Aa
2nd round HCV treatment
Okie-Dokie;
It took me 6 months to get this together, but I've finally got the 2nd round of Tx going again. Here is a brief overview of round 1:
51 year old Caucasian male
Genotype 1a
Grade 2, stage 3/4
254 lbs
Diabetes M. type 2
Dx with HCV 12/04
Treated with Pegasys/ Copegus total 56 weeks, from 2/05 through 3/06.
Slow viral response at 12 week assay, so increased riba from assigned 1200 mg/day to 1800 mg/day.
Became undetectable to <50 IU by week 20.
Relapsed within 30 days post Tx.
I started round 2 on 9/15/06 with Peg-Intron 0.50 mL/150 mcg/week, and ribavirin 2000 mg/day. For the first three injections, I've been drawing up the entire contents of the IFN vial, after reconstituting with 0.70 mL of the supplied diluent. This has given me an extrapolated dosage of 202 mcg Peg-Intron/week, based on a 0.68 mL injection. Although this IFN dosage isn't officially sanctioned by my new doctor, I have an appointment this Tuesday, and I'll disclose at that time. My three-week labs should be available for review by then, and hopefully will show some positive trends; if not, there's always dose reduction... :-).
Subjectively, I feel fine after three injections; no side effects have shown themselves yet, however this is still *way* early in the game. Last treatment, I was good until week 9 or 10 before this cr@p started creeping up on me, so I guess time will tell the story.
It's probably worth mentioning that I've made some changes regarding exercise and diet as well. As a diabetic, it's important that I maintain tight blood glucose control- particularly while on treatment. Over the last six months, I've managed to lose approx. 50 lbs; walking 8 miles daily in the hills here along with removing most processed foods as well as meats (salmon only now!) from my meals has been really helpful. More and more evidence is suggesting that obesity and insulin resistance are both negative prognostic indicators for SVR, so we'll see if this has any effect in the long run.
I don't expect to be posting very actively; however that just might change if these meds begin slowing me down. Until then, I'm trying to stay as active as possible. I think attitude is an effective tool for Sx; during my last treatment, I resigned myself to the fact that I'd get sick from these meds. This time, I'm going to keep going until I get Gumby-Legs and can't walk... In other words, if the side-effects knock the door off the hinges, I guess they're coming in; however, I'm not going to wait around for them.
My very best to all those folks that I recognize from days past, in addition to a whole lot of new ones as well. Keep plugging away at this stuff, and we'll eventually prevail--
Bill
It took me 6 months to get this together, but I've finally got the 2nd round of Tx going again. Here is a brief overview of round 1:
51 year old Caucasian male
Genotype 1a
Grade 2, stage 3/4
254 lbs
Diabetes M. type 2
Dx with HCV 12/04
Treated with Pegasys/ Copegus total 56 weeks, from 2/05 through 3/06.
Slow viral response at 12 week assay, so increased riba from assigned 1200 mg/day to 1800 mg/day.
Became undetectable to <50 IU by week 20.
Relapsed within 30 days post Tx.
I started round 2 on 9/15/06 with Peg-Intron 0.50 mL/150 mcg/week, and ribavirin 2000 mg/day. For the first three injections, I've been drawing up the entire contents of the IFN vial, after reconstituting with 0.70 mL of the supplied diluent. This has given me an extrapolated dosage of 202 mcg Peg-Intron/week, based on a 0.68 mL injection. Although this IFN dosage isn't officially sanctioned by my new doctor, I have an appointment this Tuesday, and I'll disclose at that time. My three-week labs should be available for review by then, and hopefully will show some positive trends; if not, there's always dose reduction... :-).
Subjectively, I feel fine after three injections; no side effects have shown themselves yet, however this is still *way* early in the game. Last treatment, I was good until week 9 or 10 before this cr@p started creeping up on me, so I guess time will tell the story.
It's probably worth mentioning that I've made some changes regarding exercise and diet as well. As a diabetic, it's important that I maintain tight blood glucose control- particularly while on treatment. Over the last six months, I've managed to lose approx. 50 lbs; walking 8 miles daily in the hills here along with removing most processed foods as well as meats (salmon only now!) from my meals has been really helpful. More and more evidence is suggesting that obesity and insulin resistance are both negative prognostic indicators for SVR, so we'll see if this has any effect in the long run.
I don't expect to be posting very actively; however that just might change if these meds begin slowing me down. Until then, I'm trying to stay as active as possible. I think attitude is an effective tool for Sx; during my last treatment, I resigned myself to the fact that I'd get sick from these meds. This time, I'm going to keep going until I get Gumby-Legs and can't walk... In other words, if the side-effects knock the door off the hinges, I guess they're coming in; however, I'm not going to wait around for them.
My very best to all those folks that I recognize from days past, in addition to a whole lot of new ones as well. Keep plugging away at this stuff, and we'll eventually prevail--
Bill
Thanks for the info. I'm sitting here with a new script for Lantus, my most recent a1c (not clouded by tx) was 6.8 and represents bs creep. When one of them is hcv tx, it's difficult to deal with more than one thing at a time. Well, back to battle!
gee Bill! I think MKAndrew was dealing with the diabetes issue also, check with him at his website?
Holy Cow!!
I started this post with the thought that a few old-timers might nod and say hello; I didn't expect the whole forum to jump in with all these well wishes. There's too many to thank one by one, so I'll keep it short and offer a collective thank you to all you that responded. This is a way cool place to be to pick up HCV info, as most of you know; if you're just getting started with this disease, stick around and learn-- there's a lot of hard earned knowledge being exchanged in here. Once again, I want to wish all of you nothing but the best of luck in your journeys, and I'll try to keep everyone informed as to my progress.
Take good care, and be well--
Bill
I started this post with the thought that a few old-timers might nod and say hello; I didn't expect the whole forum to jump in with all these well wishes. There's too many to thank one by one, so I'll keep it short and offer a collective thank you to all you that responded. This is a way cool place to be to pick up HCV info, as most of you know; if you're just getting started with this disease, stick around and learn-- there's a lot of hard earned knowledge being exchanged in here. Once again, I want to wish all of you nothing but the best of luck in your journeys, and I'll try to keep everyone informed as to my progress.
Take good care, and be well--
Bill
Thanks for the link. What I wonder is my ultra sound says, fatty liver versus cirrhosis...sounds like it could be either one of those. One of these days I will get my biopsy! Sounds pretty easy to rid oneself of fatty liver. Now about those 10 lbs....
Isn't it great when we feel good enough to be involved in life? I have been feeling pretty good lately. Low energy and fevers but nothing in comparison to some weeks I have had. It is like a miracle when these 'good' weeks happen. I definately am grateful for life when these happen. It's like seeing color again after being in a black and white world.
Isn't it great when we feel good enough to be involved in life? I have been feeling pretty good lately. Low energy and fevers but nothing in comparison to some weeks I have had. It is like a miracle when these 'good' weeks happen. I definately am grateful for life when these happen. It's like seeing color again after being in a black and white world.
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