Free Box of Tea -------(And Use for Other Posts)

[Tallblonde]

Okay guys, I've preached about the benefits of white tea for months.  Now there's no excuse not to try it.  Click on the link below and you'll be able to print a coupon for a free box of Celestial Seasoning tea (up to a $3.99 value).  

Drink up!

Susan

http://celestialcoupon.whitehorse.com/

[honey1616]

Ya Hoooooo Robin!  That is a great feeling to finish up! You really feel like you accomplished something and fought hard! Its such a good feeling and just knowing you will be SVR,,,will make you grin constantly!

I love the teas!  I have been hooked from starting the different teas while on tx.  I have a pantry full lol   You can't go wrong as they are so good for your health in all ways.  Instead of cheers like the olden days with a  bottle,,,we could have a tea sipping party...without the buzz...LOL

[Califia]

Bravo!  Well done!   I can't even imagine the relief you must be feeling, or will be feeling when that last riba has been swallowed.   Congratulations, fellow warrior.

[cuteus]

didn't it seem as if the percentages for HCC and cirrhosis was higher depending on the age, with the average age at time of diagnosis at 62?  makes you wonder about the statement doctors use that you will die of something else before hcv gets you. of course if you die of liver failure, it might be listed as due to cirrhosis or cancer in your death certificate and not due to hcv, so the percentages can actually be higher.

It is extensive reading and I bookmarked it to read in more detail later.
Happy Mother's day to you and all mommys

[cuteus]

I'll rephrase that, I was also looking for a significant low incidence of HCC and cirrhosis due to the healthier chinese herbal protocol, not only the cure for any hepatitis.  I am not sure why their rates are not lower than other countries, unless they don't practice in China what the alternatives promoters in the USA preach. It seems that the only ones benefiting from the chinese protocol are the westerners? or so it is claimed in many sites/studies.  I am still looking in the web, though. It has to be that the herbs are being exported to us and not available to them...
interesting that I found that the countries where HCC is decreasing is not due to the herbs or diet, is due to increase hbv vaccination.

[Tallblonde]

I don't think anyone here is under the illusion that Chinese herbs will cure HCV.  I think everyone pretty much understands that interferon/ribaviron is the only treatment that offers a chance at a cure.

Susan

[Tony-z]

You've crossed the finish line!!!!! Your headed for the big SVR.
Time will start going fast very soon...

     Congratulations on a fight well done..

           God Bless

            TonyZ

[rsterling]

I'm sooooo glad this thread stated "and other posts".  
Because just as a matter of ceremony I really wanted to post on my last shot (that I'll do in a few minutes).
5/7/05 6:00pm (3 hours earlier than normal). The only bummer is that the doc wants me to continue the copegus for the following week and what the meds have been doing to the pounding in my ears for the last two weeks has made me so weary. Thanks all for all your support and I'll still be here for other blood work and support, knowledge, and kinship.
YYYIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOme

[GreatBird]

Thanks for the URL to the tea shoppe. I love places like that. White tea coming my way. :) (and a bit of darjeeling too for my chai)

[Soleus]

Congratulations on finishing Robin.

Another thing about tea is that it contains tannins, which can significantly reduce the amount of iron the body absorbs from various foods. Iron is a key component needed for viral replication. In fact Interferon plus phlebotomies was a promising treatment being studied until Ribiviron proved effective and they realized nobody gets rich of phlebotomies.

Reducing iron in the blood while taking Ribiviron could increase the anemic side effects of the drug though so as long as your RBC stays good tea consumption wile on combo therapy could help, but should be avoided to let you absorb more iron if your RBC becomes to low.  

[GreatBird]

You know, I just looked at my biopsy and it's not grade 3, it's grade 2. (No brain fog here!)

I've also been doing acupuncture since diagnosis, but not the herbs. My TCM doctor says that one uses western herbs or eastern herbs because they treat differently. This is my understanding of it: Chinese diagnosis are based on things like "heat" and "wind" and apparently western herbs like milk thistle are "cold," and the eastern herbs she wanted to give me were "hot" and one shouldn't take them together. But she does do the needle work and it helps many things including my menopause which troubles me far more than anything else going on with my body.

I have dicey thyroid on both sides of the family. My Dad had Graves disease and my aunt had hypothyroid. Of course I'm not certain that I would lose some thyroid function, but I've noticed that (at least on this board) it happens to women often.

I love drinking tea. I've been drinking lots of black tea for years and years. I don't care as much for green, white, and red  (or even herb) but I'm working on it. Genmai cha (which is a Japanese roasted tea with rice) is pretty tasty. Also Kambucha (sp?) tea from Yogi is good and theoretically good for the immune system.

BTW, UDO'S CHOICE is a wonderful oil full of the Omega 3/6/9 complex and it even tastes good. I mix it with balsamic vinegar and put it on my salads. :)

[Tony-z]

Here are some great sites to learn about the African tea also to purchase them.

            God Bless

<a href="http://my.webmd.com/content/article/14/1671_52295">Information about African Tea</a>

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/14/1671_52295

<a href="http://www.consciouschoice.com/2001/cc1406/rooibostea1406.html">More on Red Tea</a>

http://www.consciouschoice.com/2001/cc1406/rooibostea1406.html

<a href="http://rooibosusa.com/rooibos_tea.html">African Tea</a>

http://rooibosusa.com/rooibos_tea.html

<a href="http://africanbushtea.com/">African Bush Tea</a>

http://africanbushtea.com/

[Soleus]

This stuff here is the best tasting tea I’ve ever had and it'snot expensive. No problem drinking 5 cups a day of this tea. Helps to keep me from snacking too.

http://www.englishteastore.com/whtea50teaba.html

[Soleus]

It must be just my FireFox browser that has a problem with this forum software.

