12 Week Results of Viral Load

My doctor called me on Friday to say that she had great news for me, my blood draw results at 12 weeks were in and I am practically undetected.  I said, PRACTICALLY?   Obviously I wasn't as pleased as she was, I was hoping for undected.  She told me that I dropped 3-4 logs from where I began.  Two days before I started  treatment, my viral load was 47 million, 700 thousand and now it's hovering just below 700.  Should I be concerned or should I be happy?  She said that we're going to troop on for the 48 weeks.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Linda

[mikesimon]

Of course it would be better if you were undetectable but your VL has dropped significantly. You had quite a high VL pre-treatment so 700 looks like you are definitely responding. If I were you I would love to see a 13 week VL because I would hope and expect you to be undetectable by then. I look at treatment success basically as time to undetectable and then time spent undetectable. If someone is UND at week 12 and 48 weeks is the recommended duration then perhaps UND at week 13 would suggest 49 weeks of treatment. I personally might opt for a longer duration but that would depend on how I feel.
In short I wouldn't be elated with your VL but I wouldn't be going into a tailspin either. I would continue treatment if it has been tolerable to this point and expect the best results.
Good luck Linda,
Mike

[Trinity4]

I would consider extending treatment since you did not clear by 12 wks.  I didn't clear at 12 wks and did not have another PCR 24 wks.  I my case, we will extend to 72 wks even if that's erring on the side of caution.  My doctor did say he likes to see at least 36 wks of UND after the initial UND.  Different protocols with different doctors.  
Good Luck and I hope you will consider some kind of extension, whether it's 72 or plus 48 wks once you reach UND.  That will give you the best chance at SVR.
Good Luck and Happy Holidays
Trinity

[Trinity4]

Correction:  Didn't have another PCR until 24 wks.

[zazza]

You are certainly among those who would benefit from extended tx. Having a low viral load at week 12 indicates that you have a good chance of succeeding with 72 weeks of tx. Getting a 13 week PCR however seems a bit optimistic to me. I would see if I could get a PCR every 4 weeks until UND.

Considering your high baseline viral load, I think things are going quite well.

Good luck,
Za

[LindaC1207]

I asked my doctor if she thought it would be a good idea to extend treatment and she said, what in the world for, this is good news Linda.  I don't know, I'm willing to treat longer if necessary, I've been having a pretty easy time of it up to this point, I haven't missed one day of work do to treatment, my appetite is good and I sleep very well, so 72 weeks doesn't bother me.  She did say that my WBC was getting low and that we have to keep an eye on it.

I do trust her, she's a Hepatologist and seems to know what she's doing, she has an excellent track record with Hep C patients (100%) and she's very choosy about which patients she'll treat.   I will ask her to test again on Monday and see what happens.  I'll still take it one day at a time.

Thanks for all the input and advice!
Linda

[zazza]

If you want the full text of the Berg study about extending tx, where he especially talks about the benefit for those detectable less than 6000 IU/ml at week 12, send me a PM with an email address, and I will email it to you.

[R Glass]

Trin, I don’t know much about extending treatment other than if you are not undetected at 12 weeks it is recommended. I am curios to know what your VL was at 12 weeks and if that played a role in why they didn’t do another PCR until 24 weeks?

[R Glass]

Trin, never mind, I just read your profile and saw your VL was 793. I am still curios as to why the next PCR was done at 24 weeks.

[Rockerforlife]

EXTEND TX....you doc is not aggressive enuff....odds are you will relapse