Sorry....I've been busy. I actually wrote out a long reply detailing point by point. I may PM it but the bottom line is that it just confuses things arguing about points likening or contrasting HCV and HIV. I also want to avoid strenuously arguing minutae especially since this is an area where the data is very sparse and theory, not fact and data rules. My heart is just not into arguing the points. I truely don't know the answers.
I care about how our relapsers are and I know you do too as well as HR and many others. I know we have to prepare ourelves for bad news. It will really smart IF it comes so close to the finish line.
I'd like to think I still presented my point, whether right or wrong. Current trials will answer our questions soon enough.
I'd still encourage people to stay optimistic. You can see strides being made every week on this board. Think what has been accomplished in just this last year. The years that come will be better still.
Be patient....we will all get there.
Best,
Willy
i will give my one cent to your question. other's more expereinced will certainly have more insight.
according to Dr Shiffman in his article at CCO a slow response is described as undetected viral load between wk 12 to wk 24. if you are detected at week34, by this definiton you would not be a slow responder. he also describes a partial responder as one who has a 2 log drop by week 12, but still positive at week 24. so by this definition it appears you would fall under the category of partial responder.
as HR pointed out there are shades of response that should be individually evaluated.
perhaps he will come on and give a better answer to your situation.
i also read a summary by Dr Hassanein at CCO that stated if one is detected at week 24 there is no possibilty of SVR on that same treatment and it should be modified with goal to get to undetected.
however it was not clear what changes would be the best in this situation.
your doc appears confident of your response by what you write. this has alot of weight. i am not sure what changes you have made to your tx but i do wish you the very best and will keep you in my prayers. stay positive.
btw. if it were me, i like the idea of adding alinia since you are still detected at week 34. for me it would make sense if you are in the fight to have all the tools available to do the job. did you ask your hep doc what he thought about it? what length of time are you planning at this point on present regime?
hugs
actually in another post HR complimented you on your perspective regarding resistance.
i do agree with you that this view is speculative. i enjoy it though.
to throw a wrench into SOC influenced immune changes,. i also entertained this. however in my personal experience. i developed auto immune arthropathy first sx before SOC.
i have speculated that chronic hcv had altered my immune sytem that allowed this situation to present. no doctor will deny or confirm though. so in my case the virus altered my immune system that left me predisposed to this. again this is my theory. but i would bet based on 3 generations of family medical hx with no auto immune arthropathy present that my immune system was altered from the virus. luckily for me, SOC was successful and my immune sytem was not resistant to the SOC.
as my rheumy patiently tells me. the immune sytem is complex and although we have made great strides there is so much we don't know yet.
you are one heck of a layman though, and have very good reasoning in the realm of speculation and rational deduction.
kudos
My brain is functioning on a very low level presently. I have reread this beaucoup times...yet frustratingly enough, I 'aint gettin' it. Could someone explain this 'as if' they were talking to a 5 y.o? From the little I have digested, it seems more than likely I fit the category of 'interferon resistant,' yet my tx dr. says, "No" I am a very sloooowww responder with a vl of 1350 at 34 (or so) wks...double dosing the last 10 (or so). Please help. I've been in bed for the past three days...and the bills jus' won't pay themselves....
I don't want to give up...especially if my Hep. Dr. is against me stopping.....
After reading up on Lonestar's journey through tx., I feel like I may have a chance with infergen...again, Doc nixed this idea too. I feel desperate enough to try to get this Alinia from Mexico...i'm at my wits end. I wonder if it would do any good at this stage of the war. It seems I would have little to worry about reg. toxicity...but what the heck do i know.......it's not cheap either...
Guys what I said was speculation, please don't take it too seriously or over simplify what I posed as a limited scope *possibility* as a proven or well supported fact (cuz it ain't!). And jasper you ask "at what point dose the INF and Riba start doing more damage to our immune system than helping it fight the virus? " Again I'm not suggesting it does "damage" to the immune system, what I'm suggesting is that it alters our immune system. It certainly alters it while we're on the drugs and it appears to alter it in a lasting way after we stop taking these drugs. For some people that long term (and perhaps permanent) alteration involves automimmune issues (sometimes serious), for others it may mean more colds and flu bugs, for others it may mean skin issues (psoriasis etc). And perhaps for others it may mean a decreased sensitivity to IFN in the event there are any future attempts at using it again - PERHAPS! (i.e. that possibility is certainly in no way a done deal) Please don't read too much into what is basically a speculative dining room table discussion amongst amateurs (aside from HR, obviously). And whrose thanks for the kind words, but when you say "i am just now really get the gist of what you and Hr meant by SOC resistance" please understand that I'm not speaking for HR when I postulated what I did above. I did reference what he said about the permanent alteration of our immune systems after taking IFN, but the rest of what I said he has not subscribed to nor agreed with (that I'm aware of). For all I know he thinks it's a buttload of tripe - so please don't be under the impression I'm speaking for him simply because this thread has a reference from him quoting me and then in one of my responses I quoted/referenced him. Sorry for any confusion, it was not intended.
oh dear. i am just now really get the gist of what you and Hr meant by SOC resistance.
i think i will take a while and digest this. it is surely a large plate of information to consider.
again thanks mre....