Geno type 1a

[Effiedanna]

I have been in treatment for 7 weeks, my first blood test at 4 weeks showed that my ALT and AST of gone down and my viral load was 1,450,000 when started and is at 222,000 at 4 weeks would that make me a responder since i have the worst type of Hep C and the hardest to get rid of. My treatment is 180mcg of interferon and 1200ng of Ribavinn daily. My doctor said treatment for my type is 1year and still is only 50% sucessful. I think its working with the results i have gotten at 4 weeks, Has anybody else who has Geno type 1a and has gone in treatment were your resuts about the same, better or worst? I get my next blood test next week i hope it continues to go down, can it go up while in treatment?

[HectorSF]

You can find a log conversion chart here.
http://janis7hepc.com/Viral_Loads.htm#Viral%20load%20chart

Just scoll down the page to the blue chart.

Hector

[Effiedanna]

Trinity thank you so much for giving me so much info. I understand so much more about log drop. Also i think its so encouraging when you talk to someone who has the same Geno 1 because then you dont get discouraged when your blood work is not as promising as someone with geno 2, 3, or 4. I was just was so uplifted by your response,.I wish you luck at your 12 week it seems to me that your responding well.
I will be thinking about you - Sincerly Effie

[Trinity4]

I am also a geno 1 and it is the most common strain in the US.  It's my understanding that because of the complexity and chemical makeup of the different strains the 1's are the hardest to eradicate.  I'm sorry, I don't know the exact DNA makeup behind it but 1's are tough little buggers.  Also, simply stated a log drop is taking a zero off the end of your baseline VL.  Yours was 1,450,000 so a one long drop at 4 wks would have put you at 145,000.  You didn't quite make that mark but you still have a ways to go before the 12 week mark and your are clearly responding to the tx.  As Hector indicated, you want to see a 2 lg drop by 12 wks, which would put you at 14,500.  Ideally, you want to be UND at 12 wks but us 1's will take what we can get.  My basline VL was 1,290,000 and at 6 wks I was 100,000 which put me down a log.  I'm hoping for the 2 lg by 12 wks and hope is the only thing I can do.  No guarantees but we can always hope.  As far as the degree of sx and someone actually telling you to bump up your dosage because you're not suffering enough is ludicrous.  Sx are different for everyone and how you are responding to tx can't be judged by your sx. If that were the case many who have not SVR'rd should automatically qualify for a free pass to the land of SVR.  We suffer to different degrees and there is no gauge. Don't worry about your ALT & AST numbers, they can go up and down and the primary reason they are checked as often as they are is to make sure the liver is not becoming toxic from the meds.  Hang in there, you're doing real good!!
Trinity

[Effiedanna]

Thank you so much for your response Hector. I don't understand the Log thing, can u explain that to me. Does a certain number count for each log? I will tell you that i am feeling alot better later since treatment besides feeling a tad tired or lost of appetite, but i do have a rash on my body and head that drives me crazy any suggestion on how to get relieve. Also do you know why Genotype 1a is the most difficult to get rid of and why is the sucess rate so much lower than Genotype 2,3,4. Also, someone said because i dont have severe side effects that most people have that i probably am not getting enought medicine and need to up the percription, but i am taking the maximum right now, is that true what they said?

[HectorSF]

Don't worry about ALT and AST. They have nothing to do with how you are responding to treatment. Your liver is not going to heal itself permanately until you have cleared the virus for good. Then your Liver Function Tests will return to normal. Viral load response over time is what counts now.

First - to have that 45-50% chance of clearing the virus you most drop at least 2 log by week 12 or 24. So you have to get to 14,500 first. You were at 222,000 at week 4. So you need to drop to less than 1/10th of that by week 12 at least. When you drop the 2 log from the pretreatment VL then you will be a "responder".

Second - You have to get to undetectable levels of the virus by week 24 at the latest to be able to clear the virus for good (SVR).

Everybody drops virus at different rates so you really can't compare your  drop to other to know what will happen at week 12. Some drop quickly others more slowly. Between different weeks the virus load changes differently.
Remember "the quicker you lose virus the better your chances of clearing the virus".

Take it one step at a time. Concentrate on never missing any meds. That is the best thing you can do right now. The VL after week 12 will tell you what you need to know and what your chance are of SVR. So 5 more weeks to go and you will know where you stand.

Best of luck,
Hector

[Effiedanna]

Thanks for the reply. The reason i said that is because of all the genotype of HEP-C my Hepatologist said Genotype 1a is the hardest to eradicate, but it is also the most common in the United States. I have had Hep-C for probably 30 years also. Genotype 1a has the longest treatment period and also only about a 50% sucess rate. Being a female, Good LFT, and miminum liver damage stage 0 to stage 2 gives me a better chance of sucess, but my age 53 puts in the category of less sucess. I am hopeful that someone can plz anwser my question if your a Genotype 1a how was your blood test ALT,AST and viral load after 4 weeks of treatment. Mary i would constantly have liver test to check your liver because within 8 mos i wented from normal ASL and AST levels to in the hundreds. THings can change very fast especially after having the virus for so long and unfortunately age definately makes it harder to fight.

[Mary4now]

Why do you call it the worst type of hep C?  I have genotype 1 too and my liver damage at this point possibly after 30 + years is minimal stage 1 grade 1 so I cant call it the worst type..  I think genotype 1 is either 48 wks or 72 wks treatment.  Sounds pretty rigourous to me, so I'm waiting a bit for possibly a better time in my life HA! or better methods for treatment... HOPE.
Anyway there are plenty with genotype 1 who have treated, so I'm sure you'll get some answers.  M4now