for all the good folks of the forum to use as needed

[cuteus]

Sorry to open another one this way, but I did not want another day with only 4 threads opened. I just noticed a thread below closed at 41 comments. I am not sure if we have been rebudgeted from 50 comments,or if the thread is going to be zapped but just in case that is what might happen, the forum needs another slot for questions.
sorry if it annoyed anyone.

[jaroman]

Bout time "Kalio2" got zapped.

[FlGuy]

I think the fewer post total include the K2 deletions.

[NYgirl]

I don't mind having less posts as long as all that drivel is gone!  Hopefully we can be back to normal and all splits will realize it's not helping anything and only hurting our community.

I mean some of those meanies really don't GET what they were doing or they couldn't possibly have done it.  I just can't believe anyone got the magnitude.

[Magnum]

Just got off the phone with my Gastro and wanted to pass this on. This is my fifth day on the mega dose Infergen. My doctor has a funny sense of humor. The first thing he said was "Good to hear you're still alive". Hmmm... I called him for something for these monumental headaches and also the fact that when I blow my nose when I first wake up, there's a good amount of blood. He said this is directly associated with the Infergen treatment. He was very busy and said he will call me later, I will post anything more he will add later.

Magnum

[FlGuy]

How were your platelets going into daily Infergen?

[strator]

Hey all-Just wondering if anyone noticed any posts from amirtracy the last few days. I believe she had posted going in for a bx on Jan 6. Her last posts were around the time things got a little wacky here. Hope she is well and not put off by the recent back and forth personality conflicts.There is so much hope here on this forum it's certainly woth riding through the bumpy days. Kinda like tx itself, huh?

Here

[dyce]

what is the most sensitive pcr test and who perforns it?

Dyce

[cuteus]

did anyone noticed the quote of the day? check it out, I wonder if it was chosen with what has transpired lately in mind.

spacecoast; if any of those things you mentioned are true, please report it to MH with quotes or direction to the threads involved. Cindy and Phil try to be fair for the most part and they do listen to what we have to say.  They also can choose to warn or to ban.  I  know, I was one of the fortunate ones to only be warned, a couple of times.  
you take care

[jmjm530]

They're several. LabCorp has one down below 5 IU/ml I believe. Quest Diagnostic's has a very popular test I use called Heptimax which goes to 5 IU/ml. Quest also has a qualitative viral load test that also goes to 5 IU/ml. If it's for an intial screening, or before being non-detectible, I'd go with Heptimax over the the qualitative since with the qualitative you only get a positive or negative result -- no numbers.

-- Jim

[cuteus]

hey jm, isn't there a qualitative PCR that goes to 2? I think I read that one somewhere. projects in knowledge, perhaps.

my memory is not that great lately, as evidenced by leaving my PO box keys at the post office for the 4th time in a yr or so, but I do recall you are almost done? you are not really thinking about doing more than 48? unless things have stabilized with your sides, and you want more meds to mop things up.
come on, try to stick around more, I promise to be more sensitive, but remind me if i forget...

[roxxiroo]

I started lurking in the forum somewhere around July or Aug. '05. I am so grateful that my first week or two of visiting was when everything was civil. I gained wanted information and enjoyed the postings. If I had come here new just recently, I would have been shocked at the accepted behavior and would have never stayed. Knowing what this forum mostly is and can totally be is why I am waiting for a return to a more enjoyable and informative place to visit. I gained a lot from JmJm and cuteus among many others when I first spent time here. I would welcome moderation.  I just plain don't like to have to overlook the post meant to insult and hurt others.

[Magnum]

Everything mormal. I've been very fortunate I never needed Procrit, dose reduction, or anti-depressants. That doesn't mean I'm having fun though. Doctor is keeping a very close eye on me because of the amount of Infergen I'm injecting daily. I don't want to consider myself a Guinea pig, I think he has prescribed this mega dose because of the fact that I survived well, although suffering, on my last three treatments.

I want to say this to everyone... I have no doubt that the mind has a lot of influence on the body. I feel that I've been mentally able to get through all treatments because I look at this as a challenge and will not except "no" as an alternative.

Queen said it best, "I consider it a challenge before the whole human race and I never lose. We are the champions my friends, and we'll keep on fighting 'till the end, we are the champions, we are the champions, no time for losers, 'cause we are the champions of the world"

I think you should recite this every time you consider quitting.

