you qualify or if you’re a good candidate for the Harvoni&i treatment and the steps needed to take the start it. Let him know that you’re ready to begin or if everything is in order to begin or what is needed on your part to get everything in order to begin. Does that make sense? Correct me anybody if I gave the wrong information. But basically the answer your question is yes you need a prescription but there’s more to it than just that. The pharmacist isn’t going to just fill it and the doctor isn’t going to just write it.
Sovaldi costs $1,000 a pill, or $84,000 for a typical 12-week course of treatment, but it must be used with other drugs. Harvoni is even more expensive at $1,125 a pill, or $94,500 for a 12-week course of treatment. But that is roughly in line with the total cost for Sovaldi and the drugs used with it. I just started my treatment my insurance wouldn’t pay so my doctor went different route because my husband recently had a heart attack so the insurance covered it because I was his care giver.
Thanks for the Post and Godspeed to you, I started today the 1 day pill for 24 weeks of treatment, I will do my best to keep others inform. What is FMLA
family medical leave where u can take off from work and they hold ur job without penalties
So Happy for u. Hope this drug gives you a well deserved cure…Just saw my Dr. on Wed & I am looking forward to another round of drugs. I have seen the same specialist for 15 yrs. I have had hep c for 41 yrs,(1976) was diagnosed in ’92 when I gave blood at work. have been through Peginterferon shots/ Ribavirin, Pegasus, then Solvaldi, now this Harvoni. I remain hopeful, after Solvaldi i felt cured for the 1st time but my viral load came back still it is the lowest it has been thru all other treatments. My sister died from hep c, and both my brothers have it but they are on disability, welfare, & won’t go for help…We grew up with a mother who reminded us over & over that Dad chose drugs to hide the pains of WW2… ……. I am off subject , back to you.. Glad to hear that things are better for you. Surely, sounds like u will be able to see many good days ahead.
My husband is currently taking this medication and he is experiencing joint pain. So I’m wondering if it’s from this as u mentioned u had. He’s only on a lil over 2weeks of taking it.
I have been on for 2 weeks..fatigue and achy. How long after does it tale for the liver to heal?
I started on Harvoni about 6 weeks ago. Only side effect for me is fatigue, but not overwhelming. Make sure you call your physician 10 days before the next months refill. I presumed my physician had the refill at his office and missed 3 days dosage. Even though harvoni was prescribed, I had to go through re-authorization for the refill. When my doctor told me the cure, 2 months!, the price, $64,000!!!, and that I would have to copay $200.00!, I knew there was a god!
I called the number on the RX and got refills delivered within days to either home or Doctors office -fast- I am finishing up 12 week TX. Doctor was surprised at the fast results! The people at Support are really caring with a human touch that we need. Try to work with them re the refills, they won’t let you have gaps in the treatment!
I certainly agree it has to be powerful those drugs. I haven’t started it yet but soon and the last time on triple therapy I could convince myself I was not going to get side effects or have side effects. So thinking positive about it didn’t make much of a difference. So I’m either going to have them or not. Last time I wouldn’t stay still even know my hemoglobin was so low and I hardly couldcould breathe and I don’t think that Help much. This time I’m going to do what you are doing or did go with the feeling and rest. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I have cirrhosis but I think now I won’t worry so much about any regenerating of the liver from my house that’s left No my healthy liver that is left. I really believe I’ll be cured and this virus won’t eat or destroy any new growth
Congrats that this is working for you!!!
HI,IT IS SO AWSOME TO SEE YOUR HAPPY COMMENT,I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I HAVE HEP C,SO IM HOPING I CAN GET THIS TREATMENT,IVE HAD IT FOR YEARS AND DID NOT KNOW IT,can you please answer a question for me? did you have to pay out of pocket yourself or did you get some kind of help? im on masshealth,and i heard its way too much money for them to accept,do you know if this is true? and congrats to your healthy life,thanks to harvoni ; )
I am in India and have had hcv since 2006 , I am too eagerly awaiting the release here by generic companies that gilead has tied up with ( 7 companies ) according to my local docs / hepatologist harvoni and sofosbuvir should be available for aaprox $900 either for a month or 3 months ( not sure about it ) by mid to 3rd quarter of 2015 .
will keep all updated as soon as they are released here .
best wishes to all and a happy new year .
Hi ! Sah , which doc did you visit in India , i am also in India , in Delhi . could you let me know this doctor so i could also consult him. been hep c positive since detected in 2005 , probably infected in 1987 , Its a Miracle of God that He has kept me alive.
my email is rahul12feb@yahoo.co.in
pls keep in touch , send me your email also.
God Bless you.
I read an article from the internet regarding the exuberant prices. Now get this, fing “AFRICA” is being given the entire “Harvoni” ‘cure’ for $10.00 per pill! WTF!!! I am unsure if this truly ‘is’ the case…will someone please check this out? I hope “I” misunderstood. I doubt it.
Can you get the treatment without liver biopsy
Yes, you can. I did. A liver biopsy has it’s own risks. Karen
You don’t have to have a biopsy anymore. Biopsies are kind of nuts; being stabbed in the liver 2-3 times!!! I had my last 2 tests with a new Fibroscan machine which takes 5 minutes and is non-invasive. Good luck!
Yes, i did.
The first treatment I seeked out 2 years ago was a clinical trail and required the liver biopsy. I decided not to go that route
After waiting 2 years, I went to my Gastro and they start with an ultrasound, if they see scarring or problems they will send you to another place that works like an MRI. I believe it’s a Fibrascan. You sit there for an hour or two and it’s non invasive and easy
Now is a good time to get treated if you’ve been waiting
You can get a blood test instead of a biopsy now! Fibrosure.
yes, i did. those can be dangerous. most drs. aren’t doing them anymore is what i hear.. they have other tests to see whats going on in your liver.. i just had a sonogram.. a few.. But i had a low viral loaf..1.3 Million..
FYI I live ina state that has Extended Medicaide.. THANK GOD because i am unemployed and frankly do not think i Could have worked a full day due to the symptom of the hepC becuase the symptoms were finally kicking in .. although my VL was SO LOW – dont let people tell you that is EVERYTHING! I had this disease for 40 years, possibly longer.. i was an IV drug user in my youth.. so i know exactly when i could have caught it… i got clean and sober young so not drinking/ drugging saved me for years healthwise, but eventually i got the symptoms but NO liver damage… i did however start to notice vision changes, needing glasses, extream fatigue in the last 5 years, dark urine at times, and liver pain at times.. as well as developing hypothyroidism about 10 yrs ago which is very common amoung Hep C people, aslo I developed extremely High Blood pressure, also associated with long term Hep C..
I have cleared the Hep C after 12 weeks becuase i was also Treatment Nieve. Immedately my vision is better! i dont need perscription glasses.
I still feel sort of tired, but MUCH more energetic in the morning.. I’m not working out yet.. but hope to be soon..
during the treatment i experienced virtually no side effects except a headache IF i didnt drink enough water.. i was tired in the afternoons and did experience insomnia during treatment but i had suffered from that before treatment…
Things like the high Blood pressure and hypothroidism could ne unrelated to the Hep C, However i have done a lot of research on my own over the years, esspecially on Hep C and women and i have found research in these areas supporting these statements in medical research esspecially in people with long term Hep C ( over 20 years) when one starts becoming symtomatic. Unfortunately there is not much research on women and Hep C.
I live in Rhode Island and and STILL shocked i qualified for free treatment since i had such a low virla load. I was denied at first when the insurance companies were only treating the very sick, which IS important but all of us need to be treated.
EVERYONE needs to call / email their senators and congressmen to DEMAND ALL STATES have EXTENDED MEDICAIDE so people that cannot afford medical insurance even with the ACA ( Obamacare) CAN be insured! These Repulican Govenors in some states dont do this simply becuase they dont like Obama and PEOPLE DIE in their states becuase they are UNINSURED. It is SICK. Federal law can fix this.
Good Luck to everyone. And dont blame Giliad.. they are giving free meds to MILLIONS worldwide! demand our Government works for US!
Hi I am on my 5th week of Harvoni. The only side effects have been a little fatigue but not much
.I called Giliad and they gave me the drugs for free. My qualification was that we have an adjusted gross income of under$100,000 and I do not have medicare D. You can go on the Giliad website and click on their patient help tag. I forget what that tag is called. Any way they have a phonr # on it and we got a very nice lady who told us exactly how to fill out the forms which your Dr has to sign then your doc has to send the forms to Harvoni and they then autherize a special pharmacy to send them fed ex overnight directly to you.
