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.
Docs says everything looks ok re: CBC... but several things are flagged on my 5/9/14 lab results:
MVHC 30.9 L (Within range on April 11)
MCV - 101.7 fL H (101.7 H on April 11)
RDW 16.6% H (15.4 H on April 11)
Red Blood Cell count 3.71 L (3.78 L on April 11)
Are these numbers anything you'd be concerned about if you be me, and going through side effects? It's not that I don't trust my doctor, just double checking other's real life experiences with TX meds. My side effects which have tough on me, seem to be pretty much blown off by doc since I am in the home stretch, as in it's not for much longer.. I mean I KNOW I shouldn't complain as I am getting these easier meds, and tx could be so much worse. But still, it's not been a cake walk either.
I was also told I DO have "mild cirrhosis" as well as fibrosis. Not "possible cirrhosis" as the nurse told me. What is mild cirrhosis anyway?
I am truly confused as to how sick I really am.
My next follow up is in 6 weeks. That will be enough time for treatment to end, and VL tests to come back.
Anyway, any thoughts on flags on CBC?
MVHC 30.9 L (Within range on April 11)
MCV - 101.7 fL H (101.7 H on April 11)
RDW 16.6% H (15.4 H on April 11)
Red Blood Cell count 3.71 L (3.78 L on April 11)
Are these numbers anything you'd be concerned about if you be me, and going through side effects? It's not that I don't trust my doctor, just double checking other's real life experiences with TX meds. My side effects which have tough on me, seem to be pretty much blown off by doc since I am in the home stretch, as in it's not for much longer.. I mean I KNOW I shouldn't complain as I am getting these easier meds, and tx could be so much worse. But still, it's not been a cake walk either.
I was also told I DO have "mild cirrhosis" as well as fibrosis. Not "possible cirrhosis" as the nurse told me. What is mild cirrhosis anyway?
I am truly confused as to how sick I really am.
My next follow up is in 6 weeks. That will be enough time for treatment to end, and VL tests to come back.
Anyway, any thoughts on flags on CBC?
The numbers she gave you - what scale was she talking about? Stage of liver disease or stage of cirrhosis?
Cirrhosis is fibrosis, its a matter of degrees.
There is no solid line between stages, it is gray.
Do you have blond hair or brown? Holy cow there is a whole spectrum of blond & brown. At what shade of darker blond do we say its brown?
Does this analogy help?
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis_ez/
The degrees of Liver fibrosis are "Grades"
example
Grade 1 through 4
http://mysickliver.weebly.com/grading--staging.html
Once you are at Grade 4 fibrosis it is also usually called cirrhosis
Now that you are in the cirrhosis category they refer to levels of cirrhosis as "Stages"
Here is a link to the Stages of cirrhosis
(apologies if I mixed up the words grade and stage)
http://www.livestrong.com/article/240024-what-are-the-4-stages-of-cirrhosis/
The more you develop your relationship with your doc the easier it gets to trust him/her. It takes time. You are doing great on tx, though, and just think this will soon be behind you!
The ribavirin messes with my brain, and I've got 16 days left to go. I have to fight it and just try not to worry about things too much. And try not to let people get in my path where I might cuss them out for no reason :-)