RULES re: COPYRIGHTED INFO.

[Cindy]

Dear Friends,

This is a reminder that Med Help does NOT allow copyrighted information or material in any of our forums!

Please, when you find any information you want to share with other members of the forum, just post a link (URL address) to the information.

Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated!

Cindy Thompson
Med Help International

[GoofyDad]

Lil' Goof (he's 6) walked though the bedroom the other day (well a month ago now) while Mom was getting dressed. "Mmmmm-mmm. B**bies", he said appreciatively. "Me LIKE nice big b**bies", and out the door he went......

That's my boy.

PS I got the evil eye, like somehow I had something to do with him having a Y chromosome. Well I guess I did, but still...

[v eggie dip]

I think all they do is monitor the TSH and T4 while on treatment, if these go out of whack they re adjust the synthroid...It took me 4 different dose levels before I evened out...what a difference it made once I got it right...most of m y life I had suffered from annoying PCV's and they seem to have dissapeared, as well as my borderline high BP...

[Forseegood]

I looked at those long mirrors in the dept stores lately, looks like I better pull out the spare tire from my trunk. A little more walkin with the pooch!

You know what you should do when youre in a fitting room and the dang sales girl keeps on coming around asking through the door if you need anything else? Tell her "yeah, it would be very nice if you could get me some toilet paper." ....Get's em every time! he he he!

Veg: I hope it is totally explained to you, by a hepatologist and an endocronologist doc exactly how your thyroid meds and the tx inter-relate, I'm sure all that will happen if you were to proceed with tx. There are probably many people out there who know more about thyroid and tx than I do, but as we all know from this board, sometimes someone in the chain of command can drop the ball and it's up to us as patients to make sure they are all on the same page.

[azgrl]

well I don't know if I should be worried because the pop top gets the same grin as a pop tart....

shallow?
Hungry?
Married too long?

deb in az

[GoofyDad]

....my husband was too

Sighhhh. How shallow.

Not the Goof. No sirree, Bob.

[v eggie dip]

you're a trip, you're gonna fit in fine with the goof and dip side show here lol

Angie:  I have to be on the thyroid meds for the rest of my life....

*dipping in da granola now*

[azgrl]

I think about the weight thing too. I would be okay if it was only 10 pounds but more than that I don't know....I'm more concerned about losing the boobies....hahahaha....when I gained a few pounds and then a few more I was okay with the junk in the trunk when I realized it comes with a pop in the top....my husband was too.  : )

Deb in Az

[Forseegood]

Yeah Veg, wonder how the thyroid thing plays into tx as well?, how long to you have to be on the thyroid meds? prob until it evens out, then you take the tx? Others would know more than I do on this. Anyway, so glad that you do have some wiggle room in any case. And maybe the extra pounds could be a benefit for starting the meds like we said. I think it's bad when someone is obese, then the meds can't work so well because it's harder for them to be effective through the fat.

Wow, wont it be nice when we have to freak out on taxes or something else other than this poo poo, ha ha!

[v eggie dip]

Hey Angie that really makes sense to me!!  I weight 128 (shhhhhhhhhh don't tell anyone okay  lol) but I am only 5'3", so as I said before I probably could loose a pound here and a pound there...I weighed 115 most of my life but last year gained weight because of hypothyroid issues, but now that I am on synthroid my weight should go down..As far as the fatty liver thing, the bx reads 30% of the sample taken shows mild fatty liver cells which is indicative of HCV..So, my concern is there, but not alarming...

[Forseegood]

You know I was just thinking, one thing that worries me about tx is the losing of weight. I have read that tx does something to the tastebuds on your tongue, not to mention the nausea, and a certain "metallic" taste, etc. as to why someone would find it hard eating on the meds. When I feel cr**py the last thing I want to do is eat, I'd be one of the ones who would have to force myself to eat.  I have a big feeling that I would be one of the ones who would lose weight, and I believe "most" people who take it do, from everything I've read and heard.

Of course, everyone is different, and I have heard that there are some who actually gain weight, but a doc told me that the average MO for his patients is losing 10 to 15 to 20 pounds, he's had many that lose more than that. A friend of mine lost 45. Now Veg, I don't know how much you weigh, but I am 125 or a little more and am 5'6, I have never been overwiight. I would make sure that I gained at least 10 to 15 pounds before I'd take the stuff, at my weight I'd end up looking like god knows what if I lost 15 20 pounds at the weight I am now. I have been at that weight (an emotional break-up, now I barely remember the guy...oh Youth!) and I wasn't a pretty picture, you could see all the bones in my chest. eck. Also I'd think you'd need the extra weight to stay healthier on the stuff.

I don't know how that plays into the fatty liver thing, I don't remember you saying he said you had a bad case of fatty liver. But if youre going to go for it, I'd imagine that you need the extra pounds for the task at hand right now. Maybe I'm wrong. Just another take.

