How bad is this?

I was recently diagnosed with hep c. I just went in to have blood work done. An automated system called with results and said that my viral count was just above 1,000,000. I'm concerned . How bad is this? They want me to start rx asap. Please tell me if this is a normal count for this virus in the beginning stage or if it is due to having this illness for a long period of time? also please explain abouthow this interferon treatment works.                       thanks

[MajNeni]

Hi, Tyster,

Sorry you're dealing with Hepatitis C, but welcome.
Relax, this is usually a slow moving disease, and there's a lot you can do. Make sure you have a good doctor (preferably a gastro-enterologist or hepatologist) to work with you. You're going to need this doc for a while, so make sure you have good communications. Good luck, and come back here with your questions and comments.
Here are a great bunch of web sites where you can get informed.
Don't go crazy: the information on these web sites should be the same, so read just enough.  

Get the basics on the FAQ's of these general HCV sites:
http://www.liverfoundation.org/ (American Liver Foundation)
http://www.natap.org
http://www.hepnet.com/hepc.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/fact.htm
http://www.carbonbased.com/cbcblood.htm   (explanation of blood cells & tests)
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/chrnhepc/chrnhepc.htm
http://www.battlinghepc.com./
http://www.hepcassoc.org/links.html (many links)
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com  co-infection; great info on HCV and treatment
http://www.themedicineprogram.com/info.html (helps pay for meds if you can

[annainitaly]

"An AUTOMATED system called with results"     !!!???!!!
is that a common practice over there ?
it sounds horrible to me, that one must learn about his/her health from a machine...

[layla]

Sorry to meet you like this but welcome to our group. You will find many answers and lots of support here. Diagnosis is often the worse part. I thought it was a death sentence at first and cried for a couple months. That is not the case. It is generally a very slow progressing disease (except for a few) So you have time to educate your self about HCV. The sites majneni supplied for you will give you tons of info you should read. I know it is overwhelming at first but folks here will help you too. You really need a good doc. I went through 3 before ending with a good hepatologist (specializes in liver disease and are typically most up to date) or a GI who treats HCV patients. I researched all my docs on the internet. Normally most clinics have a website with bio's on their docs. 1 mil is not that bad at all. You'll find many here with much higher. It does not tell you what condition your liver is in which is very important. Your doc will probably order a liver biopsy, which is pretty easy, to determine how much damage you may have. You will also want to find out your genotype. Most americans have genotype one for example and Europeans tend to have G2. The biggest difference is treatment is 24 weeks for G1 and at least 48 weeks for G1's. Success is also higher for G2's. Don't be surprised if it takes 4 to 6 months to get an initial appt. with a hep doc. I did not want to wait and went through 3 docs before ending up with my initial choice 4 months later.
Treatment typically consist of a shot once a week and pills daily. It can be rough for some but most get through. I worked through 71 weeks of treatment even though at times it was difficult.
A couple things. When you post we only have a few post a day so becareful. It takes a minute to go through when you click post so just wait or they will use up multiple post as you can see. Many of us did this at first so this is just general info. If you have a question and no post are available use an exisiting one and when it ask to who it is too just type in new question. This works well. Here are some abreviations you will see. tx = treatment, dx = diagnosis, sx = sides, G = genotype. I can't think of the others now but you'll catch on if you hang around. Oh ROTLLMAO = rolling on the floor laughing my ass off!
Hang in there and come here for support. It's sometimes hard for the people around us to truly understand what we are going through. Weekends are slower so sometimes additional answers will come when Monday comes around. Oh and if you add onto an existing post make sure to do it on one close to the top otherwise it may not get read.
Well, enough for now. I hope we see you  around and once again welcome. LL

[layla]

I've never heard of an automatic system calling. What a horrible way to find out! LL

[susan400]

And some of us have 2 genotypes!  I am 1A and 1B.

Hi there and welcome to the board. You will find lots of support here.

