Aa
Possible for liver to start healing during treatment?
I just had a slew of tests run yesterday for EOT (72 weeks with a cEVR) and am still waiting on the PCR. Had an ultrasound done and I was interested in their findings as compared to my last one of Sept. 2009. My last bx and the Stage 4 Grade 3 dx was in Nov. 2008. I asked the Dr. about it and she thinks that if I reach SVR I could possibly see more improvement as time goes on as well.
"History from IDA:
* CHRONIC HEPATITIS C WITH CIRRHOSIS
ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUND COMPARISON: 9/18/09.
FINDINGS: The hepatic echotexture is only mildly heterogenous on the current examination. No surface nodularity is appreciated. No intrahepatic bile duct dilation or discrete mass is identified. Small mobile gallbladder calculus measuring approximately 4 mm. No gallbladder wall thickening or pericholecystic fluid. The common duct is normal in size. The pancreas appears normal. The spleen is normal in size.
IMPRESSION:
1. No liver mass identified.
2. Cholelithiasis, unchanged."
I can't tell you how many times I've read and re-read these words in this report hoping that this could be happening. I always thought the liver got a good "break" on tx, but never even comtemplated that healing might also occur.
Pam
"History from IDA:
* CHRONIC HEPATITIS C WITH CIRRHOSIS
ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUND COMPARISON: 9/18/09.
FINDINGS: The hepatic echotexture is only mildly heterogenous on the current examination. No surface nodularity is appreciated. No intrahepatic bile duct dilation or discrete mass is identified. Small mobile gallbladder calculus measuring approximately 4 mm. No gallbladder wall thickening or pericholecystic fluid. The common duct is normal in size. The pancreas appears normal. The spleen is normal in size.
IMPRESSION:
1. No liver mass identified.
2. Cholelithiasis, unchanged."
I can't tell you how many times I've read and re-read these words in this report hoping that this could be happening. I always thought the liver got a good "break" on tx, but never even comtemplated that healing might also occur.
Pam
You've done all you can possibly do now Pam so just rest in that for a while. God knows having been there how dreadfully long 72 weeks really is but it should have upped your odds - I really really really hope and pray so!!!!!!!!
It does seem too good to be true, especially since I was so ill for the last 12 weeks or so. Time will tell.
Susan, my blood tests were pretty good at EOT. Hgb jumped a gram to 9.8, still low, but Dr. said I should see steady improvement of that. platelets 250, INR - 1.0, Creatinine - .80. Ast and Alt's were still stuck where they have always been during tx - 88 and 60, respectively. Albumin still low at 3.3 and Glucose elevated at 111, WBC's 3.0 and Ab neut - 1.8.
Best news of all, this morning got my EOT PCR...still undetectable!!! I'm only going to do another PCR at 6 months and then at 1 year post. Keeping my fingers crossed until then.......
Pam
Susan, my blood tests were pretty good at EOT. Hgb jumped a gram to 9.8, still low, but Dr. said I should see steady improvement of that. platelets 250, INR - 1.0, Creatinine - .80. Ast and Alt's were still stuck where they have always been during tx - 88 and 60, respectively. Albumin still low at 3.3 and Glucose elevated at 111, WBC's 3.0 and Ab neut - 1.8.
Best news of all, this morning got my EOT PCR...still undetectable!!! I'm only going to do another PCR at 6 months and then at 1 year post. Keeping my fingers crossed until then.......
Pam
According to my blood work 6 months post tx (72 wks) my liver enzymes were completely normal and I was 3/4 starting tx and relapsed. Throughout tx my enzymes were a bit elevated but towards the end they normalized and stayed there. That may not be the case now as it will be 1 year post tx in August but I'm quite sure some kind of stabilization of my liver occurred during tx. In my opinion, I don't think the liver has time to regenerate during treatment because we're bombarding it with high powered drugs but I do think the tx drugs and the absence of virus stop the progression of fibrosis.
Actually, I will find out what the health of my liver is sometime after October because it will be 3 yrs since my last biopsy and I want a current biopsy for treatment purposes in 2011 whether it be with the PI's or something else.