Magnum

[beamishboy]

magnum:can you use a pain med? i do & it sure helps the headaches..i know you know way more trx-wise,just thot i'd mention my indulgence..
strator: i wish we had public transportation...use to be passenger train service--potsdam had 5,6 trains aday that could take us all the way to nyc...and local service-town to town was available.long time ago.i worked for R.R. all over new york,penn. ballast cleaning outfit-incredible dinasour ofa machine towed by locomotive,lived in a pullman w/ cabins&showers,had a cookcar & a caboose,useta hop a freight to downtown- something 'bout a train.......there is a site-Overheard in New York-i can't paste or post (total neophyte that i am...) about public conversations,kinda cool,makes ya think.laugh...maybe yu should compile something along those lines...You are a gifted writer.like yu don't have enuff goin on,right?Construction job,taking care of son&father,grown kids,grandkids?AA& hep-support,ohhh and treating(that minor life crisis) and painting!!!! now you can start your magnum-opus ,by the way,hows that honda running? i gotta 1971 buck electra 225,on the road,bit of a gashog,but runs good.....if you end up needing a replacement,let me know..
Nygirl,chevy,cuteus,kalio,dyce ,ice,goof,,jim,,,,,,everybody--nice to see posts always--THIS PLACE ROCKS

[jmjm530]

I thought it was LabCorp that went down to 2 IU/ml. But 2 IU/ml or 5 IU/ml -- at that point who's counting :)

I'm taking my 46th shot this Wednesday and current plan is to treat for 52-weeks, but don't hold me to that as I've been known to change my mind on these things.  Why 52? My treatment doctor uses not the 36-week rule, but the 46-week rule for older folks like me who have moderate-significant fibrosis. So 46 plus 6 equals 52.

That said, two equally qualified consults told me there was no reason to go beyond 48 weeks given my RVR.

My decision on tx length has always been a dynamic one with how I'm handling sides a big factor and that has literally been changing week to week. This week I'm pretty confident I can do 52 weeks. Two months ago I would have been happy with 42.  At this point I figure my guess is as good as the docs regarding tx length. LOL.

No promises on sticking or not sticking around more but do try and behave yourself in any event. LOL. Postive feelings are not only good for your health but for your karma as well. But thanks for the nice thoughts.  

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

I'm glad you made the right choice for you in staying. I'm sure many, many have been turned away by all the hostility and nonsense. There are other excellent discussion groups like Janis and hopefully those that want a kinder more supportive environment will find one.

-- Jim

[andyarundel]

http://hcvets.com/DC2006/flyer.html

[Forseegood]

Just wanted to say that it was like a pleasant breeze around here for awhile, with people getting help and support of all kinds with other members, sprited but mostly peaceful debates on certain issues (with only a few exceptions of certain members going over-the-line and that's saying something for this board) etc. But then a certain member came here who is admittedly very intelligent but let's face it, very mean-sprited in his argumentation, and I thought to myself, uh oh....

If you know who I'm speaking about without my having to say any other things about him, then it kinda proves my point to some extent...I'll attempt to explain that.  I'm just a member stating my opinion on these issues like anyone else here. I did loudly protest the person (or persons) who were causing so much trouble here, and they've recently been banned, I think, for the good of the board. I wouldn't presume to tell people what kind of content should be in their posts....as long as it isn't loudly offensive. I've sussed out that we probably need to be self policing to a certain extent, so I threw in with a few others, hoping for some peace from this person or persons. For people who know their way around here it's one thing, but I always feel especially sorry and protective for the newly diagnosed who come in here. They should not be summarily insulted by anyone I should think.

And, like most of you, I feel kinda protective of the people on treatment, because these can be mood altering drugs from all that I've read and heard, and I can't imagine what it would be like to be at the mercy of these drugs and then be mercilessly attacked on this or any other board. I suppose I feel protective of people with  Hep C in general, not a great diagnosis to have even in the best of times. If I'm too officious and too much of a "budinsky" forgive me. Perhaps I shouldn't say anything and let things play out the way they will, I'm not saying I'm right in speaking up the way I am. I'll leave that up to others here. God knows I've been wrong before.