I used to bash the drug companies but not any more as Giliad has been incredibly helpful to me and is saving my life. I have had HepC for 45 years type Ia with stage 4 cirrhosis. Sorry there is no spell check on this site!!
Any way after 2 weeks my viral load went from 370,000 down to 20 (that is 20! two zero! not 20,000) So I just wanted to give you hope to be able get the best drug out there even if you don’t have the money to get it.
I tried all the natural stuff and it probably kept me going pretty good before I took Harvoni but would not get rid of the virus. I very rarely
took meds before this but I am very happy now to be able to live longer.
My GI doctor told me not to worry about a thing. He said he will handle everything. And now I’m on my 8th day of a six month supply that I have received for free.
Pete, I’m just saying it can be done
Finished treatment feel like a champ Thanks harvoni
You didn’t say if you are Hep.C free? Have you been cleared of this disease?
The USA seems to give millions and more to other countries for HIV drugs as well as other drugs Why cant they ever take care of their own and pay for our drugs for a change instead of subsidizing pharmaceuticals with tax breaks thanks
Does anyone have any experience with Harvoni working on genotype 4 and how long a treatment period 12 weeks or 6 months. I have been waiting on this medication since 1987.
I have insurance they turn me down first time. Dr resubmited and gave me a coupon for my cost to be $5.00 a month. My insurance approved it. I talked to the coupon company and they are going to a $23,000.00+ for the next nine months to pay for any medical cost I have
I struggled with the insurance company in order to get Harvoni and I was denied several times. Support Path was able to help me and I got three months for free!!! I tried to take the previous treatment but the side effects were terrible. This is my second week on Harvoni and the side effects are manageable. I hope that everyone applies for assistance with Support Path in order to get the medication to cure this disease!
Please let me know what side effects you had in the first month of treatment.
I am week 4 on treatment. Waiting for first viral load results. Surprisingly paid 100% by hubby’s insurance at work.
I’m finishing my 12th week out of 24. Side effects of Harvoni in the first few weeks would be headaches which can be controlled with massive water intake (3 quarts or liters) and Tylenol. I also had a shot of vertigo. It all went away 3-4 weeks into treatment. After that, I’ve had trouble to ”get up and go” but once going, everything is alright. I’ve done Interferon/ribavirin twice before and this Harvoni treatment is nothing compared to before. It’s easily taken, has few side effects and I was Undetectable after 4 weeks. I also felt 10 years younger one week after starting the treatment. I encourage everyone who is F3-F4 to get started on this. Newer shorter treatments are coming up but for people like me who couldn’t wait anymore, this is a miracle treatment. Good luck to all!
Harvoni- when do you have to get blood tests when you are on the 3 month treatment?
I’m on the 8week my doctor whats to check my viral levels in a month if its good I will finsh the last month come back and be checked again if its still showing they will continue with one more month. I pay only five dollars I am truly blessed.
One has to ask how difficult it really is to produce whatever expensive drug one needs? And even if it is not expensive to make. how much was invested by people experimenting and searching and trial and error, cost of many failures etc before FINALLY they hit a winner! I mean it’s people that invest their time and effort and money…that RISK much hoping to find one of these big winners!….I need this one drug we are talking about, but did I do anything to help fund or work for it? And what is the difference finally between folks trying to find a homerun drug and say a miracle working surgeon or the best ANYTHING that it is in high demand.
Can anyone fairly accuse people of GREED unless they know all of what went into PEOPLE finally hitting their home run! I mean people could have spent thirty years barely scraping by one failure after another before they finally invested in a winner, or finally got a research job with yet another company…finally one that panned out with real opportunity! I’m just bringing this up because my initial reaction was “those GREEDY SOBs charging $1100 A PILL so that someone might LIVE? It just sounds so WRONG …until I have to admit that I don’t know anything about what went into it!
The other thing I can’t help but feel weird about is that I HAVE insurance and even though I will have to pay a big chunk out of pocket< I am in a position to that without suffering too very much….but I started to get mad thinking about the fact that a bunch of people not living in the United States…I just about KNOW are going to get the same drug for pennies on the dollar of what I have to pay! And if it were some entertainment device or something that was purely a luxury item. I think I would be right to be mad! But how do I get mad at poor people because someone is going to give them a break they are not going to give me ….See? It's so weird! its life and death finally.
And Hey If it is not insanely difficult and expensive to make, I will be very surprised if it does not get hacked or obviously WOULD be hacked so that the price plummets in all but places like the United States. I guess it's a lot like illegal immigration ….right is right and wrong is wrong, BUT when it comes down to trying to LIVE a half way decent life, the rule book tends to get tossed out for anyone that can't afford it. It provokes the most bizarre responses in people! I mean a company, that is PEOPLE might pour everything they have into a project in the hope of doing something incredibly good AND striking it rich,,,who knows how much money and time time effort all go for nothing in trying to win the prize….and who knows how much money is invested and heartbreakingly lost in one gamble or another trying desperately to win the big the big prize and cash in on a winner. And what is not good and right about all that?
Why else would there be so many folks RISKING so much and working so tirelessly hoping against hope to have the winning drug for one thing or another? And even when it all appears to be a done deal strike it rich time, who knows what unforeseen things is going to come along and just RUIN it all! Yet for all this people are sick that can no way pay!
…..Man I do not want have to have to pay the sky price! If some people can get it on the cheap then man I want to also if that is possible… I don't want to pay a penny more than I can possibly have to…that's just human nature….but still it such bizarre thing to contemplate the hard justice in people with a product having the right to make money off of THEIR investment, THEIR stuff! Fair? Right? It's up to them and their own consciences! I sort of would not want to be in those shoes because no matter how hard someone works to achieve something, if it boils down to people's lives vs right to make big money! …Nope I would not want to be in those shoes making those decisions that involve telling people what they MUST pay to live virus free! Very very strange!
ive had hep c for 40 years tried triple thearapy couldn’t do it too sick I have hep c geno 1 liver is 3 I can hardly get out of bed bc of fatique I hope the new treatment harvoni works myc is getting everything submitted for blue shield I cant wait dor approval
Does the harvoni work for genotype 2b?
Thank God For The VA Hospital…..My Cost For The Harvoni Treatment Is $0 Since I am 100% Service Connected There isn’t Even A Copay!
I’m treatment naive with cirrhosis, blessed enough to have Kaiser. Kaiser is also doing it in some kind of order, my doctor told me. I’m stage 4 on the cirrhosis and fit the bill exactly, so now I’m on it! It’s been about 6 weeks of 12 total. NO side effects! My viral load is 15 as of last week. Kaiser is only charging my copay ($30) for every two weeks-worth of pills. If I can be of help to anybody, please email me at lauraaristo@live.com.
I was 18 when I contracted. I’m 37 now and have waited for this day for so long. I used to worry about the day I would have to start Peg Interferon, but each time I went to the Hep doc, they said the disease needed to progress more before I could start treatment. It’s a scary feeling and disease. Once I heard the results people were getting with Harvoni, I was so excited, but thought my doc would say, that my disease hasn’t progressed enough to get it. Well, after a few blood tests and and Ultrasound, he submitted to my insurance. We started doing this in December, he said it was best to treat at beginning of year, so he wanted to wait till Feb., and.. Thank God! I finally got my Harvoni 3 days ago and Cigna paid for it all, minus $5 dollar copay
I am set to take for 8 weeks, since I am naive and don’t have a high enzyme
I an on day 3 and haven’t had any side effects to complain about. Mild headache, early to rise and some minor loose bowels.
Thanks for all the comments, I came here to learn more about it and hope I’m cleared after 8 weeks
My Gastro has asked me to come back in 8 weeks at the end of treatment. I’m just wondering why he didn’t want to check at 4, no big deal though, I’m just happy to have this option. I am sorry to hear that it’s so hard for people to get.
