thanks for all advise on what to be eating

the thread closed before i could get on the computer to check it out. i have heard so many different opinions but here i have been eating lots red meat ,high protein diet, limited caffeine and cut way back on smoking!!! i was told high protein,low fat etc. by a former friend who went through the whole tx then cleared 6 months,now relapsed and is bad. let me tell you i love when fruit and veggies are in season...i eat salad and use vinegar or vinegarette dressings..i heard vinegar cleanses the liver...i absolutely hate fish and seafood...i know i am weird but can't or haven't found any type i can choke down,maybe because i have a fish tank ?? lol..i can choke down chicken,but would rather an organically ,no hormone or antibiotic juicy 1/2 lb burger on the grill with garden lettuce, fresh tomatoe,onion mmmm.. why should we avoid red meat? i do soy ocassionally now cut way back on that..cut way back on diet coke a weakness of mine,i found that bryers vanilla bean,and chocolate do not effect your blood sugar hardly at all. tested all brands even low sugar,etc. but only these 2 flavors. any suggestions on maybe a type of fish that doesn't taste real fishy?..no kidding i gag when i try to eat fish...been feelin good since off the psychotropic drugs and out of system...i see shrink tomarrow and maybe stay off for awhile to see how i do..he is willing to try the ones you suggested 52tele.thanks. and paris47 where are you??

[NYgirl]

The red meat...especially cooked rare = IRON and as you know being a good source of IRON we do not want it because iron promotes viral replication.

Try to avoid things that are big in iron you know? And don't eat out of cast iron skillets if you can help it.

I love nothing more than a big juicy hamburger nice and medium rare...but have only let myself eat a half a med/well done burger a few times.  It's torture but I don't want any help replicating virus AT ALL!

Have to call for my TMA results in a minute...what a wreck that stupid virus better not be back at ALL or I'm going to leave work and eat a whole steak!  hahahahaha.

[tulsatime]

Hi, hope your doing well today. I think the reason they say to stay away from protein is, it is hard for the liver to digest. The only fish I found that was not fishy is orange roughy. Then I bake or grill it with lemon juice. umm sounds good just typing it. I don't like fishy fish either.LOL
Take care, Debi

[tulsatime]

I know this may sound stupid but what is TMA? Debi

[stangshelly]

hey thanks for the word, good luck ny on your test results..and okay tulsa i'll try orange roughy? but if i gag lol :)

[tonybuck]

Any thoughts on a 3 to 4 hour meal eating plan of about 300 to 400 calorie lowfat meals through the day to keep the metabolism reving.

[Kalio1]

I weigh 156 right now and I am on 1200 a day. I worked at losing some weight when he put me on 1200 I was just shy of 180. Doc wanted to lower it to 1000/day a week ago due to my weight loss but I fought to keep it at this dosage and he acquiesed because my bloodwork looks good, Hgb is dropping a little as is ANC but not enough to be a problem yet. He will lower it if anything goes screwy in my bloodwork I know but this late in the game and UND since week 4 it should be ok if that happens.
It isnt an exact science Deb, talk to the doctor and bring some info that backs you up and maybe he will go for a higher dose. I'd really try for 1200 if you can but maybe 1000 is enough who knows but I'd try to get it over 800. It's a lot of guesswork and varies from one doc to the next which makes it frustrating on us.

[SoCal Lady]

Another "non-fishy" fish is tilapia.  Costco sells frozen tilapia "loins"(?) that are delicious and easy to prepare.  I fry them plain in olive oil, season with garlic salt and lemon pepper, then sprinkle Parmesan on top.  Yum!

Trader Joe's also sells tilapia...

[NYgirl]

I've ALWAYS eaten that way...all of my life and I am thin as can be. And as everyone here knows I DO eat junk food and ice cream too LOL.

It's worked WEIGHTWISE for me...don't know about health wise.

It was hard for me to get accustomed to eating breakfast though...I had never done that before in my LIFE. But since I make sure to take the pills at breakfast time and dinner time so they are relatively 12 hours apart AND I'm surely taking them with some fat...

We definitely do have to change the way we do things when on treatment. But it does seem to me to become a lifestyle that is much more healthy than I personally ever lived before!

[GrandmaA]

Speaking of vinegar, on another forum we found that 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar a day is very good when you have a virus. It also helps your PH and digestion. I put in a tablespoon of honey and sip it slowly.

Vegetarian protein does not cause ammonia in the brain that leads to brain fog. Meat protein does. A lacto vegetarian diet is very liver friendly as long as you don't eat too much cheese. I eat some meat substitutes but can't take too much soy because of hypothyroidism. I love salads. I had beets and avocado salad last night. Scallions are good for the liver. I slice 2 mini carrots on it for color. Beets are good for the liver too. I have 1/2 pint of yogurt with 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil every day for the Omega 3s. I have to have the Spectrum brand it tastes nutty. Speaking of nuts. I need to eat my 12 almonds a day now. I started out with raw unsalted and got a little tired of that so now I have roasted slightly salted. I have been a vegetarian for 40 years.

Make sure your vitamin/minerals do not contain iron.

[Mister beagle bailey]

Deb, Good luck on your results, please don't forget to post it.

Shelly, Sorry to hear about your friend.  Are you saying that after being UND at 6 months , your friend relapsed?  What geno was your friend?
I to try and eat right, but there are things I tried I just can't eat, no matter how I cook it.

Beagle

[GrandOak]

As pointed out, red meat equates to iron which the liver has to process, resulting in it working harder.  I also recall, but would have to locate the information, that fat affects the rate of riba absorption in the body.

