Aa
Jim are you better?
Jim, i noticed you posting again. I take it that you are better from your heart problem. I'm so glad. I was concerned.
If you get a chance ping me, i took your advice and emailed with Gish. I feel lucky to have survived last week. I'm still home and will be going back to work on Monday.
Again, glad you are at home. Hope you are mending.
Deb
If you get a chance ping me, i took your advice and emailed with Gish. I feel lucky to have survived last week. I'm still home and will be going back to work on Monday.
Again, glad you are at home. Hope you are mending.
Deb
Jim,,,Great to see you back!
Hi Susan,,Also good to see you helping others with supplements! Hope all is well with you these days...
Hi Susan,,Also good to see you helping others with supplements! Hope all is well with you these days...
Deb, hang in there, I am sorry to hear you are having difficulties but it sounds like you are in the best of hands with Dr. Gish. Jim, I am so glad to see are better & back.
Jim I have gone through cardioversion and eventually oblation for RSVT but it's not as serious as AF. I am so glad you're doing better and keep us posted. I am interested. Did they try adentocord or one of those conversion drugs first?
It's a puzzle on the infections which ...because white and other counts hadn't changed much, they think is "viral". Gish will be here next week and I'll see him then. I truly have never been sicker. But I took my shot Monday and haven't missed too many ribas due to ...er...um...vomiting.
The only interesting thing going on other than sitting at home "trying to rest" is that they drew a pcr on Saturday that I don't have back yet.
Dana, i have had repeated infections and the last one that started last wednesday a week ago was terrible. temps very high very ill. They are looking into it.
Deb
It's a puzzle on the infections which ...because white and other counts hadn't changed much, they think is "viral". Gish will be here next week and I'll see him then. I truly have never been sicker. But I took my shot Monday and haven't missed too many ribas due to ...er...um...vomiting.
The only interesting thing going on other than sitting at home "trying to rest" is that they drew a pcr on Saturday that I don't have back yet.
Dana, i have had repeated infections and the last one that started last wednesday a week ago was terrible. temps very high very ill. They are looking into it.
Deb
This is my third bout with Afib in the last 30 years, but haven't really researched it much which I'm now starting to do. But to answer your question, no, they didn't try to cardiovert using drugs. The drug used, Cardizem, is primarily to bring the heart rate down with cardioversion occasionally a side effect. The plan was to go straight to electical (DC) cardioversion, instead of using conversion drugs. This is one protocol used in cases like mine where I could pinpoint the time the Afib started, but I still have a lot to learn and that question is on my list in case of future episodes which I hope they won't be any.
Good luck with your PCR, but it should be fine since if I remember correctly you are already non-detectible. I suppose having a viral problem is better than bacterial, but it sure doesn't sound like you're having a lot of fun. Hope you start feeling better soon.
-- Jim
Good luck with your PCR, but it should be fine since if I remember correctly you are already non-detectible. I suppose having a viral problem is better than bacterial, but it sure doesn't sound like you're having a lot of fun. Hope you start feeling better soon.
-- Jim
i also knew nothing about your hosp visit. i do not go to the other side that often. but i'm glad you are ok, we need you around here and besides you are not getting away from us that easy :-)
hi jm,
first of all welcome back, and i am glad you are better!!!
i know that this may make some people here not happy,,,but i read your post where you said you would have waited to treat -had you known your stats were not as bad as thought before hand,,, and you had said that you had a bad time with treatment...could you expound on that a bit for me...i need help trying to figure out how long i have to decide,or to wait etc....and if using the herbal remedies would help in the meantime...i am 52 f. 0-1 fibrosis, i know you already spoke to me about this some but you are the only one that i can relate to about my personnal issue...wow we must tire you out!!!
thank you ,,in advance
pitter
first of all welcome back, and i am glad you are better!!!
i know that this may make some people here not happy,,,but i read your post where you said you would have waited to treat -had you known your stats were not as bad as thought before hand,,, and you had said that you had a bad time with treatment...could you expound on that a bit for me...i need help trying to figure out how long i have to decide,or to wait etc....and if using the herbal remedies would help in the meantime...i am 52 f. 0-1 fibrosis, i know you already spoke to me about this some but you are the only one that i can relate to about my personnal issue...wow we must tire you out!!!
thank you ,,in advance
pitter
Jim,
I also did not know about you hospital visit...
