UND @ 4 months post early quit

[pigeonca]

Here's some fantastic news for those folks who wonder what quitting early portends.  I'm a geno 2, stage 2, grade 2, with a starting VL of 1,250,000.  I've had hcv for at least 15 to 20 years, and I'm 63 years old.  Because of an autoimmune condition that was exacerbated by treatment, the doctor pulled me off riba after 12 weeks, and off Interferon the following week, i.e. the 13th week of tx.  Fortunately I was UND on bloodwork taken after my 4th week of tx, which was a good sign - and I was taking weight-based riba (1,000 mg per day while I weighed 147 at start, 133 when treatment was discontinued).  So I felt that I was skirting the edge.  I had RVR and dosage in my favor, age and VL against me.

Thank God. thank my doctors, thank everybody on this forum for your support.  I figure my odds are around 98-99% of SVR at 6 months - does that sound about right?  Whatever the numbers are, they're pretty good, I believe.

Now the question is: What should I do to improve the architecture of my beloved liver?  Add onions, eggs and schmaltz and serve on rye?  Or vitamins and herbs?  What do people recommend?

Love and good health to all,
pigeon

[ladybug52]

So happy to see your post. I'm sure you will go on to maintain the und and become SVR. I like mremeet's theory. Makes sense to me!
CONGRATS!!
hugs,
Bug

[pigeonca]

Straight schmaltz spread on bread?  Yuk!  I've heard of it, but never seen it.  My grandfather ate like that in the old country as a boy - chicken once a week was their only meat.  As an American, he never really developed a taste for meaty main courses - his ideal meal was pancakes for an entree, and chocolate cake for desert.  No straight schmaltz anymore, at least as far as I ever saw.

[orphanedhawk]

Yes!!!  Great news.  Mazel Tov
      I realized the other day I'd actually gone for hours without thinking about HCV, tx, any of it. Sure felt good.      
      I have cirrhosis. Although my Alt and Ast had come down during tx, they sorta plateaud and didn't make any significant change until about 6 weeks after I started taking SAM-E.  If I could only take two supplements for my liver, it'd be SAM-E and milk thistle.
BTW: I remember the first time my husband saw my mother eat a piece of bread with schmaltz spread on it. His eyes popped out of his head.
    Keep up the good work.

[pigeonca]

You know what?  It IS relaxing to be basically SVR, and I realize I haven't relaxed since diagnosis, so it feels very different to me.  I've been holding my breath for over a year.  I feel the way one does after getting off a very scary amusement park ride.  I lived through it after all.  Happy hump day.

[niceguy2007]

pigeon congratulations!!!  it must feel so relaxing and so good now!

[Verdugo]

Love hearing the success stories!   Very happy for you.

V.

[Myown]

I'm so happy to hear this!!!!! Wish you the best!!

[pigeonca]

I was on Peg-Intron; hence taking the risk of treating for only 13 weeks.  That's an interesting theory about immune systems - it makes sense.  My condition, which is a cutaneous form of scleroderma, became very much worse on tx.  It began about a year and a half before my liver enzymes rose, which then led to the hcv diagnosis.  I have a hunch that the meds for the scleroderma may have exacerbated the hcv, causing the enzymes to rise.  I also have a hunch that the hcv caused the scleroderma in the first place by putting my immune system into overdrive, exactly as you observed.  When I suggested to my rheumatologist that - whenever he gets a patient with idiopathic autoimmune disease - he should test for hcv antibodies, he barely deigned to respond, but of all my docs, he's the one in whom I have the least confidence.  He seems to be there primarily to consult - as per protocol - with my dermatologist, who is great, rather than to interact with me, merely the patient.

Since finishing tx, my skin has improved remarkably.  There will always be scars from the scleroderma, but nothing new has formed, and all the redness and irritation have vanished.  Hopefully there will be no recurrences.  In the meantime, I'm gloriously happy.  I've been saving a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild for this occasion - gonna drink it this weekend and toast to SVR for everybody on this forum.

