doing treatment for hepc co-infection,,,, looking for others to chat with during treatment

[roundtwo]

can someone point me in the direction of on line support / chat rooms for connecting with others on treatment,, thanks

[Cheryl-HepCBC HepCBC]

Hi roundtwo,

Good for you. From what I've heard, successfully treating co-infection is a challenge, but with perseverance plus luck and support, many people have succeeded. Is your HIV viral load suppressed? If it is, that's great and should make treatment almost the same as for mono-infected HCV+ people, as long as there aren't any reactions between the anti-suppression drugs for HIV and the HCV treatment you're taking. Let us know how things go! And maybe tell us a little more about yourself such as your age, how long you were infected, etc. Hopefully someone else who is co-infected will join this conversation, but know that we're all (mono and co infected) rooting for you! - Cheryl

[roundtwo]

thanks Cheryl,,, for the reply,,,, I'm male, senior,,, long time survivor of co-infection,,,, I tried treatment,, in 2003 when they started treating co-infection,, one year of interferon and pegassis,, I relapsed once treatment stopped but was suppressed all the way through,,,,

this round I'm just getting ready to start the last week of Telapravir which is pills for 12 wks, and I will be so glad to drop that part of the treatment,,, then I just carry on to finish the yr of pegatron and ribivarin,,,,

it's a long grind,,, and would be nice to connect with others,,,

At week 4 my hepc viral load was undetectable, so that's encouraging,,,, but the week 12 lab results will determine weather to continue or not,,,, I live on Salt Spring Island,,, where abouts are you?

[Cheryl-HepCBC HepCBC]

We have Peer Support groups every 4th Tuesday evening at 7, at the VIHA building, 1947 Cook Street in Victoria. Front door is locked that time of night, so you must walk to the right and around the corner to the entrance to the main meeting room. It would be great if you can come sometime and meet the rest of our members. Most have either gone through treatment (about 70% success) or are going through it now, though some are just thinking about it at some later time. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!

[roundtwo]

Thanks Cheryl,,,, I am aware of the support group,,, and am thinking about attending at some point,, however, during the three month lead in with Incivek, I am pretty much home bound,,, it's a pretty tough regime,,, which ends for me this Friday,, hopefully after that I may get some relief from the side effects ,,, the good news is,, I was able to do this treatment at home , and all follow ups and doctors appts. were by phone,,, so far great job on the treatment side for making it accessible ,,,,, and maybe encouraging to those in the group who are thinking of doing treatment,,,, I was not able to wait,,, for the next generation of drugs without the interferon,,, still got to finish that,, so maybe by 4th tues in Oct,, I might make it over,,,,, thanks again and cheers