My mother had mild cirrhosis. She took Solvadi and Olysi when it first came out in 2014. She was one of the first. She has died from that medicine. While many hear do not want to hear my story, and I have been blocked by many sites, and my threads have been locked, I am hear to tell you to watch your mother's care like a hawk. I would tread medicine very carefully. We watched our mother die from date week of Solvadi and Olysio. If you would like to PM me for more information, please do. I am only hear to spread the word of how bad hepc is and with the medicine that prove cures it.. it killed my mother.
I am so excited about the new treatments you might get the idea I work for big pharma. I don't, but I have stage 4 and almost a 7 million virus count of geno 1a. I was treated with Sovaldi and relapsed almost as soon as I quit taking it. I got retreated with Harvoni and cleared the virus and just had a three month lab pull and am still clear. If you have hep c you picked the right time in history to treat it.
If I had one universal answer to give it would be to see a hepatologist. Hep c treatment is changing by the day and it's all good. I should have been dead by now and I feel better than ever.
So sorry Cash that your biopsy was worrisome.
This is an old thread from 2012
You will get alot of help and support if you go to the top of this page to the green button it says post a question. Use a title and then you can add your story.
Take care
.....Kim
I have just been told I have stage 4 cirrhosis with Hep C already went thru the ribavarin interferon treatment 5 yrs ago just had another biopsy went From end stage 3 to stage 4 I am scared to death don't know what to expect from here.
Hi Sue.
I am sorry about your diagnosis. This is an old thread and will likely disappear and not be seen again.
You need & deserve answers & options
Please, please, please copy and repost your question. Use the orange button at the top of the page. Like this:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_photos/show/292342?personal_page_id=1282072
Or even here (Cirrhosis Forum)
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Cirrhosis-of-the-Liver/show/1390
Wasdiagnosed withstage 4 of 4 in April 2012 after a liver biopsy. According toin PUG score 10 to 15 years to live. In extreme pain and nothing seems to help been in bed 90% of the time since Feb. Don't know what to e Have lost over 150 lbs in past 1 1/2 years. Go to Vanderbilt Hospital on 11/29/12, scared to death. Any advice?
Thank you so much for the information Hector,and James. I will call today and ask..I'll let you know ..
You can have a MELD score and not have ESLD. For instance I have cirrhosis but not ESLD and my MELD score is 6. 15 and above is not good, below is good(as far as these things go), below 10 is even better.
http://www.globalrph.com/meld_score.htm
The above is a MELD calculator. As you see it has three components derived from blood tests. It would be a good idea to keep copies of labs, biopsy results, etc. All the best to you and your Mom.
"compensated or decompensated (... do they know from the biopsy?) "
No. A biopsy identifies the stage and inflammation of liver disease. Other tests (blood, endoscopy, etc.) symptoms and complications and MELD score identify how advanced the cirrhosis is.
Hector
"Her doctor did not tell us if she was compensated or decompensated."
Call the doctor and ask... Does she just have beginning cirrhosis or has she advanced to End-Stage Liver Disease? Then you will know what the options are.
"She does have some symptoms I have seen listed, such as itching, easily bruising/bleeding, nausea, edema/ascites (could be contributed to congestive heart failure?) personality changes, changes in sleep patterns, fatigue, soreness, and depression."
Compensated cirrhosis has little if any symptoms or complication in most patients. "If" she has the symptoms and complications you say she has (ONLY a doctor can truly diagnose a patient) then she has End-Stage Liver Disease (ESLD). Otherwise know as decompensated cirrhosis. If she has ascites, hepatic encephalopathy (sleep pattern changes, personality changes) she has ESLD.
Is stage four considered end stage liver disease?
No. Stage 4 just means cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is divided into stages itself depending on how advanced it is.
If and I say if she has ESLD she will need a liver transplant to continue living. Estimated time of survival is based on the MELD score.
What is her MELD score?
"I guess in plain terms how bad is it? "
A person can't live without a functioning liver. So if she has ESLD she will need a donor liver to continue living.
Are we talking ribavirin and interferon treatments, or liver transplant?
If she has ESLD, then it is probably too late for hepatitis C treatment. She will need a liver transplant.
Call the doctor and ask if she has ESLD and what her MELD score is.
Without these facts it is all guess work and speculation. Once you have the facts then we can help you. If she only has beginning cirrhosis she may be able to treat her hepatitis C.
Good luck.
Hector
Thanks for the response. She has type 1. So it all depends on the compensated or decompensated then. (Seems like the doctor SHOULD have explained that.. do they know from the biopsy?)
I keep thinking..it's okay.. were just going to have to do treatment..and then..
I looked up MELD.."survival probability of a patient with end-stage liver disease" Is this referring to life expectancy? Stage 4 is end stage?!
I am so terrified.
Stage four IS cirrhosis. Once there the liver can be compensated decompensated. Which one determines treatment or transplant. You might also ask for a MELD score. ELSD is decompensated. How bad is it? Plainly speaking... it is stage 4 of 4, so pretty bad. As in, don't panic, but don't wait a year or two, follow-up with treatment as soon as it can be setup. Whereas it may have taken decades to get here, it proceeds relatively quickly now. Welcome to the forum, it is an active forum with many knowledgeable and supportive people. What type of Hep C does she have? Let us know what the specialist says.