starting tx soon...have some questions

[niceguy2007]

hi everyone...

i'm genotype 3a in pakistan..25 yrs old..VL 12000 IU/ML. infected less than 4 yrs.  mild steatosis on ultrasound.

i smoked since i was 23, for about 1.5 yrs. i quit smoking last year cuz it was causing strange fatigue. fatigue went away on quitting, but came back in may 2006 with low grade fever.
i read somewhere that ppl quit smoking soon after contracting HCV.  smoking suddenly doesnt seem enjoyable...i wonder if that means i got it last year? i hope so...dont want it to be 3 yrs old.

i've also seen ppl in their 40s with cirrhosis in pakistan.  almost half of some towns here are infected with HCV genotype 3.  i probably got it from a paramedic or a dentist.

dr. prescribed ribavirin 1200, says i can take 1000 if i want to.  dr. agrees witih jim's theory about hitting the virus hard in the first month with high riba dosage.

also prescribed pegasys 180.  so do i use the entire pegasys vial? cud it be too hard, cuz we know that peg intron comes in 100 too? i wonder why pegasys doesnt come in different strengths too?

also about eatin...how abt eatin apples, or other high iron fruits like pomegranates?

[GoofyDad]

I'm reminded of the <a href="http://www.tvacres.com/admascots_madge.htm">Palmolive commercials</a>:

Madge, can Hep C really be tranferred via a manicure?

Nah. Don't worry honey, you're soaking in it!

Ackkk! HEP C ???!!! Is it safe?

{pushing hand back into bowl} Sure honey. We do this all the time.

[niceguy2007]

i was thinking about reinfection...

maybe u shud use a new toothbrush every week, so u dont "reinfect" urself in case u reach UND in that particular week. :) that wud make a whole waste basket of used tooth brushes...24 in my case.  

cud also be a good way to track ur weeks if u hate the calendar on ur cellfone..im sick of my cellfone ...now im using my laptop after i accidentally discovered my foneline wasnt shot after all ...it was the fone.

[niceguy2007]

yes 40 or 50 percent of some towns around where i live in the north of pakistan are infected with hcv.

i live in islamabad.

south of here in the big city of Lahore, a neighbourhood had close to 90 percent HCV infection.  there was a story about it on tv...the investigators concluded that a sewage line had leaked into the water supply, contaminating the water that was drunk after being boiled.  boiling as we know does not kill HCV.  this may also be proof that ingesting HCV may be another route of infection...though this of course is debatable and many do not agree with it.

i didnt ask the doc about procrit cuz he was busy dealin with some emergency and i talked to him on the fone...will ask him again soon.  just to be safe i'm gonna be buying procrit and storin it in the fridge.

i feel more confident now after 3 months of diagnosis...been dealin with the horrendous depression but have largely grown out of it now...have a wife and 2 babies ... parents are in japan i miss them but u cant have everythin at the same time..

my dad tells me to look at this as a test for 6 months... to  be strong in the face of adversity.  

i hope and pray that i get my life back once more... i was planning on going for higher studies and doing a masters degree...wanted to move to europe too...now everythings on hold...

[amberegg]

Also, it is my belief that your mind is a powerful tool! Having a positive attitude has been the most helpful for me! You are taking a positive step and it sounds like you caught it early try to think positively!

[jmjm530]

You may be mixing up the types of Hepatitis. I doubt very much that contaminated drinking water could cause an outbreak of hepatitis c as you describe.  You're probably referring to Hepatitis "A" or Hepatitis "E". So you can just go to the "store" in Pakistan and buy Procrit (epo) without a prescription? Curious how much it costs. Very expensive here, over $500 U.S. dollars per shot I think. BTW your father sounds like a wise man.

All the best.

-- Jim

[niceguy2007]

amber,

i know you're probably thinking it was HAV, but no, it was hepatitis C they were talking about.  they said that ppl were chronically infected and asymptomatic, and if they tested the whole town, they'd probably find a 90 percent infection rate based on the sample they did test.

yeah in pakistan u can pretty much buy anything from procrit to a grenade launcher...thats one of the plus points to living in a "lawless" country..personally i dont like the idea of lawlessness but sometimes u have to put up with what u get.  u can buy stuff without prescription as long as u have the dough.