I have Genotype 4 and I am in Stage 4 with over 8 million in Viral
I just started a 24 week treatment taking Harvoni 1 a day. I have waited around 12-13 years, I am relaspe patient back in 2002,
I started on this medication late November, and yes my first 2 bottles were $64,000, Thank God I get help that pays for mine,I’m a Nurse but have been on disability for years.I’ve had some side effects; n/v,insomnia, most of what is to be expected, but of late I’ve been feeling like I’m quavering on the inside,and I’m swollen where my liver is,and very tender there,a lot of diarrhea, and trouble focusing at time’s,and real nervous, the main thing is the swelling and tenderness ,and yes the FATIGUE, just can’t shake it.I got me one of those magic Bullets, like the juicer and it has a recipe to cleanse the liver and bowel I have been using it and deem like it helps,I don’t know if anyone else is having this problem but I have not much appetite and everything has a real bad metallic taste meat makes me really sick,so I about live on smoothies ,I put all kinds of vegetation and fruits, nut’s and different powder’s; protein etc.in them and that’s working pretty good if anyone else is having that sort of problems. I would like to know how often does anyone see the Dr.,my Internist sent me to this Gastrointestinal specialist and I’ve seen him once since Nov.,I’ve had Hep C since 1995,and my enzymes started climbing and just kept going up,that’s why he sent me, because up till then I’d had no problems, I also have SLE AND RAa along with 18 back surgeries, and a heart problem, at 55y/o,but I didn’t start having anything except my heart,and back, until last Fall,then all my blood work came back awful and continued to worsen from there, yes the Harvoni is more than expensive, but Giliad, which is the pharmaceutical company that compounds it does have a indigent program that will help, because if it didn’t I couldn’t be on it,but the Dr. is the person that got mine and it even says on TV,that there are programs to help with the cost.I hope this help’s and if anyone can help by answering some of my questions I would deeply appreciate it.
Thank Everyone and God Bless.I’ll be praying for everyone and would love for everyone to pray for me and may we all receive a cure.
This is ridiculous. This kind of cost for a treatment drug for Hep C ? Someone is padding their pockets big time. Research costs money? You guys get grants to do research. Lots of grant money. Lots and Lots and Lots of grant money.You truly expect us to believe you are using “Private Funding” ? You do not put out one penny of your own money. Ha Chewww. I am allergic to Bull Crap. HAAA CHEWWW !
What RXDrug Insurance Plans cover this new medication – ExpressScripts will not cover the drug
I have bcbs they denied but check with BriovaRx that’s.who I used. If you need number let me know. Good luck
I started taking Harvoni on Feb 12th with a viral load of over 500,000. On Feb 24th my viral load was 0…yes, zero. Express scripts is my provider and I pay $20.00/month co-pay. It works for me!!!
please i am in EGYPT and i want to order Harvoni online and i don’t know how to order it or where i can find it in Indian pharmacies
any help please
First get you doctor to contact your insurance company for approval, if denided there’s other programs that can help. If you need any numbers for the harvoni company let me know…good luck
I just became UND with Harvoni after only 8 weeks my v/l was 18 MILLION!!!! 1st stage fibrosis gt 1b
I hear all these people getting cured but hardly anyone says they actually FEEL better… please someone tell me you feel better when it’s all said and done.
I have been on mine for a week, side effects are only headaches however I can tell its working, my skin complection has changed it was yellow looking before
Sanshark, I feel better each day. More energy clear head. Started March 10 2015 I had some fatigue ans headach dor 2 days but after no symptoms, Harvoni is defiantly a wonder drug.
I feel like I’ve been given a new lease on life. My energy levels are getting better, and I feel much better. But how can you measure gratitude, it feels like love. I’m so grateful I lived long enough to see this medical miracle, many of those who didn’t survive this illness wished they had the opportunity I’ve been given. Undetectable since week three, I’m blessed.
I have had a treatment already, interferon and ribaviron and one other drug I didn’t get to cuz 5 weeks in they took me off the treatment cuz it was draining my white blood cell count to the point I could die. So, will this new drug work for me?
Does anyone know what the success rate is for taking harvoni, do you have to worry about it coming back,
I been on it for eight weeks before taking harvoni my viro load were over 3 mill ion..and my lived anzine was 68first week of taking it my viro load dropped to 600 and now its o and my liver anzine is 8 now waiting to do another blood testttosee if it works
My viral load is under 1million, I found some infomation about Harvoni, the success is 94% if you have cirrhosis and 99% if you don’t.
Have been on Harvoni since 1/27/14. First lab after two weeks was down to 467 from 8700000. After 4 weeks it was undetectable. I have 1a with cirrhosis and took the triple tx 3 years ago but had to quit when my hemoglobin got critically low several times. I have had some fatigue and a few minor headaches. I think I got hep c in th 60’s and was not diagnosed until 1995. So far everything is going well. It truly is a miracle drug….if I am still undetectable in Jan. 2016.
My brother has had hep c for years, just started harvoni in November 2014, had a lot of joint pains and flu like symptoms for the first few weeks. Now I have been diagnosed and have not started treatments yet, I go to Dr on Monday to discuss and hopefully start treatments. I do plan to ask about Harvoni.
My mother was recently diagnosed with liver failure(she has cirrhosis) caused by hep c. She obtained the hep c many,many years ago from a needle stick while working in a drug/ alcohol rehabilitation center. The decline of her liver function happened very rapidly, over a course of 3 weeks. She was hospitalized for 2 weeks and a month prior she was walking, playing with her grandchildren and neither myself of my family members knew anything was wrong….she had no symptoms. My mom is my best friend and has always been my hero. Her GI doc said she couldn’t start the harvoni and that she needed to go on liver transplant list. The infectious disease doc she saw a few days ago said absolutely not…..she needs harvoni asap! Talks of harvoni occurred months ago and GI doc submitted prior auth to her insurance company….3 months later still no approval. We need help….NOW. She needs this medicine sooner rather than later. Please if anyone has any info on how we can obtain this medication we will be so grateful…..I can’t lose my mom…..not now. She is a very young 64 and has lived her life clean….no drugs, alcohol or tobacco use….ever…she would do anything for anyone. Please help!!
Contact Gilead they are giving it to uninsured by request
Call !-844-732-3941, explain to them your situation
Thank you I will call monday. I do have ins only it is being denied…the harvoni that is. but I will take your suggestion and explain situation. Thanks
I finished eight weeks of Harvoni and now eight weeks later my test showed undetectable…do I ever need to test again or am I done?
I’ve been on harvoni for 5 weeks now. I’ve had hehp c for nearly 50 years with no symptoms. My original viral count was fairly low. My oldest son has it also. He probably received it as a birth gift. He’s 37 with no symptoms. Neither of us have any detectable liver damage. We’ve been waiting for this medication to be available. The foundation has picked up the bill for everything that my insurance won’t cover. at week 4, I had no trace of the virus. I feel tired sometimes but that’s about it. It’s truly a miracle drug. If you can’t get your insurance to pay for any of it check out the patient access network. My pharmacy signed me up with them over the phone.
Started the program a little over two weeks ago, and so far, so good. No side effects to speak of, and the company that filled my prescription got a copay card for me, so it only costs me 5 dollars. And if you have Anthem, they cover!!!
Just started my Harvoni treatment 5 days ago.. So far so good…The only side effect I am having is a bit of overall fatigue a couple hours after I take it ..My Hep C was discovered during routine blood work and it is suspected I got it from blood transfusions given as a result of a motorcycle accident in 1974. I am looking forward to seeing the difference in my energy level after 40 years of having it compromised from this disease. …All the best to everyone that has struggled with this and amen that there has been such progress with treatment.
I am on week 2 of my 8 weeks of Harvoni treatment. I felt sick the first few days and now on day 9 i feel pretty good.As a nervous and anxious type person my problem is taking it easy. My life has much going on so i force myself to rest more. I hope to report back as soon as i get a blood test that is good. I took one blood test so far.
i will never have a chance to get the pill even if I sold whole of my property so I must die b4 my natural death
Contact Gilead and explain to them what you wrote to us. many are getting free treatment
I’m so excited I have to go take a class about it first before they prescribe the medication to me but after that it’s on like donkey kong 🙂
just started harvoni treatment, so far no noticeable side effects yet. just wondering if there is any weight gain or loss while in treatment
I started Harvoni yesterday. I felt great most of the day, although my vision became a little blurry in the afternoon. Then at 7 pm, I developed an excruciating headache. I remembered reading a post somewhere from someone on Harvoni who had a terrible headache and checked their blood pressure to find that it was very high, so I checked mine and it was 188/91. I went straight to an emergency room. My blood pressure went down after a few hours and the headache lasted until the morning, but got progressively less sever. I have had high normal blood pressure in the past, but nothing like this. I don’t want to risk this happening again, so I’m not going to proceed with the treatment. I can handle moderate headaches, fatigue and some insomnia, but I feel that this episode could have been life threatening. I personally know a few people who are on Harvoni and they few to no side effects. Guess I’m just one of the unlucky few.
i hope you have reconsidered and you’ve spoked w/ your Dr. about STOPPING TREATMENT due to a spike in BP?.!! that is redicuolous unless you have HEART problems? I have had BP that hight ON BP meds many times, and YOU WILL LIVE! It is MUCH more dangeous to NOT treat Hep C.. grow some balls woman!
