9 year old son with Hepatitis C

I have researched quite a bit now on the side effects of interferon and how it may cause terrible side effects and so.
I am so confused now since my son should start this medication next month!!
I am confused, and can't come to expalin how I feel once I see him walking in from school all happy and energetic..
I dont know what I should do..Help please.
DOES ANYONE KNOW ANY OTHER MEDICATION THAT HAS PROVEN TO BE EFFECTIVE WITH HEPATITIS C?
please let me know and I will speak with my doctor about it.
Thank you
Lulwah

[_Matt_]

Hi,

Does your Son have any symptoms of Hepatitis-C? Why the need for immediate treatment?

While many in this forum do not believe it, I healed my Mom and Dad of Chronic Hepatitis-C by juicing Vegetables and Fruit for them everyday until the virus was gone.. They are in their 50's. Over time their immune systems were strengthened so much by this that they had what's called "Spontaneous Clearance" of Chronic Hepatitis-C. "Spontaneous Clearance" of Chronic Hepatitis-C is when our immune system fights off the virus... There's still a chance your Son could have "Spontaneous Clearance", especially with the addition of Fresh Veggies and Fruit that boost His immune system....

With your Son being so young I believe fresh Veggies and Fruit would work very well to boost His immune system. No doubt that just by making 1 glass of fresh juices(using a juicer machine) for Him everyday... you will also see an improvement in His grades and His althleticism as well. If He is scheduled for treatment in 1 month... you could juice for Him everyday until then just to see if it works... for 30-days... there might be no virus even in such a short period of time considering your Son's age.

Here's a group on Medhelp with all my research about juicing for people with Hepatitis-C:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Living-With-Hepatitis-C/show/681

Wishing you and your Son all the very best,
Matthew Jason Chin

[ranausman]

Well more important is his Viral Load as in Pakistan, Doctors dont always go for interferon therapy.

[copyman]

Foget about the juicing. The ONLY thing that will "cure" HCV is interferon, ribavirin,  and the new drugs coming out next year.
I personally would wait until the new drugs coming out that will possibly offer a shorter course of therapy. Why put the child through longer treatment if not necessary.
Wishing you and your son the best.

[IAmTheWalrus]

Nobody would take interferon if there was another way, believe me. The standard treatment is very effective on genotype 2 and 3 (about 80%). There are better drugs coming out for genotype 1 that look like they will be effective as well. For genotype 2 and 3, often the treatment is only 24 months. I hope since he is young, disease has not progressed very far and his liver is still in good health.

[IAmTheWalrus]

Oh, I forgot to say. Juice is probably a very healthy choice for a beverage. Don't confuse it or substitute it for medicine,

[meakea]

I'm so sorry that your son has Hep C.  As a mother, I know how upsetting that can be.  But it appears that you are dealing with it and doing everything you can to educate yourself about Hep C and potential treatments.

I, like the other posters above, would like to know a bit more about why his doc wants to start treatment next month.  Most of us here have have Hep C for 20+ years (I've had it for 50+ years) so it's a slow moving disease so treatment does not "usually" have to be rushed into.  I did treatment and was successful with it but I would find it very hard to suggest that a 9 year old go through treatment at that age.  I'm not a doctor and your doctor knows best but please question your son's doc about why he wants to treat him NOW.  There are better drugs on the horizon that will be more successful and that will potentially cut the duration of treatment in half.  So, ask the doc about why your son can't wait for those meds.  

The "juice cure" mentioned above is NOT a substitute for medicine...do not be fooled by this.  Juice, of course, is good for us not not as a cure for Hep C.  

At this point in time, there is no other medicine for Hep C but there WILL BE in a year or two.  It very well might be worth waiting for -- your son is so young and his liver is surely still very healthy (ask your doc about that).

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Bill1954]

The information regarding fruit juice above comes from a delusional person; please discuss that course of action with a qualified medical doctor first.

Additionally, many dietitians now classify fruit juice in the same category as soda pop; nice for a treat occasionally, but way too much sugar with relatively little dietary fiber to be good in quantity.

Bill

[child24angel]

I have to agree with most of  our friends above, however not in
all cases is it a slow moving disease, there are many variables.

This is your son and there are a lot of factors that need to be considered and need to be
addressed with a good hepatologist in Pakistan?.

I would not rush into anything unless you've spoke and know for a fact
he should treat now.

While juicing may be healthy it is not a known cure.

I've read in some cases where TX may be easier on a child, (being able
to handle the sides better then say someone in the 40-50's), I believe the SVR rates
remain the same as an adult.

I wish you and your son the very best ....finding and asking for information is the first of many steps forward.  