[strator]

Didn't know where to jump in with this. I just went in for 1 month bloodwork and got a copy of blood tests they did in between my 2nd & 3rd shot. I did shot 5 last Sat. Unfortunately I have no idea what numbers are important in this list of 30 things. I know I'm a geno 1a, grade 2, stage 1to2, and pretx viral load was 18,700,000.  Still blessed with feeling pretty good although I've been pretty sore this week but able to work construction, and sneezing like mad for a couple of days every week. Okay I did work in the rain a lot.Anyways it looks like the tests were a cbc w/ diff & plt, a hepatic function panel(high ast55 & alt72) and a tsh-1.06.
WBC-4.5
RBC-4.67
Hemoglobin-14.4
Basically I'd like to understand what numbers to keep a watch on. There's a column to the right that says reference. Do I just have to compare to see if I'm in those ranges?

[sunspot]

Debby. You need a script for needles in NY? I walked in my pharm and told them I want 1cc, #28 x 5/8. They said "How many?"

Dana

[johnisme]

This site explains RDW

http://alternativehealing.org/red_cell_distribution_width.htm

[strator]

Hey, Veg that shows some time the sky really is blue and the sun shines too! Good for you.
Don

[sunspot]

Great newa. Having a little wiggle room eases some of the burden.

Dana

[jmjm530]

Awesome biopsy!  Congratulations!

The short course is a decent option but remember you not only need to be under 600,000 iu/ML prior to tx but have to be non-detecible (sensitive PCR) by week 4. That means you should probably have another PCR very close to tx and also have a plan in place what to do if you don;t clear at week 4 -- would you extend to 48 weeks or simply call it a day to fight again in the future with hopefully better drugs? To me the latter makes the most sense for a stage 1.

But talking about "next steps" you mentioned you have "mild fatty liver". From what Ive read, I beleive that this is sometimes associted with being overweight . So, if you're overweight, my suggestion is for your next to be get down to your ideal weight, whether you decide eventually to treat, do homeopathic, whatever.

-- Jim

[friole]

Congrats on your biopsy.  I was surprised since I thought you were symptomatic.  I will be interested to see if your homeopathic regime will help that.
friole

[azgrl]

Congrats!  Looks like we ended up at the same stage and grade and even fatty liver.  Good luck on what you decide.

Deb in Az

[cquest]

Oh thank God! We are in the same boat then! I agree, why torture yourself if you don't have to? All the good vibes worked! whew!
Cin

[NYgirl]

YAY that is fantastic news! Oh Veg I am so happy for you!  I just could cry I really could.  

I am so glad you aren't more advanced.  What a sigh of relief.  I mean not that any damage is GOOD but now you have so many more options. And being a crazy Canadian....like you are...you need them!

Oh honey.  I am so glad. While 0/0 would be better a 1 is just sounding so great to me.

YAY!

Debby

PS If you do treat make sure they are doing your CBC constantly. I was doing GREAT until they let my hemoglobin drop so much and now I am in bad shape. I would be just so much better off if they had been doing the RIGHT TEST all along instead of my hep panel every week!  I NEVER miss work and having just been out two days because I could not stand up AT ALL without fainting...s*cks.

Make sure that they do the test and stay on top of it.  It's just crucial. My idiot doctor/nurse/whoever really messed me up.

[v eggie dip]

Hey Jim:  Thanks for the kind wishes...

Yeah the fatty liver really threw me for a loop...I am not over wieght, well not really...I could loose a pound or two but not considered to be "over weight"...I questioned him about that and he said sometimes long term use of meds will trigger fatty liver...Well I take codeine every day, three times a day for disc problems and prior to discovering I have HCV they were in the form of tylenol 3...Who knows how I got it, but I will abstain form alcohol and force myself to do more on the treadmill and try to loose the extra few pounds and see if that helps...

If the hep gal allows the 24 week program I am sure she would do a 4 week PCR, it would make no sense to do it with out it, right?....If detected at 4 weeks then I would pull the plug and wait for another day...But I do have one concern...If I go the 24 weeks, and are still detected at 4 weeks, stop tx, what will that do to my chances of the new meds when they become available?  Will they first be offered to naive patients?

Thanks Beth

[NYgirl]

Question if you don't mind.  Along the same lines.

What are RDW's?  They are high on my latest CBC and I don't know what they are.  Platelets are high @16 - WBC 3, RBC,2.5.

Neutrophils are low at 1.5.  Everything else looks ok I guess.

Going tomorrow to have my 4 week PCR.  PleaSe start praying.

[GoofyDad]

As long as you're going to shed a couple, let's go with the celery ;-)

I think you'll find the treatment niave requirement is for trials. It makes sense, since there wouldn't be any int/riba SVRs looking to get into trials, opening them to int/riba non-responders would skew results. Once the drugs hit the market, they should be universally available (my guess, only). Though who knows what gives in the land of Nanuk!

[cuteus]

congrats and best luck in your pursuits.