post tx

i got my test results back today after two weeks off of interferon (48 week tx, geno1A). i tested undetectable!! does that mean i am cured? what are my odds now?
i'm still having some other problems, but i can deal with anything if i know i have beaten the hepc.
kk7788

[PegOnPeg]

You should know when you first cleared the virus.  Viral load tests are normally done every 30 days after starting treatment.

when did you clear?

2 weeks after end of treatment is not an accurate indicator...not quite sure why they would have tested you now.  You'll need to retest @ 6 months...many test again after another 6 months...some test every year.

[kitkat14]

I'd take it as a good sign that you are still undetected two weeks after finishing your treatment.  I don't have statistics but I believe the virus tends to reproduce rapidly after finishing the meds, if it is still in your system.

Hears hoping I'm right and that you can confirm the same results at 12 weeks EOT!!

k

[kk7788]

i tested undetectable at 3 months into tx, but didn't test again until now. i'm feeling good about it! thanks, kk

[Bobby1952]

   Usually when the Virus comes back it does so in the first month after treatment stops. But the gold standard is 6 months post treatment. If you can't wait that long I would get a Viral Load at 3 months post treatment and if it is still Undetected then you have a 95% OF BEATING IT. But when you are still Undetected at 6 months post treatment then you are considered cured.  

Bobby

[nygirl7]

It is very important that you get a very sensitive PCR for accuracy at least this early on.  As said above usually people will relapse in the first month - two weeks is a bit early to be able to tell perhaps unless you had a very good test say down to <2 but it sure is better than being detectible.  I'm not sure why your doc didn't test you earlier than the 3 month mark and now is testing you so darn early afterwards...typically you want a one month test and I've never really heard of a doctor doing anything otherwise.

Get a 4 week, 12 week, 6 month, 1 year and 2 year is typical.

After six months you will be considered SVR - that is the biggie!

Good luck!

[kk7788]

i thought he should have been testing more often too. i don't think he really knows what he is doing. he says he won't test me again until 6 months, but i can get my regular MD to order it at 3. i never liked my hepatologist; he is arrogant and condescending, but he had the power of the prescription (rib & interferon), so i just sucked it up and dealt with him as well as i could. my regular MD doesn't like him either and told me that he will do the follow-up, so i can stop seeing him. i have one more appt. with the hep tomorrow, and then i will use my MD.
the test says:
<= 50 IU/mL and <=1.7 logIU/mL
is that good?
thank you for your response. kk

[Trinity4]

Wonder if we are seeing the same hepatologist?  LOL
<50 is not as senstive as other tests available but you indicated your MD will order another PCR at 3 months.  My 24 wk PCR was only sensitive to <50 and showed negative.  Another hepatologist ordered a more sensitive PCR <10 and still negative so I would say you are fine but you may want to suggest your MD order a PCR called Heptimax <2 which is administerd by Quest Laboratories or their HCV RNA QUAL TMA which says either virus detected or virus undetected which is good for post treatment testing.
Good Luck and wishing you that SVR
Trinity

[apache1]

Yes, your pcr results are good. Undetectable down to the limits of the test, less than 50 IU/mL. But unfortunately, does not mean you are proved to be cured,,, as of this test. It is certainly going in the right direction though.

My first pcr was also a quest <50 pcr also.
Now, thanks to this forum, I requested and now get the Quest <5 test, its much more sensitive. But chances are when one relapses, viral load will shoot up high, and even the less sensitive tests will detect a relapse.

I posted a study showing the % for the different wks past eot SVR chances. In this study, a 4 wk post eot UND pcr is a 96% chance of SVR. 3 month is 100%, with 1 exception criteria.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/756284?personal_page_id=213737&post_id=post_3967065

Never saw a 2 wk prediction study. Although have read that most relapses happen between 7-14 days after 1wk post your last shot (14-21 days after last shot). Have also seen many here relapse 1-3 months after EOT, so hang in there with me, time will tell for us. But it looks good so far.

I will be getting my 8 wk post eot next week... guess you could call this 'post eot pcr anxiety'  a post tx sx.

Good luck, I am hoping for your SVR.

apache

[portann]

Hi Kk,

It sounds like your MD will be supportive to you. Most people are stuck with less than satisfactory specialists and MD's but decide to 'make do'. Caring for your very young granddaughter would make it difficult to travel far and wide for a better specialist.

You wrote that:
    "i got my test results back today after two weeks off of interferon"

I'm wondering if that was your End of Treatment  (EOT) PCR? The EOT PCR is done one week after the last interferon and it takes a week or more to get the results.

(EOT PCR's are useful to find out if you've had viral breakthrough during treatment, which is rare.)

When did you do the PCR test, one week after your last interferon? If so, then that's your EOT PCR.

I'm glad you can make arrangements with your MD about extra testing.  Many people have doctors who only test at EOT and at six months. I'd prefer to have a three month PCR, especially because of what Apache just said (kisses to you, Apache).

I know from your previous posts that you have several other health issues.  I hope you're recovering from them, especially your lung problems. It looks like you tackled the HCV and will know very soon if you're SVR.  All the very best.

[GreatBird]

If these are results you got at a 2 week appointment, my guess is that the blood was drawn at EOT.

[kk7788]

my last shot was on a thursday, and i had the test done 13 days later on a wednesday. the breathing problem is better, but i still have some chest pain, and i use an inhaler sometimes. my creatinine (kidneys) is high, but it was high before i started tx. it has climbed even higher during the last year. my MD (not the hematologist) has ordered a complete kidney and liver panel. my alt and ast went back up too. they had been in normal range for the last 5 months of tx, but the 13 day test showed them elevated again; does anyone know if that is something to be concerned about?
i still feel tired and fatigued, but not as bad as while on tx. does anyone know how long it takes for the interferon to be completely out of your system? i was honestly expecting to jump right up after tx and start running again, but it is going much more slowly than that. tomorrow will be 3 weeks.
apache, i understand the anxiety. i keep telling myself to just enjoy the good news and quit worrying about tomorrow, but that's easier said than done. it sounds like your odds are great.
thanks for the info about the other test. i will ask for that one.
kk

[nygirl7]

" elevated again; does anyone know if that is something to be concerned about? "

Some elevation is fine and normal even because they do go up and down - unless you are talking very elevated I wouldn't be too concerned about it.  I made that mistake once when mine went up like ten points or so and ran to the docs with an 'emergency' appointment and he laughed so hard at me I had to laugh myself.

It's a VERY obsessive disease.

[kk7788]

thank you nygirl. you are right about this being an obsessive disease. i think it's becasue the whole thing is so dang ambiguous. "maybe it will kill you, maybe it won't". "maybe tx will work, maybe it won't--and for the kicker-you won't really know until a year and a half after starting tx. whether it worked or not." "maybe you have scarring of the liver, maybe you don't. we'd have to stick a needle into your liver to find out for sure."
and, God forbid you have any health problems while on tx. trust me, noone knows what to do. "maybe it's the interferon, but probably not." i think that's the reason this disease is so "obsessive." i could come to terms with my fate either way, but the not knowing is torturous. i have never had my faith tested like this before. i just keep turning it over to God and then picking it back up again. i hate that.
are you handling it okay or about the same as i am?
kk