let me please,introduce myself......

[52TELE]

Greetings to the pale and down trodden. I've been away since relapsing last fall and I am back for another shot (pun intended) at it. Here is my history.
50 yr old male lives in Dallas area.
HCV genotype 1a
Initial VL 2.2 million
bx spring 2005 grade 2 stage 3.
Started .5 ml pegintron and 1400 mg ribavirin March 2005
Hemolytic anemia early on. Started 40,000 units Procrit late April 2005
HGB maintaining 11.5-12.5 .
2 log drop at 12 wks but not UND
UND at 16 wks . Extend treatment 4 wks.
Virus breakthrough at week 30 , VL is now 450.
Retested with Heptimax at week 34. Results indicated VL of 725.
Week 35 (11/01/06) stopped treatment. IT AINT WORKIN.

11/13/06 had surgery on my elbow that I had to put off during treatment.
I was afraid of infection.
12/21/06 in the hospital for infection in left elbow from surgery.
Stayed in hospital until 12/24/06 .
Started wearing wound vac on elbow 12/25/06 and wore until 3/19/06.

[cajunlady]

WOW 52TELE, you have been through alot in the recent past.  Sorry to hear that you had to go through sooooo much.  Maybe this time around you will acheive SVR.  Keep us posted on this tx.  Hope you can still stroke the guitar and that your ordeal has not caused too much pain on that matter.  It has really been a long time since you have posted, so stick around and keep us updated on you.  

Beamish:  How are you, do not see you post too often.  Are you still taking your long walks in the woods.  Hope all is going well with you.  Still eating that cajun food w/Tony's seasoning.  You know it is crawfish time right now (deep water).  Do you have plans to go see your friends in Louisiana anytime soon.  I would just about beat someone up for boiled crawfish right now. LOL

Cajun

[madbrad]

Don't be offended TELE....I wasn't preaching at you ....I understand your synicism....but try to understand the compassion in what I mention.

[madbrad]

No I haven't....28/48.........I'm now NO HCV RNA DETECTED =NONE...Thats from 12.5 million....<50 by wks 10-11.....And yes I did and still do.......

[WillPower]

Thanks.  I will checkout hepcaustralia.com.au.  Al

[orphanedhawk]

Welcome and I wish you better luck this time around.
    I'm interested in what you have to say about our immune systems. I'm looking for ways to boost my immune system while transitioning off of treatment. Any ideas?

[ladybug52]

Close enough, west. Heard a band Sat. night at a party, band was really good and one of the guitar players was pretty tall:)
Bug

[beamishboy]

damn man-you have been thru the wringer! sorry to read of your complications and the tangle w/ the blues..but your tempo seems to be rising& there's gotta be a song or two in all this....GOODLUCK & keep soothing them savage beasts

[rosebud57]

for those who already prayed, they probably pray more.
for those who did sometimes
some who never did, probably now do at least sometimes.

though not pleasant to be ill, this may be yet another way to bring us closer to god.

[hippygem]

There is a 'hep profile' at the ozzie website, hepcaustralia.com.au, it has all been updated, you can put your details in and whenever you post they come up on the side, have a look and see.

[52TELE]

Thanks for the good word madbrad. Have you completed your treatment yet?

madbrad , did you pray before you found out you had Hep C?

[52TELE]

Do you live in Cowtown ladybug?

[FlGuy]

The Pegasys Maint vs. PegIntron maint has been discussed here over the months (years).  In the two expamples I recall clearly, both people said that maint. using Pegasys was more 'tolerable' than PegIntron.  Rev was extremely adamant about it.  My expereince, although not maintenance but on tx once PegIntron and one Pegysys tx, is also that Pegasys is more tolerable than PegIntron.  These are the 'ancedotal' stories, not factually based.  Effects of the IFN's can vary from person to person.  If I recall more correctly, the maint dose for Pegasys is 90 mcg, which is half of the normal tx dose in non-weight based combo dosing.

[52TELE]

Hey FLGuy , I hope your doing well. Your question kind of took me by suprise. As far as I know , I'm using Pegintron-alpha. Can you elaborate any on the difference , and how are the other guys doing on the maintenance?

[52TELE]

Hi Jim , glad to see your still hanging around here on the corner. whats your status Jim?
No more trials or long shots for me. The next time I take a full run at this thing it will be with a guaranteed result. Its just too hard Jim to not be able to expect SVR at the end.

[52TELE]

Hi you guys , thanks for stopping in and saying hello. I'm looking forward to talking to you guys in the future.

[ladybug52]

Have you changed dr's or are you going to the same place? Sounds like h#ll what you've been thru. Are you able to play guitar? Any problems with straightening the arm or using it?
Best wishes for svr this time.

[52TELE]

Hi rosebud57 , thanks for the encouragement.

[jmjm530]

Understood, but do keep an eye out on more study data that will be released all throughout the year. If if turns out they get like 70-80% SVR in only 24 weeks, then it might be time to come off of mainteance and give VX-950 a try. I'm SVR and my last viral load test shows me non-detectible a year after treating. Thanks for asking.

-- jim

[52TELE]

Hi Bug , yep same Dr.   -Karen Kindler at Troutmens office in Ft. Worth. I only have to see them every three months unless something unexpected pops up. I am still playing , no where in public I might add , for the last four months. Medical devices on each shoulder and a stratocaster around my neck was a little much. It was hard enough just dealing with the med devices and a seatbelt. Tangled up in Blue.

Are you doing OK?

[Bill1954]

Oh, man! It sounds like you

[52TELE]

Hey , I used to know a girl named NYgirl , no 7 though.
Did you add your maiden name to the end of it? What was it like growning up with a last name like 7?

[FlGuy]

Pegasys is Alpha2A, PegIntron is Alpha2B.  Just wanted to make that distinction since your post read 'alpha', which could be either.  Also like's Bill's concept of switching pegs from what you used the first time to the other one for maintenance.

[Pdilly]

My you are back.   I always wonder what happens to people when they dissapear.   It does sound like you have not had the best of luck.   Good luck tx the next go around.

[ladybug52]

I treated with Karen but stopped after 16 weeks. She did a 3 week pcr <50 detection, and it was und, my pcp did a heptimax at 4 weeks and it was und.She would not order the heptimax for me, and wasn't going to order a 12 pcr since I had the early und. She agreed to, but again wouldn't order the heptimax, did the <50 test, saying 'und is und.'  My pcp ordered lab work, cause Karen was on a 2 week vacation, and orderd another heptimax at week 15. When I got the results back I was just about to do shot #17. But I didn't. I know the numbers and my increased risk for quitting early but, I chose to stop.
Glad to hear from you,
Bug