Alternative Meds

Is there anyone out there that is on any type of Alternative Meds or are most of you on TX?  Would like some feed back.  I am trying to decide which root to go.  I am so scared of TX.  Also is anyone out there on TX and continuing to work and not be deathly ill?

[Tallblonde]

If you scroll down you'll find a thread that addresses this issue very passionately.  Look for the one titled "Very Concerned."  You'll see the wide range of opinions on it.  Hopefully it will guide you in making the choice that's best in your particular case.  Good luck.

Susan

[honey1616]

Hi Niki,,,,Like Susan said,,,There is plenty information here for you to make a valid decision on which rt you will go. I finished tx in January of 52 weeks and its doable.  I was not deathly ill at all and continued work and houshold duties.  You just always feel puny and not quite right and I guess we tend to scare off alot of potential treaters because we complain about all of our sides here LOL  Actually,,,if you worked with me during that time,,,,you probably would have never known I was on tx.  Good Luck in your decision.

[Tallblonde]

On the "Very Concerned" thread, I wrote the following response to Dharmabum when he asked a question that's similar to yours.  I urge you to read the entire thread because there are other opinions expressed that are very different from mine.  

____________________
After a lot of research and careful consideration of all of issues, I came to the conclusion that NOT treating at this time was the best decision for me. That's not to say I don't have a gameplan. I'm going to have a biopsy every three years and Fibrosure tests annually in between biopsies. I also get my viral load, LFT's and other bloodwork done every three months. If I progress to Stage 2, or if my quality of life begins to diminish in any significant way, I intend to pursue treatment immediately.

I'm well aware that I'm taking somewhat of a gamble. It's generally true that the younger you are and the less advanced your disease is -- the more likely it is that you'll achieve SVR. But treatment is a gamble, too. Going into it, I only have roughly a 50 percent chance of success. On top of that, there are potential problems like a blown-out thyroid and other things that could impact my general heath for the rest of my life. My biggest concern is that the latter would occur and I wouldn't even have an SVR to show for it.

So I'm rolling the dice and betting that better medications, or at least a greater understanding of how to best apply the current one, will eventually come down the pike. In the meantime, I'm doing a lot of proactive things with diet, excercise and supplements to keep my liver as healthy as possible. My efforts must be working because my liver enzymes are half of what they were when I was diagnosed 18 months ago, and my viral load dropped from 24,800 IU/mL to its most current reading of 714 IU/mL. My Fibrosure test last month put me at Stage 0-1, which sounds better to me than the Stage 1 my biopsy 18 months ago revealed.

I hope it helps to read the perspective of someone who isn't treating. You won't find a lot of people here who aren't treating and I'm certainly not encouraging to follow my lead. Nor will I discourage you (unless you're a Stage 2 or higher). What's right for me might not be right for you. It's a very personal decision.

Good luck with your decision.

Susan

[cuteus]

the main consideration is what stage of damage your liver is at, and how old you are. If you are at stage two or higher, there should not be any waiting. If you are in your 50's you don't have much time to play with herbs.
I did 72 wks of combo tx and worked throughout. You don't know how you are going to do on Tx until you start. You can't tell by what others write what will happen to you.
Like Honey said, you just don't feel up to much most of the time, but you are not so ill that you can use that as an excuse to slack off completely.
Low vl and low enzymes readings do not indicate liver damage progression. Only biopsies print a better picture.

[Southernboy]

Hi chev,

Running out of time here, just wanted to say "howdy".

Best,
Steve

[bon_vivant]

I've been gone off the board to long.....

I CAN'T SEEM To CATCH UP....

Question For You though....
Did you say somewhere that your 6 month PCR came back negative??? I thought your 3 month PCR showed relapse????

Have I lost my mind????? (I'm a little lost & Confused) see what happens when you stay gone too long... cause I have missed something somewhere!
:)

[Tallblonde]

Why wouldn't I refer her to that thread?  I have no regrets for speaking the truth.  Sometimes it just needs to be said, even if its not a popular position.

Susan

[honey1616]

Huh???  LOL  Did you just refer a newbie to "The Thread"   Oh well,,,,like you said,,,there is definitely a variety down there and will break her in quick...

[scruffy]

That thread is so damn long she'll die of old age before anything else! frank

[Docsgold]

Research.  Take your time making a decision based on your age, sex, biopsy, viral load and genotype on whether to tx or wait for better drugs.  It is a hard decision to make because what you read is really scary, but it is not like you have to make the decison tomorrow or even next month.  I found out in 8/03, got my preliminaries for tx done by 12/03, then waited to begin tx 6/04 and finished 4/05.  It is completely doable and manageable.  Very best of luck in your decision.  Don't forget to check out your insurance coverage--I tried to plan for every angle of tx.

