Haven't visited the board in quite some time but....

[St. George]

was wondering if people here have begun to add Alinia to standard treatment? I did a few years back and it worked. I had treated 3 times before to no avail but the  4th time with Alinia added it worked. just wanted to pass this info along. Ask your docs about it. I was a guinea pig when i tried it and probably one of the first in this country to use it.

[orleans]

Hey, We were txng at about the same time and I also used Alinia. I can not claim SVR but was UND at 2 weeks, thru out tx, and again at 12 weeks post tx (never did the 24 wk post PCR) so I am living as a SVRer. I only visit the forum once or twice a month these days but little is said about Alinia. I feel like it helped me txing though. Good to see your name pop up. jm

[evangelin]

I have often wondered how you are doing.  The last time you checked in you were having a lot of leftover SX and the like. Did that clear up?
Joe used the Alinia and daily Infergen for 15 months and it got him a 2 log drop by 12 weeks, which he'd never achieved in previous attempts, but he never could get to nondetectible.  After 15 grueling months, we had to give it up again.  There is no doubt that the Alinia gave him a better chance than he'd ever had before but not near enough.  He is staying very stable on HR's supplements though and we are just glad for that.
Glad to hear you are still around,
Ev

[nygirl7]

HR SUPPLEMENTS HR SUPPLEMENTS HR SUPPLEMENTS could you say it one more time in one more post just so one more person might buy them please?

[Boobert]

You've got issues!! What someone decides to buy and use is none of your business. I just wish you would keep your comments to yourself. We all now supplements are not going to clear the virus but they do help minimize damage. Grow a life and leave these people alone.

[nygirl7]

I do have issues, issues with people shilling for any product on a forum especially when the product has NOT been proven to do ANYTHING and they feel obligated to include them in every single post that they make on the forum whether they have to do with the subject or not.

$500 a month yes I think it's good to caution new people on things like this.

Whether you find it offensive or not is really aside from the point. If you want to buy them go ahead but at least you have been warned - and who said that they minimize damage where did you read that little factoid?

[willbb]

"He is staying very stable on HR's supplements though and we are just glad for that."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Deb...It seemed ,to me anyway .....that Evangeline was just replying to  ST,George as an old time member how they were doing.It seems they elect to take this regime to help her husband . I didn"t see anywhere in her post that she suggested any one here follow this protocol or buy anything for $500 or any amount.

  I also take a regime of products and have had for many years  and will continue to do so until I can treat again.Have these things helped me...well I guess no-one can say for sure.altho they haven"t hurt as I am still stage 1 after 35 years infected.

  I believe we all know that  there is only one cure to date .,however I guess I just fail to understand why it is so wrong for  someoneto speak.. of something that they thinks is helping them...."stay stable"   just my one cent.

WILL

[GSDgirl]

I think it is the principal of days gone by

[willbb]

  I have never really spent a lot of time  concerning myself with the past.

  hope all is well with you ...

[willbb]

Sorry Denise    I know you are only one person  :)   don"t know how that "s" got in there.

[GSDgirl]

willbb,  life is good.  

Fighting yet another sinus / throat infection.  My supplements aren't doing their job.  Yes I do take supplements

[evangelin]

