Type2

[Doofus_jones]

Hi People

I have just been diagnosed with HepC type 2b today. I have stage 3 fribrosis and a viral load of 1.3 mill. Problem is I'm 63 years old. I think this has been hanging around from a very brief period of fooling with drugs in the early 70s. Anyone here know anyone my age who has come through a 24 week interferon and ribavirin course OK.? I thought I read somewhere Drs wouldn't give interferon to anyone over 60?

Best wishes to you all

Doofus

[Doofus_jones]

Your comments are very much appreciated. I have found a lab to get the IL28B done and I'm going tomorrow to get the test. I need to wait three days for the results to come through. I guess I will start the treatment the following Friday.

Thanks again


Pete

[orphanedhawk]

I'm genotype 2. Right now interferon treatment is all that is available to you.
The new orals in trial could be available to the public anytime from as early as 2014 in the U.S. It could be longer and who knows how long, until it is available elsewhere.

Because you are genotype 2, I'd suggest you begin tx sooner rather than waiting.
I saw a good GI in Bangkok at British Nursing Hospital.
Bumrungrad is fancier but I liked my GI at BNH better.
Bumrungrad is more likely to have you do more than is necessary to simply get more money out of you.

[Doofus_jones]

Dear Idyllic

Where did you find info about the trials in progress for Geno 2 & 3 for the all oral HCV meds?  I'm wondering when we can expect these drugs to come onto the market.

best wishes

Pete

[Doofus_jones]

Dear desrt

I hope you do not mind me writing but you seem to be very well informed on HEPC and treatments

I am searching for a Dr to give me the IL28B test. In Hong Kong this does not appear to be easy. I have emailed a hospital in Bangkok and will fly there if I cannot find here.

Am I right in saying that the test is looking whether you a re CC CT or TT? (whatever that means.)  If so which category is the one that will be most receptive to Interferon and ribavirin treatment?

The Dr tells me I've probably been carrying this for 30 odd years. I am totally asymptomatic. I work a 12 hour day all week and feel fine on it. In fact people tell me how well I look. This HepC has fallen out like a joker in the pack.  I have seen the reports and read them so I KNOW they are true.  But it is almost in the realms of fantasy that I'm going to risk all the side-effects to these drugs when I feel so well. This must be common - right?

How long have you been dealing with this disease?

best wishes


Pete
_____

[pooh55811]

There are many, many people on the forum who are over 60 years old. The oldest couple I saw were 70 and 71 respectively. I am 66 years old. I have had Hep C for 30-37 years depending on how I got it. I am Genotype 1, Grade 2 Stage 2 fibrosis. I just finished 48 weeks of triple medication treatment with Interferon 180 weekly, Riba 600 mg twice daily, and Incivek 750 mg 3 times a day. It was no picnic, but it was very doable. The Incivek was the worst. Once I finished the Incivek I felt a lot better. I had to do the longer treatment because I was still detectable at 4 weeks, but I have been undetectable since 8 weeks (weeks 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 48 were all undetectable). I did okay on treatment even though I am 66. I feel much better than I did before treatment. Hep C was causing a multitude of problems for me and now, after treatment, most of them are gone.

If you are already at Stage 3 fibrosis, your clock is ticking. It is much easier and more successful to do treatment before you reach Stage 4 (cirrhosis). Plus, you want to do treatment before you get cirrhosis and before you develop any other diseases that may prohibit you from treating. You may not have time to wait for new drugs and you sure would not want to be in the placebo arm of a trial/study.

Treatment does have side effects, but most of them are doable and will not cause a person to quit treatment. Some  (like nausea or rash) can be controlled with other medications. Many people have very few side effects. Others have more. Some have mild side effects, some have more troublesome side effects. Many people continue to work through treatment, some cannot, especially on triple med treatment (which you are not on). Cirrhotics, are at risk for more health problems when doing treatment and they can risk liver failure or other problems. The drugs do not work as well on cirrhotics so the treatment success rate is lower. That is why it is best to treat before cirrhosis sets in.

In addition, the Hep C virus is not just taking a nap in the body. It is very busy doing all sorts of damage, not only to the liver, but to many other organs as well.

I have been extensively educating myself about Hep C. The studies, articles and presentations I have seen, all conclude that the benefit of treatment outweighs the cost. Treatment is cost effective. Treatment is a whole lot cheaper than a liver transplant.

It is true that a few people can have long term side effects from treatment so people need to be aware of that.  However, they can also have major health problems if they do not treat, including End Stage Liver Disease (something you really do not want to get). I will include some links at the bottom.

I have not read anything about interferon treatment "too often" accelerating liver damage. In people with cirrhosis who are doing treatment, there is a higher risk of health problems developing than if a person is not cirrhotic. But that is because the liver is already compromised and affecting other parts of the body and other functions of the body.

One of the most resent presentations I watched stated that it is becoming more clear that the percentage of Hep C infected people who go on to develop cirrhosis is much, much higher than previously thought. So is the percent of Hep C infected people who have cirrhosis/liver related deaths.

Of course, more people die from other causes, or so the death certificates state. However, how many of those deaths are Hep C related but just not attributed to Hep C. It has been found that people who have Hep C are much more likely to develop major chronic health problems which are "seemingly" unrelated to Hep C (and those problems are more severe), than do people who are not Hep C positive. These include diabetes, lung disease, cardiovascular diseases,  kidney disease, and many more. So if the cause of death is a renal failure and the cause of the renal failure was Hep C, that death is Hep C related even if the cause of death states renal failure.

Of course a person needs to be well informed about the disease, its treatment, and the treatment side effects. But a person also needs to be well informed of the consequences of not treating while they still have the chance to treat.  

I hope some of the people with cirrhosis will chime in here. Many of the people on the forum have cirrhosis so they know first hand the consequences of not treating in a timely manner.


Link to articles on extrahepatic manifestations of Hep C:

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/Extrahepatic.pdf

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/Bonkovsky-2.html


A 2005 article:

http://www.ccjm.org/content/72/11/1005.full.pdf

[BoceprevirGal]

  Hi Pete:  I go to a support group for Hep C, and most of us are in our 50's and 60's.  I know of a few people who have cleared the virus, at your age, from my group.
   The side effects for genotype 2 treatment can usually be tolerated quite well,
depending on the person, etc, of course. If you are feeling up to it, I would say Go For It on Friday, and start your cure.
   Wishing you much hope and luck~  Katy