Lack of brain function

I finished my 48 weeks of tx on March 18, 2011. Thankfully all of my sx have gone away except one. This one has me kind of scared that it won't go away. I have lost the ability to take in very much information. I get totally confused. By not being able to take in much info, I mean that when I watch TV on my small screen TV, I can't see the details like what the people are wearing. It is all I can do to get the story line. If there are any words on the screen that need to be read, I'm in big trouble because I am never able to read all of the words before they change screens. I used to be very quick witted, which was great fun in conversations, but now it takes me so long to come up with a response to people that I prefer to stay away from people because it is so frustrating.

Has anybody else experienced this after tx, and how long did it take to go away if ever?

[cieritaqt]

Hi! Congrats on completing the treatment, I am about to start TX in August with the new 3rd drug, Teleprevir. Anyway, Are you on other medication right now? Maybwe it could be a side effect. Are you saying that you feel "foggy"? I am sure proud of you for sticking it out. Do you have any advice for me?

[Diane12855]

My recommendation to you is to take all of your meds like your doctor tells you and don't quite when it gets bad.
I feel more than foggy... that is how I felt at the beginning of tx, now I almost feel retarded. My work requires a lot of mental acuity which isn't there so my husband is having to do a lot of my work. Thank goodness that we work together.

Still........... the virus is gone, so it is worth the price I have paid. I just really hope that my brain will get back to normal.

Diane

[charm27]

Srrry to hear your going thru brainfog. I can empathiize I went thru the same and it was bad..I will be    2 1/2 yrs I finished tx and I still have residuals of brainfog..it is copeable though.

Took me 12 months before most of it was gone. It does go away.

[Lifenet62]

I will be beginning tx hopefully by Labor Day and have brain fog now.  Having 3 closed head traumas  plus HCV is quite a blur at times.  I appreciate all the info posted here for knowledge. Using my voice recorder on phone helps much when I have thoughts. Otherwise it's like in one ear out the other even though it's in my own
head lol.   Best of luck. Stay the course! Positive minds rule.

[Diane12855]

I did the brain fog thing during tx. Wasn't too bad to be able to blame my dysfunction on it back then but now it seems to be different. I'm not sure if I'm glad or sad that it took you 12 months to deal with it. I need my brain for my job... have already been out of the loop for a year and really NEED to get back into it ASAP. I guess I'll just have to accept whatever comes along. DARN!

[Lifenet62]

Keep going forward.   We're alive and that's what counts. At least we're not alone.  Our higher power obviously had other plans for us  Find brain supporting foods and tones of water. Thank you for update. I need all the info around to prep for my tx. Good to chat w you. Behind every storm comes the peace.

[Diane12855]

Does anybody know what kind of brain supporting foods are good?

I'm drinking lots of fluids trying to flush my system clean of the drugs. I just really want to be able to be myself again. I've read about some saying that we can't say if these sx are from tx or would have happened without tx... that's a bunch of bunk. I was never anything like I am now... in 56 years. It feels like I am stuck in a stranger's body and I don't know how to deal with it.

[Susan_1a_CC]

There are a number of foods that are purported to be good for the brain - I'll check my books when I get the chance and let you know.  However, I've read that getting sufficient amounts of certain things like fish oil is not really feasible through food intake alone.  Here's a couple of recommended brain supporting supplements from the book "The Immortality Edge,"  by Fossel, Blackburn, and Woynarowski.  This book is based on Nobel prize winning research done on anti-aging.  The recommendations in the book are based on multiple studies.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALCAR)...plays a vital role in the production of acetylcholine - a neurotransmitter that is vital to the proper functioning of the brain & the entire nervous system

Phosphatidylserine... member of the lipid family that is essential component of cell membranes,,,low fat and low cholesterol diets and vegetarian diets can reduce amount of PS in the brain...impairing its ability to form, store, process, and remember.  As you age you need more PS...  (I added PS while on treatment because of brain fog and it helped.)

Exercise will also increase the oxygen flow to the brain and that can be helpful.

