Old or Young/is treatment the same

[mayamayaooo]

Hi guys, my mom is 57 and the doctor said the the age is also important when they deside on therapy. Why's that? Is therapy the same for younger and older people? Mom's in great shape usually,never had any health issues,doesnt drink or smoke... Btw, she has hep B but I assume this question can be answered by all of you guys..it must be similar..
Hugs

[mayamayaooo]

Thanks Billy, im gonna watch the entire thing tonight, looks very interesting. I think my mom is similar to you,she had hep for about 8 years, liver was fine 3 years ago and now 3/4 fibrosis. The good thing is that liver is a tough organ and can take alot and even heal itself.
Best wishes,
Maya      

[mayamayaooo]

Thanks so much for your kind words. I completely agree with what you are saying. Starting therapy while still young/er :] is definitely a smart choice! It is easier for body to fight the virus when its healthy otherwise.
Good luck with tx, hope you clear it!!
Hugs    

[BillyV102]

I recently watched a video by Dr. Dietrich on why you should treat now, and he had a graph showing the rate of progression of fibrosis by age.  Liver damage seems to progress at a much faster rate once you reach your mid fifties.  You might like to watch it.  It's pretty long and the graph is towards the end of the video. Here's the link:
http://www.mssmtv.org/player_alf/player.php?id=alf_2007_01
So, at your mother's age (which is my age too) it might be wise to treat.  I had the virus for over thirty years and progressed from stage 2 damage to early cirrhosis in just the last couple years.

[ladybug52]

My dr's told me that age is a factor also. I work in long term care with people who range in age from 65 to late 90's. General health and conditioning is an important factor, but your body ususally responds well the younger you are. I had a 62 yr old with a heart attack and very obese that did a lot better than my little 80 year old patients. Your mother is still young by a lot of standards. ( I'll be 54 this yr so she's still young by my standards!)
One reason I was told to tx now is that the older you get, the chances of getting another disease or health problem increases. That was a factor in my decision to tx now, I didn't want to have to battle hepatitis and breast cancer or any other unrelated health problem.
Good luck to your Mom, she's lucky to have you to help her with this.

[mayamayaooo]

Wow, thanks so much for sharing guys,it is very helpful. I think mom will get pegasys+antiviral therapy,or just antiviral,we dont know yet. She has severe fibrosis so something needs to be done.
All the best to all of you..
Maya

[GrandOak]

I believe the difference is that the side effects and long term effects of treatment can be more of an issue as one gets older.  I seem to recall that those in the later 50's and older should be monitored more closely while on treatment and watched after treatment.

[nygirl7]

I've honestly never heard of it making any difference really.

We've had people in their 20s and as you can see in their 60s and treatment has been exactly the same.

It's a hard treatment but if it works, worth it.

Maybe they mean if somebody is of a certain age and doesn't have extensive liver damage - they might not treat as aggressively because they will probably die before it causes them any severe problems....it is generally a very very slow disease.

[traveler65]

I'm almost 66 years old, and this treatment is no fun. I have 9 weeks done and the worst thing is the anemia from the riba. My doc finally started me on procrit 3 weeks ago when my hemo had dropped to 9.2. He should have started it earlier and maybe it would not have dropped so low, down to 8.7.
Good luck to your mom. Just make sure you have an agreement with your doc as to if and when rescue drugs will be provided.
My doc wants to reduce riba dose from 1000 to 600 daily if the procrit does not kick in this week. I plan on not going below 800 as I don't want to jepordize my chances of SVR

[Lilla]

I am female, age 55, good shape health wise/weight, etc. pre-treatment.  I am a geno 2b which means 24 weeks therapy with 180 mg Pegasys and 800 mg ribavirin daily.  I chose treatment now because I was told I had liver fibrosis and I most definitely did not want it to progress.  I definitely don't have all the answers but I believe genotype and weight  play a role in the therapy.    I do not know which is the worst culprit - interferon or ribavirin, but in any event, it is no piece of cake, but each person is different.  I have had the wonderful support of my husband, and I do not work outside the home.  Treatment has been (so far) doable, with some days good and other days not the best.   For me, finding a knowledgeable doctor that I liked and believed in, together with my research, has been a very positive thing in treatment of this disease.

[madbrad]

I can't really say,being that I'm NOT a Doctor...But what I can say is from my own experience..I'm a 49 yr old male in great shape...I'm Hep c geno type 1..I'm on 48 week therapy full strength..That is to say 180 mcg's of Interferon and 600mg's BID Ribavirin......That is tough duty for any one young or old....The Ribavirin beats the **** out of the toughest of people....I can't imagine being on this stuff at 60.....It's hard to take at 49. Just the Side effects of ribivirn are just extremely Taxing from any angle.