Re: To Treat or Not To Treat?

[Guest guest]

By treating even if a person cannot complete the required time it gives the liver a break . And during this break it can heal itself . The liver is the only organ in the body that has the ability to heal itself , as long as there is at least one healthy cell . There are some people who have no long lasting damage from treatment and there are those that do . But treatment will prolong life compared to those who don't . I myself have treated 5 times and have no permanent damage to my body .

To Treat or Not To Treat?

My husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He has now decided that he wants to take a more proactive approach to dealing with this, however, he is undecided about whether to do the treatment or not. His doctor has told him about the pros/cons, cure rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him that there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly affecting other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if you do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard this same thing?

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group! I hope you will feel right at home with us.. Im so sorry that your hubby has this virus but am glad he is thinking about takeing care of it. While many ppl have said that tx gives your liver a break, and that is true most of the time, it has tho in many cases caused the virus to take off like a rocket and the person ends up in end stage liver disease much quicker than they might have had they not taken todays standard tx... I sure wish there were a 'test' of some kind that they could do to figure out who would fall into that bracket... How long has it been since he's had a biopsy? Maybe he needs to have another one to see just what damage is there and how fast its moving along. If he's had it for a long time but has no damage, then he might be able to wait for better treatment that we hear is coming out in 2009 (vertex, or something like that). If he is stage 3 or 4 and his grade of inflammation is more than 2 or higher,

then maybe he should consider treating now. While 'most' ppl do give their livers a break while on tx and some of the cells can and do regenerate, some ppl and its only a small fraction of those infected do find that tx actually makes their virus worse.. I have personally known two ppl who died from treatment and many who were stage 1-2 who ended up stage 4 in a very short period of time FROM doing tx.. but as I said, I've known tens of thousands of ppl with this virus from being on this forum as well as a few others who did treat and even when they did not reach SVR, their livers did get a break. Im not sure if the break actually 'extends' life or not but if it allows the liver to regenerate even a little, I would think that it would extend life.. its such a crap shoot.. I guess I was very lucky in that with being a stage 3-4 with grade 3 inflammation, I HAD to treat, I could NOT just wait for better treatment. That was 6 years ago and as of last year on

my 4th anniversary of finishing tx, I was still undetectible.. I'm very overdue in doing this years test.. I DO need to get my test done soon,, but its so hard to get into see my gastro.. and every time I go, he nags me about the colonscopy... grrrr... best wishes hon and keep us informed how your hubby is doing!jaxskooch33455 wrote: My husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He has now decided that he wants to take a more proactive approach to dealing with this, however, he is undecided about

whether to do the treatment or not. His doctor has told him about the pros/cons, cure rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him that there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly affecting other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if you do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard this same thing? Jackie

[Guest guest]

For what it is worth,

I put my treatment off for 7 years. It was easy to come up with an

excuse not to start. I am really glad I did start, though. I feel

that I was lucky that my stage of progression didn't do much damage.

Very lucky. My doctors didn't tell me close to enough about the

treatment, or the possible consequences of not starting. I feel so

much more informed now. The thought of not starting is now so much

scarier than just jumping in and doing it. I am sorry I waited so

long, a because a whole lot of damage could have occured in those

seven years that I avoided it.

Rob

My

husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He

> has now decided that he wants to take a more proactive approach to

> dealing with this, however, he is undecided about whether to do

the

> treatment or not. His doctor has told him about the pros/cons,

cure

> rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him

that

> there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly

affecting

> other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if

you

> do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard

this

> same thing?

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Jackie

>

[Guest guest]

but didnt you say that a whole lot of damage 'could' have occurred? but didnt occur??? I have known several ppl who have had this virus for 30-40 years and have no damage whatsoever... I know that they are lucky and the rare ones,, but I do not think that anyone should take treatment lightly... Rob wrote: For what it is worth, I put my treatment off for 7 years. It was easy to come up with an excuse not to start. I am really glad I did start, though. I feel that I was lucky that my stage of progression didn't

do much damage. Very lucky. My doctors didn't tell me close to enough about the treatment, or the possible consequences of not starting. I feel so much more informed now. The thought of not starting is now so much scarier than just jumping in and doing it. I am sorry I waited so long, a because a whole lot of damage could have occured in those seven years that I avoided it. Rob My husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He > has now decided that he wants to take a more proactive approach to > dealing with this, however, he is undecided about whether to do the > treatment or not. His doctor has told him about the pros/cons, cure > rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him that > there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly affecting > other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if you > do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard this > same thing? > > > >

> > > Jackie > Jackie

[Guest guest]

How did they die from treatment? What happened?

