High vreses low viral load in Hep c patients

[litecloud]

I was dignosed with hep c 1 yr ago. My viral load at that time was 18 million with normal alt levels. I have not been treated but I have changed my diet to a nutritional one and I do not drink anymore, my hole life has changed. I live one day at a time. I recently went to the doctor and my viral load was at 1 million with an alt count of 57, high normal being 40 on their scale. How could this be. Is this normal, could I really beat this desease with the right choices I have taken. Please advice thank you, litecloud

[Showboat]

You may not see this post as it is already the 29th.....I have been looking all over for your e add.....I wrote it down (brain fog).......and cannot find it.   I have been wondering how you are doing....I got a smile when we were trying to figure out our shot date.........we are getting closer.   You really travel quite a bit....that is so wonderful.  You sound like you are keeping active.  I have been trying to scroll down to read all of the posts (I have not been on line much lately)....and it is so over whelming to try to "catch up".....I suppose I should at least "lurk" when I am not feeling "social".... I hope you see this...........I am actually starting to feel pretty good, and I think my hair is starting to grow back....all good signs......Peace and Love to you.

[berlynn]

hi. it was good to hear from you...I was hoping that everything is OK. We just got back from 4 days in Telluride....so I just saw this post. Hope to hear from you soon. I am hanging in there. Trying to adjust my attitude(back to positive). Being so tired lately has brought me down a bit....All of this talk about extending tx sure has got me thinking...what about you? Were you SVR at 12 weeks? Well, it's late...I'll have to try to finish catching up tomorrow. Take care, kim

[litecloud]

BANG !!! Just kiddin, Thats my ? exactly? Does it hurt your immune system prior to TX.
My intuition says it does, but medicaly since am not a doctor, I have no answer. Does anyone out there have one?
Thanks Britgirl.God Bless!!

[cuteus]

It is better to ask yor dr to help you interpret your blood work,   I only look at whatever says "off range"  , lol ... and 0 if vl.  

as for the hands, I have had carpal tunnel syndrome since 1995, way pre dx and tx.  there is a possible relation between hcv and a some extrahepatic conditions such as neuropathy and Raynaud's.   some articles on these manifestations can be found in a web search.

[britgirl]

Sorry, I thought you were talking about weakened immune systems on tx. Do you think having Hep C weakens our immune systems? (please don't shoot me down if that ia a stupid question!) I had Hep C for eighteen years but was always very healthy, never catching colds etc even though the biopsy showed fibrosis.

[litecloud]

I was asking the question about people not under treatment yet. Am at the begging of everything, I found out a year ago thru an accidental needle stick at work, my work made me go get tested and WALAH!! Hep C.. I have had 2 sets of blood work done, one at the beggining and one a couple of weeks ago when my viral load had dropped to 1mill from 18mll... I had an ultra sound done Friday ..results on Monday, I hope. But I have been battling bronchitis for 2weeks, thats why I asked the question, about the immune system. Thanks for your time god bless.Am glad I found this site, It is very hard to talk to my boyfriend since he' worse clueless then I am.He does not get how tire we feel at times.By the way he's negative, thank god!!!

[britgirl]

Interferon boosts our immune systems, not weakens them .That is what kills off the virus.
What we are more prone to on tx is infection from low blood cells (white, I think). Basically, we are prone to bacteria but not to viruses (like flu...or hepatitis!)

[FlaWife]

Milkthistle really seemed to help my husband before he began treatment, but when his itching & dry skin got worse he decided to back off of it for awhile. Not sure if it was the cause, but try it & see if it helps your fatigue.