With love and best wishes,
pigeon

[sunspot]

I just love it when people are cured. Such great news.

[GoofyDad]

Great news for you... and encouraging news for all.

[Forseegood]

wow, Interesting!

Goldyn: aaaah, thanks of thinking of me, so glad youre still posting, youre so kind and informative...

[jmjm530]

Curious, were you tx with Pegasys or Peg Intron? The Peg Intron short course was 12 weeks in one study while it was 16 weeks with Pegasys.

[jmjm530]

Excellent news! While we can debate the long course versus short course odds -- it's clear that the shorter course odds are still quite good with RVR and esp since you were on weight-based ribavirin. My doc might argue that your age suggest the longer course, but I know at least two other docs who would say that RVR trumps age.

All the best,

-- Jim

[Tallahassee]

Excellent news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mremeet]

Way to go, that's awesome news! That's amazing that you managed to rid yourself of the hcv cooties so quickly using SOC alone in such an extremely short period of time. Autoimmune disease can be a real problem (although usually effectively managed with prednisone and immuran), but in this case it may have actually been partially responsible for evicting your viral squatter. As I'm sure you already know, automimmune disease is where your immune system is overly excited, so much so it actually attacks your own body. Unfortunately the overactivity does not necessarily mean the immune system is effectively channeled and focused into destroying the virus. This leaves the virus intact to do its damage and when compounded with the harmful autoimmune effects, you can have a deadly mix on your hands. What might have happened in your case is that the drugs probably shifted the balance of power inside your body by applying direct antiviral effects (via riba/IFN) and also indirect/referred antiviral effects (via IFN) to further ramp up your immune system even more. Exacerbating your existing autoimmune condition can be very dangerous, but on the flipside it can also make things much harder on the virus too. Combine the "much harder" part with the direct antiviral effects of the treatment drugs, and the virus might very suddenly find your body to be a cauldron of hell incapable of sustaining its existence any longer. So hellish in fact, that a mere 12 weeks of treatment can get rid of it. That's pretty darned amazing, especially considering how response rates significantly diminish for more mature people. Count your lucky stars, I'd be very very happy if I were in your shoes!!

How does your doctor plan on handling your autoimmune condition now? Has it gotten any worse after going on (and off) the interferon? I'd be a little concerned about taking prednisone so soon after stopping treatment, although I doubt it'll reactivate the virus (assuming there's a possibility it's still there at very low levels etc). Any luck you wont need prednisone, or if you do it'll be at a very low maintenance dose combined with immuran to make it even lower. Whatever happens, best of luck to you, and congrats on your SVR - amazing!!

[PSP-n-Me]

I pray you remain virus free - I am very intereseted in your case, the shortened treatment is a hot topic now
*dip*

[goldyn]

pigeon---That is fantastic wonderful news you are svr......

To forsee----See this is a forseeing good sign that you will be svr too...wow.....

[meki]

Nah --- it's on my screen too... We took the same hit of acid at South Park. LOL!

[Forseegood]

naaaw, really, guess it might be only on my screen? But it says the title of your thread, with my handle under it...I knew there was something weird about that pomegranate  juice I drank...

[pigeonca]

It's late.  Happy trails to you.

[Forseegood]

hey, maybe it's late, or I'm seeing things, but it looks like I make this thread???

[Forseegood]

in the red wine that makes it good for you, sans the alcohol I'm afraid, he he...but anyway, the way it's priced you think you were buying a fine margeaux! lol...

[pigeonca]

Could that possibly mean that red wine in bottles is helpful too?  (I'm hoping.)

[Forseegood]

as to your question about helping the architecture of your liver and some things to try, we gotta friend that is a big time researcher lives hereabouts, and he can talk a long time about that stuff...lol...one of the main things he recommends is resveratrol...red wine in pills, :)