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Fibroscan: Is it any good?
Hello again, fellow Medhelpers! Greetings from Buenos Aires, where we avidly await the beginning of spring. The winter down here in the Southern Hemisphere has been too long, and some people here think there won't be any summer at all this year. Global warming, melting ice caps, and all that sorta stuff. Argentines are hysterical. But it sure is unseasonably cold.
I hope I am still remembered by y'all with affection in spite of my past weird and occasionally wicked postings. I certainly haven't forgotten any of you dear people. You have been my port in the storm.
To give a quickie update, I am still without Tx, waiting for my hep MD to make up his mind what to do with me. I think these Argentine medics are kinda scared to do anything, afraid of scandal (can you see the headline: "American Tango Dancer Succumbs to Third-World Hepatitis Treatment"?).
The latest, and the real reason for this post (aside from my penchant for aggravating everyone with my dubious attempts at humor), is that they just got a Fibroscan machine at my hospital, trained a young female medic to run it, and I have been one of its first victims...er, I mean subjects.
The results are crazy and scary. It gave F2/F3. Now, just a year ago a biopsy and a FibroTC (tomography analyzed, see my images page), as well as many blood analyses and ecodopplers and whatnot, gave me as being F0/F1. How the heck can someone with almost normal hepatic enzymes (transaminases), otherwise totally normal blood tests, and scores of F0/F1 a year ago, suddenly be F2/F3? Is this possible? Is it credible? Or is their new Fibroscan machine a piece of junk, despite the cute operator?
Anybody out there with an opinion on this, my latest predicament?
All replies will be appreciated, and the one that is most helpful wins a free trip to Buenos Aires (by kayak and Moped) and three free tango lessons from yours truly (if I'm still above-ground).
Hugs.
Mike
I hope I am still remembered by y'all with affection in spite of my past weird and occasionally wicked postings. I certainly haven't forgotten any of you dear people. You have been my port in the storm.
To give a quickie update, I am still without Tx, waiting for my hep MD to make up his mind what to do with me. I think these Argentine medics are kinda scared to do anything, afraid of scandal (can you see the headline: "American Tango Dancer Succumbs to Third-World Hepatitis Treatment"?).
The latest, and the real reason for this post (aside from my penchant for aggravating everyone with my dubious attempts at humor), is that they just got a Fibroscan machine at my hospital, trained a young female medic to run it, and I have been one of its first victims...er, I mean subjects.
The results are crazy and scary. It gave F2/F3. Now, just a year ago a biopsy and a FibroTC (tomography analyzed, see my images page), as well as many blood analyses and ecodopplers and whatnot, gave me as being F0/F1. How the heck can someone with almost normal hepatic enzymes (transaminases), otherwise totally normal blood tests, and scores of F0/F1 a year ago, suddenly be F2/F3? Is this possible? Is it credible? Or is their new Fibroscan machine a piece of junk, despite the cute operator?
Anybody out there with an opinion on this, my latest predicament?
All replies will be appreciated, and the one that is most helpful wins a free trip to Buenos Aires (by kayak and Moped) and three free tango lessons from yours truly (if I'm still above-ground).
Hugs.
Mike
Im afraid to post the studies on valium and liver damage as i may offend you and some people here,i post the dangers of certain things trying to help and it dont go over too good.
Mike, I agree absolutely, it's best to know as much as possible about all options before choosing one. However, I still maintain that treating one way simply because a back-up plan exists (i.e. choosing to do SOC first simply because you could still do a protease inhibitor later, whereas if you try a protease inhibitor first, you may not get to try it again), is not necessarily the best way to go about making your choice.
The problem is that the biggest variable -- how you as an individual will respond to a particular treatment -- is unknown. So you can't really plan things out with much of a degree of certainty. For example, if you do 48 weeks of SOC, it doesn't work, and it totally knocks you out, would you really then be able to (or want to) turn around and do 72 weeks with a different interferon? I know I wouldn't.
My personal approach (or probably I should say my husband's approach, since he's the one who's treating, not me, though we did make the decision together) would be to select the treatment I felt was most likely to succeed the first time around. I guess you can see this by the decision we did make. Of course if it doesn't work we will be in the unenviable position of him still having HCV and not being able to treat with another PI. But we felt the trial gave him the best chance of success.
But of course all this is just my opinion. Again, best of luck whatever you choose.
The problem is that the biggest variable -- how you as an individual will respond to a particular treatment -- is unknown. So you can't really plan things out with much of a degree of certainty. For example, if you do 48 weeks of SOC, it doesn't work, and it totally knocks you out, would you really then be able to (or want to) turn around and do 72 weeks with a different interferon? I know I wouldn't.