[Diane12855]

Thanks for the input. I'm already taking the fish oil and I bike at least 5 miles a day, but I will check into the other stuff you mention.

[cheesenrice]

from your original post it seems like vision is troubling you as much as cognition - i would think they influence each other - your posts always seem intelligent and rational - are you sure youre not being a bit hard on yourself - when we compare our past self with our present self despair is often a result - i know im not telling you anything you dont know - but sometimes it hard to think of - give yourself some more time its only 4 months post tx - maybe have your vision checked - research foods / supplements that support brain function

[curiouslady1]

Your post is scaring me away from treatment a little.  I have to maintain mental alertness to do my job.  I can only glide for a limited period and the economy is so bad I cannot afford to take time out.  I guess if (and when) I am in your shoes I would be doing very heavy aerobics, much more than biking 5 miles a day.  It would be close to an hour of sustained targeted HR in the aerobic zone  at least 5 days a week.  It is best that you get a HR monitor.  (subtract your age from 226 to get your Max HR, then exercise at 50-60% of Max for warm up, 60-70% for fitness and 70-80% for the aerobic zone).  It is the aerobic zone which will increase circulation and possible reduce concentration and attention problems.  "Aerobic Zone (Endurance Training) --- 70 - 80% of maximum heart rate: The aerobic zone will improve your cardiovascular and respiratory system AND increase the size and strength of your heart. This is the preferred zone if you are training for an endurance event. More calories are burned with 50% from fat."  It may not help of course but this is what I always try to do when I am looking at taking an exam or facing a tough surgery of some sort.  I have fallen so out of shape and have not been working out tht I am concerned that the tx sides will interfere in my ability to make use of my elliptical when I should really be accessing it.  But if you are physically able, this is what I would do and drink water the whole time of course and for a half hour before your vigorous work out.

[Merlin51]

I am also getting concerned -Was getting excited about new TX after relapse  on Peg Ribo in 2003 after 44 wks tx Just learned my company is being taken over by equity grp so I have fear of brain fog big time!!  I cannot afford to lose my job - wondering what can be done to ease fog and sx??

Anybody know of best HVC guys in Dutchess Cty NY??

[cheesenrice]

no need to be scared - if you cant keep up with your present exercise levels when on tx then you cant - do what you can - its always different for different people - im sure theres people that did no exercise made it to work and svrd and im sure theres people who exercised every day - well maybe not every day - that did not clear the virus

[curiouslady1]

Yes.  This is the biggest deterrant to tx. for me.  I am in a profession that requires mental alertness and is competitive.  I cannot not work and coasting will only do for a day here and there.  I have to be able to get off the toilet even if it means constipating myself with pain meds.  Heavy green tea usually keeps me awake and I have contained my caseload to late afternoon and eve. but during the times I work, I have to work well.  Billing and paying bills, seeing clients, organizing the office, etc. and now, trying to get paid for the work I have already done without losing my cool!!!  No one does it but me and no one will be available to do it.  The sides have to be minimized otherwise I have to take my chances with fate and the virus.  Life is not worth living if you no longer have a profession or a family.  I have lost one and I will not lose the other.  This is probably more than anyone needed or wanted to know but there it is.  This is why I am trying to get into the Pharmasset all pill trial.  At least I won't have to deal with interferon.  Dealing with a virus in an aggressive way when you have coexisted relatively peaceably for the last 40 years may not be a priority for all.  For many, maintaining a meaningful work life is essential.  

[flcyclist]

Brain fog hasn't taken its toll on me yet at week 13 on SOC.  Many people on this forum have stressful, demanding jobs that are/were able to continue working through trt, and took little or no time off.  Some days I have long board meetings that I have to chair and I get through it fine, but do come home exhausted.  The only time I've taken off so far is due to doctor's appts.  Others haven't been so lucky and needed to schedule for a leave of absence, etc.

Regarding exercise, I think it helps mental alertness and mood.   However, since fatigue is something that most experience during and after trt, maintaining your current exercise routine will be a challenge.  I wouldn't suggest to attempt an aggressive exercise regime at the beginning of trt.

