begining treatment now or postpone

Hello all,I am a male 42 years old, have just been diagnosed with hep c. Viral load is 5,000,000 plus. Do not know the geno type yet, or how long Ive had it,Have had a biopsy and it came back that I have scerosis but the doc did not say what stage.he did say I have inflamation (inflammation) of liver(8 on a scale to 16) I see from posts here that I need to see about getting copies of all my lab resualts. Question is: I am the only wage earner at this time,wife just grad. from a tech school for admin. med. assit. but can not seem to find work right now.We know she will get something,but not when.I am afraid that I will get hit hard by the sides,as I have had fatiuge and joint pains for a few years now.Have a very physical job installing commercial doors and hardware.Do y'all think I should wait to see if wife gets a job?or go ahead and start tx?we do not make it from my income as is.
Not sure what the drug combo is going to be,but the drug Co. is byfeild or something along those lines.any suggestions would be great, and thank you all for the support here. I have told my family to check this site out to help them understand what is going on with me. Now if I can just understand it my self...
thanks again,    Shawn

[shebee]

Hi there, and welcome to the board.

If you have insurance, I would advise to treat now.  Meds cost a small fortune.  

Hubby's (has hep) job was very physical and he did not miss any days.  I must admit that he felt very bad, and he lived in a constant brain fog.

If you wife is not working, she will be able to do a million things for you that you will not be able to do.  She will find out very quickly if she meant that "for better or worse" clause in your vows.  LOL!  You will probably get breakfast in bed in the mornings...and on some weekends, lunch, and dinner, too!


If you are already at the cirrhosis stage, then you should probably treat now.  New meds are on the horizon, but they are a few years+ down the line.  If you can stop the hepC now, your liver will stop being damaged.  (Chances are pretty good that you will clear.)


Tx (treatment) is like a 24-48 week flu.  You usually start feeling better right before your next shot.  LOL!!!

Seriously, tx is bearable, and many have very mild side effects.
If you start tx now...you will find during the fall/winter months everyone else is feeling bad, too, with colds/flu & etc.  So if you are not up to par, nobody will notice.

You might want to share with people at work, but hubby chose not to do this.  Sometimes others are supportive, but sometimes you will be treated like you have the bubonic plague.  

Best wishes,
Shebee

[relentless]

Everyone has to make what is a very tough decision on tx.  Some people have all of the side effects....some people have very few, and some have everything in the middle.  I think you will find that the people who have lots of problems on tx tend to vent more than those who are doing OK.  Not certain but that has been my experience.  Also, many heppers have different physical situations.  Some folks have other physical problems, some have past psychological or addiction problems....its really a mixed bag.  The bottom line is that based on you diagnosis, you may not have a choice to take tx if you wait much longer.  If you do have chirrosis (cirrhosis) and it goes from compensated to decompensated, you won't be able to take tx.  Also, the worse your chirrosis (cirrhosis) gets, the lower the chance that tx will work.  Figure out how you will deal with the bad days on tx, make a plan and go for it.  Thats my advice.  Do something while you still have the choice.  Consider taking the shot on Friday or Saturday night so you have a better chance of being ready for work on Mondays.  Good luck whatever you decide.  I am on week #11 and so far so good.  Viral load was 5,000,000.  alt and ast are down and I get load blood work in two weeks.  That will determine whether I stick with it or not.  You may take it and find out at 12 weeks that it isn't working at which time you can stop and be right back where you are now.  Or it might end up working and you will have a good chance to beat it.

[jonihs]

What is the difference between compensated and decompensated cirrhosis

[giddyup]

Hi,
I'm a 39 year old who will be starting tx this week. I think I've expierienced the fatigue and joint pain you mentioned. Like Shebee and Relentess just mentioned, if you have cirrosis (cirrhosis) you should begin treatment. Your health is a priority right now. Things have a way of working out and they will for you.

This disease can get ugly and we have to try and rid ourselves of it. Sorry that this is happenig to you. I'm just planning like working as I normally do. I'll be hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Some people have very few sides from treatment.Just go for it and Roll with the punches.This forum will be here.

[giddyup]

Sorry Shawn, I meant sgabb!-L0L.

[jonihs]

Can decompensated still be treated, because that's what I have? I will be seeing my new G.I. in a few days and want to know ahead of time. I don't need another Dr. telling me I can't be treated if I can.   Thanks alot,   Joni

[Galen]

Compensated cirrhosis is without symptoms of cirrhosis, such as ascites, jaundice, encephalopathy or gastrointestinal hemorrhage.  It is usually first indicated by elevated liver enzymes in the blood.  Decompensated cirrhosis presents one or more of the above symptoms.  There are many others.

[Space Coast]

You can do it! But, it ain't easy! I just did #22 of peg-intron last night, on my way to 48! Go for it!

[odessit]

I'm on week 2 and thus far only experienced mild fever ( 37-38 C ) and headache during the first 2 days after the shot. Still can work and play tennis every once in a while:)

[GI.PA]

I agree with Galen about decompensated versus compensated.  There are also markers in your blood work (INR, platlets, albumin, bilirubin) that help to clasify to patients.  Compensated patients can be treated.  We use to not treat decompensated patients but now more and more we are treating them with caution and very close follow-up.

GI.PA

[sgabb]

thank you all for your responces.  I feel very lucky to have stubled in here.  I was really freaking out when I first found I was Hep C positive as I have never done any thing that should have caused this, but after reading the posts you all have made me realize that, Yes I have it, dont worry about why, just start sharpening the sword to slay the Dragon.
   And thank you all for the welcome!
    Shawn