SVR 5 years and counting!

[cuteus]

Med Help is a bit different from when I started and finished Tx so I am not sure where this post might belong. I guess I will make it about tech information to conform... 2003-Dx with Hep C by rheumatologist who had heard about joint aches and pains been related to chronic hep c infection. She was right! after 10 yrs of searching for the reasons for my aches, I had an answer. Bx Stage 1/2, low VL, female, 51 yrs old, G1, infected 10 or 20 yrs. Decided on tx due to unwillingness to live with hep c, and waiting to see if I was one of the lucky ones that will not advance and get liver Ca. Plus the older you get the harder tx can be and if you relapse, you are even older to start tx again. Had good insurance, aware of  known side effects and possibility of unknown ones. You can't tell how tx will be for you until you try it. I did Pegasys/Riba  combo, did not clear by wk 12, cleared sometime bt that week and wk 26. Pushed for longer tx based on studies at the time that showed better SVR rates for slow responders with longer therapy. Did 74 wks and just had my fifth PCR (5yrs). <43 IU/ml (it used to be <50) Cobas-Taqman kit.  Results- In range. Negative! Tx was doable, but not easy.  I felt like a zombie sometimes, had a breakdown when my trash can had more of my hair than I did, hemoglobin dropped low enough where breathing was hard and I pushed for Procrit. You need to demand what you need to survive the tx: effective pain meds(I had Vicoprofen), blood boosters to keep you working and exercising (very important in order to sustain you during tx and ensure speedy recovery post tx), you can't just wait until HGB drops to the level the dr is waiting for. It is your body, your tx, your health, I was not going to risk injuring my cardiovascular health my enduring untreated anemia for months.
Hang in there, those of you on Tx, there is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, do whatever it takes to make it there safely.  
Post tx side effects-no more than before tx, living with a hyperactive immune system for years due to the battle with hep c, can exert a lot of stress on the body and extrahepatic symptoms might not improve after tx. Yoga and Zumba can keep things functioning at its best.  During Tx, I managed to continue my cardiokickboxing class, for mental and physical health, Procrit helped me continue that.
ON with the fight! Good Luck and hope to see you in the SVR club. In my days it was the SVR train, not sure what it is nowadays.
PS: post tx, I have only endured one bad cold and no flus, not sure what happened to my immune system post tx, but it is nice not to have to worry about runny noses, stuffed sinuses, coughs, etc. Someone shoud research post tx immunity boosting.

[Butterfly45]

Thanks for sharing.  I am in week 20 and the horror stories I have been reading about Post Treatment are scaring me to death.  I too was tired of being sick from HEP C.  I have no liver damage, my doc told me my chances of ever needing a liver transplant or getting cancer from HEP C were 95% it would NEVER happen, but I decided to to tx anyway because I was tired of being constantly sick from the HEP C.  I want to continue the rest of the way, I'm four weeks away from being half way through.  I cleared the virus before week 12, so I am encouraged that I will beat it, but I am not willing to beat hep c to end up worse off in Post Treatment.

[meakea]

Thank you for coming back and sharing your story!!!  I am happy for you all the way around.  :)

[frijole]

Always the teacher and encourager.  Excellent post, my friend.  Life goes on (oh bla dee) and you are exactly correct -- it is easier to treat when you are younger and not hampered by what they call comorbidity - other health problems that pop up as we age.  

You are so right about the excercise too.  It is very important to keep the whole system functioning throughout this long treatment. I think a lot of people think they will suffer through without a blood booster thinking that this is better than taking another #%*## drug - especially an injectible drug.  Not so,  QOL is everything.  That is also why this site is still kicking.  We need the stimulus provided by others that are in the same boat.  I personally could not have done without MH and the friendships I made.

frijole

[merryBe]

wow, how good to hear such stories!!!  You really fought hard and it paid off.

I'm suffering some cardio stuff lately and wondering where it came from.

doc says if I treat again they'll be more aggressive with the procrit and not wait so long...

God I hope so.

funny about the cold thing...you may be on to something there...got a dozen other new issues but bugs aren't one of them. Well, about time there was a perk or 2.

thanks for sharing your story.

[GreatBird]

This is great news! So glad you came back to share it. And interesting about the colds/flu.

[can-do-man]

WOW, what a nice surprise to see your name here. Thought for a moment i was having a flash back. Really glad to see all is well, don't be a stranger ok?

cando

[Rosebud41]

Thanks, for telling your story.
It's encouraging.


Thr Bud

[toaofpooh]

This is great story and you are a brave soul. Thank you for sharing, simply inspirational!

-toa

[TeeTom]

That is great news. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing with us.

Teetom

[willing]

holy mackerel .. I thought  thought someone had dredged up an ancient post again but it's really you!

Good to hear you're feeling well and fit after all this time. And interesting about the colds - people are dropping like flies all around me and I can't remember the last time I had a cold/flu. Of course most of the time they feel fine whereas I get knocked off my *ss by fatigue and general blah every other day.. still I thought the colds would come back after SVR.

[epiphiny]

Thanks for the update, good to hear you are doing so well!

You are the first person I have heard mention enhanced immune system post-tx - I have also not had a cough, cold, or sniffle since finishing tx (albeit it's only 10 months since finishing) and I haven't mentioned as I thought I might be just imagining it.

Prior to achieving SVR (Oct 2009) I used to get every bug that was going and I would always end up with a secondary infection of some kind.  I'm really hoping this trend will stay!

Thanks again for your good news!

Epi :)

[Bali05]

Do remember what your starting VL was ?

[mikesimon]

It's nice to see your name and hear that you're doing well.
Mike