I know St. George.  I like him and was excited to see him post.  He likes supplements and has studied them in depth.  If my memory serves, I believe he is a chiropractor. He was here when HR was here and he likes HR.
I didn't mentioned the name of the company that sells his formulas although I don't see any reason not to except that you don't like it.  I haven't been posting much anymore because it has become stressful.
You don't have enough knowledge to decide for everyone whether supplements are beneficial or not.  HR has uber-knowledge and the big letters after his name that they gave him because he went to school for a very long time to be called an expert in his field of hepatology.  He thinks the right supplements can make a big difference.  (NOT CURE)  My real life experience with Joe says, HR is right.  I want to be able to share that with others without TX options.
I have repeatedly told people that they can buy all the individual supplements HR recommends from his past posts, anywhere they wish to purchase them.  I never said they had to be purchased from the company you don't want mentioned. ( I also don't pay anything like the dollar amount you quoted.)  The unmentionable company was not even remotely in existence when St. George was still on the board.  I doubt he knows a thing about it.  I do have reason to believe he has respect for HR.  HR was particularly attentive to St. George because he had questions and was really pushing the envelope to get to SVR...with TX.  He was finally able to get the SVR so maybe he doesn't need to worry about the supplements as much anymore, but a bunch of us still do.
Did you hear what Willing said  the other day about people that respond poorly to interferon?  Teleprevir only gives them, in the range of,30% chance of SVR.  Joe just doesn't want to shred our life again for 30%.  We still are left hanging on to our little lifeboat of supplements.  If a better chance ever comes our way, we are ready.  For a 30% chance of rain, I'd probably leave my umbrella at home.  True non-responders are still in need of a way,where there seems to be no way.
Your above post makes me look like some kind of spammer and it is unfair .  I've been around here a long time and our story has not changed.  I am not a pushy person nor confrontational by nature.  The plight of the non-responders is just near and dear to my heart.
Ev

[Meilena_MHModerator]

Just a friendly reminder to everyone, you are welcome to discuss all treatment options, but please note "buyer beware."  Do your research, everyone has different medical conditions that can be a major factor in treatment.

[St. George]

Sorry to stir up trouble just wanted to see how everyone was. BTW...Alinia is a prescription med that really increases ones odds of clearing. Just wanted to tell newbies about this add on med.

[eureka254]

It's great to see you here and posting again, especially as an SVR!  

My understanding is that earlier Alinia (Nitazoxanide) data mostly demonstrated its efficacy on improving SVR in geno4s, but geno1 data from recent trials also showed improvement of SVR rates, though modest in comparison to geno4s.  Nonetheless, with such poor odds for geno1s still waiting for PIs, imho, adding Alinia, if well-tolerated, is more ammo to add to the arsenal, and every bit helps.

My husband was a cirrhotic geno 1 who was told he had pretty low odds of clearing, and predosed with Alinia off-label with doc's approval, and had a >3 log drop by week 4 and cleared at week 13, a response that surprised even his hepatologist.  Being tx naive he has nothing to compare it to, but it's great to hear from you that 2nd time around it may have been just the edge you needed.  Congratulations again on finally achieving that SVR!
And, hats off to you for continuing to be proactive in caring for your liver even after SVR.  Best wishes. ~eureka

[willing]

St,George : causing trouble again, eh? Good to hear about your SVR and recovery. Yes even for G1s alinia seems to improve odds. I added it to my current tx and have been pleased with  the results though other factors may have been involved (including,SAMe, a supplement!). However I had to stop the alinia after about 10w because of severe gastric sides. This seems to be a minority response.

NYG: All
>issues with people shilling for any product

this is nonsense  of course, however, while we're on the subject of warnings, it's worth remembering that supplements/alternative meds vary enormously in the amount of underlying scientific support.  HR , who is flagged by MH as a contributing physician, took the time to outline some supplement with good antifibrotic support, prinicipally antioxidants. Any review on fibrosis generation discusses the fact that oxidative stress promotes activation of hepatic stellate cells (hsc) - the agents responsible for liver scarring. He never advocated any particular supplement vendor. He never suggested reducing stellate cell activation would have any effect whatsoever on eliminating the virus.

As best I can tell the question of a financial interest comes up because HR is or was a consultant for one manufacturer of supplements, hepatitis technologies. Consulting to industry by liver specialists is a universal practice. Dr. Dietrich who is also flagged by MH as a contributing physician on this forum,  also consults for several companies.

Ev and others have repeatedly made the point that anti-fibrotic therapies are primarily  of interest to those who currently have no viable treatment options. This doesn't seem a hard point to understand, but somehow doesn't get across. The personal experience reported by Ev/Joe is very positive, and seems a huge improvement over just giving up and praying as suggested in a previous post. I hope Ev doesn't get discouraged and continues to share her experiences on the subject.  If PPC, sylibin and other supplements have value this is good to know, regardless of where they are bought.