All my best
Hugs
Elaine

[meakea]

I do agree with Child24angel...there are MANY variables and none of us here are doctors so we don't know the particulars of your son like your doc does.  Just be sure to ask the doc questions about some of the things mentioned above so that you have an excellent understanding of your child's course of treatment.

[nygirl7]

9 seems very young for him to have developed liver damage to the point where it is crucial to do treatment.  He should be having blood tests to determine how his liver enzymes are doing however viral load isn't a big factor really.

As young as he is hopefully he has many more years until he needs to do anything about it.  Most of us have had this disease 20-30 years before we did and many of us did not lead a very liver healthy lifestyle.

If you can keep him on a good and proper diet it might help him greatly.

He does need to be seen by a reputable specialist though to make sure that he doesn't need any help right away.  As child24 told you - she has first had experience that it is not always possible to wait.

PS Juice is a nice drink but unfortunately has no ability to do anything with hepC, indeed we all wish it was that easy but it's just not and the person who says it does help might as well easily be talking about little green men coming down from Mars to assist.

Good luck.

[jepperone]

Where do you live? Cairo – Lebanon? I don't know if there are any new trial drugs available in Lebanon which may have a shorter duration of treatment and Interferon and Ribavirin may be your only choice.

jep

[Lulwah]

To all of you :)))))))))
Thanks a million for getting back to me so fast! I'm glad I have people that understand what I am going through and are kind enough to spare some time to answer some questions I have.
I live in Egypt, and most likely my son contracted the virus from the dentist.Since he has never been in a surgery room, I am "guessing" it's the dentist.I understand that it will not make a difference where he contracted it from, but it just drove me CRAZY the day I found out he was tested positive.
The doctor we are following up with  "one of the best doctors in Africa and the Middle East" is insisting on having a liver bioposy done this month, once the biopsy is out she said we will determine whether we should start medication.
Sorry for misleading you by saying that he has to start immediately, I meant that we have to start "yes" and the doctor will decide when.
Thanks again to you all
hugs :)

[IAmTheWalrus]

A biopsy is a good place to start. It will tell what stage the disease is in. I hope it is very low and that he has genotype 2 or 3 which is more common in the Middle East. with him being young he probably has not had the disease for a long time and that is very good. Like Elaine says, the disease can progress more rapidly, but it usually doesn't. My best guess is that he will have some good options and really good chances at a successful treatment. I really hope so!

Best wishes,
Brent

I was wondering about Cairo, Lebanon. Never heard of it. :-)

[Bill1954]

Unfortunately, I think genotype 4 is prevalent in Egypt, as a result of a wide spread vaccination program for schistosomiasis. This article suggests the prevalence of GT-4 is as high as 90%:

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/315786

“…190 specimens were amplified and analyzed by RFLP: 111 (91%) were genotype 4, 1 (1%) was genotype 1a, 1 (1%) was genotype 1b, and 9 (7%) could not be typed. Phylogenetic analyses of the core/E1 and NS5B regions confirmed the genotype 4 preponderance and revealed evidence of 3 new subtypes.”

Given the difficulty managing GT-4, it might be a god idea to wait for more effective treatment, as suggested above. Of course, consult with a hepatologist and see what the recommendation is. You should discuss the status of the new ‘protease inhibitor’ class drugs; these may be released to the public in the U.S. as soon as 2011.

Best of luck to you and your family,

Bill

[IMstacie]

I feel so bad for your son at nine having this horrible virus.  I'm hoping he can wait for a while before beginning tx.

I don't like to be so negative but I would worry about the long-term sx in someone so young and not fully developed yet.  

[Lulwah]

Hi to all :)
Yes it is geno type 4.
Unfortunately.

I will do the biopsy and let you all know the result.
Thanks again for the support
Lulwah

[nygirl7]

I'm sorry to hear it is indeed a 4 but we'll keep your son in our thoughts that it he does not have any liver damage yet and yas plenty of years before he needs to do treatment.  heck he could even be married by then - does that put it into perspective for you how long it could be?  :)

[Isobella]

So sorry to hear about your son.  Believe me, I can relate to your heart right now.

My daughter is older, in her 20's and is geno 1...she got it from me either thru birth or nursing.  

She wanted to tx immediately after me, (last summer) but the docs all agreed it was best for her to wait, her biopsy is 1/1, and the new drugs and shorter treatment times are going to be here in the next year or so. So for now...we wait.  But most importantly, we watch.  

Her plan is to maintain a healthy diet, get plenty of excercise and avoid anything known to irritate the liver.  We are using the time waiting for the newer treatments to get into and maintain the best health possible because from my experience with treatment, it can help. (although we are all different)

Good luck to your son and your family.  Please keep us posted.