Diane, I recall someone mentioning that one of the AD's seem to bring them out of the brain fog, but due to brain fog, i can't remember when/where I read it, lol.   It was an old post I read when doing a search.  If I find it, i'll post or send you a pm.

[curiouslady1]

Thank you fly.  I needed this post.  Sometimes it is hard to detach from the forum and put things in perspective.  Truth is I have evaded treatment lo this many years because I didn't like the odds.  But things could as easily go in my favor.  Ok, now what does AD stand for again?

[curiouslady1]

Along the same lines, the head of the liver dept. and the keeper of the keys to the trials at the university hospital told me that my LP and OLP could get worse,stay the same or improve! under treatment.  I had decided that it could only get worse.  Of course, perhaps the Riba rash is a distraction from other skin problems.  

[flcyclist]

Curiouslady: AD = anti depressants

Diane: not what I was looking for but interesting article on brain fog:
http://www.medkb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/hepatitis-c/6323/Brain-Fog-and-more-HCV-plus-Tx

[curiouslady1]

Fly that is so very helpful.  Thank you.  I forgot to ask my liver guy whether I could take steroid creams, antidepressants, pain meds on the trials.  I need to have access to these meds. for my own piece of mind if nothing else.  I had it in mind to take ADs prophylacticly because they take so long to kick in.  What good does it do if you are feeling depressed 4 weeks in to take an AD which doesn't kick in for another 4weeks to three months?  Of course, then you have to cope with the side effects from that drug too.  

[James10500]

I finished about 6 weeks before you did Diane.  Definetly have brain for ZERO memory I put my phone down about a week ago to put my dog on a leash AND FORGOT to pick it up !!  Walked away for a minute or so and was like wtf, it was weird.  vision pretty bad in the morning.  Like I've said in the past I'll give it a year.  Just glad to be virus free, I was stage 3.

[Diane12855]

I appreciate that article.  I tried to read it but my brain isn't up to it tonight, but I'll give it another try tomorrow.
Thanks

Diane

[curiouslady1]

That sort of thing happens to me a lot and I am not on treatment yet and I probably do not have cirrhosis yet.  I am 64 though and I know that diabetes when it is uncontrolled can also have this effect.  

[curiouslady1]

I think the upshot of the article is that we can have problems with our mental status because of the HCV infection alone, without significant liver damage and without treatment.

[rambleon40]

I finished interferon 12/08.  I was in a fog during treatment and for about two years afterwards.  I do not feel as though I have ever recovered my "sharpness".  Another under-reported side-effect ignored by FDA, physicians and certainly Big Pharma, IMHO.  

I found a discussion re: this issue, but please note the presenter (Dr. Blatlock, a neurologist)  is selling a "brain repair formula" so take it with a grain of salt.  He does, however, cite a number of recognized and legitimate medical journals at the end of the article.  

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/07/14/interferons.aspx

Please also note that I had become convinced that interferon / ribavirin damaged my brain before I ever found the above article.  

[rambleon40]

I respectfully and from the deepest part of my heart say that I would not recommend interferon therapy.  Perhaps Hep C will cut your life short.  Almost certainly, however, interferon combination  therapy will diminish the quality of your remaining time and may very well leave you with serious, lasting problems.  

My thyroid has gone bad.  I developed psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis during therapy - these are both very isolating, life shattering diseases.  "Creaky joints" is a very, very common side effect.  I have suicidal thoughts that I fight a lot and I suffered cognitive impairment.   I was really smart before and feel pretty smart now, but not as sharp as i was.

Also, the treatment failed for me.  It does fail.  I have since failure and since developing arthritis and psoriasis started really taking care of myself with respect to food and exercise.  (I should have done it before, I know).  Anyway, I am amazed at how my liver enzyme levels have dropped to almost normal just with really good habits.  

The metaphoric "apple a day" is far, far better than interferon therapy in my opinion.   The interferon alters your body too much - it is scary - they admit in literature that they don't even know how it works.  

