Re: I'm starting treatment in the new year and need some help.
Waterspider
"Don" <FatF...@FreakBrothers.Pot> wrote in message
news:ldabg5loqmh4evlji...@4ax.com...
> Hi to all, I'm going to be starting treatment in the new year and am
> confused if it's the right thing to do.
> I have geno type 1, my last ultrasound showed my liver was getting
> fatty so my doctor checked some things mainly my cholesterol and it
> was normal, my blood tests showed that my levels were just above
> normal and I am going for a biopsy at the end of the month.
> I was told that I could hold off treatment if there was not to much
> scaring or inflammation of my liver in hopes that a better treatment
> might become available down the road, I have been reading about side
> affects of the current treatment and found that it could cause
> depression among others, I am currently battling depression and not
> doing as good as I would like but I am moving forward, my shrink told
> me that because I am already on antidepressants that it wont get much
> worse.
> I'm off work on long term disability right now and think that I might
> as well do the treatment now and get it out of the way instead of
> waiting and taking the chance of having to take more time off work
> again and possibly going into depression again.
> I guess what I'm looking for is anyone who has gone through the same
> thing or close and can give me some advice from their personnel
> experience that could help me decide.
>
> Thanks to all who can give me a little guidance.
Hi Don,
Welcome to ash-c, and rest assured that your anxieties are identical to
everyone facing the option of hep C treatment. You'll find that the more you
learn, the easier the decision becomes and the less worried you are about
stepping into the ring to battle the dragon.
Your biopsy results are the best, if not the only, factor to consider in
deciding whether to undergo treatment. If your liver damage or degree of
scarring is Stage 1 or less, you're safe to wait. Stage 2, it's six of one
and half a dozen of the other. Stage 3 or higher, not trying treatment is
dangerous, perhaps life-threatening. Any idea how long you've had HCV? It
usually takes 20 years for significant liver damage to occur. I assume that
your doc meant liver functon tests (LFTs) when he said your levels were near
normal, but this has little or nothing to do with the degree of damage done
to your liver by HCV replication (the virus replecates inside individual
liver cells, destroying them as it does so).
You're wise to have concern about depression, it is a common side-effect
caused by the pegylated interferon/ribavirin treatment. With all due respect
to your shrink, he doesn't know what he's talking about concerning hepatitis
C treatment. Your depression may not get worse, but it also might become
more serious. That you're already on anti-ds is irrelevant. Through
treatment, you should monitor your depression carefully and, if necessary,
expect to have your prescription adjusted. Your shrink, and any other
doctors treating you, need to know this. If they don't, you need to seek a
second opinion.
Already being on disability is the ideal situation for anyone undergoing
treatment. Although some people have almost no side-effects and happily go
through treatment feeling great, others are not so lucky and some find that
they are unable to work. In your case, if you do treatment while on
disability, that won't be a problem.
Know that treatment is different for everyone, that it changes throughout
the duration and that it's like a box of chocolates that's had the
what's-inside diagram removed. When you take your shot, you won't know if
you'll wake up the next morning feeling like a million bucks, or if you'll
feel like you've been run over by a truck. But, as you go through it, you
can always remind yourself that, at any time, you can simply quit if it's
more than you can handle.
The hardest part of treatment is making the decision whether or not to go
for it. Once you've decided, oddly, your mindset shifts and you become a
fierce warrior. Then, the next hardest part is the first injection. We were
all terrified about that one because we had no idea what to expect. When we
survived, and discovered that it wasn't as bad as we'd dreaded, we continued
the battle. You'll do fine.
Hopefully this has not confused you too much. One last thing... don't
hesitate to ask questions, about anything. The only dumb questions are the
ones you don't ask.
Waterspider
"DonWayne" <FatF...@FreakBrothers.Pot> wrote in message
news:lr7cg5l2hd95p7pml...@4ax.com...
> make sense of things, I have known about my HVC since 1995 and have
> only recently went to a liver doctor for the first time, That was two
> weeks ago and it really woke me up.
> You mentioned the stages, if it turns out that I"lm stage 1, is it a
> good idea to do the treatment knowing that I have the time and support
> to go through the ordeal.