[Califia]

There's an excellent treatment of complementary medicine at the Hep C Caring Ambassadors website:  http://www.hepcchallenge.org/ .

Why not think both/and instead of either/or?

[cuteus]

I had the pleasure of meeting him on May 1st and up to that point he was showing a positive PCR. You can access his blog
http://russelnod.typepad.com/dragon

[honey1616]

I just saved everyone from zooming down to read and Frank was getting tired of doing that lol

Tallblonde,,,I didn't mean about your honesty when I stated that. LOL I think you gave yourself to much credit on that thread,,,,I was talking about our nonsense about reminiscing and eating chocolate. And I think newbies come for information about hep.  They don't know us from Adam and probably don't care who is who unless of course whos who can give them an instant cure for their hep!  
You being an honest person is to be commended but I think Chev got your message and like she said,,,Drop it!  This board is big enough for everyone to comment without bumping into each other.

I mentioned the old archives because that is when many of us went through treatment or our hardest times here and really,,,,its not to be forgotten.  I personally don't have much time on my hands and know many others don't but stopping in once or twice a day is something I make the time for.  Everyone here has helped so many and I'm still checking in to see others making it to SVR or anything I can do to help.

[Tallblonde]

Drop what?

[Califia]

When I started cruising this site last spring before I started tx I found all  the personal dialogue pretty interesting.  What an incredible cast of characters!    I absolutely agree that there's enough bandwidth for everyone, for the old folks sitting around the rec room complaining about their aches and pains and the newbies knocking anxiously at the front door.   Btw, did you know that  there's a world-class chocolate factory in my home town?   Heh heh.   Looks like I'm here for good!

[honey1616]

Ha,,,I think right now,,,The Shiner is little more enticing to me!

[Califia]

Yes ma'am, I do understand.

[honey1616]

Yes,,Balrog,,Peebee!  Many a laugh with that man,,,,Never a dull moment. True,,,some of his posts,,I would have to read over and over and try to decipher. I always thought maybe because I was in deep with interferon but think maybe he was just a deep man lol

[Califia]

Nope, something even better--Scharfen Berger.  (We're such hopeless foodies out here.)    Their 70% semi-sweet is as black as Vicki's mud.

[honey1616]

haha Vick,,,,Johnny Cash it was!!  I would laugh everytime I thought about him in that get up!

[cuteus]

Would that be Ghirardilli Square?
I love SFO, my favorite city so far.


vicki
He is a very nice man, and a very accomplished writer.  He can really carry a debate with grace and logic. I envy that.
Now you got ME wondering if I missed his post somewhere! lol.

I have already met two people from the HCV boards and I am very pleased I did. I am hoping to meet amerabrit, and those that might go to the March in June. Wish you could go. I did not have the energy last year and with Reagan dying that same weekend, I felt the media exposure would be limited.  I am hoping this year will be better.

Did you put posters out for Green Bird, or contact the vets in the area, or shelters?
How sad your friend did not return.  I hope he is ok.

Squishy feet, I knew it! you are morphing already!

[bon_vivant]

Ivette,
Thanks for that link... I lost it & couldn't find it again. Spent some time reading it this afternoon.

I bet you  did enjoy meeting him, He seems like such an interesting person, & he  definitely has a way with words.... I could soooo RELATE to much of his writings!

I still swear I read somewhere that he had come back negative on the 6 month PCR... I really MUST be loosing it, or not absorbing what I read anymore.. LoL

*******************************************************

Honey,
LoL.... Ol PeeBee, Balrog, & Sam Hall wasn't it.... That man used to tickle me to death!

Wonder what ever happened to him, & IF he ever got those WHALE bones he wanted from off the beach... Didn't he buy an authentic ELVIS outfit when he was on his "TX Spending Spree"??? Tee Hee!!!

What a Cast Of Characters we used to have in here!!!

[cuteus]

naw! give me good old plain cocoa butter! better known as white chocolate. I like things fatty and sweet.

[bon_vivant]

Honey....
Johnny Cash... LoL... where in the heck did I get ELVIS From???? Hummmm... now I'll have that TRAIN song in my mind all day!!

Chev...
I remember "thepoet"... his wife was not being very supportive while he was on tx, but bless his heart, he always made the best of it!

Ivette, & Califia....
"Scharfen Berger"..... That SOUNDS Funny... It actually "sounds" like a Dark, Semi-Sweet, Rich German Chocolate.....Where's MINE??? LoL...

I actually have a BORING GIANT Hershey Bar in my Freezer that a girlfriend bought me a month or so ago when she visited Hershey Pennsylvania!!! However, not to be ungrateful, but it is PLAIN... I like nuts, raisons, coconut, & stuff mixed in with my chocolate.. maybe I'll chop up my candy bar & make chocolate chip cookies with it.. Ha!