The CDC reports that 95% of people with Hep C die with it not of it.  

I respectfully submit that while interferon helps some, it hurts others, and on balance it is a bad deal for society and for patients to engage in interferon therapy given the costs and the risks.  

I fairly strongly believe that reason and balance have been hijacked by BigPharma for corporate profit interests, to the harm of patients and our national economy.  

Note also the following article, particularly the statements by the UCLA Director of Clinical Medicine:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/22hepatitis.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=health&adxnnlx=1310899764-6GubmTVURIhX4TtEhO067g

[rambleon40]

Apolgies to all for the a priori regrettably un-edited, somewhat disjointed and a titch-too-much-drama rant  ....

Diane, please just consider that your good-intentioned and honest doctor relies on drug company-produced  and FDA-approved literature for guidance.  These sources do not (and cannot reasonably be expected to) provide the whole balanced truth.  

Which is why the smart money (that's you) is here finding out more!    

Be careful and God bless!  :-)

[Susan_1a_CC]

Here's a link that you might find interesting.  Although they are selling brain programs you can take various tests on this sight without buying anything. You'll get your test results and this will give you an understanding of which brain abilities might stil be l fine and which are not.  

http://www.positscience.com/games-teasers/mind-games/brain-speed-test

[curiouslady1]

I have not had any treatment.  Likely as a result of Hep c infection shortly after menopause, all the conditions you describe set in.  My thyroid had to be irradiated and I have incurable skin an oral problems along with diabetes.  I am chronically fatigued, sluggish and becoming less mentally alert.  All are well known as precipitates of HCV infection (along with a probable vulnerability). Sometimes things are not as they seem.  People can acquire conditions related to Hep C which are not liver failure or liver cancer.  If the treatment failed it is quite possible that you also are having hep c related, not treatment related, conditions.  Also, if the treatment failed, your tests are not normal.  The viral load, the most important, shows that you are infected.  All of my other tests have been normal or nearly so, for 40 years.  You can still get all these other conditions with normal blood tests.  Big Pharma and doctors are not responsible for all your woes.  It is your body mostly, that is rebelling against you.  

[curiouslady1]

I forgot to mention that the disorders kicked in between the ages of 48 and 52.  

[Susan_1a_CC]

Given your statement that big pharma and docs are not responsible for medical woes, I invite you to check the link I posted on the social side under Rant On.  Please read this and then let me know how you feel about what you read.

[James10500]

You have diabetes ?  I don't understand the point you tried to make.  I'm not 64 with a poor memory.  Putting my phone down, for 1 second and totally forgetting it is new to me.

As you said you have not treated, so why are you telling people who what's up ?

Get real.

[James10500]

who have *

[curiouslady1]

Susan,  note that I said "Big Pharma and doctors are not responsible for ALL your woes".  There are side effects for nearly all meds.  Seroquel is an anti-psychotic but it is important to note that people with Major Depression do have psychotic symptoms.  I didn't read the whole thread so I don't know what you were responding to.   I do not like psy medication and I think that most of the time psychotherapy of a substantial frequency suits just fine.  Howevr, when speaking about something like Hepatitis I don't think it is a good idea to take an extreme view against doctors or medication.  

I was on another thread for a time re a new approved med for another condtion (not Hep).  There were some on the list who, likewise, had a tendency to attribute all their symptoms to the med.  and the incompetent doc who was treating them.  I do believe we need to advocate for each other and our families and would never go under anaesthesia without someone standing by to ensure I wasnt the victim of a med error.  However, I also feel we need to pick our docs and our treatments before hand and then have some faith that they know what they are doing.  It also helps to realize tht we are dealing with a powerful enemy and can feel helpless at times.  Helplessness can push us into looking for a target that seems within our control when really, it is in the hands of the gods.  

