Aa
How long should i go on when im free of the virus?
I have been on a treatment of interferon and ribavirin for half a year.
The virus does not show in my blood anymore.
I do however had a very hard time with the treatment and i feel
like im at the end of my strength.
This was of course the result i hoped and worked for
but now i got the advice from my doctor to go on
with the treatment for another half year.
This would better my chances that the virus will not come back.
According to my doctor the chances that the virus will come back when i stop the treatment now
are 40 % and when i go on for half a year it would be 5 %.
I would really like to know more about this subject.
For instance what would 3 months of extra treatment do for my chances...
Can i find statistics somewhere that back up the claim of
my doctor??
During my treatment i ended up 4 times in the hospital
with different complications.
Heart problems,skin problems,an inflamed jaw..etc...
Mentally im also at my end.The interferon has turned me in to
a grumpy ******* who sometimes cry's over nothing
and at an other moment feels nothing at all.
I have totally had it with the treatment and i need to have some extra info
to go on.
I feel like my body hardly can take any more of this.
What is wisdom in these circumstances???
The virus does not show in my blood anymore.
I do however had a very hard time with the treatment and i feel
like im at the end of my strength.
This was of course the result i hoped and worked for
but now i got the advice from my doctor to go on
with the treatment for another half year.
This would better my chances that the virus will not come back.
According to my doctor the chances that the virus will come back when i stop the treatment now
are 40 % and when i go on for half a year it would be 5 %.
I would really like to know more about this subject.
For instance what would 3 months of extra treatment do for my chances...
Can i find statistics somewhere that back up the claim of
my doctor??
During my treatment i ended up 4 times in the hospital
with different complications.
Heart problems,skin problems,an inflamed jaw..etc...
Mentally im also at my end.The interferon has turned me in to
a grumpy ******* who sometimes cry's over nothing
and at an other moment feels nothing at all.
I have totally had it with the treatment and i need to have some extra info
to go on.
I feel like my body hardly can take any more of this.
What is wisdom in these circumstances???
Best Answer
Well I'm hoping some if the other members will jump in on this one with some encouragement of some kind for you. I'm no doctor, but from my own experiences I can't offer any encouragement with either continuing or discontinuing your current tx. I had HCV genotype 1a since 1984. I treated three times. The first was in early experiments with interferon, and it was used alone. I didn't respond at all and it was discontinued after three months. In 2004 I was diagnosed stage 4 (cirrhosis) and was desperate to treat again. In 2005 was put on interferon and ribavirin. I responded, but not as much as hoped for. I didn't achieve UND in the time required by protocol but I pleaded with my doctor to let me keep trying. I finally did achieve UND a bit later and I stayed on tx and stayed UND through 15 months of tx. I hoped I was cured, but the virus returned at high levels only 6 weeks later. My last tx was triple tx with Incivek starting in October 2011 and going 48 weeks, ending Sept 2012. This March, 2013, I was told I achieved SVR, so it finally paid off. Sadly however, this story doesn't bode well for you. I'll try to do a little research to see if I can find the statistical odds for you, and hope they are more encouraging than my anecdotal odds, but it may take me a little time. In the meantime I can say if it was me I'd probably continue tx in spite of low odds, but that's more my nature than actual logic speaking. I would definitely encourage you to talk to your doctor about antidepressants if you are to continue tx. They can definitely improve your quality of life if you find one that is right for you. Zoloft has worked well for me. I'll be back with more as soon as I can.
Are there any specific symtons of 4th stage cirrosis, because although I have serious cirriosis I have no idea what I am suppose to feel like. Right now I am so tired I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I have vertigo. and wieght gain and big stomach. there is itching. But other than that I dont have any other sickly feelings. I know I should be asking these questions of my new doctor, but it will be awhile before I can see him. I am curious what you think.
I just realized there has been no mention of your ribavirin and interferon doses and your weight.
Back in the days of SOC that would have been one of the first things members would have wanted to know but there's been no mention of doses - unless I missed it.
Back in the days of SOC that would have been one of the first things members would have wanted to know but there's been no mention of doses - unless I missed it.