Ive...
Yes, I printed out 2 page colored flyers (over 150 of them) & stuck them in all the neighborhood mailboxes... (That's how I found out it is illegal to do that) The mailman "Let" me Get Away with it this time... but infomed me you have to leave it outside the mailbox.... that inside the box, items become federal property??? I guess I should have known that (since I have a brother who works for the postal service)..... I just never thought about it!!!!

Okay... now that post of Don's is driving me NUTS.... I'm gonna feel like a FOOL when I find it... Ha!

[bon_vivant]

Ahhhhhhhhh Haaaaa.........

FOUND IT...... I am a fool.... I was from dh bill... not DonL

Told ya I was loosing it... DAMN!

[Califia]

Yep, Cuteus is right:  you're morphing!   Losing your short-term memory, playing in the mud,  all the usual symptoms of interferon addiction.   Takes one to know one, of course...    Myself, I always return to the house after a long stint in the backyard with my face completely coated with dirt no matter _what_ I've been doing out there.  Never fails. Looks an awful lot like military camouflage....for my private war on the weeds and aphids.    My snooty neighbor, by contrast,  flits around in her forties picture hat and white linen gardening outfits like something out of a Smith and Hawkins catalogue, a truly revolting sight.   Of course she had her garden INSTALLED for her and never digs her own holes, God forbid.  But it sounds like you and I have the same approach to all things horticultural.  Can you imagine what would happen if all of us shared a community garden plot?  I can guarantee you the lunacy would never stop.  Too bad there's a continent between us.

Hope your little bird flies home soon.

[cuteus]

what continent is that? Texas?

[honey1616]

LOL Vick,,,you were on tx remember....All you knew is he was dressed up as a singer and impressed by that!

Califia,,,Yes,,,the way everyone here is such avid gardners,,,can you imagine the land if we all put our gardens together.  And of course Rev had Babs working the cornfields.....haha We could have a hep commune,,,take your pills and eat your own produce!  Hepville,,,Cure All!  LOL

[Califia]

I'm quite sure everyone here was deranged well before they began treatment.   Please don't let our example deter you but rather inspire you to greater heights of absurdity.   And never forget our group motto:  BAD LIVERS = BAD PUNS.

[honey1616]

Chev,,,now I'm incontinent haha  Okkk well just add that to the horrid list of sides that come with interferon!!  I still can't believe you typed out that rich,,,rich fudge recipe and even some of the girls are going to make it LOL
Is there a dr in the house???

[cuteus]

;the linen attire might not disguise the depends...

I think SH hinted to where he got his name, but then he always beat around the bush when explaining things so we missed half of what he wrote...

[Califia]

(heaving with laughter)      My kind of garden party, definitely!

[honey1616]

Vick,,,how on earth did you find that?  That explains it and I had no idea but never a johnny cash fan.

[bon_vivant]

LMAO...
Ya'll are too funny...

That would be some garden party

[bon_vivant]

Hey Ya'll...

Chev...
I found it at "Johnny Cash dot com" ... where else... LoL, & No I have No Idea How to contact him... but I sure have a better appreciation for his humor now!

Ive, Honey, Chev...
Well at least now, it all kind of makes sence... Tee Hee....

What a Sly Dog He Was After-All....


P.S.....

Somebody else I have Often wondered about...

Audreywauld (sp) do ya'll remember her.... Oh the sx were just intolerable to her system.... Anyone ever hear from her?

Just Curious!!!

[honey1616]

Hey,,,Great work Sherlock!  Now,,,if he sneaks back in under another name,,,We have his number now,,,,A boy named "sue" LOL  Where did Peebee fit in though?????

[cuteus]

cindee is another one MIA, I wish she would check in, how would we know if something bad happened to one of us? maybe we should direct a relative or friend to post for us on the board should we become incapacitated? Cindee was a regular and then she completely stopped. It is worrisome.

[bon_vivant]

Chev...
LMAO.... I cracked up over your post...
Spookie looking back at some of that stuff...
(Leave it to you to master the art of digging up the archieves) Ha!
I had to quit doing that, (cause I kept running across stuff I'd RATHER FORGET ABOUT) LoL

I remember poor ol Audrey going thru that like it was yesterday.... It was so horrible for her.... but I mean... when things get so bad... what else can you do but laugh, or attempt to make light of it... She had such a GREAT Attitude!!!

I have always thought that being able to share laughter, thru some of these gruesome sx's ... Is GOOD for the Soul... I think laughter within itself, can be healing!!!

BTW....What ever happened to Harley Dude Too????

Ivette,
I Agree... I wish folks would at least check in... or have family let us know... Cindee was such a sweetie pie & I just LUVED her to death... & she just absolutely vanished (without a trace) I mean with no reason, prewarning.... nothing... zilch!!!