To many geno 2 and 3 relapsing... and not enough studies done.. all 2

[Mister beagle bailey]

I have found no real studies done on geno 2 and 3 and after seeing all the forum members post yesterday that they relapsed.  I thought it would be a good idea to group us together to see just how many of us there are.  This may help us see clearer what the next step should be.

Please sign in and give your stats:

Geno 2B
VL before tx: 318,000   relaped VL:  4 million
Did peg-intron 120  Riba 800  Did not lower dose durning treatment
Procrit since week 2  Did tx 24 weeks was UND still at shot 23
4 weeks post tx: ALT 13  AST 24

Thanks

Beagle

[anise]

I am a Genotype 2b, had the virus (we think) for 25-30 years.

VL - 698,000 ( nine months earlier, VL 29,943 aprox.)

Liver - Stage 2, Grade 2 (or did I get that backwards?)

Had a 6 week PCR - UND, 24 week PCR - UND.  Waiting for 3 months post treatment PCR in late Oct.

Alt/18    Ast/28  after first week of treatment and stayed the same throughout

Peg - 120, Riba 800   Weight a little high (maybe should have done more riba)

No rescue drugs - HGB went from 15.1 to 11.1 during treatment.  Platelets went from 250,000 to 108,00 and went up as treatment continued.

I so agree that we need to get doctors to look at Genotypes 2&3.  Just because we are in the minority doesn't mean we should be left out of studies.  Also, I asked my NP what happens if I don't get an SVR.  She said that they don't retreat 2's and just wait and see what happens to the liver over time.  Reassuring to say the least!

[Kalio1]

I agree but the numbers dictate the studies I would think. The vast majority in the US have geno 1 which explains why most studies in the US deal with geno 1. Geno 2 and 3 are much more prevalent in other coutries so our best hope for studies are probably located there too.
It does make you feel like the unwanted step child when routinely we are told we dont "need" biopsies or when we dont acheive SVR they seem to assume an "oh well" attitude as if failing the treatment and still having the virus changes anything! That was why we treated in the first place so why dont they want to continue to try to eliminate the virus? Frustrating to say the least. I guess at that point geno 2 and 3 who are told whe tx fails need to seek out a new doctor who WILL help them in their fight. I was lucky my doctor was so supportive of me retreating. It would have been hard to seek out a new doctor at that point.
Hope all is well with you and you have a pleasant holiday.

[Pauly Boy]

As this past weeks events have unfolded and we've become aware of our friends unfortunate relapses, I considered the possiblities that the info regarding the " cure" rates from HCV that I'd heard about, might need to be reevaluated. It seems that this is no different than anything else in our HCV world. We learn as we go along, everything we think we know about HCV leads us to a new discovery and just how much more we need to re-discover. It's no different than life.......... on Mars!!!
                           Keep killin' those critters
genotype----- 2b                     Pauly
VL at start-- 1.7MM
ALT---------- 52
AST---------- 39
HGB at start- 14.8
HGB in 3 weeks 9.8
Pegasys 180mcg
Riba---- 1200 daily/ at week 5- 1000
procrit since week 4- 1ML a week
UND at week 4 and week 12

[hippygem]

Geno 3
Fibrosis stage 2 (was 3 before tx)
Relapser
24 wks tx
tx in 2004

Was Undetectable during tx but after 6 month blood tests the virus had returned.

Here in Australia they are now suggesting that genotype 2 & 3 that have any stage of fibrosis/cirrhosis should now be on the tx for 48 weeks.

[Pdilly]

Geno 2 a and 2c   VL 308,000   Stage 2-3  Grade 2-3  due to start tx Sept 29.

[desrt]

genotype: 3e
baseline vl 625,000
probable date of infection: 1973 (based on being my third bout of acute hep - doc unable to explain since I already had A&B antibodies)
treated 24 weeks: 2002-2003  46-47 y.o.
1200 mg riba/don't remember IFN dose, but was weight based Peg-Intron for 220# and do remember that I was underdosed for first three weeks due to nurse's mistake
gastro was treating all genotypes 48 weeks with as much IFN and riba as you could stand (y'all would love this guy). at week 19 I read 2002 NIH consensus report stating non-geno 1 could treat 24 wks w/800 mg riba - lowered my dose to 800 mg and discontinued at 24 weeks against doc's advice and was still undetected 2 yrs post-tx (not saying I'm smarter than my doc - I took a chance and got lucky)
I'm not against high dosing, but I think people should be aware that even normal dosing can result in thyroid damage and auto-immune problems - at least that's what the people that make the stuff say on the package insert.