I wish you all the best!
Deb,
You too, stay STRONG.
The best wishes to everybody - you are all warriors!!
I also did not know about you hospital visit...
I wish you all the best!
Deb,
You too, stay STRONG.
The best wishes to everybody - you are all warriors!!
I'm going to assume for discussion sake that you're genotype 1a or 1b. Genotype 2's and 3's are easier to treat with less time and therefore have a different decision to make.
--------------------------------------------
As you've probably figured out by now, the decision whether someone should treat (or not) in the subgroup that has little or no liver damage, like yourself, is very controversial. Some doctors will suggest treatment for practically anyone and they have their list of reasons. Others, feel the risks of treatment outweigh any rewards in this particular subgroup. I definitely fall into the latter camp. Felt that way before I treated and feel even more strongly about it after the treatment experience in spite of the fact that I am SVR. And I'm not basing my view solely on my lousy treatment experience -- and it was bad -- but on everything else I've read, both here and elsewhere, plus the prospect of newer and better drugs that in the short term hopefully will shorten treatment from 48 to 24 weeks in geno 1's with double the SVR rates -- and in the long term, may offer treatment without interferon entirely.
As to how long you have to decide, that's a personal decision, but in general Hep C is a very slow moving disease. Do you have any idea how long you've had Hep C? Those who were infected at an earlier age tend to have slower fibrosis progression than those infected at an older age. Being female also works to your advantage in terms of slower progression of fibrosis. And, there are other factors as well that might make a difference such as fatty liver, co-infection with HIV, heavy alcohol use, etc, etc. All which should be evaluated by a good liver specialist.
If you do decide to take a "watch n' wait" approach, best thing is to monitor your liver in an agressive fashion. This would include periodic visits to your liver specialist for blood tests, a needle biopsy every 3-5 years (if they are still doing them on a regular basis in five years), possibly an annual blood marker test like Fibrosure, and maybe an annual or twice a year liver scan with a new device called Fibroscan. Fibroscan is in -- or coming out of -- FDA trial and hopefully will be popping up at local medical centers very soon.
As far as herbal remedies are concerned, I know very little about them, but they do seem to have been of benefit to a number of members here. Main thing is to do some research before trying anything and run them by your doctor, not that he/she will necessarily know much about them. I'm sure if you post here specifically for herbal suggestions while you wait, you will get lots of answers and probably another MH herbal 'food fight' :) Two herbalists that come to mind are Dr. Zhang in NYC and Misha Cohen in California. Or, you could just put together your own mix through research and suggestions like many here have done.
All the best in your decision, but whatever you decide, do take your time and get comfortable with that decision.
All the best,
--Jim
--------------------------------------------
As you've probably figured out by now, the decision whether someone should treat (or not) in the subgroup that has little or no liver damage, like yourself, is very controversial. Some doctors will suggest treatment for practically anyone and they have their list of reasons. Others, feel the risks of treatment outweigh any rewards in this particular subgroup. I definitely fall into the latter camp. Felt that way before I treated and feel even more strongly about it after the treatment experience in spite of the fact that I am SVR. And I'm not basing my view solely on my lousy treatment experience -- and it was bad -- but on everything else I've read, both here and elsewhere, plus the prospect of newer and better drugs that in the short term hopefully will shorten treatment from 48 to 24 weeks in geno 1's with double the SVR rates -- and in the long term, may offer treatment without interferon entirely.
As to how long you have to decide, that's a personal decision, but in general Hep C is a very slow moving disease. Do you have any idea how long you've had Hep C? Those who were infected at an earlier age tend to have slower fibrosis progression than those infected at an older age. Being female also works to your advantage in terms of slower progression of fibrosis. And, there are other factors as well that might make a difference such as fatty liver, co-infection with HIV, heavy alcohol use, etc, etc. All which should be evaluated by a good liver specialist.