[NYgirl]

Yes - my epogen was $600 a shot ... two shots a week = $1200 a week cost.

I too think you have your heps confused.  You can't get HepC by drinking water.

It sounds like you are making fantastic progress over there!

[niceguy2007]

nygirl hehhe actually thats what the tv report said... that ppl were contracting it due to drinking water...of course they cud have been wrong, and maybe the whole town is secretly doin drugs and sharin needles hehehe

well pakistan has a very high drug use rate...heroin is really cheap here cuz its produced here with opium smuggled in from next door afghanistan...thats one of the things i hate about pakistan...in a sensetheres actually too much "freedom" in pakistan, the writ of the government isnt really all that its supposed to be, and, many areas have their own warlord governments where Musharraf rules only in name.

[jmjm530]

Sounds like you're making progress. Did you ask your doctor about how he is going to handle any potential anemia? Will he intervene with the helper drug Procrit (epo) if necessary? For me, that would be a consideration in how much ribavirin I'd initially dose with. Here, many of us have a safety net, i.e. the rescue drugs, which lets us dose higher with less chance of being pulled off the drugs due to anemia. I took 1200 mg/day of ribavirin, but not sure if I could have handled that without Procrit. I was also a genotype 1, not a 3 like yourself.

WOW. 50% of some towns in Pakistan infected with HepC. I would think then, that re-infection would be a big issue for anyone who treats in Pakistan, and I'd be particularly careful where I got my dental and medical care, not knowing the sterilizing procedures in your country.

I ate apples during treatment. Don't think you have to go overboard with the iron thing, just don't take iron supplementation and have your doctor give you all the iron tests, including ferritin and transferrin saturation (tsat), if available.

All the best luck.

-- Jim

[Pdilly]

Hang in there and remember your babies.  They will need you for years to come.  Your father sounds pretty wise.  I never thought that much about the Opium there but was in Thiland in the early 70's.  There were lots of drugs available there as well. People just don't get it....drug take ahold of ones life and just ruins it.   Again hang in there and good luck.

[cuteus]

whatever virus is left in the toothbrush will be killed by the meds you are taking, if it finds its way to your blood somehow.  I did not change mine every wk, maybe I did when I became undetect, just for peace of mind.
as for the Pegasys, I drew out ALL of the liquid from the vial each time I did my shot.  That gives you a bit more than the 180 prescribed. Nothing wrong with that.

[Myown]

It does not suprise me that the investigators concluded that the hep c came from the contaminated drinking water. Raw sewage would contain blood particles.

This is something that our country wouldn't want known, as far as hep c spread through feces ,,at least not until they get a vaccine.Total pandemonium. Hand washing and food servers.Scary,, Oh thats right,,, I forgot,,, they have that sign up in the restrooms that all employees must wash their hands. oh, stupid me.

Niceguy...as far as worrying about reinfection from toothbrush, I'd be more concerned about reinfection from Pakistan, since  its an epidemic there.
Hope you don't have to stay there much longer and can go back to your family. I'm sure it's hard being away from them.

[cuteus]

hep c does not live more than 4 days outside the serum. these people would have needed to have an open wound somewhere in their mouth or GI system for hep c to be contracted. Or bathed in it with open sores during those days. that is a lot of ifs!

[Myown]

4 days is a long time. ya know what though, sometimes we don't "see" the cracks or openings in our mouth, but they are there. Every once in a while when I brush my teeth i see blood, so there is always the chance of openings, i would guess. to me all this stuff is a lot more contagious than what we are told.

epstein barr virus.."kissing virus", cytomeglia virus, both found in saliva.

They can tell me till they are blue in the face that hep c is only caught through blood, but I will never believe it. This disease has too many unsolved mysteries yet, so to me, they might be wrong about the ways to get it. But right now, guess I can't sweat that, just gotta try to get rid of it. I know you're glad its behind you. Can't wait till I can say the same

see ya later!

