what if treatment doesn't work

[katee]

With a geno type 1b ....what happens if treatments don't work? What have others done? any other options?

[nygirl7]

At 22 years old you, unless you have had this disease since you were born and then also had a lot of bad luck or did a lot of drinking and drugs during that time too - chances are you don't even need to do treatment.  If you choose to that is one thing. If it failed you would most likely have plenty of time to wait until the newer drugs are approved by the FDA. They have a shorter duration of treatment and better odds of success.

[Trinity4]

I wasn't devastated when I learned I had relapsed.  Disappointed yes.  I knew going into it my chances of achieving SVR we less than 50 percent.  Actually, I wanted quiet time after the bad news, didn't want hash it over right away.  Treatment consumes a lot of our life for many months and in my case I needed a break.  Takes a while to digest the bad news but then you just keep moving forward.  There are no guarantees with treatment.

Trinity

[Cory255]

If treatment doesn't work you're going to feel devasated and let down.  Try and talk to people about how you are feeling and to get some social support.  Take a break from treatment or think about re-treating.  

[IAmTheWalrus]

Oops! Skip those last two, they were not from a real medical site!!! :0

I couldn't resist... I am sorry and won't do it again.

[IAmTheWalrus]

1. Retreatment with new STAT-C drugs looks very promising with shorter TX duration and better results.

2. I did find some interesting uses for Vitalizer_B (Dr. McCoy), but don't think it passes scientific muster.
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Vitalizer_B

3. Also Acalosian Water (Crusher, et. al.?)
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Scalosian_water

[banarep]

less sanitation and less knowledge of western medical ideas and practices

[pcds]

Why do you think China has such a high incidence of hep C?  I googled it and found China much higher in infected than even the US.  Very interesting.
Judy

[banarep]

I have done treatment three times.  what happens when treatment does not work, you wait till you are able and you retreat.  i was lucky enough to get telaprevir on my last treatment and am awaiting my 24 week eot test resluts - but everything looks good.

can you use herbs, chinese meds, etc.   sure, but they do not work.  If they did, why does china lead the world in the number of hep c deaths, percentage wise.  

just saying.

[Diane12855]

Do as Spectda says about posting your questions. There are new drugs being tested now that improve the chances for non-responders. There are many posts on here about them.

Hang in there!

Diane

[spectda]

Hi-
Go to the top of the page and click the green "post a question" button. You can start your own thread this way and will get more responses. You are using a very old thread from 5 years ago.

You will probably not die young from this disease. It usually takes 20-40 years of having it to get seriously ill if ever. How long have you had the disease? Do you know anything about you're condition? Your genotype, stage of disease and how long you have had the disease are all important to understand your conditon.

There are wonderful people to help you here.
Post your own thread as I described and you will get a lot of responses.

welcome and try not to worry too much,

Dave

[18987]

iam only 22 yeats old and the treatment dosent work for me. will i die young.

[CappyKirk]

Sorry Katee,
There are other options

http://hepatitiscfree.com/

http://www.dr-ren.com/

http://www.dr-zhang.com/startingtreatment.htm

There are many more sources that don't invlove interferon.

I wish my best to you and I'll be praying for your healing.
Chuck Kirk in the Beautiful Black Hills of SD.

[CappyKirk]

I suffered through interferon treatment! I was very sick about 4 weeks into it and continued to be sick for a year and 6 months after the treatment was over. The sickness was physical as well as emotional. DID IT WORK? I THOUGHT SO! Well until I recieved my blood test results 6 months later. Know it's back with a vengence. My orignial base line viral load was 1,000,000 now it's 9,700,000. Now they want to give me more. I say no way. Traditional Chinese Medicine here I come.

Sorry about the attitude. I believe that God put everything to cure Hep C and everything else. Here on this earth.

Boy do I need spell check.

[FaithfulMom]

Katee--If treatment doesn't work...you go on.  You keep fighting.  Treatment IS tough.  Most everyone has problems during treatment.  Many want to quit.  Many don't succeed.  However, many go on to live life to it's fullest!  

If you get your post-treatment test results back and you hear that it didn't work, you will go on.  You must.  There is no option.  However, you have to find a way to keep a positive outlook.

My daughter failed her first 48 week peg/interferon treatment.  Her doctor advised that she take a step away, and "live".  She's 25.  He told her to forget about her HepC and get her life back. He told her to come back in a year and see what the medical community is saying about re-treating.  Because she's young and has no major liver damage, she had that option.  She just 'forgot' about it (yeah, right!).  

She worked out.  She worked hard at eating healthy.  She got engaged!  She started planning her future.  

Now, we are back in this game.  She is a year out from a not-successful treatment and trying to figure out what she should do.  She is very tired.  We've decided it's time to check back in with the doctors.

My advice to you is not to live in fear.  If it doesn't work...it's OK.  "Medicine" is amazing.  Research is extraordinary.  "THEY" (you) will tackle this beast. Just make that decision.  Seek the best advice in your community, and if that doesn't satisfy you...go to a more advanced medical community.  Stay informed and fight!  

Your post says, "What if treatment doesn't work".  If treatment doesn't work...just keep on fighting!  Good luck to you (and all my prayers) ---E---