Aa
I'm very scared!
I was diagnosed with hepatitis c geno type1a. What the heck is that! They say liver biopsy is next to determine treatment. I'm very scared, what I'm reading this geno type does not take to medications. what other options do I have? What are the medications availlable?
They used demerol because I'd refused the first choice, Versed (bad previous experience with it and a careless annesthesiologist). Getting it IV, they cleared it out of my system the second the biopsy was done and I was a little irritated that I was required to have a ride home when I felt perfectly normal. Next time I'll just walk the four blocks back to my office afterwards.
I was sedated with IV demerol during the procedure
i want my next biop at your hospital...
LOL
i want my next biop at your hospital...
LOL
Dont worry - I was a geno 1A and 1B and still managed to beat the disease.
Treatment odds for geno 1s are going up every day thanks to the new drugs that are being added to treatment and to education and learning important milestones and things you can do to help improve them.
I never knew I had hep and when I was diagnosed I was already stage 3 - you should not put off a biopsy for fear it is too important to know how much liver damage you already have.
Like they say most people will die with the disease not from it but it is also called the silent killer because most people don't have symptoms until they have a lot of liver damage - you don't want to wait until it's too late to do something about it.
Good luck.
Treatment odds for geno 1s are going up every day thanks to the new drugs that are being added to treatment and to education and learning important milestones and things you can do to help improve them.
I never knew I had hep and when I was diagnosed I was already stage 3 - you should not put off a biopsy for fear it is too important to know how much liver damage you already have.
Like they say most people will die with the disease not from it but it is also called the silent killer because most people don't have symptoms until they have a lot of liver damage - you don't want to wait until it's too late to do something about it.
Good luck.
Welcome to the House of Horrors! That said, we all remember that panicky terrified feeling that settles over you when first diagnosed and going through the doctor dance. It stays pretty scarey until you actually start the TX. We were all terrified of the biopsy, too, but most of us laughed at ourselves later for getting so worked up. I was sedated with IV demerol during the procedure and distracted by the nurse while the procedure was going on. Just felt them moving around a bit in the numbed space under my ribs. It was perfectly fine and I went home and felt sorry for myself for the rest of the afternoon and was back at work the next morning with nothing but a tiny red dot covered with a bandaid. It's all scarey until you actually get things going.
Oh yeah, I was a geno 1b with a low viral load and cleared the virus immediately. Lots of geno ones succeed. I think the cure rate for 1's is underestimated and due for a rewrite.
Oh yeah, I was a geno 1b with a low viral load and cleared the virus immediately. Lots of geno ones succeed. I think the cure rate for 1's is underestimated and due for a rewrite.
??? where are you going where they do the liver biop under sedation???
not me wide awake for both of them, just a local and a perc or 2 aftwards
not me wide awake for both of them, just a local and a perc or 2 aftwards
I am/was genotype 1a - I did tx for 48 weeks in interferon and ribavirin and I am now SVR. I was told the same thing my doctors that the success rate is higher for the with 1b but have hope it is possible. My doctor told me that there are a lot of other factors to take into consideration as well. Things they said I had on my side were:
1. I'm a female (I guess we responsd better)
2. My age I'm still young (32 years old)
3. Low viral load (168,000)
4. Liver damage very mimimal (0/1) or (1/0) I can't remember that part for sure.
The liver biobsy is a breeze or they even have blood tests they can do now to find out the exact same information. You might want to ask about that.
Just stay as positive as you can and hopeful. I did and it helped. Faith
1. I'm a female (I guess we responsd better)
2. My age I'm still young (32 years old)
3. Low viral load (168,000)
4. Liver damage very mimimal (0/1) or (1/0) I can't remember that part for sure.
The liver biobsy is a breeze or they even have blood tests they can do now to find out the exact same information. You might want to ask about that.
Just stay as positive as you can and hopeful. I did and it helped. Faith
I had HCV 1a from 1961 - 2007 when I reached SVR taking the new protease inhibitor drugs in combination with interferon and ribaviron.
I led a happy productive life with the disease and so can you as long as you don't drink alcohol and take as good care of yourself as possible. There are many new drugs about to come on the market and they are very powerful.
As the others have said, a biopsy is no big deal. The biggest problem is boredom while you wait to be discharged.
I wish you the best of luck and don't worry; just enjoy life.
I led a happy productive life with the disease and so can you as long as you don't drink alcohol and take as good care of yourself as possible. There are many new drugs about to come on the market and they are very powerful.
As the others have said, a biopsy is no big deal. The biggest problem is boredom while you wait to be discharged.
I wish you the best of luck and don't worry; just enjoy life.
If you're interested, here's a real short (49 second) video showing a liver biopsy: "Worrying was the worst part." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N30cpR1RWQ
Hi mbic,
I am Geno Type 1 and the treatment cleared my virus. Yes, I was very very sick from the treatment but I no longer have HepC. I have other health issues but at least they are not life-threatening.
Mary
I am Geno Type 1 and the treatment cleared my virus. Yes, I was very very sick from the treatment but I no longer have HepC. I have other health issues but at least they are not life-threatening.
Mary
Welcome! I'm a 1.a and I just finished treatment. I feel very good and am hopeful that I'm cured or what they call here SVR. Get a good hepatologist and don't be afraid to ask questions of him/her and their assistants. Read up, inform yourself whether here or elsewhere. The biopsy was no big deal at all. I didn't even go under, just got a local. You have to stick around a little while to make sure, that's about it. Think positive, it will help.