[Showboat]

Yes.  I am now 42/48, and am still experiencing the same sinus and bronchial problems.  Last September, I started feeling alot of "allergy" sx and my riba rash was really bad.  I was prescribed Zyrtec for the itch and other "allergy" sx.  Well, that worked "okay" for awhile, but I was getting sicker and more "zapped out"......my left ear, throat, glands in neck down to left shoulder (front and back) and the back of my neck were sore and tender...........well, one day I just "passed out" in public (very scarey and embarassing)...went to my doc and found out that the allergy meds stopped the natural drainage of my sinus, etc and started to "pocket" an infection....I was put on two rounds of anitbiotics....it helped a lot.  I am feeling much better, but still have the ear ache (not as bad now) and my throat started getting sore again last night......I know that this will probably be "my thing".....so I am paying attention to my body...I am just glad I never got the mouth sores that people talk about......that seems really painful.  I am so grateful for this forum, I know I am not alone in many of my sx and sufferings.  It seems that I have more "bad" days now as I get closer to ending tx, but by reading past posts in this forum, many people have gone thru this too.......once again, this forum makes me feel better about my "fears".

Berlynn:  Hi...I have not been on site lately....too tired, and feeling sick (this darn sinus/bronchial ****)......I did see your pictures on the Hothep site....what a beautiful family...(You are a hothep....tee hee) Your daughter made a beautiful bride.  Thank you for sharing.  If I would ever take time to hook up my printer and scanner, I would post too...I have only had my printer/scanner for a year just sitting in the boxes...I can always use tx as my excuse...hahah.  I give you alot of credit for gathering your energy and focus to be able to make such a wonderful day for your daughter, your family and friends. My respect and admiration to you.  I think you are great.   I will email you this weekend.......
Peace and Love

[tina b]

Ferritin is the iron storage. To much causes bad stuff. The iron has to be ruduced with phlebotomy to get it to normal BEFORE tx or the tx won't work. Learned this from experience. High iron causes liver scaring, brain fog, fatigue, brown or bronze color to the skin, typically the chins, diabeties, hair loss, bad temper,elevated ast/ast and all sorts of other bad stuff. It is a genetic thing and is called hemochromotosis. Look it up on Google. When/if they do a liver bx, they should do a iron stain....if they know what they are doing..it is typical with bx to do the stain.....unless they forget. Learned that from experience too. You can be anemic and still have elevated ferritin. I know it sounds crazy, but it is a very real and very common condition, especially in hepc pts. After my hubby got rid of all the extra iron in his system (10 pints in 10 weeks) he felt like a billion bucks, even with the hepc. That iron is wicked. Of course he isn't feeling very spry right now, just did 7/48 tonight. The meds increase the ferritin level to. The test to check for hemochromotosis is called HFE gene type...most docs don't even know that. Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.


Everyone------I'm sorry to keep repeating this ferritin stuff.....but had I known then what I know now about the hemochromotosis....my hubby geno 3A would maybe not have to do the 2nd round of tx.


GODS SPEED ALL

[mumsie]

No redness on the eyes as of yet,but they were watering something bad for acouple of days while I had some sort of head cold that was going around, that's the trouble with working with the public and their money and their dirty glasses and plates you pick up what ever they give you and it's not always that fat tip you are expecting.But I said to my S.O. this morning I'm tired of being sick 'n tired....and then you hear yourself and say get over it winer,  go outsiide , do something grab the kid and go shopping!!!!!Sue

[honey1616]

It sounds like you went from one extreme dr to another. The first one sounds like a real jerk and the 2nd is definitely on top of things, however I'm afraid it sounds all a bit hasty in my opinion.  I guess you told him about your mom passing away right?  What is your alt/ast?  And yes,,,,you definitely need a pcr to see if meds are working.  You have voiced that you are concerned about being overweight and thinking that this might be contributing to the liver damage.  Have you started watching your diet more?  I feel really bad for you as knowing about your mom and then this...is kinda scary what he told you and you are pretty much just left trying to mull it over. We are here to help and listen!

[tina b]

what is your ferritin level?

[painted**posies]

Can someone interpret my blood test results for me and tell me what they mean.  I am genotype 1b. I understand that part. My HCV RNA (IU/ML) is 5060000 H  (50 IU/ml) then under that it says
HCV RNA (LOG IU.ML) 6.70 H  Then on another test i9t says AST (SGOT) is 92 and ALT (SGPT)is 80.

