Aa
mr.bobby
I am a 52 yr. old man with my second liver(3/28/060) my hep c transferred to my new liver.I smoke marijuana and have for 40yrs I cant stop smoking and cant find help for just marijuana addiction.I want to take treatment but mt dr. says it wont work. Any suggestions I am also in stage 4cirrhosis
Best Answer
When did you receive your donor liver?
Are you still compensated or do you have End-Stage Liver Disease.
What is your MELD score?
Did you ever treat your hepatitis C before?
What type of response to treatment did you have?
If you have compensated cirrhosis you can still try treatment. You need to have a hepatologist that understands all the ramifications of treatment for hepatitis C in post-transplant patients who are taking medicines to prevent rejection. They must be familiar with the low-accelerating dose regimen (LADR). Call your transplant center and find a hepatologist who treats patients with post-transplant hepatitis C.
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Good luck to you.
Hector
Are you still compensated or do you have End-Stage Liver Disease.
What is your MELD score?
Did you ever treat your hepatitis C before?
What type of response to treatment did you have?
If you have compensated cirrhosis you can still try treatment. You need to have a hepatologist that understands all the ramifications of treatment for hepatitis C in post-transplant patients who are taking medicines to prevent rejection. They must be familiar with the low-accelerating dose regimen (LADR). Call your transplant center and find a hepatologist who treats patients with post-transplant hepatitis C.
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Good luck to you.
Hector
I was told it was okay, but I always used a vaporizer. It really wasn't the high I needed, it took the edge off my pain and aching and helped me sleep at night. Since I cannot take any otc pain relief, I was happy to be able to use MJ when my discomfort was intolerable.
I do recommend a vaporizer though-the lungs don't need that burden.
I do recommend a vaporizer though-the lungs don't need that burden.
You did not mention what kind of doctor is refusing you treatment, but most general practitioners do not have the experience needed to treat hcv in someone with existing cirrhosis. Your best options would be through physicians experienced specifically with treating hcv in cirrhotic patients, for example a hepatologist in Transplant Medicine or a GI specializing in Viral Hepatitis. It might be best to pursue seeking treatment through the Transplantation Center that did your surgery in 2006 if that is at all possible.
Presumably you were not using marijuana for some period before transplantation ... if your TP Center is unable to provide you with resources you might seek help through Narcotics Anonymous. Best of luck.
1oftheclub/OH:
Treatment in cirrhosis presents challenges, but more and more centers are opening up to the idea of treating even decompensated cirrhotics if they are TP candidates: it's no longer theory, as there have been many successful cases of patients attaining undetected status going into transplant and remaining so post-TP... the difficulty is the risks for ESLD patients are such that it's a tricky balance. It's one of the rationales that prompted docs to keep my husband on treatment for so long in case he became eligible for TP (prior to his being excluded for exceeding Milan criteria).
Because treatment in the post-TP population can be even more challenging than in those with cirrhosis and a good number of TP patients do progress quickly (similar to *standard* hcv infection, no one knows which livers will deteriorate and which ones won't), usually docs will only recommend tx when re-infection causes measurable damage. However, it happens to a significant enough number of TP patients that it has become more and more of a recent focus to rid the virus prior to TP, especially in light of current PI success rates.
Presumably you were not using marijuana for some period before transplantation ... if your TP Center is unable to provide you with resources you might seek help through Narcotics Anonymous. Best of luck.
1oftheclub/OH:
Treatment in cirrhosis presents challenges, but more and more centers are opening up to the idea of treating even decompensated cirrhotics if they are TP candidates: it's no longer theory, as there have been many successful cases of patients attaining undetected status going into transplant and remaining so post-TP... the difficulty is the risks for ESLD patients are such that it's a tricky balance. It's one of the rationales that prompted docs to keep my husband on treatment for so long in case he became eligible for TP (prior to his being excluded for exceeding Milan criteria).
Because treatment in the post-TP population can be even more challenging than in those with cirrhosis and a good number of TP patients do progress quickly (similar to *standard* hcv infection, no one knows which livers will deteriorate and which ones won't), usually docs will only recommend tx when re-infection causes measurable damage. However, it happens to a significant enough number of TP patients that it has become more and more of a recent focus to rid the virus prior to TP, especially in light of current PI success rates.
My hepatologist said some people post tp never need to retreat.
Sometimes the new liver is resistant.
However, I don't think this is the average.
Ideally, he likes patients to go as long post transplant as possible before doing treatment.
Sometimes HCV treatment can cause a rejection episode.
Tp recipients take medication which further complicates treatment.
However, there is new positive research being done to access the problem.
Hector's doctor, treats the person prior to the transplant. The theory is if they are UND going into surgery, they may stay und after.
Sometimes the new liver is resistant.
However, I don't think this is the average.
Ideally, he likes patients to go as long post transplant as possible before doing treatment.
Sometimes HCV treatment can cause a rejection episode.
Tp recipients take medication which further complicates treatment.
However, there is new positive research being done to access the problem.
Hector's doctor, treats the person prior to the transplant. The theory is if they are UND going into surgery, they may stay und after.
wow, I did not know that about the transplants. do they suggest that people do treatment right away after transplants? It doesn't seem like they have much time to fool around with the idea.
bobby:
Why does your doctor say the treatment won't work?
Surely this is not because of your smoking unless it is excessive.
Have you considered getting a second opinion?
1oftheclub222:
In the post transplant setting, HCV often progresses to cirrhosis much more rapidly than with the original liver.
If I remember the numbers correctly, 20% of HCV patients post transplant can expect to have cirrhosis within 5 years.
Why does your doctor say the treatment won't work?
Surely this is not because of your smoking unless it is excessive.
Have you considered getting a second opinion?
1oftheclub222:
In the post transplant setting, HCV often progresses to cirrhosis much more rapidly than with the original liver.
If I remember the numbers correctly, 20% of HCV patients post transplant can expect to have cirrhosis within 5 years.
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I know people who had smoked pot heavily for 30 + yrs and then quit. This person had a lot to lose if he didn't, so he chose to quit. He lost everything anyway, but still never smoked again. it is doable.
You won't go through physical withdrawls, but will have mental withdrawls.
If your serious, here is a place to start:
http://marijuana-anonymous.org/