> I have a psychiatrist, A psychologist, The CMHA<government< my family
> doctor,and now my Gastroenteritis, and most important I have family
> and two very close friends that are also battling depression along
> with me.
> The doctor told me that their is a 40% chance of failure and a 60%
> chance of success, but if it fails and years down the road another
> more succesful treatment comes out, my failure rate increases.
> So I guess the waiting game begins, I figure about three weeks and I
> will have all my eggs in one basket then I can make my decission, I
> hope!!.
>
> Well thank you very much for your help and I plan on sticking around
> and do a lot of reading, the retention my news server offers is
> amazing.
You're Genotype 1, the particular variety of hep C that you have. Stage 1
(or 2 or 3 or 4) is the stage of damage done to your liver, and you won't
know this until you get your biopsy results.
Statistically, Geno 1 has about a 60% success rate in treatment, but it can
be affected by a number of other factors including race, weight, age, sex
(not whether or not you have sex, but if you're male or female) and of
course underlying health conditions. It's a complicated formula and no one
knows if it's going to work until they give it a try, but the odds
definitely make it worth a shot. In your case, as with all Genotype 1
patients, that will be 52 shots.
One last thing, it's best not to call your liver specialist a
Gastroenteritis, he or she may be offended ;-) Here we use the term BCLD
(Big Chief Liver Doc), but they like to be referred to as
gastroenterologists or hepatologists.
C'mon, serve us up some more questions. We've all learned a tremendous
amount over the years with our own research, and we're also happy to share
our experiences to newbies. We were all in the same place as you are, not so
long ago.
Waterspider
"DonWayne" <FatF...@FreakBrothers.Pot> wrote in message
> My BCLD has a sence of humor and i'm going to pass this by her, she
> will laugh.
>
> I've been reading some of the older posts and read a few dealing with
> pain medications, besides my HVC I also have chronic Prostititis that
> I take 10mg oxcy's for twice a day, I'm hopeing that will offset any
> pain that might happen during my treatment cause I don't like the idea
> of taking more than that.
>
> As for the other factors, I'm a white male ,44yrs old
>
> 52 SHOTS !! I thought it would only be 48, oh well I guess if I can
> get through 48 I can handle 4 more.
>
> Thanks.
Don, I am so sorry, I screwed up and you're right: Tx for Geno 1 *is* 48
weeks.
At 12 weeks, your viral load will be compared to what it was when you
started, and if you haven't had a 2-log drop (it's a formula that doesn't
really matter at this point), it will be determined that it's not working
and so there will be no point in continuing. Worst case scenario: you go
through the whole 48 weeks and the virus is still present. The up side of
this is that tx, regardless of its effectiveness, is beneficial to your
liver. Some people see their liver damage diminish by one or even two
stages.
There you have it. This is as bad as it can possibly be, you go through
treatment but you give your liver the equivalent of a chemical spa treatment
and improve its health. Now, with that out of the way, you can wait for your
biopsy results armed with enough information to make an informed, educated
and responsible decision about undertaking treatment.
Any thoughts? Any questions?
Cactus Jammies
"DonWayne" <FatF...@FreakBrothers.Pot> wrote
> I am really glad that I found this group, I spent literally hundreds
> of hours browsing the web trying to find as much info as I could to
> try and help me understand what it was that I was facing, in the two
> days that I have been reading and corresponding in this group has
> given me more info that I could ever find on the web.
>
> I'm sure that as the days go by I will have more questions, and all
> you guys are really making me feel really comfortable, I can't tell
> you how much that means to me, it's like walking into a room full of
> close friends.
>
> Thanks to all of you for making me feel welcome.
//////////////////////////////
Don,
There are a number of on-line chat forums for HepC sufferers, from those
that are contemplating tx to more than a few groups that are founded to
provide interaction between those whom have taken tx and those whom are
currently going through the process. Delphi forums as a number of these
types of peer-support chats.
regards
Cactus Jammies ~ (relapsed geno 1b; stage/grade 3/3 retreatment coming
someday when it doesnt turn me into a vegetable with scales again)
Retreatment for geno 1's current Standard of Care is 72 weeks of more of the
same tx. A number of folks have done that more than once.