Day -1, Treatment starts tomorrow

Visit INCIVEK website

Visit Triple Therapy Treatment overview

Tomorrow is the big day.  We have traveled many physical and mental miles to get to this milestone.  Our emotions are excited and scared all at the same time.  The triple therapy treatment has been a huge advancement in the fight against Hepatitis C and it does give Gary an additional 35% change of killing this devastating virus.  Since he is considered a non responder, the treatment success rate is not up in the 70% cure rate, but even 35% is better than 0%.  

We have a huge support system between ourselves and our family.  We have been ready to begin the treatment for the past 3 months and finally we have the go ahead to start tomorrow morning.  The treatment is a bit tricky and Gary is considered a high risk patient as he is quite sick already and he is post transplant.  His schedule looks something like this:

7:30 am~wake and check blood sugar, dose accordingly (novalog and Lantus).
7:40 am ~eat a high fiber and high fat (20g fat) meal~coffee, creamer (heavy cream), splenda, oatmeal or toast or cereal.
8:00 am~take dose of Telaprivir and Ribavirin. (treatment)
9:00 am~take the rest of medication for the morning.
10:00 am~recheck blood sugars maybe a snack.
noon~check blood sugar, dose accordingly (novalog) small healthy meal
2:00 pm~recheck blood sugars
3:40 pm~check blood sugars and dose accordingly (novalog) eat a high fiber and high fat (20g fat) meal
4:00 pm~take dose of Telaprivir and Ribavirin. (treatment)
6:00 pm~recheck blood sugars maybe a snack, take everyday medication
7:30 pm~check blood sugar, take Lantus and once a week on Saturday night, take an injection of PEGASYS^® (peginterferon alfa-2a). (treatment).
11:30 pm~check blood sugars and dose accordingly (novalog) eat a high fiber and high fat (20g fat) meal, and take night time medications.
12:00 Midnight~take dose of Telaprivir.  (treatment)
2:00am~recheck blood sugars

Phew!  This is going to be tricky!! But we are both dedicated at this time only to his treatment, so we are ready for the challenge.  This will be his daily schedule for the next 12 weeks.  Unless his labs show that his viral load is not dropping to the undetectable levels that are required at week 4, 8, and 12.  If this treatment is not killing the Hep C virus and he is not showing it as undetected, then the treatment will stop and we will roll on with our lives until we have more choices . . . 

One more thing for us, since Gary is post transplant, he is taking Prograf, an anti~rejection medication.  This medication is triggered by the Telaprivir to become up to 75% more potent in his body, so Gary's Prograf levels will have to be checked twice a week through out the treatment on Monday's and Thursday's.  So we will have to go to the University of AZ Med hospital both those days for labs.  Gary is also considered a high risk patient, so we will have to go to the transplant clinic every Wednesday to check in with the NP and the Doctor...

It is all a plan and a schedule we can follow, so we should be ok.?.?.  We have meals planned, over the counter medications on hand, phone numbers posted to call in case of an Emergency,  medications ready, side effects planned for and family support.  I think we are ready to rock!