[orleans]

You go girl! No need for this board to be dominated by any one opinion or person(s). jerry

[puppiepaws]

GOSH!!!  Everyone is so snappy... Look we are all here to support each other and listen to ideas..Everyone is entitled there own opinion.. If people are interested in thread and unsure do some research...I really enjoy this forumn.. Positive is the key to success,,,  

[NorthIdaho54]

If we could get back to Alinia for just a moment I was wondering if its a prescribed med (or injection) and is the "standard treatment" you speak of interferon/ribaviron?  

[Bill1954]

I’m not St George, obviously; but I think maybe I can answer some of those questions, Rhonda.

Alinia (nitazoxanide) is a drug that’s FDA approved for treating unrelated issues such as diarrhea for certain parasitic infections. It was discovered that it has some antiviral activity for HCV and has been studied, mostly in Egypt for an add-on to interferon/riba for genotype 4. There has been at least one clinical trial here that used it for HCV genotype 1; it was used as part of a three drug cocktail. It’s readily available in the US, but has to be prescribed off label for HCV. It’s an oral drug, by the way:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitazoxanide

And yes; the standard treatment (Standard of Care, SOC) as used in this forum generally refers to pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

--Bill

[Bill1954]

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=000772985894926410863%3Awvp_6dwxpvm&cof=FORID%3A0&q=nitazoxinide&sa=Search

[NorthIdaho54]

Thanks Bill, just want to find all options available.
Rhonda

[evangelin]

I asked my husband's Dr./P.A. if it would be possible to get Alinia to go with the Teleprevir cocktail as it made his interferon response so much better than without.  She said it was not likely, because of possible drug interactions.  If anybody else hears something different, I'd like to know. He gets the gastric upset SX  from it and it never really got better during the 15 months he treated, but it probably would increase his chances of Teleprevir getting him an SVR.  I know people that had no gastric upset at all from the Alinia.
Ev

[stef2011]

we are using alinia on hbv too, we use 2g and 2.5g daily dose every 4hrs to get same effect as low release tabs (since alinia stays in the blood only about 5 hrs and after 7hrs is so low that the effect is lost) and those with sides balance with continuous probiotics.

i use lactobacillus reuteri (in europe product's name reuflor), i choose this because i saw it combo with alinia for a trial on end stage cirrhosis encephalopahty (don t know if i wrote it correct) and i had problems in the first 6 months on higher doses than 1g

on our hbv experience we noticed that some tollerate any dose and some need probiotics but after 1 year of alinia comboed with antivirals my gut can go on any dose without probiotics, it is kind of it has addapt to it and i just take prob again for some days when i see an increase of stool frequency

hope this helps for those with gastro sides, we didn t experience any other sides and those with gastro are very very few

[DoraExplora]

Do you have any studies, abstracts or documention which shows the addition of Alinia will definately increase the chances of SVR with Telaprevir, Boceprevir or any DAA currently in trial stage?  I've seen it stated by some that the addition of Alinia may have enhanced the ability to reach SVR with the current standard of care.  However, I haven't seen any studies which prove that beyond a doubt and curious to know why the world wide hepatitis medical community hasn't incorporated Alinia as part of the treatment regime.

With Boceprevir, gastro problems, sometimes severe are documented as one on the side effects.  Do you think it advisable for anyone who is considering treatment with Boceprevir to add Alinia as part of treatment protocol?  

The addition of a DAA with the current standard of care changes the entire landscape of treatment and in my opinion I would not add another agent to triple therapy because it was stated by those who consider themselves knowledgable yet have no experience with the DAA's.  Because Alinia has not been studied as an adjunct with triple therapy or proved to be an effective agent which enhances one's ability to acheive SVR I don't see how anyone can say it it so, especially this early in the DAA game.