72 weeks?

[bnowik]

my doc said 72 weeks of treatment, now after shot 24 he says half-way there, i thought i had another year of tx.  so does 72 weeks include 6 months of after care or something like that?
i thought if thats what it means then a few of us out there might like to know that it does not mean 72 weeks of shot, because iwhen i first read this forum, it seemedd like everyone else was only doing 48 weeks of shots, please help me to better understand.

[mycoldfeet]

I relapsed after achieving undectable I'm hep c geno 1a, using pegasys, then relapsed. Im just starting a 72 wk regamine. I'm not going to second guess your Doc but not knowing your viral load at 12 wks and 24 wks or if you had any interuptions in treatment. BUT sounds like your Doc cares that you achieve SVR and doest just go by FDA standards which change with the wind, so dont feel like the lone ranger, I'll be right along side ya for the duration, good luck keep in touch.

[Kalio1]

You are so right about that. We each are ultimately in charge of our own medical care. Our doctors can advise us but it is up to us to see to it we are getting GOOD, competant medical care. I know it is a major hassle to have to keep finding new doctors when the doctor shows incompetence but in the end your and your husbands' health will be the better for it. You are right again when you say you are his "boss" so to speak, you indeed are his boss and pay his wages. Incompetence can not be tolerated in a doctor, I don't care if they are busy, if they are too busy to do their job competently they don't deserve the job.
Good for you for being such a good advocate.

[jmjm530]

I was lucky with hepatologists and stayed with my second, although I consulted with two others at various points. I consider my hepatologist one of the best, but still I always have my lab reports digested and in hand prior to each appointment, and made sure I educated myself to pretty much know what the next steps were. When my hgb starting tanking, I made it a point to ask for Procrit immediately. After the Procrit I made sure to have my hgb monitored either weekly (or even twice a week) until it stabalized. In a sense, I pretty much researched in advance what optimal treatment would be and had my hep doctor stamp his approval on it.
NO doctor is going to give you the same kind of attention as an educated patient can plan for themselves. They simply don't have the time. Once you get to the point where you know what must be done -- and it really isn't all that complicated -- find a medical team that will do it. If not, move on.

-- Jim

[Mimi4141]

I would ask your doctor for clarification.  My husband has had 4 doctors now.  I keep firing them!  They do not seem to know what they are talking about. Doctor number 1 said,

[bnowik]

Well thanks alot ya'll, I guess i'll take my file  and read it my dang self.  









dutchman:  that's along time, glad your doing well now,

[dutchman]

Some doctors also prescribe a longer course of treatment if a patient has severe fibrosis and a harder to treat genotype. Myself, I treated for 2 years(OUCH) and have been undetectable for 10 months since I stopped.(SVR YAHOO!!!) I wish you the best.

[jmjm530]

I had one dermatologist visit during tx when he said, "If this doesn't clear up soon, you might need light therapy". I then informed him that he put me on light therapy two months ago. Unfortunately, you sometimes have to update your doctor regarding your stats each time you see them. I'd just tell him what he told you the first time (72 weeks) and see what he has to say. That said, sounds to me like you were  detectible at week 12, in other words a slow responder. That's probably why he ordered 72 weeks -- if he did.

-- Jim

[bnowik]

oh yeah forgot the stat's
geno 1-a over 2 mill count
undetectable at 16 weeks and and 20 week
since then one dept or another has messed up or didn't order proper blood work so no new news on that

[jmjm530]

72 weeks of treatment means 72 shots in mostg cases.  Ask your doc directly what he means by "you're half way there". Not to be cynical but he may have not been looking at your chart and forgot what he originally told you. Happens more than we'd like. You really have to ask him.

-- Jim

[NYgirl]

Standard tx for genotype ONE is 48 weeks.  

Doctors don't prescribe 72 weeks unless you are like me and have a dual genotype (I'm geno 1A and also geno 1B) or have not cleared until AFTER week 12 but before 24 and things like that.

I am sure your doctor meant that you would be doing 48 week if this is your first treatment and there are no huge problems.


Genotype 2, 3, 4 of course are mostly 24 weeks but doctors are second guessing that lately because of so many relapses and you will begin to find more 48 weekers around.