Hi My name is Gia I was nearly dead 2 years ago went on a study with Gilead for this drug 12 weeks it was gone. I finished my treatment in September no taces or signs of Hep C it is a miracle. I was very lucky to be one of the people to get on this study after 2 failed interferon based treatments that were horrible for me this was a walk in the park. I hope and pray you all can get this drug I was really pro-active with trying to fix this . I looked back at a picture from Christmas 2013 and can not believe how lucky I am. The recovery has been a bit slow I was in stage 4 liver failure and was in bed for 5 years and slowy gaining my life back. Hold on be strong we are winning this horrible battle. I just want you all to know there is hope. Blessings and good luck to you all I so well know the suffering of this nasty beast.
Hi,
Please tell me, how can I get treatment ( Harvoni) ?
I need urgently for mom ! In Romania does not exist !
Thanks for help !! E-mail: cristina.tudor1985@yahoo.com
Yesterday was my first 28 day supply have appointment next week to check viral levels only side effects were the first 3 days and it was headaches. Feeling very confident about the Harvoni.
I’ve been on Harvoni + Ribavirin for 4 weeks. So far so good, though Ribavirin seems to cause a transient ‘metallic buzz’.
PCR test results at 4 weeks – No Virus Detected!!!
PCR test results at 4 weeks: No Virus Detected!
I just don’t understand this site is to help each other bit nobody responds to anything. Speak up people, we cans be help to one another.
So true I try but I get no response back either. I’m not asking for one but at least an acknowledgement that somebody read it. But I am glad some people wrote things on how to persist I’m getting treatment after being denied because that didn’t help but you’re right people don’t talk to each other on this forum for the most part
I was approved by Medicaid in state of Washington on December 27, 2015 for Harvoni, complete with an authorization number. In January the health authority rescinded my approval. They then re-reviewed my claim and denied it…$$$. So I’ve applied directly to Gilied’s care support. Now I must wait months I’m told. As I understand it, Gilead’s first move is to appeal the denial of the approval . In the meantime, for the first time I have raging lichen planus in and on my body. I did not have this before February of this year. It’s around my ankles up my shin, on my low back, and in my mouth. I knew what I had when a dentist identified what was plaguing me. I know this auto immune disease has reared its ugly head because of all of the stress involved with the hope of getting cured “Cleared” and then having that hope taken from me. I’ll never know why, but about 10 years after I learned I have this disease, around 2002, I felt to my gut that there would one day be a cure. So when I learned that I was approved I knew that day had come, and life was good. What is been going on since then is unconscionable and evil. We are human beings with a disease and there’s a cure, and we don’t have access to that cure, unless we are rich.
Katie what is this that you have in and on your body so I’ve had a lot of things gosh I don’t want that can you explain what it is you said it’s a raging lichen planus
I finished an 8 month regime with Harvoni and had virtually no side effects except for the first day and a half when I felt tired but also very relaxed. I was actually hoping that the relaxed side effect would last longer.
So far my test results were very good and I am going to have blood drawn for the post 3 month results in a few days.
I would advise almost anyone to try Harvoni. I waited two decades for this drug to avoid the side effects in previous drugs and I am glad I did.
How sad that this medication is so cost prohibitive. OF COURSE, the middle class pays again. If you are on a fixed income, receiving SSI Disability, or otherwise financially disadvantaged resources are available. If you are employed and trying to continue to be your told to get a loan? How sad, those that support the American Dream for so many others will not have the ability to consider seeking this treatment. Then what happens. This sickens me. How many will choose to die in lieu of destroying their family’s financial security.
This is the best thing I have ever seen I can’t wait to try it my husband and I are very young and were very worried we would never get cure but we say it advertised on tv today and it dropped my jaw to the floor you people are wonderful for inventing this! Thank you so much. Now I just have to fi d out how to pay for it lol
I hope more people post on side effects and SVR results as time goes on, I am waiting a bit to take the meds, because of horrible side effects when I was on a clinical trial with a similar drug (different company).
The thing is, even though I had to stop the clinical trial after one week, my viral load went from 9mil to 250k IN ONE WEEK. My AST and ALT levels were almost normal after that week. I was heart broken when I had to quit the trials, and to this day they do not know why I reacted the way I did. My blood pressure soared, even though I was on blood pressure meds, I had panic attacks and insomnia so bad that I literally did not sleep for 4 days. I had a low grade fever, as well. It was awful, so bad that the research team thought it to risky for me to continue. This was a Phase 3 trial on a drug that generally had NO side effects on most of the other people in the trial. There are always exceptions to the “mild or no side effects” crowd 😉
I want badly to get rid of my HepC, the VL is slowly creeping back up , but am honestly a bit nervous since all these new drugs are similar in the way they work.
The fact that the drug got rid of the virus in my body SO quickly reiterates why my Gastro calls it a “Shock and Awe Nuke ” drug. It works and it works quickly, but what are the long term side effects, and how does it interact with other medications? (In my case, blood pressure meds and beta blockers.) It is just too soon to tell I guess.
My last biopsy six months ago showed no cirrohsis, and my doc wants me to wait a bit “till the dust settles ” to take treatment since my liver is fine and I am asymptomatic. I want a cure, but not at the expense of the rest of my body.
I will be tracking posts here and in other places and hope one day I too will clear this virus once and for all.
In the mean time thanks for everyone’s updates.
are you talking about that triple therapy with interferon and the Pegasus and the one with the R or Invicta or whatever it was called? I know people that have gotten through it with mild side effects and are free of the virus. Me… I didn’t have many side effects for a few weeks and then my hemoglobin got low and I can hardly breathe and it hurt to walk and I look like somebody beat me up. it was working but like I said in one of my other posts it was feeding the purpose as my doctor said it wasn’t supposed to kill me while I was trying to get better. so it’s different for everyone myself it was horrible and again I know people that handle it very well. and it’s not like I can control my hemoglobin. what they do is draw blood and test a lot of different things about once a month. so the doctors will know if you should stay on it or not. but if you have type 1 apparently there is this new miracle drug I’ll be starting soon so no need for the other
Does this work on genotype 3 also?
would appreciate your answers.
I just finished a 24 week regime with wonderful results. After 30+ years of Hep C, I am now “cured”. My question is, are there any side effects that affect your body when you stop taking the Harvoni?
My mom suffered this diseas since 7 years .. her liver almost damaged ..this treatment came as our miracle ..our last hope since no one of my family could transplant liver to her ..but the price was totally shocking to us ..we are Jordanian family ..we could only saved the half of the price ..since we have no insurance .the government don’t financed or pay for such treatment ..we are doing iur best ..but time is runnig ..wish the price change soon ..we are hopless …pray for mom please ..if anyone could help ..please contact with me ..wish u all healthy and happy life
I have had hep c for 40 yrs. I started Harvoni 8 weeks ago. I had a small head ache for 3 days and that is all. I tried the Pegasis 10 yrs. ago and nearly died from the side effects. My viral load was a whopping 15 million when I started, and is undetectable now at 4 and 8 weeks. I thank God first and the makers of Harvoni. Also Cigna/Medicare for providing me with this miracle. I pray that every one who needs it will be able to get it.
