Portal Hypertension

Hello all....New on this post but have surfed thru many times and learned a lot.  HepC Dx 4/5/02 I had Just returned from 15 months in Belize & had cracked ribs & bruised spleen. Blood labs were low and ast & alt high. WBC was 1.4 so bone marrow biopsy done DX was swolen spleen and cirrosis (cirrhosis), platelets have been around 50 so no Tx yet. I now have WBC-3.3 RBC-4.3 HGB-14.2 HCT-40 PLT-53 AST-142 ALT-160 Iron was 70 now 273, viral count 811,ooo Geno 1a .  I have been reffered to CU in Bolder but have serious insurance problem as closed business last yr & lost all coverage.  Gasto wants scope, CAT, alpha-fetoprotein & work up on hip and lower back pain.  Have appt next month but he is changing blood pressure from lotensin 20-12.5 (ACE inhibitor) to Corgard 40mg (BETA blocker) to lower portal hypertension by lowering heart rate by 25%.  MD makes change in meds and tells me to stop everything for three days and then start Corgard, all info on lotensin or any other blood pressure med I've taken in the past say Never Stop all at once.  Anyone know half life of Lotensin and does this sound correct to you?  Also looking for comments from others about all these test and progression of cirrosis (cirrhosis) from compensated to decompensated. Sorry to ramble but thanks for the ear and any comments you may have!! Faith Looks Toward The Future! RP