[cuteus]

since chev is mentioning the natural progression of hcv, I thought that this article might interest some, as it seems that HCC and cirrhosis development estimation is higher than mentioned in most boards according to the model used.
http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/44/1/20#FIG2,  the parametric decissions area.  

One particular statement in this section, disturbs me, the last sentence:
"hcv does not produce disability in itself" the only condition mentioned is cirrhosis, never mind cryo and other hcv related conditions, but the article makes for some interesting reading on estimations.

"...Using DISMOD for Hepatitis C Global Burden of Disease
The DISMOD computer software was created because (1) variables are observed with different degrees of reliability (mortality > prevalence > incidence), (2) data come from different sources, and (3) other disease characteristics may be stable across populations and thus be useful for the estimation of missing parameters. DISMOD can be used to compute incidence on the basis of prevalence, check internal consistency or estimates, or change age groups.

Limitations of DISMOD for HCV Infection
DISMOD works best for chronic diseases (e.g., asthma). It is less adapted for infectious disease such as hepatitis C because HCV infection does not produce disability in itself. It is the complication (i.e., cirrhosis) that does."
the full article is at the url above.

I was actually looking for rates of cure in China with chinese medicine that so many westerners are using as alternatives, since I have read that  hbv is endemic and HCC and cirrhosis is  high, and hcv is increasing, so why aren't more chinese infected getting cured with a taste of their own medicine?  herbs are not  as readily available to them as they are to us? I am still looking...any ideas where to look?

[Tony-z]

Thanks for the infomation...I have found SAMe to cause stimulation, this is a documented SX.
I am going to try it again after I recoup some more..I seem to be more sensitive to med's now...
I used SAMe in 2000 and 2001 throughout my first TX.


                  TonyZ

[Califia]

Is anti-depressant  (boy, did you hide that well)  because it  increases dopamine uptake. . . and what's more, it's legal, unlike the usual dopamine boosters that tend to be on the DEA's no-no list.   Such a deal!    

But my favorite antitdote for depression is still a few hours of weeding....

[Tallblonde]

Thanks for the link.  That's a fabulous price for White Tea.  

Susan

[genedog]

it will be your last tx my wife prays for all of us

[Tony-z]

I agree with you. I was just saying don't expect lower ALT, AST plus other noticeable differences because of tea consumption. I agree that drinking tea has great health advantages.



              Peace be with you.


                   TonyZ

[Tallblonde]

The hard data on the benefits of tea (white, green or black) is so compelling that I have no doubt that drinking it benefits everyone (including you) to some degree in some particular way.

What I mean is, you may be free of colon cancer today because of all the tea you've consumed over the years. Perhaps it hasn't impacted your liver histology in a way you can pinpoint and say....Aha!  It's the tea!  But for all you know, your histology might have been even worse if you hadn't been a regular tea drinker.  

I'm the sort of person who needs hard data, not just wishful thinking, to persuade me to commitment my time, energy and financial resources to something.  I've really done my homework on tea and, man oh man, the data truly is impressive.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Susan

[Tony-z]

I have been drinking white, decaf green and African red tea's for many years. I drink  48 + ounces per day. Other then my love for the taste of the tea's and the hydration they bring, I have noticed no other effects.

Again each person reacts differently to individual nutrients and antioxidant. Plus factor in the placebo effect..

I wish I had treated when I was stage 2 I am sure I would have cleared the first time...But I waited till stage three...


       Hope this is my last treatment..


            God Bless

             TonyZ

[Tallblonde]

By the way, although it's good to keep the body hydrated, I couldn't take drinking six cups of tea a day, so I started putting two teabags into one cup and cutting the number of cups I drink down to three.  I drink the tea with both teabags in the cup -- I don't remove them because I want to get all the good stuff I can possible get.

Susan

[cuteus]

hey I like my thyroid too, and after 72 wks of tx it is still functioning well.  and this with familial hx of thyroid dysfunction. it is not a common outcome to lose it,  do you rather protect your thyroid at the expense of your liver?
grade 3 is not too far from stage 2, I believe?
just a little worry about the reasons for avoiding tx.
be well

[Tallblonde]

Hi Greatbird,

Good to see you posting again!  I've been wondering how you were doing.  I hope my protocol brings you similiar results and relieves your neck pain.  The alternative route sure ain't cheap, is it?  Between the SAM-e, vitamins, supplements and six cups of tea a day -- it really adds up.  It's too bad insurance doesn't cover this approach.  But I still believe it's worth it.  I feel significantly better now than I did prior to being diagnosed.  

Your inflammation score is a bit troubling to me.  Mine, according to my Fibrosure last month, is Grade 1-2.  I'm determined to try to get the inflammation under control.  That's the key to keeping the fibrosis at bay.  I finally decided to add Traditional Chinese Medicine to my protocol.  I had avoided it all these months because I simply didn't know enough about it.  I also didn't want some complicated regimen that required me to boil things and create herbal decotions.  

After a lot of research, I chose a product called "Nu-Liver".  Califia, our resident TCM expert, reviewed the ingredient list and gave it a thumbs up. I started taking it about a week ago and I'm really hoping it cools down the inflammation.  By the way, I also added fish oil capsules to my long list of supplements because it's also good for inflammation.  I'm going to get my liver enzymes checked in about a month and I'll let you know if there's any significant improvement.

And I'll be eager to hear if your new protocol brings your numbers down.  Please keep us posted on your progress.  

Take care,
Susan