Susan

[annainitaly]

more acronyms (probably from an old post of yours, layla):
TX-treatment
SX-side effects
AD's- anti-depressants
MEDS- pills, shots etc...
PCR- the big blood test for viral load
vL- viral load
NEWBIE- new to the treatment
SVR-sustainable viral reduction (the end result of beating this)
ALT- liver function measurement units
PIGS- pegulated interferon alfa 2b
RIBAS- ribavirin anti viral pills
RIBA RASH- most all skin disorders
BRAIN FOG- confusion etc.
21/24-21st shot of 24 and so on

tyster you'll see this is a great forum. strong, sensitive, knowledgeable people. emotional support, a lot of clear and punctual information. keep reading and posting, it DOES help.

[cuteus]

I am confused, did he have a biopsy or an MRI? A biopsy involves removing a piece of the liver for a pathologist to examine. it is a more accurate way to determine liver damage.
check the post below by suej. i believe it was 10/30/ on retreatment.
she mentions the benefit of treating, even if it does not clear the virus
there are some here who have had end stage liver disease and successfully completed tx.

[tyster]

Hey guys! This is Ty's wife Tiff. Thanks so much for all the replies. We are both so nervous about all this. Ty went to get a biopsy done today. On the MRI they saw a lining around his liver (fatty tissue).I'm guessing this is the beginning of cirrhosis? The results are supposed to be back by the end of the week. Here's the question he wants to ask. He's telling me as I type.(just like a man!Ha!Ha!) Is there anyone out there that has HCV and cirrhosis? If so, does the tx for hep (he has G1b)slow down the cirrhosis or is it totally irreversible? I,ve read that if you get rid of the underlying problem (hepc) the liver will start healing itself. Please help! We need all the info we can get. Our prayers go out to all of you. Thanks.

[annainitaly]

uh?  TWO genotypes ? does that mean one had been infected twice? or what?

[susan400]

All I know is when I was genotyped, (at a good reputable lab) that the report came back with me have two different genotypes.  It called it a mixed virus.  And they labeled it 1A and 1B.  So, that tells me that perhaps I could have picked it up from 2 different sources.  I'm not surprised because I was living a wild life back from 1979 through 1983 and in 2 different states, so it's entirely possible.  I also feel that maybe this is why I'm having such a hard time getting a remission after I've treated this thing over and over and over again.  Currently, I'm on my 7th round of trying to treat.  In addition to that, my fibrosis has continued to progress in spite of all of my treatments.  Unfortunately, I've had no reversal of the fibrosis.  I guess the reason why I keep on treating is because I'd like to think that I'm delaying it reaching the cirrhosis point.  I know that whenever I come off of treatment, my LFT's go up a lot.  However, I know that I could have this a lot worse so I feel grateful that I'm doing this well.

Susan

[annainitaly]

7th attempt to treat...  I feel ashamed of complaining for my steroid swelling.
if I have got it right from scott's reports, in any case your repeated treatments will be of some help. but I do wish you a complete success, susan.

[tyster]

Sorry to confuse. Ty had the biopsy done this week. They also did an ultrasound not MRI.This is where they saw the fatty tissue around his liver. They also noticed that on his skin he has these little red spots,like little spider veins. They were concerned about this ,but did not give him any idea of what it was.Next time I'm going to the GI with him so I can ask ?'s.I think he's too scared to. Thanks Revenire for the info . We appreciate it. Every bit Helps. We are both new to this ,so   excuse our ignorance on the subject!!! I'm sure we'll learn a lot from ya'll. Now we're just waiting for the biopsy results, then he'll go from there. I hate the waiting thing!!!!!!Hope to here from someone soon.

[annainitaly]

scott I am totally with your, uhm...  moonwish.
if you will dance to the moonlight after knowing the results, on both sides of the ocean many people will keep you company. me included.
anna-the-finger-crossed-in-italy

[annainitaly]

the sign with the red veins is called purpura. don't know what it means but you can look in the web for it you'll find a lot.
all the best to you !

[cuteus]

you might want to do  a web search for extra hepatic manifestations, it will lead you to many conditions that are HCV related, like cryoglobulinemia.
best to you