My personal approach (or probably I should say my husband's approach, since he's the one who's treating, not me, though we did make the decision together) would be to select the treatment I felt was most likely to succeed the first time around. I guess you can see this by the decision we did make. Of course if it doesn't work we will be in the unenviable position of him still having HCV and not being able to treat with another PI. But we felt the trial gave him the best chance of success.
But of course all this is just my opinion. Again, best of luck whatever you choose.
Is that for sure, Rocker? Can you point me to any info on this? If Valium is bad for the liver, maybe that's what's causing the rapid progression. I've been taking it every day for a long while.
Mike
Mike
Hi, again, Bill.
Well, to answer your questions, I am still hoping to get back to the States next month, although with this new mess after the Fibroscan I'm not sure when I'll be in shape to travel. But what can I accomplish in the States, with no insurance and not even Medicaid?
Preventing me from treating here in B. A. is, first, I have to wait until my hopsital decides to do it. Then, there is the question of monitoring: I don't know if they have their new VL test, that reads down to 10U/ml, up and running. The VL test they used on me a year ago only reads down to 50.
There may be a chance here to join a trial, but I have no connection with the places doing it. My hospital is not on the list.
And then, the escape drugs question is a pretty serious one. At last check, my platelets were down. They're probably even worse now.
So I'm kinda caught in a trap. Damned if I treat here, damned if I go back to the States,and nowhere else to go.
But I'm not giving up. I could always sell my apartment in New York, maybe go treat somewhere in Europe where the attention and prices are better than in the States. I'm looking into it.
And maybe the MDs here will get their a***s in gear if I stir up enough trouble. We'll see.
Mike
Well, to answer your questions, I am still hoping to get back to the States next month, although with this new mess after the Fibroscan I'm not sure when I'll be in shape to travel. But what can I accomplish in the States, with no insurance and not even Medicaid?
Preventing me from treating here in B. A. is, first, I have to wait until my hopsital decides to do it. Then, there is the question of monitoring: I don't know if they have their new VL test, that reads down to 10U/ml, up and running. The VL test they used on me a year ago only reads down to 50.
There may be a chance here to join a trial, but I have no connection with the places doing it. My hospital is not on the list.
And then, the escape drugs question is a pretty serious one. At last check, my platelets were down. They're probably even worse now.
So I'm kinda caught in a trap. Damned if I treat here, damned if I go back to the States,and nowhere else to go.
But I'm not giving up. I could always sell my apartment in New York, maybe go treat somewhere in Europe where the attention and prices are better than in the States. I'm looking into it.
And maybe the MDs here will get their a***s in gear if I stir up enough trouble. We'll see.
Mike
Hi, Trish! Nice to hear from you.
I tend to agree with you. I don't trust this Fibroscan result, either.
As to my general situation here, I guess it isn't great. They don't have the latest stuff, and they aren't on top of things. But I don't have insurance in the States, and even if I could get on Medicare it would take forever, and would it be any better? I've heard bad stories about Medicare. I still think I'm better off taking my chances here in Buenos Aires, where at least I can afford the hospital, and the doctors are accesible.
I also now agree about Tx. I've got to bite the bullet. But this, too, depends on my hospital. And what are the chances of a geno 1b of 65 getting SVR from SOC, especially if I am now really F3/F4? Not too good, I think.
It's all become a real can of worms.
Thanks for the good words, though. I hope you yourself are doing okay. You and all my other friends at the Medhelp forum have been a rock in a sea of trouble.
Hugs and kisses.
Mike
I tend to agree with you. I don't trust this Fibroscan result, either.
As to my general situation here, I guess it isn't great. They don't have the latest stuff, and they aren't on top of things. But I don't have insurance in the States, and even if I could get on Medicare it would take forever, and would it be any better? I've heard bad stories about Medicare. I still think I'm better off taking my chances here in Buenos Aires, where at least I can afford the hospital, and the doctors are accesible.
I also now agree about Tx. I've got to bite the bullet. But this, too, depends on my hospital. And what are the chances of a geno 1b of 65 getting SVR from SOC, especially if I am now really F3/F4? Not too good, I think.
It's all become a real can of worms.
Thanks for the good words, though. I hope you yourself are doing okay. You and all my other friends at the Medhelp forum have been a rock in a sea of trouble.
Hugs and kisses.
Mike
Mike,dont want to sound like a pary pooper, but take it easy on the valium,not good for the liver.
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