[Diane12855]

I appreciate your input. Somebody said something about my vision... I think you are thinking about somebody else. I only have presbyopia... you know... when you can't see up close after 40.
I already did my 48 weeks, so there isn't any undoing that. I was UND after the first 6 weeks post tx, and my doc isn't going to check me again till September which will be 6 months post tx.
My job is a real estate title abstracter... I have to be able to keep names and details in my head till I finish a title search... details like the dimensions of a piece of property... mortgages, taxes, judgements against property owners both present and previous. My poor husband has had to do the hard searches for me so far because I can't keep the details in my head. I guess in a way I'm glad that the real estate market has slowed down. I had to quit working last June because I made a $1,900.00 mistake that we have to pay and we can't afford that... not after paying my 5,000.00 deductible on my insurance so it would pay for my tx.

For people reading this and thinking they don't want to do tx because of it... base your decision on the condition of your liver. If it is worse than stage 2 you just have to sacrifice a year or so in order to save your liver. As nygirl often says, and I agree with her completely... all of these problems are nothing compared to end stage liver disease.

[rambleon40]

I'm a bit puzzled  that Kellogg's has linked to my post above on "good habits"!

[rambleon40]

Big Pharma HAS hijacked sanity in medical care.  While chiropractors and other alternative med providers have been saying it for almost 20 years, I am now finding more and more physicians saying (and feeling) the same way.  

It may also be that we have let them do it.  

Want to fight diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol and depression?  Buy a bicycle and use it daily.  

Here's an interesting take on BigPharma and antidepressants from, of all places, Aljazeera - English:  

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/07/20117313948379987.html

Here's a beautiful clip on bike riding, health and society in large:

http://www.grist.org/biking/2011-07-07-detroit-reborn-as-bike-city-video

[rambleon40]

In response to your post about "natural progression" ... I was there.  You are 100% wrong.  Ou rlocal Hep C specialist also attributes it all to interferon / ribavirin.  

What I have is not "natural progression."  Upon cessation of interferon, I had an explosion of bizarre symptoms in my body that have not until recently "plateaued" (all of my nails have gone icky - it's horrifying).  My nether regions have psoriasis.  Some days I fear I will lose the ability to ambulate - other days are good.  I have mental lability - way up, way down - recognized neurological side-effect.  It's easing as time passes.  

my ankles, feet, knees, hips, wrists, fingers, palms, right elbow.  all have developed arthritis in the last two years, all starting about two months cessation of treatment and steadily getting worse.  If i can't stop it, it will kill me because i won't live as a cripple in pain.  

I am getting through all this. I have no choice.  I pray and meditate every day.   I try not to be angry.  Anger just ruins and hurts me.  

But I am telling you that I was counseled by the doctors that I would have "fatigue and flu like symptoms."  I read the literature and warnings that accomapnied the drugs.  "Psoriasis" went right over my head - i had no idea that  would mean that I might wind up socially isolated due to plaques where the sun doesn't shine.  Psoriatic arthritis was not mentioned.  

Neurological brain damage was not mentioned.  

I informed my doctor of the "serious side effect" of skin rashes as the literature told me to do - he just shrugged.  At the end of treatment when I asked him about the skin rashes, he said, "Oh, they'll go away"

One month post-treatment to 3 months post treatment, I could not eat any even moderately spicy food - it burnt my mouth so bad.  That is not natural progression.  That is bizarre, "you have whacked out my body" stuff.

The worst side effects may come after treatment is stopped.    

The following is from 2002, so it may be dated and one may want to look at more recent statistics.  

"Seventy-five to 85 percent of those exposed to the virus develop chronic infection. But if you are chronically infected, there is an 80 to 90 percent chance that you will never develop cirrhosis, and a 95 to 99 percent chance that you will not die from chronic liver disease."

http://www.hepcprimer.com/patient/book_excerpt.html  


I have lost my physical powers from interferon / ribavirin.  I had no idea it was possible.  I wake up most mornings feeling like I have been in a bar fight, i hurt so bad.  It is hard, because if one is in a fight or an accident, one recovers.  Inteferon / ribavirin kicks my butt every day and will do so for the rest of my life.  