If you do decide to take a "watch n' wait" approach, best thing is to monitor your liver in an agressive fashion. This would include periodic visits to your liver specialist for blood tests, a needle biopsy every 3-5 years (if they are still doing them on a regular basis in five years), possibly an annual blood marker test like Fibrosure, and maybe an annual or twice a year liver scan with a new device called Fibroscan. Fibroscan is in -- or coming out of -- FDA trial and hopefully will be popping up at local medical centers very soon.
As far as herbal remedies are concerned, I know very little about them, but they do seem to have been of benefit to a number of members here. Main thing is to do some research before trying anything and run them by your doctor, not that he/she will necessarily know much about them. I'm sure if you post here specifically for herbal suggestions while you wait, you will get lots of answers and probably another MH herbal 'food fight' :) Two herbalists that come to mind are Dr. Zhang in NYC and Misha Cohen in California. Or, you could just put together your own mix through research and suggestions like many here have done.
All the best in your decision, but whatever you decide, do take your time and get comfortable with that decision.
All the best,
--Jim
Here's a thread regarding supplements among other things. Note the list that one of our members, "TallBlonde" posts. Again, I really know nothing about herbs and supplements, but apparently TallBlonde is doing very well with her list.
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/hepatitis/messages/46628.html ;
--Jim
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/hepatitis/messages/46628.html ;
--Jim
Hi Deb.
I have not seen your posting also. May I ask what happened to you?
Jim
I had not heard about any heart problems with you. I hope you are better now. Please post when you can.
Dana
I have not seen your posting also. May I ask what happened to you?
Jim
I had not heard about any heart problems with you. I hope you are better now. Please post when you can.
Dana
Hey Jim-I am so glad to hear that you are home & doing much better. I go through spells of being on-line for a period of time & then off for a period of time & I did not know about this.
The Doctors are keeping me busy-they now are looking at Plasmapheresis. Do you know anything about it? Refresher-treated twice, 100+ weeks, Peg-Intron/Infergen-Pegasys Maintainence-nothing worked. 1B, grade3, stage 4,age 63, with beginning cirrhosis. I think I have read enough to know that it is only a band-aid approach, but might possibly help my Neuropathy? Both legs and feet, plus arms and hands are now getting bad. Other sides linger on after 8 mths. post therapy.
Once again I am glad to hear you are home!
Sandy
The Doctors are keeping me busy-they now are looking at Plasmapheresis. Do you know anything about it? Refresher-treated twice, 100+ weeks, Peg-Intron/Infergen-Pegasys Maintainence-nothing worked. 1B, grade3, stage 4,age 63, with beginning cirrhosis. I think I have read enough to know that it is only a band-aid approach, but might possibly help my Neuropathy? Both legs and feet, plus arms and hands are now getting bad. Other sides linger on after 8 mths. post therapy.
Once again I am glad to hear you are home!
Sandy
I too, am glad you're back. You are always so helpful with your posts and I thought you were rather funny in some of your comments on the other side.
Take care of yourself. OH
Take care of yourself. OH
I don't get on everyday now and I guess I missed that you had a problem. My, I am so glad you got yourself to the ER and got your situation taken care of. As we get older it seems that things just have a way of popping up there and there to fix.
Sorry to hear about your recent atrial fib episode. My husband went through that a couple of years ago and it was very scary at the time. He hasn't had another event since then. BTW, fish oil and magnesium supplements are supposed to be very beneficial for preventing it. Maybe that's why my hubby is doing well. You might want to give it a try.
Take care of yourself...
Susan
Take care of yourself...
Susan
Thanks Copy, Tallahassee, & Desert.
SLJ, I really don't know anything about Plasmapheresis, but I hope and pray it offers you some relief until something comes along that will work for your HCV. We have a doctor posting from time to time, screename "Sonic". I'll flag him but if he doesn't see this you might post to him another time.
Susan, as soon as read your post I went to the fridge and dug out some fish oil capsules that had been hiding behind a jar of peanut butter for I don't know how long :) Thanks for the reminder. Do you have a dose recommendation for the fish oil and how much postassium do you recommend in addition to the 100mg of Magnesium that's in my one-a-day multi? Also, do you remember if they electro cardioverted your husband or did he come out of it with drugs or just by himself?
