Posted 12/4/2005 7:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi! Its good to see so many people out here. The last place I was at was nice but kinda empty. I was one of the guinea pigs who got treated with Intron A in 1994. I've never been quite the same since. They told me I was cured, but that there was no guarantee that Interferon would alter the course of the disease, since there were no long term studies. My response was remarkable after 6 months, but my side effects were the worst anyone had seen. Still I am PCR negative but I'm decompensating they told me and I have severe fatty liver, every cell is really bad. Now they are telling me that there were no guarantees with the treatment and even though I am pcr neg they are telling me I have hep c and they are not going to test my liver functions anymore or treat me for my liver as this is the normal progression of the disease and while I'm not going to die tomorrow, or even next year, the problem is bad. They have me on duragesic patches to keep me comfortable, I have not been able to take most medicines long term by mouth since my treatment, even though I'm healed, the medication would back up in my system. The patches help with the abdominal pain and I'm trying to diet. I guess I'd like to know if anyone else had this problem or problems with weight gain and health issues after treatment that they feel were related to the treatment rather than the illness. Doing the math, I figure I have 5 to 8 years before cancer sets in but my liver enzymes have doubled in the past six months with sodium and albumin low.