Also, I am taking a medication that is used for Parkinson's (which I take for another problem) called Requip. There is a warning that people with liver disease should consult their Dr., yadda yadda yadda. I'm wondering if this medication could affect my viral load or the other two numbers.

Sorry to be so ignorant. I'm just learning and am having difficulty absorbing what I'm reading. The Requip that I'm taking gives me incredible brain fog. Without it I'm awake for days which makes me cranky (to say the least).

I also have a strange symptom and I'm wondering if it's related to the HCV. When my hands get cold I break out in a rash on my hands and they itch so badly I can hardly stand it. This started around the time of my diagnosis and am wondering it it's related or just coincidence.  The Dr. just shrugged it off. I'm not worried about it..it's just annoying...but do wonder if it's a related symptom.

[cuteus]

On extrahepatic hcv related conditions, someone posted links in the thread "group advises against hcv testing' dated yesterday.  Hcv is not only a liver disease, it likes those cells to replicate, but it seems to be more  systemic than originally thought.

After 38 shots, I just had my eyes checked and they are fine.  Everybody seems to react so differently.  I do have a hypersensitivity to bright light and vision is a little worse, but nothing too disabling.  I am sorry your tx did not give you that precious goal of svr.

[litecloud]

IS THE HEP B VACCINE a good idea? Before or after treatment?

[cuteus]

There is a big push for hep b vaccination.   I personally passed on it.
Hep a is more contagious so that might be a different story.

  I will stick to universal precautions, same thing that will keep me hiv free.  That is my  preference.
This vaccine has been around for a while, but it is only a few years since it was mandated on a large scale.  To me, there is not enough long term  data (of sides) based on its used in the large population.
Some european countries are more cautious in mandating it for everyone.
I passed, others didn't.  Inform yourself through your own net search, that is what I did.

[britgirl]

I agree. Make sure you get vaccinated against hep A, which is much more contagious....from salads, plates etc.

[LvdByGod]

be careful of just assuming all herbs are safe to try. most have not been tested in hcv people. the last thing we want to do is make matters worse. some things can interfer with tx and others can cause the liver to worsen or the virus to replicate faster.

example: i took kava kava for years for sleep before i knew i had hcv. then it turns out it has caused serious liver damage in some people.

on another subject,"a biopsy is essential before going on tx."  so says my new GI at my last visit.

my first GI said it was not essential. but, i insisted on it any way, and it turns out i have early cirhosis. the dr. looked shocked at the biopsy report. i wasn't at all surprised.

[litecloud]

Larry asked me a question last night about what my ferritin level was... I thought he was talkin about a drug..SILLY NEWB hahaha.. I was doing some reading and realized it was my iron level HAAHA silly NEWB again. please give me more info on why this is important to gave done and how can it interfere with treatment.. SOMEONE PLEASE INFORM THE NEWB..BEFORE SHE MAKES AN A#%s of herself.

[litecloud]

I have been sick with sinusitis,Brochitis for the last 2 weeks, I can't get rid of this cr@#P .. I have been on Omnicef(antibiotic)and it did not work so I got Biaxin( another antibiotic) and humibid and albuterol inhaler. My question is are regular sickness harder to fight off because of our immune system being cr@$PY? Has anyone else had this problem?

[honey1616]

Sandi...I don't understand..You say you have early cirrois (sp) but your dr wants you to get on liver transplant list???  Are you having other problems with this?  I guess it puzzles me because I always thought they wouldn't consider putting you on a list until ESLD so not sure?  And wouldn't the tx if you respond...help also?

[Fubarcat]

Not to worry about making and A$$ of yourself.  I am a relative newbie also (#11/48) and you can't even imagine some of the dumb stuff I come up with!  It took me two weeks to figure out ESLD meant end stage liver disease.  So, ask any questions you want.  This Board is full of helpful people and someone will always answer and NOBODY will think you are asking silly questions.  The only dumb question is the one not asked!

[litecloud]

Thanks Karley God bless