I was thinking that perhaps adding ribaviron and/or interferon for one’s final month on Harvoni, might be like an insurance measure for a final coup d grace to wipe out any lingering copies of the virus? Have there been any trials where this was tried? I mean a success rate in the ninety percentile area is wonderful for sure, but even the thought of all those tens of thousands of dollars of meds being for nothing, just would make anyone paying for it (not to mention bearing side effects and whatever yet to be known possible downside aftereffects) hope for some way to make it more of a CERTAINTY than it apparently is as it stands now…no?
yes. I guess I don’t understand what you’re saying. I see no need to add that rat poison to something that already has a 98 percent chance of curing. those other two last drugs you mentioned for the last Month. .. No many people can’t take it. I for one can’t…. the side effects were defeating the purpose. it was killing me. so why mess with something that has a 98 percent chance of curing then chance screwing that up the last month and take something so strong that one would have to stop. therefore so much for the 98 percent. Think about it. Maybe I’m missing something but I just don’t get it it doesn’t matter and anyways they wouldn’t even think about it because it doesn’t make any sense
Really who cares what does it matter about the long term effects?people that had Hep C for a long time and is running rampant in their body will soon have a big effect with or without a medication or I should say without a medication. so not taking anything as a certainty. the virus is going to cause cirrhosis and who knows what else and if something else doesn’t kill you that well and it may be sooner then some long term side effect of Harvoni. like I said with the medication at least there’s a chance even in the long run there’s a side effect your later is yours later without it well think about it….hep c, cirrhosis Exedra…. death
My Name is Dickson Stella from ZAMBIA, i am here to give my testimony about a doctor who help me in my life. I was infected with HIV virus in the 2012,i went to many hospitals,churches for cure but there was no solution out, so I was thinking how can I get a solution out so that i cannot loose my life, I lost everything I have my husband run away from me and also took my children along because of my sickness. One day I was in the river side thinking the next step to take if it is to jump into the river so that I can loose my life totally or just think where I can go to get solution. so a lady walk to me telling me why am I so sad and i open up all to him telling her my stories, she told me that she can help me out that’s the reason she normally come here to help people so that thy can be cured because she was into this problem before, she introduce me to a doctor who cast spells on people and gave me he number and email so i called him and also email him. He told me all the things I need to provide and also give me instructions to take, which I followed properly. Before I knew what is happening he called me and told me that i should go for medical check up, called Dr Cuba for your solutions now at
drcubatemple@gmail.com add him on watsapp +2347038965900
My Name is Dickson Stella from ZAMBIA, i am here to give my testimony about a doctor who help me in my life. I was infected with HIV virus in the 2012,i went to many hospitals,churches for cure but there was no solution out, so I was thinking how can I get a solution out so that i cannot loose my life, I lost everything I have my husband run away from me and also took my children along because of my sickness. One day I was in the river side thinking the next step to take if it is to jump into the river so that I can loose my life totally or just think where I can go to get solution. so a lady walk to me telling me why am I so sad and i open up all to him telling her my stories, she told me that she can help me out that’s the reason she normally come here to help people so that thy can be cured because she was into this problem before, she introduce me to a doctor who cast spells on people and gave me he number and email so i called him and also email him. He told me all the things I need to provide and also give me instructions to take, which I followed properly. Before I knew what is happening he called me and told me that i should go for medical check up, called Dr Cuba for your solutions now at
drcubatemple@gmail.com add him on watsapp +2347038965900
My Name is Dickson Stella from ZAMBIA, i am here to give my testimony about a doctor who help me in my life. I was infected with HIV virus in the 2012,i went to many hospitals,churches for cure but there was no solution out, so I was thinking how can I get a solution out so that i cannot loose my life, I lost everything I have my husband run away from me and also took my children along because of my sickness. One day I was in the river side thinking the next step to take if it is to jump into the river so that I can loose my life totally or just think where I can go to get solution. so a lady walk to me telling me why am I so sad and i open up all to him telling her my stories, she told me that she can help me out that’s the reason she normally come here to help people so that thy can be cured because she was into this problem before, she introduce me to a doctor who cast spells on people and gave me he number and email so i called him and also email him. He told me all the things I need to provide and also give me instructions to take, which I followed properly. Before I knew what is happening he called me and told me that i should go for medical check up, called Dr Cuba for your solutions now at
drcubatemple@gmail.com add him on watsapp +2347038965900
i guess im one of the lucky ones i didnt know i had it and have no clue how i got it. i had a little fatigue but since im 50 that it was just normal. i am on my first bottle of harvoni take it before i go to bed and have had no side affects . i go thru the va so mine is free i have no cirrosis and my liver is fine.i go back the 21st for lab and 2nd bottle. i went to one doctor who said i was really bad and i needed to get treated fast but new doc at va says im healthy . i hopefully will be cleared .
I wrote last night but don’t know how to get back to it to see if I got a response. I thought I copied and pasted and can’t raCk my brain just think of all I wrote and try to write it again. If anyone knows how to get to it please let me know my email address is jdantzer@live.com
Financial Help
Patients and physicians have already begun the arduous task of requesting insurance companies to approve Harvoni’s expense. Sadly, many who could benefit from this one-pill-a-day Hepatitis C treatment will find themselves ineligible – at least on the first few tries. Healthcare advocates suggest working with a compassionate physician to help submit repeated authorization requests.
If you are unable to obtain Harvoni, Gilead has a patient assistance program for eligible Hepatitis C patients:
who do not have insurance
who are underinsured
who otherwise need financial assistance to pay for or obtain access to Harvoni
Information regarding their patient assistance program can be found by going to Gilead’s website, clicking on the Responsibility tab on the top, then clicking on U.S. Patient Access on the left hand side, then clicking on SupportPath™ for Sovaldi and Harvoni in the center. In addition, they can be contacted directly by phone at 1-855-769-7284.
Just finished 12 weeks of Harvoni. I just went for my first blood work yesterday. Is it normal to not be tested throughout trial? I have my fingers (and everything else crossed) that I have beaten this disease. I had joint pain and headaches, but not bad enough to stop working. Wish me luck as I do everyone else.
Hello everyone
I’ve been on harvoni for 8 weeks and it has cleared my viral load
Only side affect has been lack of energy . Best time to take it is right before you go to bed. I received treatment through my insurance and the help of Gilead . I’m hepc geno 1 with chirosis .
Never give up, I did and it was torture what this virus can do to your
body. Thank god for harvoni!
I can’t believe it I was approved after being denied. the medical assistant said she they put in at appeal but apparently just the pre-approval authorization. I called several times to both the doctors office about the Harvoni and put my own appeal in at the insurance company. This was just last week and today they called and said I was approved but was wondering why the doctor only put in for 12 weeks of therapy when I have cirrhosis and need 24 wks of treatment . I had the triple therapy before which was working but was killing me. the insurance company told me that I was the only one that can make an appeal to get Harvoni approved after being denied unless I sign somebody as my representative. So I made it and that quick the supervisor changed her mind I was pretty upset every phone call that they actually hook me up to behavioral health and asked me if I wanted to hurt somebody. I told them yes. but knowing what they were about to do I told them no I was not in danger of hurting anyone and also not myself. I’m wondering if the persistence and the desperation and the explanation of why I could not take the formulary Helped to get it approved within days after being denied. I stressed and stressed the reason I could not take the formulary. So everyone that sent me encouragement to keep persisting and not to give up I want to thank. Anyone that read my post and just plain encouraged me to be patient I thank them also. SO YES EVERYONE was right…..Don’t give up persistence persistence persistence. Thanks Sergio Mary and all. I know I’ll be i touch again when i start the tx to let you know how it’s going and hopefully good so that it will encourage others as well. So I can pass it forward
Is this treatment available in Canada???
Does anyone know what insurance companies cover the cost of Harvoni?
I personally think there should be regulations made that force drug companies to make drugs affordable if there are communicable diseases involved. The Insurance companies make it hard to get them, you almost have to be dying to be approved. The US Govt pays the drug companies 85% to research new drugs. Then when one is discovered the drug companies get to market them and sell at unaffordable prices. Tell me why 1 Harvoni pill cost $1200, or so. Only the Rich can afford treatment. We pay taxes to the Govt and that pays for the money to give the drug companies. Something is very wrong here. The farmers, oil companies etc. are subsidies to make things affordable, why not these drugs?
Can I still get this medication? I took interferon and completed the treatment and the virus was undetectable. After 3yrs just got my blood work done and its back. The question is can I get this medication?
