Her hep C Just went away 5 yrs later on its own

[blondie717]

Hum , just saw a gal who had hep C, She just told me she got rid of hers on with no treatment. she said she just cut way back on the booze, quit the drugs. And they tested her and froze her blood sample... And it just left after having it atleast 5 yrs...Has anyone heard of that? Now im wondering why we tx if it might just go away on its own...I did think her skin looked yellowish. But her hep is gone

[Jakied]

The lucky few who clear without treatment will normally do so within 6 months of

infection.  Clearing Chronic hep C without treatment is almost impossible.

not sure if i believe this.

[willbb]

What she might have meant as Jakied says the acute infection sometimes clears in a small percentage of people early on,but after having it for 5 yrs.????????

And if she is jaundice I don"t think her cure of cutting  back the booze and dope worked so well!!!  Stay with tx. Blondie  

[hcvJames]

Let's put it this way ... I wouldn't base my tx decisions or even opinions on a story of spontaneous recovery and certainly not without the full details plus documentation! Could be wrong about this, but of the 20% who have spontaneous recoveries do so early in the infection, say six months area. After 5 years, doubtful. However, if so, more power to her, the likes of us will have to slog our way through. All the Best.

[James10500]

Cutting back on booze would have zero effect on the virus.  It would be better for the liver, but that's it.  Ask her what genotype she was ?  What was her viral load ? My guess is her answer will be ......what do those things mean.

[Trinity4]

Come on Blondie, you know better than that.  Don't know of any other way to say this but your friends story is b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t.

Quit the drugs and the booze hey?  Cure by abstention, now that's one for the record books and might fit nicely on fretboards thread over there on the social side " Dumbest Alternative Tx Ever".

[GFRY]

believe it blondie miracles happen , i am a good example of it , i have mild liver fibrosis stage 1 , i know i was infected 7,5 years ago , means the hep c virus remained active in my body more than 6 month(it couldn't possibly cause stage 1 fibrosis in just 6 month) yet when i had pcr it was undetected , i couldn't believe it had another one after 6 month it was also undetected so i had spontaneous viral clearance in chronic HCV , read my posts , also search for chronic HCV spontaneous viral clearance in google and in this forum you will know it does happen , BUT it doesn't mean you shouldn't do TX

[Trinity4]

Given your history history and testing along with the the fact you say you only have slight liver damage I don't believe you had the virus for 7.5 years and then spontaneously cleared.  You probably did have the virus but spontaneously cleared it many years ago.

If you think it's a miracle and that makes you happy so be it but there is no medical evidence out there to support your claims that a person can spontaneously clear the virus after having it for years.

Trinity

[GFRY]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B985W-51C0KH6-1&_user=10&_coverDate=10/30/2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=27742920625e9c1826101a32327ff8c5&searchtype=a
http://www.springerlink.com/content/x04v0782l5687756/
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Spontaneous-Clearance-of-Chronic-Hepatitis-C/show/98170
liver damage even if slight can happen in just 6 month? it takes decades doesn't it??
besides those are websites supporting this fact

[Trinity4]

What did biopsy show?  What was your viral load throughout the 7.5 years?

[RobertBeWell]

Maybe she developed her own strain of HCV-dismantling nanobots and is keeping it a secret until such time as she can raise the cash to go public with the company. Hey, this is the internet - anything is possible, right?

Where can I get in on the IPO?

RBW

[GFRY]

no biobsy as i did not need tx , only had 2 pcr this year both were undetected, i am certain i was infected 7,5 years ago as i had 7 blood trasfusions then in a plasma pharesis (another health problem that was treated then)  

[Trinity4]

What I'm asking is what were your PCR results during the 7.5 years you think you were infected?  Did you have any PCR's during that time?

Keep in mind, liver damage from a number of other things besides hepc.

[GFRY]

guys why don't you just visit the websites i mentioned above?

[GFRY]

never had pcr until only this year , i was tested negative for hep B , DON'T HAVE STEATOSIS from liver sonography , other types of liver viruses are not common here in egypt

[nygirl7]

Sorry Gfry but the guys in here do know what they are talking about. Nobody who is chronic for years is going to just spontaneously clear, it's not the nature of the disease. It's like saying you had your kidney taken out but then it grew back - it just doesn't add up.

Blondie she did not just clear after five years - I'd do as Trinity said and ask the relevant questions.  You will see once those few questions are answered. It's going to be at least "I dont remember" and believe me I treated 72 weeks and have been cured almost four years and I remember EXACTLY what my VL was pretx, week 4, week 12, week 24.  You dont forget these things.

[Trinity4]

Websites are one thing GFRY,  what I'd like to see is your clinical data with PCR's showing a viral load as in a number with IU/Ml after it throughout your 7.5 year course along with biopsy results confirming liver damage and then spontaneous clearance.

Trinity

[nygirl7]

PS We actually read those posts a long long time ago and I think it had to do with some rare Indians living in the arctic or something......I didn't believe it then and dont believe it now. It just doesn't work that way.

If you did not have a biopsy how do you know what stage you are?

[DoubleDose]

Yes, spontaneous clearance of CHRONIC HCV infection does occur, and in a variety of studies in various countries, usually tends to occur in 2% to 5% of the chronic HCV carriers.  Over the years there is a small percentage that tend to clear each year, but the vast majority remain chronically infected, and risk serious consequences or death.  So, bottom line, unless you really believe you can win the 'lottery', (and have you ever won a real lottery?) your best bet is to address the virus, and actively get rid of it by HCV therapy.  Waiting to see if you are going to be one of the rare lucky ones is a good way to put yourself into a situation where it is just 'too late'.   Its the same approach as spontaneous clearance of Cancer....you are not going to sit around an wait to see if THAT happens either!  

Now on the other hand, with ACUTE HCV infection, the initial and early stage of the infection.....it is the CORRECT strategy to wait for a few months or even six months so see if one clears the virus....This is a somewhat more frequent occurrance in the Acute phase, and for 15% to 30% of those Acutely infected, may allow them to walk away unscathed, without having to endure therapy.  After six months, if the acute infection becomes the typical chronic infection...it is time to consider treatment...and a good HCV doctor will know how to approach this opportunity with a high probability of success.

DoubleDose

[Trinity4]

In GFFY case, there is no data to support she was ever chronic.  Perhaps acute and then spontaneous clearance but no PCR's to support chronic infection occurred so I'm sorry, but I am skeptical.  

Trinity the miracle dasher.

[GFRY]

odds can happen in diseases , it's rare but it does happen , biobsy doesn't matter , i do have liver damage in sonography , the very slightest damage can't just happen in 6 month

[GFRY]

believe me i would love to believe i cleared during acute stage and not just one of the odd cases , but i am not (my sonography says i have slight coarse echopattern) , it was done by a very professional sonarist

[Trinity4]

Ok, I give up, you win.  You spontaneously cleared after 7.5 years and ultrasound shows you have liver damage it is unequivocally attributed to having had chronic hepc  Let's just hope others don't think the same thing will happen to them.  Have a healthy life, after all you are virus free and that's the most important thing.

Trinity

[GFRY]

i don't ever encourage people with chronic HCV to wait for spontaneous clearance, i totally want them to go for treatment , after all if i am right it's extremely rare

[Boobert]

I quit the booze and drugs 9 years ago, why do I still have it? I wish it were that easy.