I am also aware that fat will deposit around the liver, thus impacting the effectiveness of tx as a few folks I know of had to loose weight prior to tx for that very reason.  One even went through the stomach reduction surgery to accelerate the weight loss in order that she could begin tx.

[tulsatime]

He said he would only go for 800. He already wrote the scrip. But here is what I was thinking. I have 6 weeks of riba and 6 weeks of peg. from a friend that had to stop treatment. I was going to start with what I have so I could get started right away while being OKed from pegasys then when the 24 weeks comes in start on that. But maybe I should wait till the 24 weeks comes in and use the extra riba I have to up my dose on my own. For the first 12 weeks. That would mean I would have 1000 instead of the 800 for the first 12 weeks.
What do you think?....Debi

[GrandOak]

For more info on the TMA question you asked, you may want to use the following links.

TMA definition:

http://www.biochem.northwestern.edu/holmgren/Glossary/Definitions/Def-T/TMA.html

TMA pertaining to HCV:

http://www.aegis.com/news/pr/2002/PR021114.html

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/hepatitis/messages/41884.html

[Kalio1]

The most important time to take the max dose from all I have read of riba/IFN is in the beginning, so I would do that if I had the meds,atually I DID do that.. take the max dose in the first month to see if you can knock it out by week 4 then you can adjust it down to the "regular" dosage.
I had some extra meds, so that is what I did. I had a month extra of both drugs. There are studies where this was done and it really upped the hances of clearing in the studies. I doubled up on the IFN, did a shot Sun and another Wed. and did that for a month along with the 1600 riba a day. I am on the doctor ordered doses now though and I am still UND as of the last test. I am not advising you to do that, just telling you what I did. ;)

I'd also call the testing place, maybe it is Quest Diagnostics I dont know but find out who it is the doc uses and call them and discuss prices and how/if you an get a break or how you go about appying for their help on the testing especially the PCR testing because I know some give you a big break on that score and that might help you keep up on the PCR's. You have to get that 4 week PCR.
I could be wrong but I think Tracy(Amritracy) has some info on this part of it. She too is uninsured if I recall right and has done lots of work on getting thru this without insurance and I think did some research on testing osts so maybe she can help. I put her name in here. (Hi Tracy!)

[mkeela]

I was told to cut back on protein because liver enzymes are a protein. I have no idea what the right thing to do is. I guess since my appetite hasn't been well since starting tx, I just eat when I feel like it, and it is usually something greasy for the riba sx,(toast lots of butter etc.)and LOVE to eat broccoli, cauliflower, stir fry veggies...haven't really craved any high protien meats yet.

[Kalio1]

It is super cocnfising and there is conflicting info Everything about Hep C seems to have conflicting info!

For instance, if your iver is badly scarred (cirrhotic) you are advised to eat a high fat high protein diet.That doesn't even make sense!
;)
On tx you eat what you want, when you can. Dont worry about anything else.
It is a struggle enough to muster up the appetite to eat anything and your food desires are all out of whack or nonexistant. Just try to get something, anything in there that will stay down!

[mkeela]

Thanks Kalio for that sweet advice.

[NYgirl]

My doc only planned to do a 12 week but now with all the studies suggesting how important it is to have a 4 week it's easier to convince him.

Point him to the TERAVIC study if he gives you any trouble. If he hasn't heard of it...he'll have to give you the 4 week (just don't tell him you found out about it in an online forum or his head will pop off...just tell him you read about it).

There's no reason except insurance paying that I can think of for him to say no. Just make sure he knows you are in till at least 24 weeks (when they make you stop if positive) no matter what the results.

[cuteus]

eat what you can is correct, tx time is not the time to be picky, you need to keep a healthy wt.

there is no good reason to avoid organic iron, if you do not have Haemochromatosis, or cirrhosis.  Inorganic iron is hard on the body and its build up can lead to cardiac problems as well.

I had the appetite to have porterhouse now and again, and I did.  If you don't have high ferritin and iron overload, Tx is not the time to stop your steaks.  Now, if you don't mind those cute black eyes, staring back in terror as she walks the slaughterhouse line...enjoy that t-bone.


shh! don't tell my daughter, the vegetarian!

[dancegirl54]

Wonder where you live - would depend what you can get FRESH.  Was in the seafood business for years - never buy any fish with an odor, fresh is best, local best, if you cant get it, frozen at sea Atlantic cod is not fishy - Icelandic is the premium.  Cod is probably the mildest you can get. I like salmon- the best way to not have the fishy taste that you experience is poaching. You can make a nice mustard sauce for the salmon. I'm staying away from shellfish because of the potential toxin levels though some of it I really like, but honestly if I stayed away from everything that had the potential to be harmful, it would be everything

[tulsatime]

Ok good idea, I will try to get the 4 week pcr. He did say only 12 week, but I will try to work on that. Thanks for all the info. I really appriate it, Debi

[Pdilly]

I love fish if it is fresh or not fishy in any way.  In the midwest we have Catfish, Bass and Crapie.  I cook mine on the gril on alum foil.  Spray with oil and cover with lemon pepper, parsly and a little butter.  Oh so good with a salad...now I am hungry.

[cuteus]

KFC someone said?
I can't believe this one!
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=2076896&page=1

personal responsibility anyone?

if they say soy is better for you...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,1828158,00.html

and for those wanting less pesticides and stuff, would you want some of the possible outcomes on the label?
"Safe and acceptable levels of insect parts, molds, rodent filth, grit and even maggots could be listed on a range of foodstuffs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors for such

[Kalio1]

I thought you wrote up there:


" and don't eat cast iron skillets if you can help it"



haha boy did that crack me up,
then I read it again and saw my mistake.
I am goofy as a loon.

[tulsatime]

thanks for the tip on TERAVIC study.  I will tell him that.
take care, debi