I started this treatment five months ago.Only one more to go.My count starting out was 7 mil.Then it went down to 30.Now i have been for several months in the negative numbers.I really haven’t had any side affects at all.I also have cirrhosis of the liver.My gastro doctors basicly told me not to drink, not a problem He said after the hep c is complete,then we will work on my liver.Don’t give up!
I Never believed i was ever going to be HIV Negative again,Dr OKADI has
given me reasons to be happy, i was HIV positive for 5years and all the
means and medicine i tried for treatment was not helpful to me, but when
i came on the Internet i saw great testimony about Dr OKADI on how he
was able to cure someone from HIV, this person said great things about
this man, and advice we contact him for any Disease problem that Dr
okadi can be of help, well i decided to give him a try, he requested for
my information which i sent to him, and he told me he was going to
prepare for me a healing portion, which he wanted me to take for days,
and after which i should go back to the hospital for check up, well
after taking all the treatment sent to me by Dr OKADI, i went back to
the Hospital for check up, and now i have been confirmed HIV Negative,
friends you can reach Dr OKADI on any treatment of any Disease cos i saw
many testimony of different disease like, HERPS,TUBERCOLOSIS, PILE,
ANTHRAX, PLAGUE, FEVER he is the one only i can show you all up to,
reach him on dr.babaokadigbo@hotmail.com quick contact him for help and you can just quicky drop your number on your first mail as i did..
I Never believed i was ever going to be HEPATITIS FREE again,BABA
OKADIGBO has given me reasons to be happy, i was HEPATITIS positive for 3
years and all the means and medicine i tried for treatment was not
helpful to me, but when i came on the Internet i saw great testimony
about BABA OKADIGBO on how he was able to cure someone from HEPATITIS,
this person said great things about this man, and advice we contact him
for any Disease problem that BABA OKADIGBO can be of help, well i
decided to give him a try, he requested for my information which i sent
to him, and he told me he was going to prepare for me a healing portion,
which he wanted me to take for days, and after which i should go back
to the hospital for check up, well after taking all the treatment sent
to me by BABA OKADIGBO, i went back to the Hospital for check up, and
now i have been confirmed HEPATITIS FREE, friends you can reach BABA
OKADIGBO on any treatment of any Disease cos i saw many testimony of
different disease like, HERPS,HIV AIDS,EPILESY, CANCER,CFS he is the one
only i can show you all up to, reach him on dr.babaokadigbo@hotmail.com
quick contact him for help and you can just quicky drop your number on
your first mail as i did for easily conversation. dont let anyone
distract you get your cure
I just finished a 3 month run of harvoni.
I got hep c in 2005 from one of my patients. (fluid splashed in my mouth)
at 6 weeks, my viral load was undetectable. still is at 12weeks.
I had no side effects.
(I was deathly ill with the interferon-ribavirin I took for 8 months, probably still have some neuro deficits. there is no reason for anyone to take this old unproved combo that can permanently impair many organs. it’s just money in the bank for the drug company.)
my dr. put in for prior authorization for harvoni and I was approved so fast for tx I couldn’t believe it. I am a retired rn and medicare and my supplement covered almost all of it and harvoni covered the co-pay.
go for it….it’s the best thing going.
I will be starting harvoni in a few weeks, just taking more blood tests…Just curious my dr. Told me I have fibrosis does harvoni stop the scarring from further damage??? ANY info would be appreciated…thanks
I’m just doing some critical thinking. I have fibrosis for as well and my liver is compensating so that means at least 15 percent is working because once it’s down to 6% we are dead. So since the live tissue of the liver rejuvenates I would imagine that the 15% will rejuvenate and once the hepatitis C is gone then there will be no virus to destroy the good part of the liver that is left n the part that rejuvenates. The part that is so cirrhotic will not improve as it is dead and that’s using layman’s terms. But it only makes sense that the tissue that is good will stay that way as long as we are not adding stuff to it that will damage it. If there’s no hepatitis C virus in our body then they’ll be no virus to destroy the good part but again the part that says dad will stay that way. And again my doctor told me we only need 15 percent. And yes that part can rejuvenate or regenerate however
This drug regimen is $900 in India and Egypt. It will cost over $90,000 for me.
There can be no better indication that our country is greased by lobbyist money, and cares not 2 cents for veterans.
After been in pain and sorrow for 2years and 11months, Dr Molemen was able to restore my life back with his herbal medicine, my good friends i have been Hiv positive for 2years and everyday of my life i cry to God as i was a mother of 2 cute kids who were looking up to me, I was taking my medication from the hospital, I also did some prayers to God that he should do some miracle in my life, my friends this is a life touching story i am sharing with you all on net today, Few Months ago i was browsing on net when i found some good testimonials about Dr Molemen Herbs, and someone recommended that he has cured Hiv by Dr Molemen, i always had faith that God could use someone to heal me, i contacted Dr Molemen and i told him concerning my problem he told me not to worry that with God all things are possible and also that he was going to prepare for me some herbal herbs which i am to take and he is going to send the medicine to me, well after all the guidance and medication from Dr Molemen he advice that i go for check again to see my status result and he assured me of good result, i was afraid at this point cause i never wanted someone to tell me again that i am positive, after 2days i went to the Hospital for check up and they said the result was to come out by Friday, at 11:00am on Friday the hospital Doctor called me and told me that the result was out and i am Negative, i was shocked and could not believe it, i immediately called Dr Molemen and told him about the good news he told me to rejoice and make sure i share my testimony with my friends and that is why i am doing this right now, friends you can contact Dr Molemen today on ( drmolemenspiritualtemple@gmail.com or ( dr.molemenspiritualtemple@yahoo.com) or call him on +2347036013351, friends Dr Molemen can help you solve any problem contact him now.
I wrote a story of my Success with Harvoni and the Hepatitis Central won’t post it. Why?
I’m starting my 9th week of a 12 week treatment. I’m so grateful for my doctor who got the Harvoni through Gilead for free of charge due to my low income status. I was denied through Medicaid bc I am only genotype 1 (not sick enough). The only side effects I’ve had are fatigue, diarrhea, some hair loss and my glucose levels are up and down. My 1st blood test shown that the medication is working wonderfully. I go for my 2nd blood test next week and will update everyone. This drug is truly a miracle !!
My husband finished his 12 week Harvoni therapy 3 wks ago. At 27 days of meds, his blood work came back as not detectable. His 2 wk post med blood work is also not detectable for the virus. We just have the 6 mth test yet to go.
My insurance rejected once, but then gave the green light after refiling. $1350/pill x 84 days.
He has had Hep C since many blood transfusions at age 13 after an accident. He is now 52. We found out his Hep C dx at 40.
We are beyond excited that liver failure, cancer and cirrhosis are not in our immediate future! And, blessed beyond measure that except for some minor fatigue (he works hard in his job, and works 60-65 hrs per week)& maybe 3 headaches, he had no side effects.
Lesson learned? There is ALWAYS hope, even when you’ve been told there isn’t any.
I received my eight weeks of harvoni now I afraid to start taking it anyone with bad side affects.
I am on eight weeks one week in liver enzymes are almost back to normal went from 142 to 52.The only side affect super tired after work thats it for me.Harvoni is truly a miracle drug..
How can i afford it does Medicade and Medicare Pay for it? So Worried! ~PeAcE~
Could someone let me know their opinion or experience when it comes to lab draws well on Harvoni ? I am to be on the 12 week treatment and on the 30th will be the last day. I have labs drawn 4 weeks after I first began treatment but the doctor is not having we get them drawn again until April. Now I would think as I read that they are to be drawn for weeks after treatment starts and then when treatment ends and then a few months later. Ok he’s doing or has done the four weeks after beginning my treatment but he’s not checking my viral load when I’m completed. He’s waiting 6 months. I have a concern because I read that with previous treatment and those with cirrhosis should be on a 24 week treatment course. Even my insurance company called me stating prior to this treatment that they were concerned that the doctor only requested enough medication for 12 weeks and not 24 as they know I had been on triple therapy before and have cirrhosis. Anyhow that’s my concern since he’s not doing the usual 24 weeks as I would have suspected from everything I read and now after the 12 weeks… He’s not having me get any lab work. I just feel in 6 months if something is detected in my blood then I’m going to be angry because it may have been able to have been prevented had he checked it when my treatment was completed period again since they didn’t follow protocol. Anyhow after 4 weeks of treatment my viral load did go down to 22. I hear a lot of people say that after there for weeks there hepatitis C is not detected in the blood at all so that’s why this concerns me. 22 is very low obviously but what do people think about the doctor not testing when this treatment is over. Does this often happen with others? Meaning does any of your doctors get your Labs 4 weeks after the start of treatment and then not again until 6 months after the ending of the treatment course? Hoping someone will share their experience with how their doctor monitored their labs. Than any of your doctors wait like mine is. Wanting to know if this is fairly typical thank
Hey all! I just started Harvoni and will be taking pill #5 in the morning. I have never treated before and am very excited about extinguishing this virus I have been carrying in my body for nearly 20 years. I am disabled and have a humana medicare c policy. I was approved by my insurance and had it in my hand one day shy of two weeks! I pay a $6.16 copay for this medicine. I am truly blessed and grateful. The only thing I have noticed thus far is a decrease in appetite (need to lose some weight, anyway) and i am happy about that. If you’ve been denied, keep trying. It’s totally worth it! I am going in with a positive attitude and I know I will get positive results!
