starting hepc treatment

Hi, iam kat starting hepc treatments. Can someone tell me what to expect?

I did the interferon/ribavirin therapy (pegasys,actually) for 48 weeks, about 5 years ago. I was stage 1. It worked and the virus was undetectable until 3 months later, when I had a cerebral hemorrhage. The trauma triggered the Hep C with a vengeance, and within a couple of weeks, I was stage 3, with cirrhosis. I got into a transplant program and received a liver 8 months ago. But, back to your question. You will develop a fever after the first injection and with me it was 102. The second week, it was 101 and the third and all of the following weeks it was 100, or just over. You'll feel like you have the flu, sort of achy and tired. I found the ribavirin to be more problematic. I had sores (not open) all over my chest and back and got thrush a couple of times. My red cells were low a couple of times and had to give myself shots to bring them up. All in all, I was tired a lot of the time and took afternoon naps often. I was able to work around 25 hours per week. I would give myself the shot Friday morning, which enabled me to work that day. By Friday evening I'd start to get the "flu." Saturday, Sunday and sometimes Monday I'd take it easy. Then it was back to work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and back to Friday's shot. Some people aren't able to get through the program. I made up my mind, that I was going to get through this, or die trying. I believe mindset is what helped me do the entire regimen. From what I hear, the treatment is not as hard on one's body as it used to be. There are good people here that will help talk you through your journey. You have to try. Be well. **David**

Kat, I hope you see David's post above!

Hugs,

Connie

Hello KAT, I just want to welcome you to HealingWell. I know that you are probably scared but you are doing the right thing. Getting educated on it so that you can make informed decisions about your treatment is priceless. So congratulations on making that first big step.

We have lots of wonderful members who are dealing with one form or another of liver disease. The sharing of information and the support that is given here is phenomenal.

Also congratulations on getting computer educated as well. Before long you'll be surfing the web like a pro.

Take care......thoughts and prayers..........

Hi Kat,  or should I say Grandma Kat.  Grandkids keep us older folks young.   I have 2 more on the way myself......That will make 4 for me.  

Hope you have a good evening.......thoughts and prayers....... 

 

HELLO Pink grandma, with connies help i finely made it to the right thread. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, may GOD BLESS YOU. talk later KAT;

GSD, I should have begun by noting that my doctors made the point from the beginning that you can't be cured of Hep C, by the treatment. The term is that if the treatment works, it's becomes undetectable. It is always there. No reinfection was needed. My bodies defenses were compromised by the hemorrhage and the virus came back stronger than before. I now have a transplanted liver and so far, no problems. I still have Hep C. After a transplant the virus often comes back stronger to attack a "fresh" liver, even harder than before. So far that hasn't happened to me. **David**

David, we were not talking about transplant but I am really glad you are feeling good!  Our goal is to reach SVR which is no live virus found 6 months after treatment is completed, I used the most sensitive test that went as low as either 2 or 5.  At 3 months after treatment it is too early to tell if TX (treatment) worked.  Apparently yours didn't.  Also at 12 weeks into TX hopefully for any of us, the virus is UND (undetectable).  I wish you all well!!

Below is a really good article that I cut and pasted and here is the link   http://hepatitis.about.com/od/treatment/f/SVR.htm

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CDC  

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Question: What Is a Sustained Virologic Response or "SVR"?

Answer:

SVR is the closest you'll get to "a cure" for hepatitis. Sustained virologic response, or SVR, is the goal of hepatitis C treatment. Conventional treatment (a combination of interferon and ribavirin) doesn't necessarily eliminate the hepatitis C virus from your liver. It can, however, suppress the virus to undetectable levels for an extended period of time. In clinical language, this is called a "sustained virologic response," or sustained response. It means that during the six months after you complete treatment, there is no detectable hepatitis C virus in your blood.