I guess what I'm saying is when this person came in I figured that he would alienate more than a few members here, and it seems my prediction, unfortunately, has panned out. Perhaps I've alienated members as well, I don't know that for sure either. But, at least, I do try to utilize "some" sense of tact and fair play when I disagree with someone...or when someone disagrees with me. This particular member has about two speeds, and it seems he's constitutionally incapable of arguing in a tactful, thoughtful way. It's very hard for him to curb his rhetoric at all when he gets triggered, and that's when anyone disagrees with him. Pleading with him to change his methods won't work, tried that, so have others.

What I'm saying is, hopefully, CTOAN, Jim and some others will stay here and maybe just ignore his posts? Kalio presenting a great argument on the effectiveness of just not acknowleging certain posts. Like Jim says, it's not just a question of taking your ball and going home when the game doesn't go your way...many people take offense at the way this person speaks to them...it's not like it's never happened before on other boards, God knows. Whether the guy is right, wrong or indifferent in his opinions is not the point. I haven't always agreed with Jim, Cuteus, just to name a few...and we always went our own way ways either with our opinions changed a bit or we have agreed to disagree.

And yes, I know what some mean when they say it's facinating to watch really aggressive people go at each other, but I've always tended to watch Jerry Springer and reality TV for only a short while...because it wears on you after a bit if you have any sensitivity at all...after awhile it just becomes sad and banal, at least to me. Particularly so when youre dealing with a potentially life threatening illness.

My point is (and I do have one) is I get a lot from CTOAN's posts, he's doing a lot of the homework for me in watching these new drugs...I'm not hynotized by him and he isn't dictating my treatment plans, nor does he want to. I'm very interested in them... I fail to understand why anyone with hep c wouldnt' be..unless you've cleared already. Even just on a purely abstract level. In the end it's only his opinion of the drugs...he's not saying you should take his opinions as the gospel, these are just his takes. I think the same thing about anybody elses opinions as well, including my own. I'm an adult and can ultimately make my own assessments of these types of things.

And I'd really like to see Jim stick around, though I can understand why he'd bail once he's through with treatment, I can fully understand why anybody would bail under the same circumstances. The Hep C world would lose it's charms for me after having endured years of it. But while he wants to be here I would hate for him to leave because of some other member on this board. He's a great resource and very, very helpful to people.

I'd also like to thank Cuteus and Chevy and many others for sticking around even though you've cleared, giving your takes on things, it helps a lot of us who are treating or about to. Sorry for the long post, too much green tea I'm afraid, ha ha. And I'm also sorry that I had to get personal, I am very conflicted about having done that, I'm just afraid of some people leaving that I get a lot from.

[Forseegood]

Seems I might do Kalio a favor and you can get on me for awhile...after all I was just "one" of the voices for getting your pal banned off of here, don't know sure if I was at all instrumental but perhaps...we're not discussing Xbox games here pally, we have a potentially life threatening disease and some people here are very, very sick from it...some have died from it..the last thing we need is some prankster saying a bunch of inane things to people newly diagnosed and insulting them off the board before they even get a chance to know what it's all about...

this is the end of my diaglogue with you, fire off your extremely witty and intelligent perceptions to me unheeded, or someone else...I'm tired, maybe someone else will play with you....

[can-do-man]

Who else was banned?

[dyce]

Ha Jim,7shots to go for you,thats good!I'm not sure which test my Docs used on my 1st pcr but I needed this imfo.for the future hopefully when I go undetected.Jim if my memory is right your on pegasy with weight based ribovarin?I'm curious,is it going faster the closer to finishing up for you?It definately is a long time.

Dyce

[Forseegood]

You probably don't know it but you just stumbled on my point, it's in your question about the circle of love, what deductive powers you have! Now I really do have to go....

[cuteus]

we are going for 40 on this one. or 50, whatever the budget is nowadays.  

to all; please stay around and weather the storms, MH is worth it.

[jmjm530]

Yes, on Pegasys and 1200 mg/day of riba which is a bit high for my weight yet reasonable. I started tx at 176 lbs, spent most of my endearing time at 150lbs and currently am at 155. As far as it going faster as I approach the end, I only wish. In reality it's like reaching for a wall only a few feet away but every time you reach it moves away from you just a little. LOL. On the other hand, getting close does take a lot of the can-I-finish-or-not pressure off of you. Hope things go well with your treatment, you'll be in my thougts. This is an exclusive club and only those that go through this door have a clue.

-- Jim

[sailinlady]

I thought Sybil went back to school, apparently not.