Mo....but what about just staying afloat on your raft???? or boat???? IDK....I do not want to seem cavalier....but I am going to die...someday...one day....it is what it is.....I have really considered this...thought long & hard...but the risks just do not out weigh the rewards.....again....where are the studies after Tx...long term???/ Interferon has been around for years....and the medical community has been looking for a hole....any hole to plug it up with.....I have watched people struggle....get so sick...brutally so....i am being as cautious as I can here....but is it really worth it???? not just 6 months after Tx...but 10 years???? Please... I do NOT want to Offend anyone...but these are the questions I struggle with....I like my life...I try to live right....IDK....again.... the risks & rewards just do not play out ...for Me....

Maybe someone can weigh in on this topic who has successfully achieved SVR but for 10 years. This treatment (though its changed) has been around for quite some time. Anyone know someone who has been "cured" for that long of a period of time?
Treatment has been hell for me but if it actually works I'll deal with the long term consequences as they arise.
No disrespect to anyone on this site who believes differently, but if I can avoid liver disease, a transplant, etc its worth a shot.

yes it is a risk, for me, i feel really good now, functioning physically and am scared as everyone is to varying degrees, for the most part, i am willing to take that chance, with the newer meds and just once, hoping for the best outcome, and the strongerst desire to return to my old life, will i be strong enough at that time to take that chance, idk,i certainly hope so, it is a very personal decision, and i certainly know, whatever i choose, i would not make it without this support group to lean on. it is a very lonely place, even now.. good luck and god bless

Again....I am being cautious here...but I thought the new Tx was going to be a wonder drug....it isn't...it will have the same sides...plus additional sides....BUT reaching SVR is greater......I am not trying to talk anyone out of Tx...it isn't black & white ...and it is a personal choice...there are no right or wrong here...we are all people...with a disease...who are trying to make right choices...I honor those who do Tx...they are warriors....but...for those who do not do Tx...we are warriors too...we are just fighting the dragon in a different way.....

thank you mcslo for your thoughts...i think about this a lot too.
can anyone who has finished tx talk about what their continuing sides are? and do they last forever? thanks and sending love xo

Mema you are absolutely right. There is no "right" choice.
All we can do is make an "informed decison" about whether to take tx or not.
20 years ago my Dr. told me there was a 5% chance of success on interferon. Then along comes Riba and the chances go up to 50%.
Now there will be telaprevir that boosts to 85%.( 31% for non responders).
It is getting better and yes we could stay afloat on our leaky boats for a while BUT we could also, maybe, get to shore safely
Sorry about the metaphor here but it's one that goes through my mind.
Again here is the latest update video for Hep 1ers.
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/presentations/telareal.htm

I like your metaphors mo....and I appreciate you and all the info you give....

...sorry guys, didn't see the whole second page of responses before i replied. d'oh. still, this thread is very helpful and needed. thank you again!!

I still think that for many that tx is the answer. Most people don't have lasting effects. But if you do it might be hard to fix. The Drs don't want to deal with it.

Busyexec- you wanted to see what past people think, the link I sent had some people that had been on tx 10 years ago. Read up on some of them and see you see it is common.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-Social/Long-term-side-effects-of-interferon/show/866107

I think treatment affects people differently just like Hep C does. Maybe people who had health issues or hep c for a long time suffer issues after treatment. Treatment is hard any chemo is but if it means getting cleared of Hep C then I say its worth it. I could have waited for a different treatment but at that time when my viral load was low and I was healthy I felt and still feel it was the best thing to do.

I am continually told by my doc that the new drug is for geno types 1 only. Being a geno 2 I had to wonder, "why won't this new med work on 2?"? I had RA prior to my x but it was dormant. TX woke it up. My VL was 4mil. I am a typ 1 diabetic of 38 years. for me, treating this virus asap was first thing on my list. (Evryone remember how much I whined until started tx?LOL!)
Some people chose no to do tx and if it is the right decision for them, then they need to be confident in their choices.
We all do, whatever decisions we make re tx.
Mema, you ar the last person on this board who would offend anyone! :-)

I hope I can get my point across and it make sense, because I struggle with knowing how to explain something, but then when I try to say it, .........it doesnt come out the way I meant it to.

I could have waited for tx also. But the determining factor for me was when a friend was told by his doctor that he had time to wait to do tx. He was in no danger and had plenty of time to wait.
2 yrs later, he was on a transplant list. He did get a new liver, but his body rejected it and once again, he was blessed to get yet a 2nd liver. Hep attacked his new liver, which came from a 16 yr old child, and as the end result, Frank still died.
The liver is the largest organ. The doctors take a very small sample of it, and who is to say that the docor didnt just get a piece of the healthy liver, while the remaining liver is completely diseased. Everyone is right. There is no right or wrong decision, to treat or not to treat. It is each individuals choice to make.
I have been one of those who have suffered horrific mental sides. I have children, and grandchildren I wont to see grow up, so I felt like I had to gamble on this. I dont know if I'll achieve SVR, but I am still content with the decision to tx. BUT!!!!!!!!!! I STILL cant shake the what if's concerning the post tx sides. I feel like I dont have a competent primary doctor, so after tx, if permanent sides occur, I'll be up a shit creek without a paddle. It does worry me, the post tx sides, but I feel like I HAD to gamble on treating or not treating.
I hope this makes some kind of since to yall. After I struggled so hard to find the right way to word this. LOL

Great topic! Tx or no tx, it's a hard decision for everyone because stakes can be really high, however, some people can't afford to wait and have to take a gamble. The most difficult thing to deal with when making the decision is not knowing what awaits you, it's different for everyone. Some people have more severe sides on tx, some don't, the same is true post tx...

Being geno 2, six years ago I was told to wait for new meds, nothing happened in the meantime and I decided to treat, I just wanted to be rid of the thing whatever the odds...was it worth it and what the consequences will be, only time will tell, but I took my gamble....not treating is the same, a personal decision and Mema, I agree with Trap :)))

i had terrible side effects on treatment and then after it ended I felt like I had a tremor and ears ringing and fatigue. After some weeks maybe 6 or 8 they went away. I think treatment may have caused some deterioration in my joints after EOT. I wish there was more aggressive medical care directed at minmizing side effects. It seems that if there were specialized medical staff that were trained just to treat sides, more people could tolerate sides and get better. The way it is now is people almost have to fend for themselves and therefore don't have the support they need.

I did not realize the sides I was having. Yes, it screwed up my BG's. Expected that. Thyroid meds had to be changed - expected that. Activated RA in me. Didn't expect it but knew it was a gamble I was taking - a gamble I lost.
What I did not expect or even understand at the time was Brain FOG and Riba Rage. Had no clue. My family is filling me in daily on my life that I seem to somehow missed. :-/ Otherwise, tx wasn't that bad. Not like it was for poor Paindora or anything.