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Avatar universal

What do I do when finished?

New to this board. I started tx last July and just had shot 43/48. All is going much better then I expected. I have all the side effects (itchy, exhaustion, cranky, a little muddled, sleeping alot or not enough, cold alot,dry skin and I'm sure there's more that I can't think of right now). I must be lucky because all of these have been annoyances rather than deal breakers. I started at 3mil+ on my vl and went non-detectable in week 6. As I said it's pretty much been all good. I was also lucky enough not to need ad or sleeping pills. I have read enough on this board to get a little feel as to what to expect when I come off the treatment but I would like a little more if possible.. My question is what do I need to do when I come off treatment.Who has had good experiences coming off the treatment and do you attribute that to anything in particuler and the same with the bad experiences. How about diet and excercise.Hate the first and love the second. If I'm out to dinner with my wife can I now have a glass of wine and if not when if ever.Would like to resume my happy life but don't want to screw up the works. I'll try to be a regular poster as I'm a big cheerleader for the treatment.
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the comments to all. May we all get through this healthy!!
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Avatar universal
Celebrate!  Take your wife on a nice trip...sounds like she's a rock - like my husband was for me during tx.  I'm 6 mos post tx, 48 weeks, and it does take time to recover.  Keep drinking lots of water, get plenty of sleep and definitely exercise / stretch.  Yoga really helped me out.
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Avatar universal
A vacation would be nice but give yourself a month to regain your energy. It does not come back overnight. I didn't notice anything for a month when I stopped tx but when the energy did come back it was WONDERFUL.
I see a hepatologist and he said I could drink what I wanted since he did not feel I had a problem or drank excessively.  I did totally stop drinking 6 months before starting tx and did not drink on tx at all. I did not drink when I first got off tx but after my 3 month undetectable I did start having wine, most often with dinner. I also did not have any liver damage to start with as some people do.
I will be great to be done! LL
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Avatar universal
Sorry to bust in on this thread, but I thought Mike Simon and others would find this interesting.  I found it on the Life Extension Foundation's website:
_________________________________________

Green tea polyphenol protects transplanted livers

A study published in the March 2005 issue of Liver Transplantation found that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), one of the polyphenols found in green tea, protects livers from ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Ischemia reperfusion injury occurs during periods of decreased blood flow, which occur following liver transplantation.

Previous research found that the application of green tea to steatotic, or fatty livers prevented the failure of these organs following transplantation. Fatty livers are currently rejected as donor organs although the need for transplantable livers is critical. In the current study, investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston sought to determine whether green tea might protect fatty livers from ischemic reperfusion injury.

Kenneth D. Chavin, MD, PhD and colleagues pretreated mice with EGCG administered orally for five days or by injection for two days after which ischemic was induced, followed by reperfusion . A control group of mice in whom I/R injury had been induced were pretreated with sterile water orally or by injection.

While 35 percent of the control group died, all of the mice who received EGCG survived. Mice who received EGCG were found to have less cell death and a greater amount of viable tissue than the unprotected mice. Palmitic and linoleic acid, which are fatty acids present in high amounts in fatty livers, were signficantly decreased in the mice who received EGCG, and the mice were also found to have an increase in glycogen stores compared to the controls.

The researchers determined that EGCG's antioxidant property was responsible for providing the protection observed in this study. They concluded, "the data presented here indicate that EGCG protects the steatotic liver from I/R injury by reducing hepatic fat content, increasing energy stores, serving as an antioxidant, and, possibly, stimulating the production of additional antioxidants such as GSH [glutathione]."

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Avatar universal
While we're on the topic of green tea, here's something else I found at the Life Extension Foundation website:
____________________________

December 10, 2004

Drinking tea not as beneficial as taking green tea supplements

A study published in the December 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (http://www.ajcn.org/) found that green tea extract supplements offered greater bioavailability of polyphenols and increase plasma antioxidant activity compared to tea consumed as a beverage. Tea has been found to be protective against cancer and other diseases, and green tea polyphenols are taken in supplement form by many individuals to obtain their antioxidant and benefits.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles assigned three different sequences Darjeeling black tea, green tea or green tea capsules containing similar amounts of EGCG to 14 men and 16 women, with one week between each treatment period. Tea flavanol, theaflavin and caffeine were measured in the teas before administration to the participants. Blood samples collected before consumption of the tea or tea supplement, and at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours measured the polyphenols epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG).

Although polyphenol absorption after taking encapsulated green tea extract was delayed, it proved to be greater than polyphenol absorption from green or black tea consumed as a beverage. This led to the green tea supplement producing a small but significant increase in plasma antioxidant activity compared to black or green tea.

The authors conclude that “green tea extract supplements retain the beneficial effects of green and black tea and may be used in future chemoprevention studies to provide a large dose of tea polyphenols without the side effects of caffeine associated with green and black tea beverages.”

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Avatar universal
Any thoughts about taking Healthy Liver Version 2 during interferon treatment.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The protease inhibitor Valopicitabine or NM283 appears very promising and could go into phase 3 trials as early as next year!

http://www.hepatitisneighborhood.com/content/in_the_news/archive_2329.aspx

“No serious adverse events have surfaced in the trial so far, according to Nefdhal's team"

“As a result of the early trial results, valopicitabine appears to be adding substantial additional antiviral efficacy compared to pegylated interferon alone, Sommadossi said. If trial results continue to be positive, a phase 3 study could be launched in early 2006”.


Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
congrats on ur tx going so well.  If you read back a few weeks there was a very informative discussion on the consumption of alcohol by newcomers and oldtimers alike.  I've never been much of a drinker but i don't think its anything i would mess with, even after tx.  just my humble opine.
again - i can only hope for results as good as you've gotten
<3 chelle
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Avatar universal
Very interesting article. Thanks for posting. Mike
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Avatar universal
Personally, if I were on treatment, I wouldn't take it because it contains 900 mg. of milk thistle.  Others may have different opinions, but I'd be worried that the milk thistle would reduce the effectiveness of the combo treatment.

Susn
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Avatar universal
Well, the best parts will be no longer taking pills, regaining your memory, not being so tired or cranky. I felt better almost immediately, although it took about two weeks to say I was really better. I stopped exercising the year I was on tx and haven't really picked it up again. Oh yes, food will start tasting good again.

As far as alcohol goes, one dr told me moderate (3 glasses wine/beer per week) and one said nothing until 6 months PCR. I'd say moderate use won't kill you or the tx. You decide for yourself, of course.

The wierd thing, for me at least, was stopping doing something actively to battle HCV and instead having to wait for my PCRs.

Best of luck in your battle. You've come through one hard slog.
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Avatar universal
Thanks!   A trip is definitely in the works but my wife deserves it more then I do for putting up with me.  Hope yuour treatment goes as well as mine.
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Avatar universal
hmmmmm, celebrate your accomplishment? Maybe take a needed vacation or just relax..Pu your feet up, you've definately earned it..
I'm still on tx, so I can't imagine, but I sure can think of a few things I'm gonna do!! LOL!

As far as wine, depending on your level of liver damage, it should not be a problem at all. I'm a stage 2/3, and my Dr said to limit alcohol consumption to occassional usage. I stopped 100%, but thats just me.

Clear at week 6 huh? Man, your SVR odds are pretty high!! Good luck and I'm sure somebody experienced with post tx will come along.
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