After many years of trying every “cure” known to man to clear my body of Hep-C, and a liver transplant, I’ve finally been cured of Hep-C thanks to Harvoni! I had, what the doctors said, the worse strain of the bug. I was on the three month program, but after week two, there was no sign of the virus, which has remained so for the past seven months. My doctors have said I’m finally cured. As far as side effects, compared to Interferon based cures there were none, I was able to do whatever I needed to do daily, a miracle drug for sure!
CW…. 10-05-15.. I am on my 4th week with Harvoni and have only experienced a mild headache twice since I first started… Other than that I am doing fine…. I was anticipating much more side effects but so far none has occurred… My AST and ALT levels are already down to normal…My energy level is good. I work out regularly. I think the secret for me is staying active and drinking a lot of water. I also have a acid reflux problem that prevents me from taking any thing more than a tums after six hours from the time I take my pill ( 6 am). I have had to cut out the Pepcid… I am very careful of what I eat…. Other than that it’s business as usual…. I have two jobs that I enjoy and a girlfriend that keeps me happy…. I will be 71 next February…. They need to find a way to get this drug to all those who need it…..
I have Gen 1 a and had 1, 10 month treatment and 1, 8 month treatments with interferon and ribivarin. Cleared the virus and it came back. I have heard that Harvoni is usually for naive treatment people. Does it work for those that have had previous treatment? Can’t afford it anyway…but always good to know.
is anyone taking milk thistle while on harvoni? is anyone splitting the dose up? like every 12 hours to get around worse side effects? just wondering
We got denied harvoni coverage by our insurance B.C because the cirrosis isn’t severe enough. This is typical care found in the U.S Wait until your life is threatened instead of preventative medicine. What we all need to hear is what insurance company covers Harvoni? We are looking into medical tourism to Thailand where the pills are 10.00 a pill instead of 100.00!
Just finished a 6 month course of Harvoni. Post treatment lab shows a continued viral load. Not sure where things go from here. New treatments repot edit in the pipeline
I have a question. I am on this medication ledipasvir 90mg/ Sofosbuvir 400mg and I take one a day but I thought I didn’t take one one morning so I did later and it seems that I have tooken two in one day and was wondering if I should skip a day?
When I was 26 years old, I learned my HBsAg was reactive when I was required to undergo medical exam for an employment (so depressed I wasn’t hired and the doctor had to write in big words, ‘not fit to work’ on my medical result clearance). It was my first time to be tested with that kind of blood work, so I have no idea when I contacted hepatitis B virus. My husband and I are the only ones who knew about my situation. I am so embarrassed and ashamed because hepatitis B is considered as an STD, like the infamous AIDS/HIV. My husband has no hepatitis B (thankfully) but I fear that even with his hepatitis B vaccine, he will get my disease, though doctors assures us he is safe from me.I always sleep longer than usual on weekends, always tired, often experiences tummy ache, sometimes unexpected skin itchiness/rashes, arthritis, irregular bowel movement and am temperamental But today am totally cure with the help of this clinic i came across on this web FORUM, the clinic name (HEALTH MED LAB) here is their email CONTACT THEM IF YOU ARE diagnosed OF HEPATITIS b VIRUS healthmedlab@gmail.comn
Completed the 6 month regimen a month ago. Mid treatment labs showed no viral load. Post treatment I dictates small viral load left. Looks like I’m one of the 5% failures. My outcome expectations were excellent though.
I am half way through my 8 week treatment with Harvoni. I have been taking a lot more naps than before but I am 67 years old and probably had Hep C for at least 35-40 years. Was not diagnosed until about 15 years ago when my gastroenterologist advised me to wait and see since the interferon treatment was so debilitating, and my liver was still relatively good. Beginning treatment my viral load was less than 1 million. My first blood test at 3 weeks was less than 15! In other words, the rna of the virus was detected but too low to count. Like AKMichka, I have had a little joint pain but nothing serious. No other noticeable side effects. I do seem to have a clearer memory and my urine which had been getting dark is now back to normal. The VA is treating me and the doctors really worked hard to include everyone they could in this treatment. I am so glad I had the right doctors in the right places at the right time.
Hi
I can provide generic Harvoni and generic Sovaldi in New Delhi,india in very economical price.
Please contact me at jassudabbu@gmail.com for further information.
Stay Healthy
I’d love to take it. But alas I am in the donut hole and my co pay is $3700.00,which I don’t have and because they count my husbands income I’m not eligible for assistance.
hello everybody my names are Monica James it shall be well with doctor Bongani,I will Always post this testimony till i die,i will make sure his name is everywhere in the world ,me and my sister was diagnosed with herpes and hepatitis b ,i was jsut glancing through the internet when i saw someone post about Dr Bongani ,he said DR Bongani saved his life from hepatitis b with herbal medicine , so i said let me try,i thought it was a joke ,so emailed him on the email i saw on internet which is; drbonganiherbalcure@gmail.com, or call +27616900453 so he replied and said he will cure me and my sister from herpes and hepatitis b,within 14days ,so we purchased the herbal medicine ,then he send it to me ,then i when i got the herbal medicine he gave me instructions on how to use it ,with i did properly ,and i was cured totally within 14days thanks GOD for leading me to a great herbalist ,..pls try and see for yourself ..
I just took my first dose of harvoni this morning, I feel blessed to even have been able to get the medication. Now it will just be time to see if it works, I all ready have it in my mind that God has this and I will be hep c free.
can harvoni be given to 83 years old person?
When I was 26 years old, I learned my HBsAg was reactive when I was required to undergo medical exam for an employment (so depressed I wasn’t hired and the doctor had to write in big words, ‘not fit to work’ on my medical result clearance). It was my first time to be tested with that kind of blood work, so I have no idea when I contacted hepatitis B virus. My husband and I are the only ones who knew about my situation. I am so embarrassed and ashamed because hepatitis B is considered as an STD, like the infamous AIDS/HIV. My husband has no hepatitis B (thankfully) but I fear that even with his hepatitis B vaccine, he will get my disease, though doctors assures us he is safe from me.I always sleep longer than usual on weekends, always tired, often experiences tummy ache, sometimes unexpected skin itchiness/rashes, arthritis, irregular bowel movement and am temperamental But today am totally cure with the help of this clinic i came across on this web FORUM, the clinic name (HEALTH MED LAB) here is their email CONTACT THEM IF YOU ARE diagnosed OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS or any other sickness healthmedlab@gmail.com.com
My name is Eden Richard ,I was diagnose of hep B for more than 2 years, all the medical doctors
said to me there is no cure but it can only be control. Ever since then i
have been running heather scepter looking for a solution to my problem,
i ran into this online testimony of Mrs Stacey who have been cured of
Hep B by this medical center she mention, i immediately contacted them,
to God be thy glory i also got my cure am so happy today, please my
advice is, if you have been living with Hep B contact them now don’t
waste time and get cured, their email medicationclinic@gmail.com
Hi, Thanks for your great post, there are much nice
information that I am sure a huge number of guys and gals don’t know.