Isobella

[Lulwah]

Thanks Nygirl7 :))))
Thanks Isobella :)))))
Hugs
Lulwah

[cuteus]

ah! I see the miracle cures are still around just like they were in 2003 when I did Tx.  Of course we only have the person's anecdotal story as proof, no reports of PCR tests before and after the cure, no info on genotype, etc. Beware of the wolf in juice clothing!

In some cases, children seem to advance in liver damage faster than adults, hopefully your child is not one of them and can wait until a better combo is around.
I remember Amanda's story, stage 4 and nonresponder, anyone heard of her recently? Last I heard she had graduated from HS and was in college. I hope she is well.
GL with your son. Please post back his Bx results.

[Bill1954]

LOL!

Nothing from Amanda/Travelmom for years now...

Bill

[_Matt_]

Hi again. :) It's been awhile. Still think Vegetables and Fruit are bad for you? Ha ha, just kidding. I hope you're doing well. I guess you don't remember me showing the test after my Dad was cured: http://members.shaw.ca/ancientprize/hepatitis-c-antibody.jpg

Was going through my file cabinet today and came across 3 older papers from my Dad's tests, one paper is from around 10-15 years ago. I'll post them tomorrow once I get them scanned.

[cuteus]

I seem to vaguely remember you, I guess I should remember the juicy arguments we had!  TY for posting the test paper, but it looks different than most results I have seen. Mine show the test utilized by the lab, the range, the kit, etc.  I hope you find the actual  lab results and post them, Until then.
Good to see you.

[_Matt_]

Hi, here's those other papers from my Dad's tests I mentioned. One is from 1994 when my parents found out they had Hepatitis-C. Who knows how long they had it prior to that. My Mom wanted to donate blood and found out she had Hepatitis-C at that time. These 3 papers don't reveal much info and don't even have the date on them... On 1 you can just barely make out Aug/3/94 for the date. Eventually we'll have some better copies of previous test results showing genotype, etc.

http://members.shaw.ca/ancientprize/Dadstests01.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/ancientprize/Dadstests02.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/ancientprize/Dadstests03.jpg

My Mom is going to get re-tested in the next several months and I am going to go into the liver clinic with her and hand the doctors a stack of papers with my research and an explanation of how my Dad and Her were healed. After my Mom's last meeting with the Doctor she was told she was virus free, yet she'd like to get tested again and get copies of all the paperwork.

When my Dad told the nurses at the liver clinic how he was healed they told him that they would get in trouble if they started telling patients about it. They probably would if it was allowed and they wouldn't lose their job over it.

Good to see you again too, :)

Take care,
Matt

[Lulwah]

MY SONS READINGS CAME BACK,
QUANTITATIVE IS 650,000 IS THIS TOO HIGH FOR A 9 YEAR OLD?
JUST 4 MONTHS AGO WHEN HE WAS TESTED IT WAS 54,000.WHAT IS THE REASON THAT THE READING HAS JUMPED ALL OF A SUDDEN?
PLEASE GET BACK TO ME IF YOU HAVE AN ANSWER TO THIS,I'M WORRIED SICK.

[Lulwah]

Please get back to me whether 650,000 is a high reading.
Thank you

[Trinity4]

A viral load of 400,000 or below is considered low.  Anything above falls into the moderate to high level.  It is not unusual for the viral load to increase or decrease.
It is the nature of the virus and it does not mean his liver is under siege anymore than if his viral load was 54,000.
If I understand correctly, you are considering treatment for your son fairly soon.  Some with a very low viral still have difficulty clearing the virus so when your son does treat the most important thing is how he responds to treatment in terms of how effectively her responds to the therapy.  

I wish you and your boy the best of luck with whatever path you choose.

Trinity

[tashka]

Viral load constantly fluctuates, and sometimes fluctuates a lot. This is normal and doesn't reflect how severe hepatitis is. Many hepatitis C patients have viral load of a few millions, feel just fine, and their disease is mild. And others have 100,000 or 200,000, which is considered low, and suffer from cirrhosis.

In short, increase in the viral load number doesn't mean anything other then your son has hepatitis C. Often in people who decide to wait and not to do treatment, it is not even measured.

How does your boy feel? What are his labs? Biopsy? This is what is really important.

[Lulwah]

Trinity4 and Tashka,
I truly feel better now that I read your posts.
I hope the doctor tomorrow has the same opinion.We have an appintment tomorrow to get all the info on when and how they will do the biopsy.

Thanks a million :)
Lulwah