I think it was Andiamo who had a biopsy 2 yrs post tx after finally SVR'ing with a round of Telaprevir. He was stage 3 prior to SVR and 2 years after still stage 3 but many studies report liver histology improves in time after SVR.
Trinty
Actually, I will find out what the health of my liver is sometime after October because it will be 3 yrs since my last biopsy and I want a current biopsy for treatment purposes in 2011 whether it be with the PI's or something else.
I think it was Andiamo who had a biopsy 2 yrs post tx after finally SVR'ing with a round of Telaprevir. He was stage 3 prior to SVR and 2 years after still stage 3 but many studies report liver histology improves in time after SVR.
Trinty
I didn't know it was possible during tx, but if it is, that's great news! I only have 41 weeks to go and I'm hoping to feel better than I have in years. I'm one of the lucky ones who had pre tx sx. Didn't realize what was happening to me till I got my dx in January... then the previous few years decline in health made since finally.
Boy! I will be great to feel good again!
And yes, I know there are no guarantees... but I'm going to believe it until it proves untrue.
Boy! I will be great to feel good again!
And yes, I know there are no guarantees... but I'm going to believe it until it proves untrue.
I still haven't quite broken the stride of getting up in the morning and reaching for my meds...... "
You know it was hard to break like it felt like I was doing something wrong so I started taking my vitamins at that time. And then you can always take a vitamin C and some D they are great for those of us with liver disease and it sort of helped wean me off of that habit. It sounds silly but it worked!
You know it was hard to break like it felt like I was doing something wrong so I started taking my vitamins at that time. And then you can always take a vitamin C and some D they are great for those of us with liver disease and it sort of helped wean me off of that habit. It sounds silly but it worked!
Hi Pam,
Happy to hear you're in the clear with your U/S.
After a long treatment at such high dosing, it must feel great to reach for those bottles out of habit and then each and every time realize it's all behind you now. No more riba, no more injections.
How are your other routine lab numbers doing so far? My monocytes stayed stubbornly elevated for longer than the others but other than that, I saw some big changes pretty fast.
TTYL and congrats,
Susan
Happy to hear you're in the clear with your U/S.
After a long treatment at such high dosing, it must feel great to reach for those bottles out of habit and then each and every time realize it's all behind you now. No more riba, no more injections.
How are your other routine lab numbers doing so far? My monocytes stayed stubbornly elevated for longer than the others but other than that, I saw some big changes pretty fast.
TTYL and congrats,
Susan
I feel that liver does improve on TX. I had same biopsy results as yours (3/4), also in Nov. 08. I had bloodwork evidence that my liver was repairing during TX. Couldn't tell that platelets were getting better, since the treatment wreaks havoc with bone marrow, but AST/ALT normalized quickly after clearing the virus. Best bloodwork evidence was that blood clotting time went back to well within normal range about 10 months after the beginning of treatment. The liver makes the clotting factors that cause normal clotting. My cirrhotic liver apparently was not making the factors, then later it was.
Yeah, I hear ya about wanting to put it behind you. I still haven't quite broken the stride of getting up in the morning and reaching for my meds......
This US was the routine one for HCC and normally I wouldn't put much stake in it as a definitive staging tool, but used comparatively I think it holds merit, at least I hope so. Some years down the line (and if I do SVR) I would like to have a test done to see if I had improved my dx at all, but hopefully something other than a liver bx will be available by then.
This US was the routine one for HCC and normally I wouldn't put much stake in it as a definitive staging tool, but used comparatively I think it holds merit, at least I hope so. Some years down the line (and if I do SVR) I would like to have a test done to see if I had improved my dx at all, but hopefully something other than a liver bx will be available by then.
I don't know how much I guess would depend on the person. I never had a post treatment biopsy as much as I said I was going to. After 72 I just wanted to put it away and biopsy is just so stressing. It's too bad you didn't get a biopsy rather than an ultrasound it might have told a much broader story but either way it sounds like FANTASTIC news to me..........but I'm hardly the science guy on this forum!!!!!!!
Here's hoping and praying for the great PCR!~
Here's hoping and praying for the great PCR!~
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