[jmjm530]

I really think he's talking about Hep E, which is spread more like hep "A". I would need some hard evidence to believe that Hep C could be spread so widely by a contaminated water supply.

Google "Hepatitis Pakistan Water" and see what you come up with and stop worrying so much :)

BTW I think it a good idea to change your toothbrush weekly until non-detectible. BTW the dental associations recommend changing your toothbrush every 3 months, not because of the virus but because they get worn out.

Be well,

Jim

[Myown]

Its not the worrying so much....i'm just saying that there is no way this country would say anything as deadly as hep c could be caught that way. What about the one that they used to say or still say maybe.....can't catch hiv through oral,,,stomach acids kill the virus,, hardy-har har, makes me laugh,har- har, can't take it!! but also tells me whose controlling the country....stomach acid, yeah right,,in supermans stomach or maybe spider woman's.

we are doomed with all the diseases that people  are bringing in anyway. that's not worry,thats fact. read "state of emergency" Pat buchanan (sp?)even if you don't like Buchanan, worth reading.

do you know if they tested to see if hep c can be found in saliva? well if you say yes and point me to the study, i won't believe it anyhow. lol that's just the way I am. My husband believes anything a doctor tells him, makes life easier, I guess, but doctors don't make sense some times. Here's and example.........
what about tooth paste tubes with the warnings they have. "If more than used for brushing is accidently swallowed, GET MEDICAL HELP OR CONTACT A POISON CONTROL CENTER RIGHT AWAY.
But.yet.,, medical doctors tell mothers that they need floride in the babies vitamins ..and...not only that,,I see gallon jugs of floridated water at the supermarket for infants use.

Amazing!!! This is why Sloan is filled with children with cancer. Floride causes cancer. Do a search on floride and bone cancer and you will see. But alot of mothers, because they believe their doctor knows best, they go for it.They don't want their kid to have cavities, but instead they wind up with bone cancer, because they didn't put 2 and 2 together. I don't get it, i really don't.  

How could the Dental association tell you to call the poison control center if they injest too much floride from brushing their teeth and yet the Medical doctors push it in vitamins. Its sad, I know several people children who have cancer and my first question always is, "was he taking vitamins with flouride?" The answer is ALWAYS YES.

So this is one of the reasons I don't buy everything the medical institutions say. Tired of reading?? lol Gift to gab i have. None of my dates, back in my single days had to worry about running out of something to say, more like, where can they get a word edgewise. ha

okay, done preach'n, I'm tired. see ya Jimbo , gonna shut this thing off and go relax. Nighty-nite

ps..changing tooth brushes...well ya don't know me that long, but i think you have a pretty good gift of discernment. This lady will go to the dollar store once tx starts and get the dozen for a dollar and change daily. don't know which day I will clear , nor does anyone, so if when i tx and clear today and for the rest of the week i am still using that week old tooth brush, i will continue to re-infect myself. remember it only takes one critter to get the ball rolling. There has to be a reason that some relapse, so Mrs Howard Hughes here will do all she can in her power to be careful. We want to clear early on, not continuely re -infect. Gotta go, I want to read the biography of Howard while listening to my Michael Jackson CD's.
'

[amberegg]

Hey,
I can only give you my experience. I also am 3a and prior to tx my HVC was 165,000. I have taken 6 shots so far in combo with my ribivarin. So far it has been pretty painless for me. The first shot I did feel some flu like symptoms (chills mostly). And since that 1st shot, it's been pretty smooth sailing for me. My dr says that this is due to my low HVC. I also quit smoking for a year and a half prior to tx. My dr also says that this help with fatique. Anyway they tested my VC in the 4 week and they are now undetectable. So hopefully you will have a positive experience too. As far as your dos, you should clarify that with your DR. As far as food goes, I personally eat a well balanced diet and don't exclude anything. One adverse effect that has happened to is that my neutrophils dropped to 500 and I was placed on a drug called neuprogen. Apparently this is common for people on tx, as the interferon kill rapidly growing cell (like white blood cells and hep c cells too!) Anyway just make sure to do some study about blood work levels and get copies of yours, so that you can track your progress. Good Luck!