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Treatment now or later?!
I've been getting mixed advice. I am 25 just diagnosed with virus 2 weeks ago. I am a single mother of 2 young children and its just the 3 of us in my home. I was told its best to start treatment now cause I'm young and in my prime and just diagnosed. But I've also been told maybe I should wait because of how bad the side effects are from the drugs. Will I beable to work 12hr days as a nurse and take care of my children at home? I'm worried because I'm all they have :/ For all those who have been through treatment can I have your advice!?
This is all very helpful and makes me think of even more things to really discuss with dr. I have meeting with the same dr for a couple weeks now and she doesn't seem to be very educated. Tells me just the basic stuff and reads it from a book so I'm thinking of switching to someone with more experience and knowledge. I know I have learned more on the forum in 2 days then I have in 2 weeks from my dr. Thanks for all your help and will conitune posting questions!!
Sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. However as others have said "you are still young and still have minimal fibrosis shown by your biopsy,so that is definitely in your favor whatever choice you make..
Treatment today is approx. 70 -80 % successful .irregardless of what geno type.
If you have geno 1 you would do three drugs and if you have geno 2 or 3 you would do 2 drugs. usually for 24 weeks.
The side effects can be anywhere from mild to more severe..especially on the triple treatment,from what has been seen and reported here.
There are many HCV drug trials currently ongoing and the future looks bright for treatment down the road..however many of these new drugs (including the Interferon free all orals) could be anywhere from 3 to 5 years away. No-one knows when for sure and these will probably only pertain to you if you have the geno 1 type.
So...because of your age and the mild fibrosis to date you and your doctor should be discussing a plan...possibly treat now or wait until there are even better meds .possibly with less side effects
The virus does it"s damage to the liver for the most part very slowly ( usually many years and often decades),however if you choose to wait it is always a good idea to have frequent visits to your doctor for monitoring.
Best to you..
Will
Treatment today is approx. 70 -80 % successful .irregardless of what geno type.
If you have geno 1 you would do three drugs and if you have geno 2 or 3 you would do 2 drugs. usually for 24 weeks.
The side effects can be anywhere from mild to more severe..especially on the triple treatment,from what has been seen and reported here.
There are many HCV drug trials currently ongoing and the future looks bright for treatment down the road..however many of these new drugs (including the Interferon free all orals) could be anywhere from 3 to 5 years away. No-one knows when for sure and these will probably only pertain to you if you have the geno 1 type.
So...because of your age and the mild fibrosis to date you and your doctor should be discussing a plan...possibly treat now or wait until there are even better meds .possibly with less side effects
The virus does it"s damage to the liver for the most part very slowly ( usually many years and often decades),however if you choose to wait it is always a good idea to have frequent visits to your doctor for monitoring.
Best to you..
Will
I have likely had hep c for 12 to 30 years. I am stage 1. To be at stage 2 in 6 years may be a concern which may indicate treatment. You should talk to a good hepatologist. I would guess oral treatments could take a couple years but I am not the expert. There are some trials going on. I have seen a number if posts about them so I know others have more information. You can try searching this site on trials but the search engine stinks. Suggest posting that question as the title of a new thread if you do not get an answer here so it's more visible.
I am on week 10 and very tired. I am able to work a 9 hour day still, most days, but I have a desk job and car pool. I get very tired and sometimes foggy or dizzy. A nurse is on her feet most of the day and 12 hours is a long time. Maybe you could look into fmla? Work shorter shifts? You may be ok but I would want a fallback plan if you go on the current treatment. My doctor says I am doing better than most of her patients and I do not think I could handle 12 hours on my feet and two children.
I am on week 10 and very tired. I am able to work a 9 hour day still, most days, but I have a desk job and car pool. I get very tired and sometimes foggy or dizzy. A nurse is on her feet most of the day and 12 hours is a long time. Maybe you could look into fmla? Work shorter shifts? You may be ok but I would want a fallback plan if you go on the current treatment. My doctor says I am doing better than most of her patients and I do not think I could handle 12 hours on my feet and two children.
My liver is in stage 1-2. When is the new oral treatment coming out and what is it? I believe that I have had virus for approx 6years because I am pretty sure of when I was exposed. Thank you for all your help!
You need to know what condition your liver is in before making any decisions.
Supposedly, 20% of the people with hep C die with it, not of it.
20% will develop cirrhosis and can indeed die from it.
My advice, if your liver is unharmed, wait for the new oral treatments currently being tested
.In the meantime, don't drink alcohol, it's like pouring gasoline on a fire.
Good luck,
OH
Supposedly, 20% of the people with hep C die with it, not of it.
20% will develop cirrhosis and can indeed die from it.
My advice, if your liver is unharmed, wait for the new oral treatments currently being tested
.In the meantime, don't drink alcohol, it's like pouring gasoline on a fire.
Good luck,
OH
So once I find out my GT and duration of treatment, I could decide then? Is treatment side effects worse for those who have had virus longer and liver is in further stage?
At your age you probably haven't had this as long as many of us and if it is only a short time since your initial infection you should be able to get a cure pretty easy. There are "guided" therapies where with some extra testing you may only take the meds a fraction of the time that I will if you respond strongly to treatment.
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