<<those infected do find that tx actually makes their virus worse.. I

have personally known two ppl who died from treatment and many who were

stage 1-2 who ended up stage 4 in a very short period of time FROM

doing tx..

[Guest guest]

Oh, the horror stories, our kind friends and relatives collect a long the way in our treatment of hep C. I can only relate my own personal experience with you. I treated twice and on the second time I reached undetectable for the virus, although the virus came back 3 months later. Let me say this as a disclaimer-I had some other things that complicated me reaching SVR. I am Genotype 1a and I was really overweight, really overweight. After treatment, I had some vanilla cokes with mexican vanilla in them and it contains alcohol. I didn't know it at the time, or it would have never touched my lips. Alcohol can bring the virus back, in a heartbeat. I had RA before treatment. And during treatment it did act up. But not so bad that I couldn't walk (mine is in my knees). Just had to do things slower and use a walker

sometimes. I did develope Type 2 diabetes, but I have a family history, and back to the same thing, I was terribly overweight. Overweight+family history=diabetes. My liver actually got better each time, I treated. I will treat again. Love Janetskooch33455 wrote: My husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He has now decided

that he wants to take a more proactive approach to dealing with this, however, he is undecided about whether to do the treatment or not. His doctor has told him about the pros/cons, cure rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him that there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly affecting other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if you do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard this same thing? "There are souls in this world that have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go" Frederick Faber

[Guest guest]

both went from stage 1 and stage 1-2 to end stage liver failure and died within a few months of starting treatment... several others went from stage 1 to stage 3-4 and became so very ill that their docs put them in the hosp and pulled them off treatment.. their viral load initially went down but then skyrocketed up into the tens of millions.. very rare,, but it can still happensamanthascott23 wrote: How did they die from treatment? What happened? <<those infected do find that tx actually makes their virus

worse.. I have personally known two ppl who died from treatment and many who were stage 1-2 who ended up stage 4 in a very short period of time FROM doing tx.. Jackie

[Guest guest]

I was diagnosed 3 years ago. I'm 1A Stage 1 Grade 2, I did the interferon but was taken off because it was taking too long to bring my viral load down. I'm having more problems with my health now. I would see what stage his liver is in and then decide. I don't think I'd do the interferon if I had the choice again. I was much better before I did the treatment! That INTERFERON AND RIBAVIRAN are some nasty stuff. It can cause auto-immune diseases, eye damage etc. Be very weary and talk to your doctor about all of this. Good luck Steveskooch33455 wrote: My husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He has now decided that he wants to take a more proactive approach to dealing with this, however, he is undecided about whether to do the treatment or not. His doctor has told him about the pros/cons, cure rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him that there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly affecting other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if you do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard this same thing?

[Guest guest]

Scary stuff, that's why I try to stay fully informed and I still have my eye on the Vertex in clinical trials. I am also geneotype 1, it's suppose to cut treatment to 24 weeks.. Sheenasteve brewer wrote: I was diagnosed 3 years ago. I'm 1A Stage 1 Grade 2, I did the

interferon but was taken off because it was taking too long to bring my viral load down. I'm having more problems with my health now. I would see what stage his liver is in and then decide. I don't think I'd do the interferon if I had the choice again. I was much better before I did the treatment! That INTERFERON AND RIBAVIRAN are some nasty stuff. It can cause auto-immune diseases, eye damage etc. Be very weary and talk to your doctor about all of this. Good luck Steveskooch33455 wrote: My husband was diagnosed with Hep C 15 years ago (he's type 1B). He has now decided that he wants to take a more proactive approach to dealing with this, however, he is undecided about whether to do the treatment or not. His doctor has told him about

the pros/cons, cure rate percentages, etc. His mother has called him and told him that there are severe, possible permanent side effects, possibly affecting other organs - and that it doesn't necessarily extend your life if you do the treatment vs not doing the treatment. Has anyone heard this same thing?

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