- New Member!!!

Posted October 10, 2003 · October 10, 2003

Hi ,

Sorry for the slow response here. Your baby boy should never have

even been tested. They shouldn't test babies until they are over 1 yr

old. Wait until he's about 18 months and have him retested. The

doctor should have known not to test him yet, because he's going to

carry your immunities and antibodies for at least 1 yr. Rarely do the

newer tests come back with a false positive.

DO NOT DECIDE ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE A LIVER BIOPSY. You don't have

to do treatment, just because you have this disease. Genotype 1 is

the most difficult to treat, and the side effects can be horrendeous.

IF your biopsy shows you have Stage 3 Bridging Fibrosis, then you

should consider treatment. If not, you have time to wait for better

treatments to come out.

According to the Drug Companies, and we can't trust their numbers,

they say that 50% of Genotype 1 responds...but the sustained response

rate is much lower. Sustained response means that 6 months after you

have finished your 1 yr treatment regime, you should still show

UNDETECTED on your viral load test.

Have the dr do all the necessary tests, ultrasound and biopsy, GET

COPIES OF EACH REPORT, and wait until then to discuss your options

with your husband. Decide if now is the right time for you to go on

this treatment. Your husband would have to be totally supportive

since you have such small children. Treatment will knock your socks

off and you will come home from work totally exhausted. He'll have to

be willing to help out a lot.

If you have had this disease more than 15-20 yrs, and are not in

Stage 3 liver disease, you may never progress to that point or

beyond. There is no reason to jump into treatment unless you are in

that stage of damage. Even if the Dr tries to talk you into it, you

have the ultimate choice of the decision, not him.

I hope this helps you. Welcome to the board!

LeighAnn

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