I know there was a link here awhile ago t hat explained the blood test numbers but I couldn' t understand it.
Does anyone know what the second number is under the VL? Both numbers say PCR, but my top one is 3 mil. The second one is 6.4 (IT was 6.2 last time when my VL was half what it is now)
Also, is there a way to know if only slightly elevated enzymes mean liv er burnout or just that my holistic stuff is working? All my other numbers (protein, bilirubin, etc.) are normal, except platelets which they didnt check most of the time.
My feeling of sureness and peace has left me and I'm having a hard time remembering that treatment is something that will (hopefully) give me health and freedom. It's feeling scary and like a loss of the perceived health I have. But I imagine such swings are normal. My apt. is next fri. I owuld love the dr. to say that I can wait for the btter treatments in a year or two. Though I know noone can predict with certainty.
BTW, Mak, I tried the take milk thistle and not focus on HCV approach for about ten years. What was great about it was I was less fearful and able to focus on finding a partner and having children and going back to school. I saw a homeopath and took remedies for my overall health,but we didn't run bloodtests often, no VL for years. But then we did the tests and found out the numbers were getting worse and the we tried to treat the HCV but the numbers kept getting worse that's when my homeopath said he thought I should try a different approach since he had done all he could.
I feel like I've run out of alternative treatments to try and I know I don't have that many years of estrogen left. I want to clear myself of this before the menopause-related liver damage I keep reading about.
Does anyone know what the second number is under the VL? Both numbers say PCR, but my top one is 3 mil. The second one is 6.4 (IT was 6.2 last time when my VL was half what it is now)
Also, is there a way to know if only slightly elevated enzymes mean liv er burnout or just that my holistic stuff is working? All my other numbers (protein, bilirubin, etc.) are normal, except platelets which they didnt check most of the time.
My feeling of sureness and peace has left me and I'm having a hard time remembering that treatment is something that will (hopefully) give me health and freedom. It's feeling scary and like a loss of the perceived health I have. But I imagine such swings are normal. My apt. is next fri. I owuld love the dr. to say that I can wait for the btter treatments in a year or two. Though I know noone can predict with certainty.
BTW, Mak, I tried the take milk thistle and not focus on HCV approach for about ten years. What was great about it was I was less fearful and able to focus on finding a partner and having children and going back to school. I saw a homeopath and took remedies for my overall health,but we didn't run bloodtests often, no VL for years. But then we did the tests and found out the numbers were getting worse and the we tried to treat the HCV but the numbers kept getting worse that's when my homeopath said he thought I should try a different approach since he had done all he could.
I feel like I've run out of alternative treatments to try and I know I don't have that many years of estrogen left. I want to clear myself of this before the menopause-related liver damage I keep reading about.
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/hepatitis/loadchart.html the 6.2 is like a million six hundred thousand the 6.4 is I think about two million something so the vl is higher this time...but vl unless your on tx means diddly squat...mine is just over a million and a pinch and I don't worry about it at all...I guess until you have your liver assessed by the doc...you won't know if you can put it off or not (TX)
Myself...after I got over the initial shock and despair I felt at the time of my DX and started researching alternative protocols I still have a sense of being healthy...I have a scan in the coming weeks...my bloodwork is excellent except for the hep (go figure) and after my doc has a look at the scan I will go from there....after all the horror stories Ive seen on the main and other sites....I know the current triple is not for me..even though medically I can do the interferon...its still to scary for me to even consider...right now Im for quality not quantity...my doc says middle of 2013 -end of it something is coming to market....
Basically, the second number is a LOG. LOG 6 means there are 6 places after the first number. as in 1,000,000. The number "1" is followed by 6 places. So a LOG 6 means a viral load in the millions.
Going from 6.2 to 6.4 is NOTHING. SERIOUSLY. NOTHING. That could happen overnight from stress. And it could just as easily drop from 6.4 to 6.2 with happy thoughts the following day.
When I get upset, I know that lets the viral load increase. When I recover, I grin as I see my immune system having a viral feast!
You are weighing a big decision and people around you may try to influence that decision, especially the doctors. This is something you need to think about and decide about. Whatever choice you decide I will support you. Whatever choices you make. The most important thing is that YOU FEEL GOOD about the choices and remain open to Source Energy's inspiration for you.
I am newly diagnosed, with viral load 16,907,000 iu/ml with HCV log10,s. From what I read that is a high viral load. Genotype 1a. Liver bioposy scheduled Oct 9.
I am so grateful I found this blog site. I was feeling fatigued, arthritic, liver area pain, digestive issues. I am active -- work full time, hike, do yoga, have 3 kids and a third grand child on the way.
I have started using milk thistle, tons of beet greens and other liver friendly foods, drastically reduced any sugar, and fats. I feel so much better than i did even two weeks ago. I am going through the process of learning about this virus, which has been with me 34 years most likely.
Attitude is everything. There are so many reasons to be hopeful. Live life to the fullest every second. Its a beautiful fall day here with sun shining, and cool breezes blowing. My yoga helps me center, be grounded, and be present in my life.... so does music, painting, sinking into a great book, smiles of family and friends. What works for you? I believe hep C is placed in my path to learn from, and am trying to learn the lessons it offers.
my liver enzymes are ast 267, and alt 276 and what my dr. says is they can go into the thousands, and don't correlate to amt of liver damage necessarily. this is why i am going for a bioposy.
anyhow, you have 10 years of success to build on-- your body wisdom knows what you need and those moments of stress, anxiety, doubt..... are part of life.
i'm well past my estrogen years (59) so i guess i had better continue to educate myself at lightning speed on this virus. hope you get encouraging news from your doc...
Here's my Abraham story. My first homeopath, a yogic monk, gave me an intro to abraham tape. When Jerry and Esther were talking, I felt bored and irritated. Then when she started chanelling Abraham, I felt an energy hit. so I listeten to the tape a lot after that, but at very low volume so I didn't here Jerry and Esther. I bought an Abraham book but didn't get the same hit at all. Maybe it's just years later and I'm in a different place. Or maybe it only works for me through sound.
I keep hearing both that VL doesn't matter at all and also that it does. I remember, Mak, you posted crying w/joy when it fell. So I don't know what to think about that number. I do know my vl has been increasing over the years and doesn't seem to correlate to stress. I'm in a good place right now, marriage is good, kids are wonderful, I'm excited about my new book, and teh dog is calming down. So I'm not able to see the doubled vl as an emotional thing. I hope the dr. I see(one of the few my plan allows) will be honest and not just push everyone into treatment. But I think I'll be able to sense if that's wjere he's coming from.
Barbey, I hear you about yoga. It is the most amazing gift. I haven't been to class in years, since the kids, but my practice is so important. Today I just couldn't get up that early, and I felt the difference. I hope your biopsy goes well.
It's true, I was overjoyed when my VL dropped from 6 million to 2 million, but that still doesn't mean that it meant anything, only that I was overjoyed. My last test put it at 16 million, but it was in conjunction with a study, done by the Dr that took the biopsy, and I don't know if I even believe it. Then I think about what is really going on in the body. Remember that post about what the numbers really mean? I just bumped it up.
By the way, I think being overjoyed is a good thing.