SVR is a good thing. Studies have shown that with a six-month SVR (which means no detectable virus in your blood for six months after finishing treatment), relapse occurred in only 1-2% of patients. So, for every 100 people who finished treatment and attained SVR, the virus will return in only 2 of them. However, for these people, the virus never really left. The medicine was able to eliminate most of the virus (so much that medical tests couldn't detect it), but after treatment ended, for whatever reason the virus was able to continue replicating itself.

Early SVR is beneficial. Since the liver has incredible regenerative ability, achieving SVR as quickly as possible is important. This is important because some liver damage can be reversed if the cause of the damage is removed. After SVR is reached and depending on the degree of damage from the virus, the risk of hepatocellular cancer is reduced and about 25% of people see an improvement in fibrosis.

SVR compares one treatment to another. For those in treatment, SVR is the goal. However, for physicians and scientists researching new hepatitis treatments, SVR is also used to evaluate new medicines and compare them with proven therapies. For example, depending on the genotype, treatment with interferon alone usually achieves SVR in 15% of the patients. When interferon is combined with ribavirin in the same genotype, SVR is increased to 70% in some people.

GSD, At 3 months into the interferon/ribaviron therapy my Hep C was undetectable, as it was at 6 months, 9 months, a year (48 weeks, the end of the treatment) and then 3 months afterward. A couple of weeks later, I had the cerebral hemorrhage, liver still OK, a little less than three weeks later, a seizure and hemorrhage that threw my Hep C into overdrive. I almost died of liver failure at that point. I came back from that, but my level was a high stage 3, with cirrhosis. I went almost 5 years, with a MELD score in the low to middle teens, until a week before the transplant. I was clear for almost a year and then a traumatic medical event knocked me down. Good luck with your staying clear. and, you're correct about not using a bunch of herbal cures. Your doctors know best. Be well. **David**

David, I guess I misunderstood your timelines.

hep93, you are correct but 2a's & 2b's do fgail TX

good day all

ITgal, welcome to the forum.  As a genotype 3, you should do well with treatment.  However, you need to discuss any additional (nontraditional) treatment with your hepatologist, as anything you take in combinaton with the treatment meds could be harmful (or of no help.)  From those who have been through treatment, I've learned that it feels like having the flu.  That's probably why your doctor said you wouldn't feel like exercising.  It's great that you are eating properly.  Some on treatment become depressed as a side effect, so your doctor may prescribe an antidepressant.

Good luck with your treatment!

Hugs,

Connie

Thank you David and Hep93 for the encouraging and positive posts. My friend and I have found a slight bit of twisted humor in calling it "My "hepC diet" Maybe I will finally be able loose that extra 10 lbs I can't get rid of! I don't want to cry so, sometimes it's easier to find some humor with myself where I can. (I hope that does not offend anyone)

kat57 said...
Hi, iam kat starting hepc treatments. Can someone tell me what to expect?

Hi Kat,
I did the Hep C treatment in 2004-05. I have a lot of information if you want me to share with you. I hope you will do one thing, your life depends on it. Never stop drinking water. Sit in the tub 3x's a day. The treatment drugs are very toxic. They can shut down your kidneys. This is what happened to Natalie Cole. She went off TX to have a kidney transplant.

I have the hardest geno type and I would never do the TX again. It leaves a lot of damage to manage that is caused by the toxic chemicals. It is chemo therapy and we are the only people doing chemo therapy for an entire year or six months if we are lucky. I had a year of interferon.

It is everyone's personal decision to treat or not treat and I mainly did it because everyone wanted me to but it did not work. I am no more ill today than I was before TX but yes having Hep C for almost 40 years can cause a lot of life problems to deal with. I have end stage liver disease and had that in 2003 when they did the biopsy. I have to rest a lot and I can't work anymore but I am alive and sometimes I truly enjoy life but most days are quite difficult for me as I live managing this illness.

I hope you have a lot of friends and family to look after you and love you through all of this.

Good luck, please remember the water, at least one gallon a day. I never was without water bottles all around me all of the time at home or wherever I went and I believe that saved me some serious complications. For this I am thankful as I have plenty of complications anyway from TX.
Turns