1st matter of importance: Like all things where large amounts of money are involved unscrupulous and dishonest people will start cooking up schemes to end up with some of the loot. My advice to any and all who are started on Harvoni treatment, please count your pills before you walk away from the pharmacy counter and don’t trust the counting done by the pharmacist. You do the counting yourself. I requested a count of the pills, in my presence, since I received the 1st bottle of Harvoni by one of the pharmacists that works at my medical provider’s pharmacy. On my last refill I again asked for a count of the pills. The count was half a pill short. The pharmacist had the gall to ask me if I wanted the missing half pill to which I replied, of course, the cost of that half pill is $500. He said that he would replace the half pill with a whole pill. He did a fast count using a spatula and a plastic tray. I might have still been short changed because I could not account for being short a pill.
2nd: I don’t know how each of you got HC. I got it through blood transfusions during a heart surgery on October 28, 1985. Before the surgery, at the height of the Aids epidemic, I was concerned about receiving diseased blood in case surgery was required after I had a heart attack on September 20, 1985. So I asked both my primary care doctor and my assigned cardiologist about being allowed to provide my own blood or blood from my selected blood donors for my personal use. My concerns and my requests were documented in my medical file, but my requests were denied based on the 100% guarantee by the cardiologist that angioplasty would be used to open up my clogged arteries. I was prepped for the angioplasty and then I was awakened on top of an operating table by a doctor that said that emergency surgery had to be done because my arteries had collapsed during the angioplasty. My medical file states that emergency surgery was necessary because I complained of severe chest pain. ????. My medical file does not document that an angioplasty ever took place. My medical file was altered!
3rd: All this propaganda about HC not giving any symptoms is FALSE MEDICAL PROPAGANDA to conceal the liability and reckless actions of doctors and hospitals that should be bearing the cost treatment and deaths of the epidemic they caused on hundreds of patients. I experienced severe pain all throughout my body after the surgery and asked my doctors for a reason, they said that such pain was in my head. The pain was so severe day and night that for a time I considered doing away with my life. The complaints about my pain that I voiced are not in my medical file. My concerns about not wanting to receive contaminated blood and requests about being allowed to donate my own blood or blood from my selected donors disappeared from my medical files. Doctors have played with my life and are still concealing the level of harm and pain that they have caused me.
What do you do when you have an allergic reaction to harvoni. I want to take the cure but have swollen face and burning sensation in my mouth.
I want to share my testimony on how i get cure of my Hepatitis disease with the help of Doctor Raymond Greg,i have being suffering for this disease for a very long time now. I have try several means to get rid of the (Hepatitis disease) disease for the last four years and had constant pain, especially in my knees. During the first year, I had faith in God that i would be healed someday. This disease started circulate all over my body and i have been taking treatment from my doctor, few weeks ago i came on search on the internet if I could get any information concerning the prevention of this disease, on my search I saw a testimony of someone who has been healed from (Hepatitis B and Cancer) by this Man DR Raymond Greg and she also gave the email address of this man and advise we should contact him for any sickness that he would be of help, so i wrote to DR Raymond Greg telling him about my (Hepatitis disease) he told me not to worry that i was going to be cured!! hmm I never believed it,, well after all the procedures and remedy given to me by this man few weeks later I started experiencing changes all over me as the Doctor assured me that I am cured, after some time I went to my doctor to confirmed if I have be finally healed behold it was TRUE, So friends my advise is if you have such sickness or any other at all you can email DR Raymond Greg on sir I am indeed grateful for the help I will forever recommend you to my friends and to share this to every one that have any of this sickness. i will advice anyone out there who has any of theses disease to kindly email Dr Raymond Greg on (drgregsolutionhome@gmail.com) for help you can also contact us on +2348141389170
1 cancer
2 stroke,
3 HIV/Aids
4 Hepatitis disease
5 ulcer
6 Hepatitis disease
7 Diabetics
8 PREGNANCY ISSUE
9 ULCER
10 EPILYPSIS
11 ASTHMA
kindly email doctor Raymond Greg for your own cure if you have any
disease listed above via : (drgregsolutionhome@gmail.com) you can also contact us on +2348141389170
UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE!!!!!!!!! for more than 9 years now,i have been suffering from Cancer and one of my friends linked me with Dr Molemen, i contacted Dr Molemen via email, I told him about my health status and i also requested for his healing medicine, he told me not to worry that he was going to prepare some herbal medicine for me which i was to drink for some days, he gave me directions on how to get his medicine after all the process i received the Some Herbal Medicine from Dr Molemen which he sent to me here in my country, i used them daily as i was directed and now i have regain my health.
I did some couple of test for Cancer again and i was confirmed Negative from different hospitals.Even the symptoms i was experiencing were all gone and today i am totally healthy, this man is really saving souls and i urge everyone to meet him for any problem or sickness.
You can contact him on ( drmolemenspiritualtemple@gmail.com / dr.molemenspiritualtemple@yahoo.com) or call him on +2347036013351).
Thanks Papa for your good works!….
Hello everyone my name is Craig Wise from Germany i want to testify about this loan company Diversified Financial Network located in Dallas Texas USA, i have been involved in to many scams trying to get an online lender who could help me solve my financial problems and every time i try i end up being scam,, not until a friend introduce me to Diversified Financial Network who help me with the sum of $100,000 which was approved within 48 hours, am so excited and i want to share the good news and about this company just in case any one need help financially contact there email at financialnetowrking@usa.com for more information….
Hmmmm… My husband was in intensive care for 27 days with 21 transfusions before he died…. I wonder which is more cost effective? Oh yeah, 48 years old with 4 young children that received their dads social security benefits for several years.
hello everyone out there.
THIS IS MY TESTIMONY ON HOW I GOT A LOAN FROM A GENUINE LOAN COMPANY GLOBAL FUNDS RESORT. Email_ global.fundsresort@gmail.com
I can boldly say am the happiest man on earth since i meant this God fearing loan rendering company they gave me a loan without stress, I go by the name Ana Sim, Am a Russian, am smiling every time because of this God Fearing company Global Funds Resort, I received a loan of $ 100,000.00 USD for buying my civil engineering equipment, also 2 of my friends have also received loans from this God fearing company without any difficulty. I advise you not to waste time doing loan with the wrong people if you actually want to apply for a loan for your project and any other purposes. email Global Funds now global.fundsresort@gmail.com
I publish this message because Global Funds Loan Company make me feel blessed with there simple way of loan rendering policies. I meant this humble and God fearing Loan Rendering Company after reading many testimony of the company how they have been helping people out to conquer their financial problems. ……
i urge you email:_this company now and you will be glad you did.
Email:
global.fundsresort@gmail.com
Do you want to sell your kidney? Are you seeking for an opportunity to
sell your kidney for money due to financial break down and you don’t
know what to do, then contact us today and we shall offer you good
amount for your Kidney. My name is (DR Ben Hale) am a Phrenologist in
Hale hospital. Our hospital is specialized in Kidney Surgery and we
also deal with buying and transplantation of kidneys with a living and
corresponding donor. We are located in America and Africa, If you are
interested in selling or buying kidney’s please don’t hesitate to
contact us via email: { drbenhalemedicals@gmail.com } +16104555553.
Thanks,
MANAGEMENT.
Hello! My name is Michael, I am from Romania, I am 34 years old and Hep. C. I was treated with interferon and ribavirin 4 years ago but was a waste of time , money and it destroyed my entire life. The treatment was interrupted after six month as I was a non-responder. If you have any idea who to get Harvoni without money, here in Romania, Europe, please contact me: mihaidamian82@yahoo.com . Thanks and good luck in your way to get Harvoni for free.
Why would a pill that can assure a better and longer quality of life be so out of reach for lower income people that I’m sure make up the high percentage of hep c viruses.? That seems criminal to me.
Though i haven’t met DR gull mebolor but i have being hearing and seeing his
wonderful deeds on people’s life.. This made me contacted him because i was
also diagnosed of HIV, When i contacted Him, without wasting time, he
started his Miraculous work in my Life, I am happy and Glad to say that i
am now cured after using his herbal Medicine.. You can email him on
greatcure34@gmail.com or whatsapp him on 08032140659, or reach him directly on his phone 09066143099 he also
special on cureing
1…HERPS CURE
2…ALS CURE
3..HIV CURE
4.EPILESY
5…PROMOTION IN THE OFFICE
6…LOVE SPEEL7>>EX BACK
I hace 11 dosis of Harvoni 90mg left over of my threatment for $4,000. Normally, it will be $13,000. Expiration date 08.23.17.
if interested please contact me at jose.soto.js528@gmail.com
Warm regards.
Dane