Hep C Treatment None Responder

[Brase]

I have been treated three times without response.  First about 10 years ago then again about 3 years in a clinical trail and then lastly early this year of the new medication Telaprevir.  On all three occasions I did not respond to the treatment.  Now I am constantly tired and achie.  I also get hot and sweaty then cold.  Is there anyone out there experiencing the same symptoms and or is this the beginning of the end? All doctors are telling me to wait for the next new treatment, meanwhile my viral load is duplicating daily.  

[alijee]

Very sorry to hear about your sad story. Would u like to tell what is your Genotype? and what was your relapse time? I was SVR in Sep-2009. A week ago i go to dr for complaining about indigestion and acidity. He checked my ALT and AST. These were 47 & 54 respectively (mildly raised). He asked to for HCV RNA PCR Qualitative. Im afraid why he is asking for PCR when im SVR?. Is it possible to relapse after passing 3 years of tx?

[Dee1956]

Hi, I am so sorry to hear that the latest tx did not work.  After I relapsed it took a long time f(over a year) for me to start to feel better
Hang in there !
The GS7977 is looking really good, all oral, not interferon

Bless you
Dee

[HectorSF]

What stage of liver disease to you have? (based on your biopsy or Fibroscan)?

If all previous treatments used some form of interferon you probably don't respond to interferon treatments. You are probably now resistant to protease inhibitors so you will have to wait for new treatments anyway.

If you have stage 3 or 4 liver disease you may want to get into an interferon- free trail. Or if you have lesser liver disease, you can wait a few years for the new interferon-free treatments to come to market.

"meanwhile my viral load is duplicating daily."
The hepatitis C virus replicates a trillion times a day in all people that are chronically infected. It is nothing to worry about. We are all in the same boat unless undetectable or SVR.  

Good luck.
Hector

[Idyllic]

Aww I am sorry. I can imagine how frustrated you must be. There are several members on here who have treated without success. I am on try #3 myself.

I doubt your VL is duplicating by the day. I would not worry over much about your viral load. The only time that number matters is during treatment since it is useful when determining a patient's response to interferon-based therapy.

Further, the viral load does not give an indication about disease severity (how much fibrosis is present) or disease progression (how quickly or slowly fibrosis is forming). What stage of fibrosis are you?

May I ask what the trial drug was the 2nd time you treated? How long did you participate in the trial. How about the third time with the Teleprevir?  I have always been a little unsure how long one would remain in a trial given null response. I am sure it varies. I can't imagine what it would be like to treat for any length of time only to discover I did not respond. At. All.

I am not sure what to say about feeling achy and tired. Treating HCV can definitely take a toll on the body. On the other hand there could be other reasons for this. There are many different drugs in trials right now with very promising results. It is anyone's guess who will make it to the finish line first as far as the FDA goes but I have heard estimates as early as withing the next two years.

I encourage you to hang around and read the posts by those participating in current trials. It might help bring your spirits up when you read for yourself how many people are attaining SVR.
Hang in there!


http://www.cpmc.org/advanced/liver/patients/topics/HepatitisC-profile.html