The current treatment for HepC works about 50% of the time on Genotype 1. But, there are some very promising drugs in phase 3 trials that will not only greatly improve your chances, but will also shorten the length of treatment.
It's normal to be scared. This is a blow for anybody to learn.
Your biopsy will be the most important factor in what happens next. Many people have no symptoms and little liver damage for decades after being infected.
It's normal to be scared. This is a blow for anybody to learn.
Your biopsy will be the most important factor in what happens next. Many people have no symptoms and little liver damage for decades after being infected.
Hi MBIC:
Welcome to the forum! First, take a deep breath. Hep C is not an automatic death sentence. That's not to diminish the seriousness of Hep C. It could be a slow death sentence, if you weren't ever diagnosed or if you decided not to take care of yourself properly. There is a wealth of information out there on treatment. Some of it is good. Some not so good. But start reading from reliable, educated sources. Get a good hepatologist and discuss your treatment options. And you might want to shy away from those "professionals" who give you only one option. You are a human being with choices to make. You deserve to be treated as such.
Regarding the liver biopsy: I was a little freaked out about it myself, and I'm usually a pretty level-headed person. Turns out it was a piece of cake! No pain. I had a great doc and they obviously used the right meds. It's such a tiny piece of the liver that they take. Some people think it's an invasive procedure. That concerned me a little, but I decided it was best to have an accurate picture of what was really going on in the liver. The biopsy doesn't result in knowing absolutes about what's going on in the entire liver. There's a rare chance that the sample results in a skewed positive or negative direction due to that particular area of the liver being particularly healthy or diseased in comparison to other parts of the liver. You'll probably read about all that. While it is possible to get a result that is not very accurate, it is actually very rare. The biopsy is a really good way to get good data about your liver and the way it functions at this point in your battle w/Hep C. Knowledge is your friend in battling this virus. (I read up as much as I could before having the procedure and decided it was best to do it.) So, read up and make informed decisions.
Anyhow, that may be more than you wanted to know. You're not alone in the battle. Hope to hear more about your progress.
Mary
aka: m-strings
Welcome to the forum! First, take a deep breath. Hep C is not an automatic death sentence. That's not to diminish the seriousness of Hep C. It could be a slow death sentence, if you weren't ever diagnosed or if you decided not to take care of yourself properly. There is a wealth of information out there on treatment. Some of it is good. Some not so good. But start reading from reliable, educated sources. Get a good hepatologist and discuss your treatment options. And you might want to shy away from those "professionals" who give you only one option. You are a human being with choices to make. You deserve to be treated as such.
Regarding the liver biopsy: I was a little freaked out about it myself, and I'm usually a pretty level-headed person. Turns out it was a piece of cake! No pain. I had a great doc and they obviously used the right meds. It's such a tiny piece of the liver that they take. Some people think it's an invasive procedure. That concerned me a little, but I decided it was best to have an accurate picture of what was really going on in the liver. The biopsy doesn't result in knowing absolutes about what's going on in the entire liver. There's a rare chance that the sample results in a skewed positive or negative direction due to that particular area of the liver being particularly healthy or diseased in comparison to other parts of the liver. You'll probably read about all that. While it is possible to get a result that is not very accurate, it is actually very rare. The biopsy is a really good way to get good data about your liver and the way it functions at this point in your battle w/Hep C. Knowledge is your friend in battling this virus. (I read up as much as I could before having the procedure and decided it was best to do it.) So, read up and make informed decisions.
Anyhow, that may be more than you wanted to know. You're not alone in the battle. Hope to hear more about your progress.
Mary
aka: m-strings
Hepatitis C is a virus doctors have categorized into 6 major types -- the most common one in the United States is genotype 1 (subtypes are a or b). It's one of the things doctors look at because even though all the genotypes can cause liver damage, each one behaves slightly differently and is treated differently.
And don't be too scared of the biopsy -- my husband lost sleep for days thinking about it (he's a genotype 1 like you), and laughed at himself afterwards, that it was such a breeze after all his worrying -- usually it's done under sedation and you won't remember it at all. The biopsy is important because the information will help you and your doctors make decisions about your care and management options.
There are medications available, but they don't always work for everyone, and there is no one-size-fits-all. Not every person who has hep c needs to be on medication right away, so take it one step at a time, and educate yourself about the disease.
A few good places to start in trying to understand hepatitis:
http://www.janis7hepc.com/
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/
This community and the archives within are also good ways to help you answer your questions as they arise. I hope that helps, and welcome to the forum. ~eureka
And don't be too scared of the biopsy -- my husband lost sleep for days thinking about it (he's a genotype 1 like you), and laughed at himself afterwards, that it was such a breeze after all his worrying -- usually it's done under sedation and you won't remember it at all. The biopsy is important because the information will help you and your doctors make decisions about your care and management options.
There are medications available, but they don't always work for everyone, and there is no one-size-fits-all. Not every person who has hep c needs to be on medication right away, so take it one step at a time, and educate yourself about the disease.
A few good places to start in trying to understand hepatitis:
http://www.janis7hepc.com/
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/
This community and the archives within are also good ways to help you answer your questions as they arise. I hope that helps, and welcome to the forum. ~eureka
We were .all scared with our diagnosis so your fear is normal and to be expected. There have been many geno 1's that have cleared on the forum, granted the treatment is longer than a geno 2 but many have cleared. I will let the geno 1's chime in here. Good luck and you have come to the right place
Denise
Denise
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