Stage 3+ Liver Disease

[dturner49741]

Just Diagnosed
Was told do not qualify for treatment cause I have COPD.
Does anyone have any idea what life expectancy is with no treatment?

[mp93096]

i am stage 3 grade 3 type 1a. today is the last day of week 12 triple thearapy. YAY!!!!!!. not sure what to expect tomorrow other then im going to eat a healthy fat free breakfast to start my day. my sx have been the worst. you name it i have  or have had it. ive been couch bound since day one. it is the hardest thing ive done in my life. but .... it is the wisest choice i have ever made in my life to treat. und at wk4 and will get my 12 vl results next week. told by dr my chances of svr are 80% as ive never treated before. i have hyperthyroid now because of tx but im not worried as i know thyroid problems are easily tx with drugs. i guess my point is if you knew me you would know that there is hope, im 49 sober for 5 years now been an alcaholic and addict since i was 16. i have one regret in life and that is that it took me so many years to open my eyes to what was really important. forgive yourself and others and things will start to change for you. good luck on your journey. god bless

[mp93096]

try the electronic cigerett. i smoked 35 years and it was the only thing that helped me quit succesfully. its been 7 months now without a smoke.  i still have urges but i can ignore them easier and easier as time goes by.

[ceanothus]

Well at this point, based on my own experiences with hep C and my mother's experience with COPD, I think your top priority has to be quitting smoking. It is very hard, especially for the first month, and I'd guess that if knowing about your lung disease hasn't made you quit yet, then you are going to need some help. Find yourself a doctor or therapist who can provide some support, find an online support group for quitting, and make quitting your whole reason for being until you've been smoke-free for at least two months. My mother died from COPD, and even with all I know about the possibilities of dying from liver failure, it still sounds better than what my poor mother went through. Quitting is the most important thing you can do, and it is also a faster process than treating your hep C, so it really makes sense to make it your top priority. Do it!

It also sounds like you are relying on a family doctor for most of your medical needs. Please get yourself in to see some dedicated specialists. A good hepatologist and a good pulmonologist will be able to help you so much more. It is good to maintain the relationship with the family doctor too if you can, as he/she can provide backup support and help you balance things out at times, but the specialists are critical for you. It is truly life or death hanging on this, so don't let yourself just go along on the path of least resistance. Your life is worth much more than that.

[JDB1964]

I have found strength and hope with a local 12 step group.  I felt I was coping with recovery and the knowledge of Hep C well, but joined and have benefitted greatly. Good luck. sometimes the body follows the mind!

[Boobert]

Buddy you can either do something about or die! It sounds like you've given up, even at stage 3 you still have time. Just deal with 1 thing at a time like the smoking first. I quit 8 years ago, at first I was trying the cut down thing but it don't work just pick a day and stop. After the first couple weeks it gets easier and easier. Your on this forum because you don't want to give up it seems, just slow down and make decisions in an order and do them. Good luck!!

[dturner49741]

All I know at this point is stage 3+
Don't even know what Genotype is??
Don't know what Grade is either??
I have COPD for at least 6 yrs. On 3 different puffers.
The worst of it is..I am a smoker. The more I try to quit the more I seem to want to smoke. I can't seem to quit the habit, I keep trying over & over, but here I am still smoking.
I have a lung infection/Phnemonia and have been sick for over 5 wks. But again I am still smoking. I got to be nuts!!
Just been told stage 3+ liver disease. I have a enlarged  spleen, I have Hep C. I am on a Methadone program from taking pills. I feel like I am on the fast track to dead. I have no energy, I am exagsuted all the time. I have not been at work for this is the 3rd wk I also have many other symtoms that I am suffering from, but not sure what is causing all them yet. Fam doc is away for another wk.. I am a little scared at this point and feel my working days are done. I am 57yrs old
Feeling pretty hopless at this point
Thank for all your comments this helps to ask some of the right questions.

[Xhrles]

I agree that he should get a full evaluation by specialists. If there is nothing that they can do then look for a way to stay healthy enough to wait for the new drugs. Treatment naive should be able to treat without interferon.

[ceanothus]

I hope you will get back to us with more details on your biopsy status and on what kind of physician you are working with. The absolutely most critical thing is that you be seen by a hepatologist who can work in a multidisciplinary approach with your pulmonologist. If you have a good combo of hepatologist and pulmonologist already and they agree that you shouldn't treat with the current drugs then you will have to wait for newer drugs to become available, but if you don't yet have that combo of doctors working together on your case, then your best bet is to work on getting the opinion of these specialists before you give up on treating now. Welcome to the forum!

[willbb]

you wish to take a proactive approach look in the ACAM directory for a doctor in Las Cruces,NM. He has a good record of alleviating the symptoms of liver disease using natropathic methods
----------------------------------------------------------------

That may or may not be..however I believe the advice given to seek out the knowledge of an experienced Hepalogist and Pulmonologist would be much more advantageous to the OP at this point .

Will

[Xhrles]

No one knows how long you will live. You can not treat with interferon and riba but there are better drugs that should be available without interferon in a few years. Possibly in 2014. Take care of yourself. Do not drink or smoke and follow a diet with low salt and limited protein and lots of greens. If you wish to take a proactive approach look in the ACAM directory for a doctor in Las Cruces,NM. He has a good record of alleviating the symptoms of liver disease using natropathic methods. Good luck and keep your chin up.

[willbb]

There seems to be a suspected correlation between HCV and COPD.given some of the data avail(I have linked an article below).
There have been patients in the past treat their HCV with the complications of certain lung diseases ,however it would seem  a multi -faceted approach would be need to be taken,meaning  being under the care of an experienced Hepatologist at the same time as a pulmonologist.

As far as your question about "life expectancy" without treatment for your HCV

This is extremely variable depending on many factors .not the least of which is the current condition of your liver .

Hopefully you are being seen by doctors involved in the two specialties I mentioned above and a treatment paradigm can be introduced..

Best to you.. and welcome to the group..
Will.

Pulmonary involvement is a common complication of chronic liver disease, mainly owing to decreased hepatic clearance of toxins or increased hepatic production of circulating inflammatory mediators – although mechanical and predisposing factors may also be involved. The severity of lung manifestations may or may not parallel that of liver impairment, thus rendering disease outcome predictability and patient management more challenging. Therefore, early referral of patients to centres that specialize in this medical field is strongly recommended – as well as a multidisciplinary management approach involving pulmonologists, hepatologists and, in particularly severe cases, transplant surgeons. The precise percentage of individuals who manifest lung complications of hepatitis because of viral causes is unclear, because many studies are confounded by patients not having been screened for lung disease at presentation of their liver disease. Further, the diagnosis of a lung problem is often made while patients are on antiviral therapy – which itself can cause lung problems in some patients. Prospective studies are needed to address this important issue.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/733979_11

[pooh55811]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I am bumping you up so that hopfully others will see your post and respond.

I cannot answer your question because I do not know the answer. However, perhaps if you give a little more information others could better respond.

What are your biopsy results - grade and stage
What other medical problems do you have
Which Genotype are you
What type of doctor are you seeing (GI or hepatologist)