High vreses low viral load in Hep c patients

[litecloud]

I was dignosed with hep c 1 yr ago. My viral load at that time was 18 million with normal alt levels. I have not been treated but I have changed my diet to a nutritional one and I do not drink anymore, my hole life has changed. I live one day at a time. I recently went to the doctor and my viral load was at 1 million with an alt count of 57, high normal being 40 on their scale. How could this be. Is this normal, could I really beat this desease with the right choices I have taken. Please advice thank you, litecloud

[LvdByGod]

i am as confused as you are by his statement. i think he is just preparing me mentally for this. he hasn't done any thing besides talk about it. but, this was my first visit to him.

i can't believe the differences in my 2 doctors. one acted like the whole thing was no big deal and this one talks of transplants and doing high dose interferon, and multiple biopsies in the future.

my old dr. would have taken me off tx this month and sent me on my merry way. i'm 3a in month 5. no test for viral load yet. i don't even know if i'm clear yet.

but, my new dr. is baseing this soley on my alt/ast... numbers. they are still high. so the liver is still dieing for some reason.

i think do to being overweight or perhaps not being clear of the virus yet. he infered that it could be just due to the extent of damage in the liver just continueing. there is obviously some people who clear and their liver improves and others the liver just keeps getting worse,clear or not clear...that is his reasoning for future biopsies. i agree with the new dr. this is what i have suspected from my reading...

who knows at this point i am preparing myself for the worst.

[mumsie]

Hi there I had both hep A & B shots before & flu shot, also had ultra sound which showed everything was normal, then had biop, whole different ballgame, stage 3 grade 3,I'm a geno 2, did shot # 9 last night of 24,the combo 800 riba & .5 peg .Have just picked up this real attractive sx of red dry burning skin turning white peeling stuff on my face and scalp,next chapter who knows everyone seems to be different.Just be as healthy and happy,think possitive,as you can muster, arm yourself with knowledge and get your shots.Gone shopping....Sue

[cuteus]

Is that redness around your eyes also? Itchy red on lids and under eyes?  I'm on #38 and PA doesn't believe is TX related this late in the ballgame.  I'm on Atarax for it and cortisone cream.  red raccoon eye syndrome, lol.

[karley]

Litecloud, I hope you see this.... didn't get back online till this morning so didn't see your question till now.

What I really meant to say is that my doctor couldn't explain to me what is the relationship between high viral load and elevated liver enzymes.  After years of having this disease and looking for all the world like I would be asymptomatic and healthy indefinitely, my enzymes went up.

In the absence of an explanation, this is what I think:  I attribute it to a medication I was taking called Fosomax, for osteoporosis. Having the early signs of it, and being only in my 40s, my doctor put me on it.

After 3 mos. of taking it, my enzymes shot up to 70s-80s. I admittedly am self-diagnosing here, but the rest of the story is hard to ignore. After 3 more months they climbed to 170 - 240.  I was still taking the fosomax. Then, despite my doctor's assurances that it was safe, I quit taking it. After 3 months my enzymes went down slightly. After 6 months they went down to high 40s. Isn't that uncanny?

Doctors don't like anecdotes, and two of them have discredited my insistence that the fosomax was the culprit. But I will always wonder.

I think the main thing is to constantly watch the enzymes and watch for symptoms. It sounds like you're doing great.

[litecloud]

Thank you Larry.
HEP B vaccine should be vaccinated? If so before or after treatment.
Larry was saying he had all this eye problems because of his meds. I am not on any meds and my eyes are dry and burn at times already. Boy the things am looking foward to. Am glad I found you guys, I can vent, when things don't go to well, am hoping you guys won't mind.

[olittle1]

Knowing the condition of your liver by the results of a biopsy is helpful information. Mine was almost no fibrosis.  I don't remember the inflamation but it was low. I discovered I had Hep C in Nov 2001 and began "alternative" treatments which were really methods to improve my health and try to boost my immune system.  I lost 20 lbs and in some ways felt much healthier but the fatigue remained and seemed to be getting worse which weakened my resolve. I started smoking again in a moment of desperation.  Dumb! The old nicotene addiction was stronger then ever but the effects of smoking were poisonous. I managed to substitute nicotene gum 5 months later and started tx for 6 months. Pegasys Genotype 2B. Last shot Aug 1, 2003. 30 days after tx feeling better, SVR. 90 days post tx; ALT 145, viral load 1.7 million.  Calcium low, fasting glucose 120. Doc says wait til after holidays & will look at treating again. I had been having problems since tx with my eyes, very bloodshot in the mornings,light sensitive at night, taillights and traffic lights seemed exceptionally bright and headlights from oncoming traffic would almost blind me. Really felt the fatigue in my eyes by the end of the day. Went to an Opthamologist, they found blood vessels in my eyes leaking blood. Said it wasn't a common side effect but it was definitely from the interferon. Said it was similar to what they find in people after 20 years of full blown diabetes.  Had laser treatment to cauterize the vessels. Doc now says the risk of damage to my vision from interferon is greater than the risk of damage to my liver from Hep C and recommends I not do tx again, get blood work every 6 months, maybe a biopsy in 4-5 years and maybe there will be new non-interferon drugs in about 5 years.  I was pretty sure I was gonna kick that dragon's ass. Like others I felt like I was lucky to be 2B and was humbled many times on this board by the suffering of others and the courage and attitude they shared. Of course after treatment I returned to eating the way I did before knowledge of Hep C, confident that I was "cured" and deserving the indulgences after having spent 6 months on the "rack" of peg combo. I hope this doesn't scare anybody. Any loss of vision I have is on the periphery, and I don't even notice it.  I get my eyes rechecked in June. Hopefully thats the end of it. I celebrated 19 years sober and drug free in December, (another aging child of the 60's.) Seems like the last 5-10 years have been spent trying to "improve the quality of my life". Sometimes I think we cling so dearly to life we forget to live it. Last week I had to put my Mom age 84 in an assisted living program in Florida.  The doc says she has the heart and lungs and intestines of a 30 year old, but she will tell you the same story 3 times in 30 minutes.  She has a remarkably strong spirit and will to live (sometimes called stubborness). Last month I bought a Harley. I had to give up motorcycles 25 years ago because they were threatening my research of uncontrolable substances. I'm looking forward to cruising the back roads of Michigan this summer in the evenings after work and on week ends. May we each find what we're looking for. Peace! Larry