You have been given some very good advice in the above posts. I really do not have much to add.
As far as knowing your previous treatment response, it is helpful to know the previous treatment response. Being a null responder the last time you treated, means you are not really very responsive to Interferon/Riba. This, in itself, is a predictor of poor results if one treats with the very same drugs the next time. In addition, the fact that you did not clear until week 21 this time is a predictor of poor response. Plus, you have a more advanced stage of fibrosis, which makes it more difficult to treat and also the results are not as positive (SVR rates are lower).
I agree with the above posters who advised you to find a new doctor for a second opinion. If it was me, I wold find a Hepatologist who is affiliated with a large medical center, someone who is very experienced and competent in treating Hepatitis C.
Wishing you the very best.
As far as knowing your previous treatment response, it is helpful to know the previous treatment response. Being a null responder the last time you treated, means you are not really very responsive to Interferon/Riba. This, in itself, is a predictor of poor results if one treats with the very same drugs the next time. In addition, the fact that you did not clear until week 21 this time is a predictor of poor response. Plus, you have a more advanced stage of fibrosis, which makes it more difficult to treat and also the results are not as positive (SVR rates are lower).
I agree with the above posters who advised you to find a new doctor for a second opinion. If it was me, I wold find a Hepatologist who is affiliated with a large medical center, someone who is very experienced and competent in treating Hepatitis C.
Wishing you the very best.
You are welcome! I just want to add that can-do-man is also right, maintenance therapy has not been useful, so long-term use of these meds is not a reasonable option. You and your doctor have to evaluate the risks these meds are causing and compare them to the rather slim (but still real) possibility of achieving SVR, and your current doctor might be not quite up to this. You definitely need better control of the depression and your other side effects sound pretty severe if you have already been hospitalized four times in the first 24 weeks of tx. The idea I proposed about staying UND for a while as giving your liver a break from the assault of the virus is not something I've seen any statistical proof for, but it is more of a common-sense and anecdotal belief that is quite common. I feel strongly that my own long, and ultimately unsuccessful tx with SOC was a contributing factor to my cirrhotic liver staying compensated long enough 9 years so far) for me to be able to do the triple tx that cured me, but of course, I have no proof. Either way, you would probably benefit most by finding a more highly trained doctor. You should be treated by a hepatologist, and preferably one associated with a large liver clinic or a liver transplant center. Good luck!
Well the first time you treated your doctor was correct in stopping treatment. If one does not have at least a 2 log drop by week 12 then treatment should be stopped, why he is doing the same thing over again I don't understand but you should get a second opinion. I am pro treatment but not to the point of risking ones health. If it is not working staying on these drugs just to be on them is not a good ideal as you could be doing more harm then good, they tried doing maintenance therapy hoping that it would do the liver some good but things did not work out the way they hoped.... I know this is not what you want to hear and I am sorry.
You wanted studies that backed what your doctor said but they are not out there...... Again staying on these meds just to be on them is very risky. Good luck
You wanted studies that backed what your doctor said but they are not out there...... Again staying on these meds just to be on them is very risky. Good luck
Thank you so much for this!!!
Although its not the outcome i hoped for
knowledge does set me free in a way.
I will try and continue the treatment and hope for
sofosbuvir to get approved in Holland soon.
Point is i get so depressed from time to time
and physically i can also use a break
from the constant intake of poison.(interferon and riba.)
However i am totally baffled now why my doctor
gives me total other odds and averages about
my treatment.
Ill try and gather as much info as possible so
i can ask the right questions on Friday the 7 of June
when i have my next appointment with her.
Again.....you are of great help.Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (-:
Although its not the outcome i hoped for
knowledge does set me free in a way.
I will try and continue the treatment and hope for
sofosbuvir to get approved in Holland soon.
Point is i get so depressed from time to time
and physically i can also use a break
from the constant intake of poison.(interferon and riba.)
However i am totally baffled now why my doctor
gives me total other odds and averages about
my treatment.
Ill try and gather as much info as possible so
i can ask the right questions on Friday the 7 of June
when i have my next appointment with her.
Again.....you are of great help.Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (-:
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