Hep c viral load

[calmblueocean]

Hi,
Have seen nurse today. She told me my viral load had decreased from 1.07 x 10 to power of 7 (as at July 07) to 4.9 x 10 to the power of 6 (early April 08). I started treatment 5 April 08 - genotype 1; F2 fibrhosis (according to heppascore). Can anyone decipher what the viral load is/was from these numbers? Apparently, the treatment will only continue after 3 months if the viral lead decreses 'log 2' - I guess that means to the power of 2? Any feedback would be great.
Cheers

[cindyh113]

Get a one gallon jug and carry it with you. Your goal is drink it all by 6 pm. Looks funny I know. You can get those plastic gallons of water anywhere for $1:or 2. Water does help? A Lot! Keep going and good luck.

[nygirl7]

I've found as I've gotten older (I'm 52), my thirst reflex isn't the force it used to be

I had the SAME problem.  Gagging down all that water was one of the hardest things in the world and I told my doctor quite honestly I didn't know how long I could stand all the constant peeing!

He told me that while things like coffee can dehydrate you it's not really enough to make that big a difference and the amount of LIQUID I drank a day mattered...juices, iced tea all included in the cumulative amount.

Whew.  I had less problem having a nice iced tea or drink than just only gagging down bottle after bottle of water.

for some people it's no problem for me it was tremendous and that TOTAL LIQUID a day not just water a day really helped me out.

I hope it helps with you!

[calmblueocean]

Hi, my viral load has decreased from log 6 to log 1 since I started treatment. I know this is good, Just wondering what my chances of clearing the virus are now. Genotype 1, been on interferon/ribavirin treatment for 3-4 months at this stage.
Cheers
CBO

[zazza]

One might wonder...

I am getting better. Had a backflash last weekend, depressed, crying, yelling at the kids (felt just like riba-rage). I think it was because my motivation to do things is returning quicker than the energy needed to do them. I am still weak which I notice especially when biking downtown, but I can do more and more, although a day being busy often means the next day has to be a day of rest.

I am taking care of myself - going to the hairdresser and the dentist. I am catching up with stuff I had to postpone throughout tx. I am actually taking voluntary walks in the woods nearby (twice now; never after the first 4 weeks of tx).

My face is no longer the color of deadly gray, my cheeks have pink roses on them! So I am getting better, although slowly, slowly. Feels great!

Thanks for asking. Hope everything is fine with you. Your words that tx will soon be a distant memory have comforted me.

[FlGuy]

How are you feeling?  Have you returned to planet earth?

[zazza]

That is the conclusion you should draw. You truly are one of the lucky ones!

[zazza]

Slow viral response (approx. 20%) - SVR: approx. 20-30% - Relapse: >70%
Slow viral response is defined as greater than or equal to 10 IU/ml at week 4 and 12, but less than 10 IU/ml by week 24, usually with at least a 2-log drop by week 12.
48 weeks is considered undertreatment.

[jdwithhcv]

Thanks for the info, it gives me hope that its worthwhile subjecting myself to this miserable tx.  
jd

[zazza]

Okay, sometimes I hate Medhelp. I wish they would fix this problem they have with handling numbers and mathematical symbols.

Let's try the middle section again:

cEVR (approx. 40%) - SVR: approx. 70-80% - Relapse: <15%
Complete Early Viral Response is defined as greater than or equal to 10 IU/ml by week 4, but less than 10 IU/ml by week 12.
48 weeks is considered adequate treatment.

[zazza]

The following information is taken from a table in the article "Therapie-Individualisierung bei chronischer Hepatitis C: Update" by MD Thomas Berg in the German journal Hepatitis & More, 2/2006:

GENOTYPE 1, 48 weeks treatment:

RVR (approx. 20%) - SVR: approx. 90% - Relapse: <10%
Rapid Viral Response is defined as <10 IU/ml by week 4.
Shorter treatment may be considered for RVR's with low baseline viral load (below 400'000 IU/ml) and no cirrhosis.

cEVR (approx. 40%) - SVR: approx. 70-80% - Relapse:  or = 10 IU/ml by week 4, but 70%
Slow viral response is defined as > or = 10 IU/ml at week 4 and 12, but <10 IU/ml by week 24, usually with at least a 2-log drop by week 12.
48 weeks is considered undertreatment.

Non-response (approx. 20%) - SVR: <0-5% - Relapse: -
Non-response is defined as <2-log drop at week 12 and/or detectable at week 24.
Intensification of therapy, i e increase of doses and extension of tx, is suggested, but it is pointed out that today there is no established treatment option for non-responders.

---

So, jd, this puts you in a category of RVR with a chance of 90% SVR. Congratulations!

[jdwithhcv]

Zazza/FLGuy

I'm genotype 1a, starting VL 6,000,000.  My VL went UND by week 4 (maybe before that but thats the first PCR we did after starting tx.)  You stated usually genotype 1's are usually not that lucky - does this change my odds of SVR?  FYI, I have remained UND since then and am just completing week 32 of tx.

calmblue

I have a hard time remembering to drink all that water, too.  Try your best to do it, though, it helps a lot with the side effects.

jd

[calmblueocean]

Hi, yeah I'm genotype 1. The 4.9 million viral load was just before the treatment started. I started 2.5 weeks ago (treatment). Gave blood specimen today - not sure whether PCR was one of the tests requested on the specimen. Feeling pretty good at this stage. Pretty petty, but one thing that's a struggle is actually drinking the large amounts of water recommended! I've found as I've gotten older (I'm 52), my thirst reflex isn't the force it used to be - I can go most of the day without drinking if I'm busy at work. So I've got to remind myself several times a day to drink drink drink. Even then I don't do it sometimes!
Thanks zazza/figuy for the info in your responses...

[FlGuy]

The viral load (10 million) was obviously before treatment started.  What about the 4.9 million, was that also before treatment started?  If, so that's the viral load that you will be considering as your baseline and the basis of comparison to determine, numerically and over time, how effective the treatment is doing. To get a good idea about progress, and as Zazza points out, you should have another viral load test (usually refererred to as a 'PCR') after the first 4 weeks which would be just before your fifth shot.
Hang in there.

[zazza]

Viral load July 07, 2007: 10'700'000 IU/ml (= international units per millilitre; I presume this is the unit used). This can also be stated in log10 form: log 7.029

Viral load April, 2008: 4'900'000 IU/ml; log 6.690

Since the variance of the tests is half-a-log up or down, there actually is no significant difference between these two test results.

I presume you are a genotype 1? Preferably you want to be undetectable by week 4, but usually geno 1's are not that lucky. The next thing to hope for is UND by week 12, or at least a two-log drop by then. In your case this would mean a drop down to:
49'000 IU/ml; log 4.690.

Good luck!