-- Jim
SLJ, I really don't know anything about Plasmapheresis, but I hope and pray it offers you some relief until something comes along that will work for your HCV. We have a doctor posting from time to time, screename "Sonic". I'll flag him but if he doesn't see this you might post to him another time.
Susan, as soon as read your post I went to the fridge and dug out some fish oil capsules that had been hiding behind a jar of peanut butter for I don't know how long :) Thanks for the reminder. Do you have a dose recommendation for the fish oil and how much postassium do you recommend in addition to the 100mg of Magnesium that's in my one-a-day multi? Also, do you remember if they electro cardioverted your husband or did he come out of it with drugs or just by himself?
-- Jim
Jim,
Here's a good article from the Life Extension Organization on the benefits of fish oil and magnesium for the prevention of atrial fibrillation:
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2005/feb2005_report_heart_02.htm
I think the article recommends some specific dosages. For what it's worth, my husband takes 500 mg. of magnesium at bedtime (it has a calming effect which helps promote good sleep) and 1,500 mg. of fish oil in three divided doses. Some studies have suggested that fish oil might actually cause atrial fibrillation, so I recommend that you do a Google search and look things over carefully before deciding what's right for you. The research on magnesium appears to be more solid.
While my husband was in the hospital, they converted his heart to a normal beating pattern through drugs, not electroconversion. They were concerned about the risk for stroke because blood can pool and clot during these episodes. They put him on a blood thinner during his hospital stay, and I now give him 81 mg. of enteric-coated aspirin daily.
Susan
Here's a good article from the Life Extension Organization on the benefits of fish oil and magnesium for the prevention of atrial fibrillation:
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2005/feb2005_report_heart_02.htm
I think the article recommends some specific dosages. For what it's worth, my husband takes 500 mg. of magnesium at bedtime (it has a calming effect which helps promote good sleep) and 1,500 mg. of fish oil in three divided doses. Some studies have suggested that fish oil might actually cause atrial fibrillation, so I recommend that you do a Google search and look things over carefully before deciding what's right for you. The research on magnesium appears to be more solid.
While my husband was in the hospital, they converted his heart to a normal beating pattern through drugs, not electroconversion. They were concerned about the risk for stroke because blood can pool and clot during these episodes. They put him on a blood thinner during his hospital stay, and I now give him 81 mg. of enteric-coated aspirin daily.
Susan
thank you alot jm,i will use the info ,
thanks for being so willing to help!!! you are a cool guy!!
pitter
thanks for being so willing to help!!! you are a cool guy!!
pitter
Yes, Deb, I'm doing fine and thanks for asking.
No reason to repeat in detail, so for anyone interested, my little saga and some info about Atrial Fibrillation described over at the other side in this thread here amongst all the chit-chat and the story of my new high-tech push scooter: http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Hepatitis-Community/messages/1148.html
But very briefly, I went to the ER Saturday night with Afib, was admitted to the hospital with an irregular pulse of 160 bpm, was given drugs to bring my heart rate down and to thin the blood and then naturally coverted back to normal sinus rhythm after a TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram) and right before an electical cardioversion (picture Frankenstein being brought to life with electrodes to the chest) that I never needed. I'm back home now and doing fine.
Very happy you were finally able to get in touch with Dr. G. directly as often "executive" decisions are needed at important treatment junctures. Hope your infections are abating somewhat as I know from personal experience how difficult that can make things.
Be well,
-- Jim
No reason to repeat in detail, so for anyone interested, my little saga and some info about Atrial Fibrillation described over at the other side in this thread here amongst all the chit-chat and the story of my new high-tech push scooter: http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Hepatitis-Community/messages/1148.html
But very briefly, I went to the ER Saturday night with Afib, was admitted to the hospital with an irregular pulse of 160 bpm, was given drugs to bring my heart rate down and to thin the blood and then naturally coverted back to normal sinus rhythm after a TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram) and right before an electical cardioversion (picture Frankenstein being brought to life with electrodes to the chest) that I never needed. I'm back home now and doing fine.
Very happy you were finally able to get in touch with Dr. G. directly as often "executive" decisions are needed at important treatment junctures. Hope your infections are abating somewhat as I know from personal experience how difficult that can make things.
Be well,
-- Jim
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