Do u have to be skinny to recieve treatment

[SweetRosey444]

been diagnosed  with Hep C 1b   liver  disease   stage  3....now they  saying  I need  to have  a gastric bypass before treatment  can  even be  started......U mean us  chubbies   no  weight loss  no  treatment???  Could it be possible  I may never  see  treatment???

[Andromedae]

I don't know - I can see both sides myself.  At 5"8 and 205lbs (up from 150!) I'm no skinny bones myself  these days--BUT --  I do know that the treatment is significantly less successful in the obese - possibly due to complications of obesity.  This is even more complicated by the fact that long term HCV is directly related to insulin insensitivity and metabolic syndrome which makes it that MUCH harder to lose weight and have enough energy for exercise.    

So the treatment costs 30K for a year of the drugs alone plus maybe that much more for all the lab work and other tests...so we're looking at 60K here.  Does an insurance company or health care agency want to spend that much cash on someone with a low (or significantly lowered) probability of treatment success?  Add on to that that the complications of severe obesity may put the patient at significantly higher risk.

It's food for thought (hehe).

As for me...I've cut WAY WAY down on everything...I really wasn't eating that much to begin with but I'm reading the grams of fat on the backs of everything now.  I'm exercising portion control (deck of cards on meats) and cutting severely back on carbs.    I WANT to lose weight because that means that I will have a higher chance of a CURE - it's my life .

Andromeda

[kimmypoo2]

girl at begining of tx i was 237 ...you dont have to be skinny....

[jdwithhcv]

To be a candidate for gastric bypass surgery a patient must be at least 100 lbs overweight.  That is far beyond being "chubby", it is morbid obesity, which causes a whole constellation of medical problems and risks.  It is likely that your doctor will not prescribe this very difficult and dangerous treatment for a patient whose health is so severely compromised.  

[SweetRosey444]

thanks  for  ur  response.....But  specialist  in  Pittsburgh    wants  this....  Im  doing  second  opioion...

[goldyn]

Do you have insurance to cover the gastric bypass  surgery? if you do I would look into it..If it sounds like something you think you want and medically need and it is coverd maybe its worth a try...Tx can be hard on your body im a corn fed country gal, and i developed high blood pressure from tx and im 2 yrs post tx and still on meds for it...But  Big People can clear  the virus and be svr im living proof...you are being given a neat chance to heal a lot of your body  through weight loss and clearing the hepc virus can you imagine after it is all over you would  feel better than you have in years..if gastric bypass sounds to  much there is the lap band procedure that you might look into also.
                          Blessings
                                       Goldyn

[meki]

I started at 215

I'm 170 now.

Went down at beginning of TX and then gained weight the last part of TX.

Starting to lose weight 1 year post TX.



Finally starting to move around. LOL!



Anyhow - I don't think WEIGHT will stop TX - although there are those who believe in weight based Riba dosing - and RIBA is very hard on your body.

So they may want your weight to be within weight based Riba dosing - if you're above 350 lbs - they may have a serious problem trying to do this.

Much luck - I think you'd be fine --- but if you want a bypass - please feel free to do this first. It may be too hard afterwards. For a few years.

Meki
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[Magnum]

You only have to be skinny to be a model or an anarexic, but your liver works harder when you are overweight. Diabetes can also set in. So, you have to cut out pizza, ice cream, butter, bread, and everythinjg that tastes great unless it's vegetables and fruits. My Gastro also warned me against getting heavy. It's not easy to keep your mouth shut, but the rewards are good. Since I don't have a weight problem, my doctor says I'm ready for treatment. Remember, the general rule is that if it tastes great, it's probably not good for you. Otherwise, it's up to you...

Magnum

[meki]

"It's not easy to keep your mouth shut, but the rewards are good. "


ROFLMAO --- my hubby says this --- but it isn't food he's talking about.... He thinks I "gab" too much sometimes... Like when the lights are off and I'm still awake -- and he's not...

Of course --- his rewards are, of course, of course... the best... *GRIN*

Meki