Can use of lipator cause chronic hepatitis C to become reactive

[shirlee14]

I had chronic Hepatitis C diagnosed 25 years ago.  Two years I was prescribed the use of lipator for my colestral levels.  Can a 2 year use of this drug cause or contribute to the hepatitis C becoming reactive with hugely elevated enzymes, genotype 1a, 19,500 viral load developing within the last 6 months after being dormant for so many years.  My livery enzymes were only slightly elevated as they have always been last hear but I decided to stop taking lipator last fall after reading an article of the dangers.  I was diagnosed with hep C in April, after the enzymes started elevating last Dec.  I do not drink or take drugs.

Please enlighten me if you woulc

Shirlee LaPorte

[Bill1954]

Best of luck to you 'dog. By the way, did I hear you say you are from OH? I'm  from the Sacramento area, but stayed in Columbus for consruction work mid '02 through late '04. Go Bucks!

[jmjm530]

Maybe -- hopefully -- your PCR is negative this time. If so, that would raise the possiblity of a false positve last time.

-- Jim

[susan400]

Statin drugs are bad for the liver.  Talk to your doctor and find out if there's something else you can do.

Susan

[genedog]

why would my liver labs drop after a postive pcr ? i have been wainting for them to drop the hole time

[rearfang]

I am saying some extra prayers for you.
Lauren

[genedog]

i had my labs done monday got my ast ggt back today first time they have been normal in 32 weeks of tx alt droped 5 points, i will have pcr back on friday

[jmjm530]

No offense taken whatsover and I understand your concerns, especially the way things are labeled. But there many drugs that warn about liver damage, yet doctors prescribe them all the time, even for people on treatment. Tylenol is one example.

Back to the statins -- I'm just relating what two heptologists and one cardiologist told me. Of course, I would use the lower doses and monitor my enzymes periodically.

It is a risk/reward thing and they're probably not a good idea in every case. Hopefully, anyone considering statins will an opinion both from a cardiologist and their liver doctor.

Sorry about what happened with your anti-fungal meds. I share your frustration with today's medical care.

-- Jim

[LvdByGod]

how do you say they are fine? the warnings are on the packaging? it's not just being on treatment that is the reason to not take them but it is the liver disease itself and condition of the liver...

i do agree that drs may decide to overrule those warnings when the benifits outway the risks...and like you said if the liver damage is not present or is hardly present...and the other problem is more sever or life threatening.

i took a med for a long time for nail fungas, before i found out i had hepc...my gp didn't even check my liver enzymes before starting me on it...had he done that i would have known i had hepc years before i finally found out...drs???

i am right near cirhosis now and i will always wonder what stage i would have been had i never took those stupid pills...and for me a nail fungus was not worth it...ya know?

jmjm, hope your doing well...and i do understand your point...sorry if this sounded confronting...i did't mean it that way at all...just raising the question and trying to prevent some folks from thinking it's okay to go on these things while having hepc and or liver damage...there must be a reason for the warnings...and i also think she made the right decision to go off especially if her hep dr agreed...

[jmjm530]

Like others have said, you'll have to clarify "dormant". Either you have the virus or you don't. When was the last time you were tested for viral load and what were the results?

As far as statins are concerned, in most cases they're fine as long as you're not taking them while on treatment and control the dosing. My docs want me to go on them as soon as treatment is over. Any very minimal risk of liver damage is more than offset by the advantages to the cardiovascular system. Of course, I'll probably monitor my liver enzymes more often once I start the statins.

-- Jim

[donAlfonso]

Statins are generally contraindicated in patients with liver disease.  That doesn't mean they are never to be prescribed, but their use depends on what shape the liver is in, and what dosage is necessary.  I would think that any med with liver toxicity, taken daily, could cause the kind of changes in LFT's you describe.  Sounds like it's time for a biopsy to check for permanent damage.  Your decision to stop Lipitor was probably a good one. Hope you are okay.  

dA

[LvdByGod]

SHIRLI, first of all hep c does not go dormant. once you have it, you have it, and it keeps damaging your liver and is "active" in you even though you may not notice lab changes or symptoms of liver disease until the later stages...it sometimes takes 20+ years for it to get you close to cirhosis...although for some it is much sooner...for several possible reasons.

and yes the cholesteral drugs and some others can be very bad for people with liver diseases like hep c. they are to be avoided at all costs, unless it's a life or death thing that only your liver dr can tell you if it's ok for you...

the instructions on those meds say not to take them if you have liver disease. they can excellerate the progression of the damage rate going on in your liver...they themselves can cause liver damage...so if you take them while you have hepc it's like having 2 things destroying your liver at the same time increasing the rate of progression to cirhosis and liver failure. which could have happened in your case...

the only way you could be correct in saying the hep c is "dormant" is if you treated it with interferon and ribaviron and it went away on the pcr testing at the 6 month and 12 month follow up after completeing the required amount of time on the treatment. then you could say it was dormant or even gone...and if it comes back after treatment it is said to be a relaps...

so what do you mean by dormant...did you do the treatment for the 6 or 12 months and were said to be clear and then it came back later?

there are people who have been able to kill off the virus with their own immune system also...although more rare it can happen...but these people would also be negative on pcr viral counts for at least a year and continueing after originally diagnosed...

it comes down to this....

don't take drugs that are bad for liver and start hepc treatment as soon as possible to stop the progression of liver disease by killing off the hep c...also the first step is to get a biopsy of the liver so you will know exactly how damaged your liver is. this is extreemly important...you may have gotton some bad info from the dr way back when cause they didn't know as much about it as they do now...

let us know what happens...i pray you will kill that virus with the treatment and move on to good health soon...cirhosis is a death sentance that you don't want to have...it's time to try to prevent that!