Anybody else on tx #2 for geno 1? you guys were right!

[jerialice]

Hey gang, just to let you know, i went to see my doc yesterday and you guys were right- i will have to start over with tx for a year since i am geno 1. wah. the good news is that they put me back on the liver foundation which has a waiting list of 80 people. my doc is making me take the 1000 riba, as you all also commented on.
she says we will be much more aggressive with sides theis time so i don't have to lower my dose. interestingly enough, i am on per-intron this time not pegasys and i don't seem to have quite as much of a reaction. i will be taking 150 mcg. so here;s to you all, thanks! i was prepared for the news thatnks to this forum. i will be staying around, if you don't mind, for moral support. so far so good.....
anybody else on tx 2 for geno 1?

[jmjm530]

Even though hemoglobin (hgb) 12.4 is not a low absolute number, a three point drop in two weeks -- especially with men -- can account for your husbands tiredness and shortness of breath. Speak to your doctor ASAP about the rescue drug Procrit. Without it, things might start getting worse. Procrit will increase your husband's hgb but it takes 2-4 weeks to start fully working. If his hgb keeps falling, the alternate is reducing the ribavirin, but you want to stay away from that if possible because reduced ribavirin may also reduce his chances for successful treatment.

I won't speak for Mike regarding the two-week test, but my impression was that both Mike and myself were giving advice to a stage 0 who has different options than your husband who is a stage 3.

Still, the week 4 test might be useful to alert the treating doc how well your husband is responding to the meds.

-- Jim

[roaming]

Reading what you said about the 2 week test would be great to save from doing useless meds but I don't understand. I have read here people saying that even if you don't svr (which is the goal) you may backup some stages of damage. Is my misunderstanding in using both meds. My husband is a stage 3, grade 3. Of course  we felt there was no choice but to treat. I, of course, wish for svr but from reading here thought that if that is not possible, at least he might reduce damage by a stage or 2. Is this unrealistic?

[roaming]

My hubby just got his 1st blood results(2 wk.) His hgb went from 15.4 to 12.4. So that probably explains his spinning and tiredness. The week before last wasn't quite so bad. But this last shot. (5) He felt bad from the get go. (thur. night) More fatique and some shortness of breath. He is on a cpap and he woke up last night feeling like the machine was not keeping up with him. And today was feeling some short windedness. I figure this is probably another drop. That does seem to be how it happens right? I feel terrible for him but he really doesn't have a choice because of his stage. But in a sense, this could be a good thing because it indicates that the riba is in his blood. He is on 1400mg. Big guy. Love him. I am concerned of course. He is a 1a w/4,500,000 to start.

[susan400]

Me, I'm on treatment #8.  I'm a geno 1A/1B.  Treating this round with daily Infergen 15mcg, 8 Riba's and Procrit.

Susan

[jmjm530]

Mike,

I think the two week is an excellent idea but in addition I'd still get the 4 and 12, since that's where most of the data/studies lie. In the end it depends what type of SVR odds Jerialice is comfortable with, given the stage 0 status. I just picked being non-detectible at week 12 as one reasonable benchmark given the situation. Personally, I'd probably be more cautious and would stop treatment if any virus remained at week 4. Forgot how that compares with the 2 week PCR but maybe the both of them together could give some decent indications.

-- Jim

[mikesimon]

In case you can't get to the article the drop in VL that is predictive of a SVR is more than 1.39 log at the end of week 2.
Mike