[curiouslady1]

I believe you have misinterpreted what I wrote.  I also think you have misinterpreted some of the other information available to you.  I am sorry that you are one of the unfortunate few who have developed awful symptoms as a result of treatment and very sorry if I have offended you in some way.  However, if this were such a benign virus than why would everyone be so concerned about getting rid of it?  Actually, there are other diseases that can be stimulated through Hep C infection and not just liver failure but I think the rate of never developing cirrhosis is more like 70% rather than 80 to 90%.  I recall a poster indicating that she was stage 0 for more than 20 years and then within a few more went into stage 2 to 3 with some bridging.  The court is still out on the actual incidence of decompensation because people are still alive.  Hopefully, you will find a way to live a good life despite all. You probably made a good decision with what you knew at the time but were terribly unlucky.  

[coeric]

i am sorry you had a hard time with post treatment side effects. please take a look at the following information. the median age for progression to cirrhosis is 60-65.  your information is out of date.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/554637_3

Patients' characteristics are given in Table 1 . The median age at infection was 25 years (25% quartile= 19 years; 75% quartile=37 years), and the median disease duration was 14.5 years (25% quartile=10.2 years; 75% quartile=19.4 years).

The median rate of progression for all 247 patients was 0.13 U of fibrosis/year which gives an estimated time to cirrhosis of 30.8 years. This rate of fibrosis progression varied according to age at infection (Fig. 1) and was 0.13 for patients infected before 20 years of age, 0.14 for 20–24 years, 0.27 for 25–36 years and 0.36 for patients with an age at infection above 36 years (Kruskal–Wallis test gives P25 kg/m2 had a significantly higher progression rate than patients below this threshold. ALT level was also associated with fibrosis progression with a faster rate when ALT>3 × ULN. However, there was no association between the rate of progression and gender or genotype ( Table 2 ).


(Enlarge Image)
Figure 1.
(a) Rate of fibrosis progression according to age at infection given in quartiles. (b) Time to cirrhosis according to age at infection given in quartiles.

Based on the median rate of progression, patients were then classified as fast progressors (progression rate above 0.13 U of fibrosis/year) and slow progressors (progression rate below 0.13) and univariate and multivariate analysis were conducted to detect factors possibly associated with a fast progression. Table 3 indicates that only age at infection above 36 years seems to be associated with fast fibrosis progression. However, as BMI information was only available for a limited number of cases (n=25), this variable was excluded from the multivariate model.

Based on each individual rate of progression, the estimated age at cirrhosis in the absence of treatment was then calculated for all patients according to disease duration. The estimated age at cirrhosis was 65.4, 64.6, 64.8 and 69.4 years for patients with an age at infection ≤19, 20–24, 25–36 and ≥37 years, respectively (P=0.004). Thus, except for the latter group, all patients were calculated to develop liver cirrhosis at the age of approximately 65 years.

To see whether age at cirrhosis varied according to particular patients' profiles, the estimated age at cirrhosis was presented according to three parameters: age at infection, gender and genotype (Fig. 2). Although the number of patients in each category is rather small, this figure indicates that only women with an age at infection below 37 years and infected by a genotype non-1 have a much higher estimated age at cirrhosis (89 years). In all other groups, age at cirrhosis is quite homogeneous and around 60–65 years (P=0.11).


(Enlarge Image)
Fgure 2.
Estimated age at cirrhosis (in years) according to age at infection, gender and genotype (n=137).

[coeric]

here is the introduction for the results section of the article i posted above.

Progression to Cirrhosis in Hepatitis C Patients: An Age-dependent Process
Pierre Pradat; Nicolas Voirin; Hans Ludger Tillmann; Michèle Chevallier; Christian Trépo
Authors and Disclosures
Posted: 04/23/2007; Liver International. 2007;27(3):335-339. © 2007  Blackwell Publishing
  
Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

Background: Age at infection is known to be associated with disease progression rate in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients. The aim of this study was to assess when cirrhosis is expected to occur according to host and viral factors.
Methods: Fibrosis progression was studied in 247 naive HCV patients using multiple regression analysis. The expected age at cirrhosis was calculated for each patient.
Results: Progression rate was 0.13, 0.14, 0.27, and 0.36 U of fibrosis/year for patients with age at infection ≤19, 20–24, 25–36 and ≥37 years, respectively. Age at infection above 37 years was independently associated with fast progression (rate>0.13; P=0.001). Body mass index >25 kg/m2 and alanine aminotransferase>3 × ULN are also possibly associated with faster progression. Based on progression rates, the expected age at cirrhosis is 65.4, 64.6, 64.8 and 69.4 years for age at infection ≤19, 20–24, 25–36, ≥37 years, respectively.
Conclusion: Most HCV patients, if untreated, are expected to develop cirrhosis at about 65 years, irrespective of the age at infection. Thus, age itself seems even more important than age at infection for predicting the occurrence of liver cirrhosis. A specific active monitoring and therapeutic approach should be adopted in older patients to prevent progression to cirrhosis and its complications.

[CaughtOffGuard]

I found an article this morning about interferon treatment and it's affects on the brain.  I posted the link so that everyone could read it.  Personally, I feel that the risks are much greater than we have been told.  Please check it out and let me know what you think.

[coeric]

thank your for the informative link.

if i thought that i could remain in compensated cirrhosis for the next 5 to 7 years without decompensation, i might try to wait for the interferon sparing treatment.  i slipped into cirrhosis after about 25 years with the infection. i believe antibiotics caused a rapid progression into cirrhosis.  

i am very aware of the dangers of these drugs and i expect to feel much worse after i treat than prior to treatment, but the prospect of a slow miserable death as a result of end stage liver disease is not something i care to experience.

blessings
eric

[CaughtOffGuard]

I know what you mean. It's a no brainer!  LOL  I will be praying for you to have an early response and SVR!  

smiles,
christina

[rambleon40]

Thank you for the update info on cirrhosis.  

Our local Hep C expert doc (who, from what I hear form the local VA pharmacist, makes people deaf, gives them crippling joint pain, etc in curing Hep C - he really likes to attack it) told me that a person with cirrhosis has a 5% chance per year of developing liver failure.  

The local doc is Bennet Cecil.  He actually has a very informative website.  google him.

I had long ago come to terms with the idea of my death.  We all die.  C'est la vie.  We might die of a car wreck or a heart attack or an aneurysm or lung cancer.  Having Hep C doesn't mean we die of end-stage liver disease.

Part of my issues are that I was very hesitant to do the treatment but had family members ceaselessly pushing me to do it ...

Ah, I might have been cured with no side effects, either.   I still think the side effects are way understated and lots of those who treat end up with side effects (altered psyche, slight cognitice impairment, joints that start to hurt three months post-treatment) that they (and their doctors and Roche and the FDA) never link to the treatment.  

Anyway, GOOD LUCK  to all.  Thank you for your patience, kind words and comments.  Gotta go live while I can!   :-)

[coeric]

i agree with you, i always thought that something beside liver disease would kill my first, so i put off treatment.  now i am experiencing cirrhosis.  i believe that additional scarring caused by a course of antibiotics caused me to progress more rapidly. in two years my platelets dropped from over 200,000 to about 100,000.  

another very well informed member of forum says that after an operation he got very ill and decompensated very quickly, perhaps because of the drugs he received during the operation.  we encounter various toxins in life that a healthy liver can handle, but these toxins will destroy what is left of a compensated cirrhotic liver.

i am concerned that should i slip into decompensation, i will be a burden to society and the health care system.

thank for the Bennet Cecil information.  i was thinking about him recently. i believe he had an idea that he could get to SVR by treating folks until that became undetected. he would stop interferon, and then he would wait until patients virus became detectable. at that point he would reintroduce interferon. he would repeat the cycle until the patients immune system was trained to fight off the infection. i wonder how that worked out.

blessings
eric

[flcyclist]

I believe the following thread that was recently bumped was the one I was referring to earlier.  You might have already seen this, but in case not, here you go......

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Post-treatment-symptoms/show/1542774