Ooops! I was kind of lost!!

[mestiza]

But my questionstill stands.   My doctor thinks I should get the treatment, but I don't know if a viral load of 27,000(and I hope I'm remembering that correctly, I wish I'd written it down somewhere, since its been about three months since my doc. appt). Genotype 1A. I guess I'm just scared.  Anywhere else I can read peoples experiences w/ treament or those who chose not to go that route?

[katethecatlady]

they went just below my ribs for the biopsy. Didn't hurt during at all just for a couple days later felt bruised.

[billm57]

telaprevir may be used for type 2 also - but not type 3 - its around 70% only for type 1 first timers - type 2 first timers around 95% - type 1 nonresponders dont fare as well -----( around 50% )  but its much better than any alternative

[WriteItDown]

The new treatment is for Genotype 1 patients (both 1a and 1b), and it raises the chances of success from around 40-50% to more like 75%.  It's called triple therapy, the new drug plus interferon and ribavirin, and the drug likely to be approved first is called Telaprevir.

Many people on here have been on clinical trials using it and you can read a lot about it on here.

[eureka254]

Ultrasounds, CT Scans and MRIs are useful for visualizing size of liver and detecting masses or tumors, but not useful for staging.  Fibrosis and progressing liver disease don't always show up on imaging -- the only accurate method of measuring your state of liver damage is through biopsy.

There are two common ways to biopsy the liver: percutaneous liver biopsy is more common, where they poke you in the side.  Transjugular biopsy is through the neck, where they access your liver by using the jugular vein (and yes, hcv james, it does pass the heart -- but not through it, rather parallel via inferior vena cava to the hepatic artery).  My husband had it done transjugularly because of bleeding issues, and though he was a nervous wreck before it, he says it was a cakewalk in hindsight, that the anxiety about the biopsy was far worse than the procedure itself.

Many things to consider in weighing out whether to treat and when to treat, but the information gained from a biopsy will be invaluable in helping you in the decision making process -- best of luck to you. ~eureka

[hcvJames]

Never heard of going through the neck to get to the liver. They aren't even in the same zip code. Wouldn't they have to go through the heart on the way? I don't know sound hinky.
A normal biopsy, through the side, is a piece of cake. Haven't heard of anyone complain of feeling pain.

Don't worry about it, get the biopsy it is the only way to get the info you need to proceed. Whether you treat now or a little later, you should treat.

[EyesofBlue55]

They go into your side for a liver biopsy.They will probably give you a light sedative if you tell them your nervous.The dr that did mine explained everything he was doing so there were no surprizes.It was painless and over in no time.Good Luck and keep us posted. cindy

[mestiza]

Thank you for your responses.  Yes the doctor I'm talking about is a specialist.   My regular doctor just told me that my enzymes were high, and scheduled my appt with the gastro/hepa. Just a little background ..I was first diagnosed about 13 yrs ago, and never really had any problems until recently and even those arent physical, I've been really tired lately, but I blame it on the weather or the onset of menopause,  The part that worries me a little is being type 1A, would this new treament have a better success rate or I guess it's hard to say cause it's not out yet.  I have not had a biopsy yet, but the specialist did recommend it. I had a ultrasound, cat scan and MRI. I'm a little scared to get a biopsy cause he said they go in through your neck or your side, correct?
I am very thankful that I found this site and I will look through the archives.  Thank you so much.

[kittyface]

Welcome to the forum!  Here you will find people in all stages of HCV and treatment (tx): those considering tx, doing tx or past tx.  Treatment experience is very individual so please read through the past archives and you'll get a good idea of your options.  You can search archives with the search function.

The viral load goes up and down and is not significant in your decision to treat or not.  The main issue is level of liver damage which can be determined through biopsy or fibroscan.  There are new drugs on the horizon which increase the odds of clearing and decrease tx time.  You may want to wait for those.  If your doctor a gastro or hepatologist?  I suggest going to a hepa because they should be up to date on HCV tx.

In the meantime, read all you can here including posts from several years back featuring lively debates on the pros and cons of tx.  Also, refrain from alcohol and try to eat a healthy diet.  

[WriteItDown]

Your viral load doesn't mean much in terms of how the disease may have progressed, but 27000 is very low, and it could allow you to treat for a shorter period of time (24 weeks versus 48) if you can wait to treat until the new drug, Telaprevir, comes out. Have you had a biopsy?  That's the only thing that really tells you how your liver is doing, how much the disease has progressed. In my opinion, if you get a biopsy and it shows you are not at a high stage, I would wait until Telaprevir comes out, probably within the year. It has a better chance of curing you than just interferon and ribavirin, the current standard of care.

By the way, is your doctor a hepatologist? I ask because I'm surprised a doctor would recommend treatment without you having had a biopsy, and would not potentially advise waiting for the new treatment.

Best of luck to you whatever you do.