Hepatitis C Support Group
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.
I just officially joined the NonResponder club. After 7 months of tx my VL dropped from 5.7M to 416 but that's not enough. I'll be coming off tx on Friday.
Especially bummed to stop tx now that my liver chemistries are finally all normal. Well it was a good little vacation for my liver [the rest of me ha]s had a hell of a ride though!]
Thank you all for being here. Couldn't think of anyone else to share this with until I had fully digested the news.
It will be weird not to center my life around Interferon/Riba/Neupogen/Procrit.
Refusing Infergen because there is only a 12% chance for Type 1's. Will go on the new drug when it is released in a year or so [allegedly a 40% chance]. Not feeling too hopeful right now after already having just lost that same bet with Interferon.
Especially bummed to stop tx now that my liver chemistries are finally all normal. Well it was a good little vacation for my liver [the rest of me ha]s had a hell of a ride though!]
Thank you all for being here. Couldn't think of anyone else to share this with until I had fully digested the news.
It will be weird not to center my life around Interferon/Riba/Neupogen/Procrit.
Refusing Infergen because there is only a 12% chance for Type 1's. Will go on the new drug when it is released in a year or so [allegedly a 40% chance]. Not feeling too hopeful right now after already having just lost that same bet with Interferon.
I want to respond to some of the issues raised: why I went missing; why I had 7 months of tx; and why I am refusing Interferon.
JKbearhug: Sorry for disappearing at the beginning of tx. I had migraine-like headaches 24/7 for the 1st four months. After many different meds, Nortriptyline [sp?] finally did the trick. So glad to be done with that and back in the DS fold!
KaryMelly: You wondered why I was allowed to stay on tx for so long. Good question! I had the required 2 log decrease in VL at 12 weeks and then the next goal was to be UNDIE by 6 months. The doc agreed to let me have one more month of Interferon because I told him of my "experiment": The 20,000 IU Procrit pkgs come with an electronic indicator of whether or not the meds have been frozen. I decided to throw it into my road trip Interferon bag and damn if it didn't come up frozen. I think i have had 4-8 wks of temperature-compromised meds. They deliver the meds with a sheet of foam between the drugs and the freezer packs, but never tell you that if you travel, you need to use the foam sheet. [I was sandwiching the Pegasys carton between two freezer packs.] [My health ins wouldn't supply another month of interferon because I wasn't Undetectable at 6 months. My dr generously gave me a month's worth of samples. Too bad it didn't work - and who knows about the foam sheet theory???
McKenzie: Thanks for your encouragement to take the Infergen. It is certainly a reasonable option and I respect other people's decision to take that route. For me the risks didn't outweigh the small chance of success- 12% success rate for Type 1. If there weren't new treatments on the horizon, I'm sure I would have gone forward with the Infergen.
ALL: Thanks again for being there. You guys are the best!
I then freaked out and put my remote meat thermometer in the refrig so that I could have the reading on the outside of the refrig so I could watch the temp better. I learned that my refrig temps fluctuate A LOT.
Your doc sounds like a very good doc and a very good person. Not only does he keep tabs on you but he listens to you and uses common sense by giving you the extra meds to try to help you along. I love your doc and I don't even know him/her.
Good luck to you Fingers...and thanks for stopping back to update us. Stick with us here...