after relapse

i went on a 48 week treatment , ribravin and peg interfron i was undetectable after 12 weeks and continued to 48 weeks . I relapsed after treament only 2 months after i finished treatment . Can i go back on treatment for a longer length ? My doctor stated that i need to wait for new future treatments. In the meantime i really want to try again ! W

[eureka254]

Sorry to hear about your relapse.  The short answer to your questions would be: yes, you can go back on treatment for a longer length, but the better answer is not so straightforward, imho.

Your desire to treat again -- is there any immediate urgency?   If you are fibrotic or cirrhotic, perhaps feeling the press of 'sooner rather than later' is understandable, but if your doctor is advising you to wait, perhaps you have minimal liver damage and time is not of the essence.

The current 'buzz' is that the newer, more effective drugs with shorter treatment durations (much shorter... think about 24 weeks instead of 72!) will be hitting the market within 2 years.  And if you are geno 1, the statistics seem to point to much improved SVR rates -- from 50% with current treatments to 80% or higher with the new drugs.  Keep in mind those SVR odds are better than even those treating for 72 weeks on the current SOC.  Whatever your decision, hope that helps.
~eureka

[Poobah_Johnny]

After you put so much into it, that just *****.
You should wait at least 6 months before retreating.
If you can hold out, wait for Telaprevir to become available.

From the Bronx huh?
Where were you treated?
Mt. Sinai here

[copyman]

listen to your doctor and wait for the new drugs. should be out next year.

[smuthpipez]

do u really think it will hit the market next year?

[smuthpipez]

i really dont know what stage ,  i never got the biopsy but i did get the sonogram and it looks good. normal liver functions. but i want to get rid of it ! i want to have one more child and i can't until the virus is gone . am 41 years old.  

[smuthpipez]

WHEN IS THIS MEDICINE BE OUT IN THE MARKET ? I SO WANT TO  GET RID OF THIS .

[copyman]

according to Vertex press conferences and some leading hepatologist's I have spoke with it will be sometime next year.

[rcfarm2013]

I am new to this forum but work @ a harm reduction clinic and have much experience w/ clients who hace Hep C.  My father has it from a blood transfusion in '83.  Sadly, this has become even more personal, as I was diagnosed today.  I just wanted to say that I am 39 and want to have another child, too.  It would be wise to weigh the risks/benefits around delivering a child when you have Hep C or waiting and trying to conceive as an 'older' woman.  If you get pregnant, you can schedule a c-section which drastically cuts the already low (5%) risk of transmission.  As for your own health, from the info you gave, you sound like a pregnancy with good prenatal care should present no problem.  As we get older the risks of carrying a healthy baby to term increase significantly, so is it 'worth it' - for lack of a better phrase - to wait.

[Diane12855]

I had a baby at 41 and another one 3 weeks before I turned 44 and I had been infected 20 years earlier but didn't know it. Both babies were fine. I did have C sections. You say you are 41, so if I were you I'd go ahead and have the baby, then do the treatment again when the new one comes out. My youngest is now 11 and I have to say that my energy level isn't what I want it to be for her. I have just found out about the hep c and haven't started treatment, so that might have something to do with my energy level. But still... for your sake as well as your child you should have one as soon as you can. Unless your hep c is advanced, of course.

Hope this helps some....
Diane

[eureka254]

Both rcfarm2013 and Diane12855 make seriously good points -- the risk of mom-to-baby transmission of hep c is 5% or lower. So, a few things to consider from a statistical standpoint, (keeping in mind that it's advised to wait at least 6 months after ribavirin exposure to conceive):  
If you're age 41, your chances of conceiving an abnormal pregnancy are actually a bit higher than the chances of your baby getting hep c from you... and the risks increase exponentially for you and your child every year that you get older.  
And, unfortunately, being that 48 weeks didn't seem to work for you, if you were to try the current treatment again, and are advised to do 72 weeks... that would mean possibly waiting another 2 years to conceive and quite likely labor and delivery at age 44 -- and I imagine that would be even more difficult for both you and baby on many levels, hep c or not.  Just some additional food for thought, with best wishes.
~eureka

[smuthpipez]

Thanks you do make sense.Dam i want another child so bad......this is sad.

[smuthpipez]

You gave me hope again , i will start trying i'll leave it in gods hands.

[smuthpipez]

Can you pass it on to your child even if your not the conceiver?

[Marcia2202]

No, only a mother can pass it on tho her child

[ablatt]

I just detected for HCV geno 3,So far i dont face any symtom at all and i has been advise by doc to start treatment in ***@**** read from posted forum,i'm awkward situation whether start treatment or skipped it.To all out thees pls share your experience or knowledge to my curiosity....
It's post treatment of HVC can it cause other diseases,sexual decline,mentally @ physically fragilty.....I'm Asian 34 yrs married ,no do drugs @ sex,so confuse ...pls advise me...

[WriteItDown]

I would advise go ahead and have the child, schedule a C-section. Your chances of passing on Hep C in that case will be very low.

As for re-treating, I would personally wait for the new drugs.  As a relapser you will have a much better chance of the second tx working with a PI added to the mix. However, maybe you should consider having a biopsy to see how your liver is doing. If it turned out you have very little damage, you might feel better about waiting.

The internet is full of info regrading success statistics of tx. I suggest you have a look and do a little research. The odds of success of a second tx for relapsers on SOC is pretty low; but  much better with triple therapy.

Good luck!

P.S. Eureka, the SVR odds you're quoting only pertain to treatment-naive patients. Unfortunately they are not that high for relapsers or non-responders. Ditto for treatment length.  Relapsers will still have to treat for 48 weeks, even with Telaprevir, as far as I'm aware.

[eureka254]

The SVR rates I gave are appropriate not only for naives, but for a relapser as well, which is what smuthpipez is; her post leads me to believe she is not a non/null responder:

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2008/061308_c.html
"73% of prior relapsers achieved SVR12 with 24-week telaprevir-based treatment.
41% of prior non-responders achieved SVR12 with 24-week telaprevir-based regimen."

The next trials for relapsers/non and null responder will indeed be for 48 weeks, but I believe that is to close the 73% gap. ~eureka

[WriteItDown]

I am sorry, you are correct. I was looking at the combined figures for relapsers and non-responders taken together, which was closer to 50%.