http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Research-supported-antifibrotics---do-they-exist/show/346752
There was much discussion of this, a few years ago, when a Hepatitis Researcher (This is the name he used. Also referred to as HR) visited the Medhelp board. My husband has had many improvements while waiting for another chance to treat the virus. It did not cure cirrhosis but he stayed very stable and felt much better from taking these supplements.
One thing I would say is to avoid sweets/sugar foods and highly processed foods. They are hard on your liver. A lower glycemic diet is generally thought best for cirrhosis. Adequate protein is needed, according to the latest research. The older research indicated rationing protein but that has been proven to not be helpful, in most cases. Better results were seen with adequate protein.
Drinking lots of coffee has also been shown helpful and even increased SVR's when more than 4 cups were drank while on TX.
If you read the above post, you can click on Hepatitis Researcher's name and his profile will come up which will give you access to all his posts.
Some people are against taking supplements and some are for it. All I can say is that it has worked well for my husband, not as a cure, but as a way to hang on while waiting for a better drug combo. for non-responders.
Best Wishes
Ev
It depends on how advanced your cirrhosis is. From what you say you appear to still have "compensated cirrhosis". Early cirrhosis with no potentially life-threatening complications such as ascites, swelling of lower legs, vomiting blood, or hepatic encephalopathy (HE)(confusion and coma).
The real issue is what are the chances of achieving SVR? You say you were a non-responder (not a null-responder or partial-responder?). The average Genotype 3 patients have about a 40% chance of SVR when retreated with PEG-IFN alpha-2b plus weight-based ribavirin.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20646277
Your chances of SVR would be less because of your cirrhosis, but you still have a small but decent chance. Personally I would try treatment again. (I have END-Stage Liver Disease and am waiting for a transplant) You will know by 12 weeks if SVR is a possibility.
Only your doctor knows your exact health condition and so would know best if retreating seems like a good option for you. There is always a risk for patients with cirrhosis when treating. Treatment can cause a small percentage of patients livers to fail. Since you have a hepatologist they would be able to make arrangements regarding liver transplant in that worst case senario. You will need to find a hepatologist with the resources to treat you as patients with cirrhosis more commonly need "helper drugs" to get through treatment.
Of course if you are unable to rid yourself of hepatitis C it will continue to injure your liver and lead to End-Stage Liver Failure (ESLD). In time you will become sicker and sicker until you need a liver transplant to continue living. End-Stage Liver Disease is a life changing event that will affect you for the rest of your life. If I was in your shoes I would try treating again, what do you have to lose?
Not sure what your medicines are for. Heart disease? They are not for liver disease.
Best of luck to you!
Hector