Treating HCV when your'e not chronic

Does anyone get treatment when they have no symptoms and you're lived 23 years with out any issues or liver damage?

[jmjm530]

When you suggest "no liver damage", have you had a liver biopsy to confirm this?

But assuming your liver biopsy says no liver damage, and assuming no symptons, etc, -- I personally would not suggest treatment, although some might. BTW there are no doctors here.

-- Jim

[FlGuy]

By the way, the term chronic usually means that you have had the virus more than 6 months.  So, you can be chronic but without feeling symptoms.  Many people who have had hcv for many years go without symptoms and discover they have hcv 'accidently', like discovered during routine medical checkups.

[GrandmaA]

It also depends on what stage of liver damage your biopsy says you have, 0-2 and you can usually wait for new meds. Stage 3-4 and you need to treat. Dr. Zhang says you can stay in one stage for 5 years.

[dogsledder]

I am 56 yrs old and have had HCV probably since the 1970's (go figure!). I was asymptomatic and showed no physical effects. I was diagnosed in 2001 through a blood test. I started tx in 2007 and now in wk 37. I was involved in a clinical trial which has since been stopped but still doing the SOC (Peg-Intron and Ribavirin). The physical effects of HCV (including liver damage) progress differently for everyone. In my case, I figured since I will never be healthier (or younger) than I am now, why wait until the disease progresses to where I am physically affected and not as healthy. My liver biopsy was 0-1 with no fibrosis.  

[Verdugo]

Dr. Zhang says you can stay in one stage for 5 years.
----------
Can you further explain this? Thanks, V.

[nygirl7]

I had the disease for over 25 and had no symptoms at all.  I found out when I had biopsy that I was stage 3 already...and i had NO idea that I had it until a routine blood work found it.  I consider myself lucky that I Found out before I was in end stage liver disease - since I had never had any symptoms that could have happened easily enough. It isn't called the Silent Killer for nothing.

[nygirl7]

ps nOBODY knows you long you can stay in one stage.

you can stay in one stage for 20 years and then zoom into another one in just a year.  There is NO linear model that can be followed to determine how long you will be in one stage or another. None.