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

[willbb]

The OP has advanced liver damage To embark on treatment currently with an 80 % chance of cure ,given the data  to avoid possible  pending cirrhosis.would seem anything but "rash"

Will

[coraggio]

Opinion, opinions, always nice to have varying opinions but I totally disagree with your assessment.  Stage 3 is serious business and dj should educate himself a little more about the side effects associated with interferon before treating but under his circumstances I see no other choice but to treat as soon as possible.  He has a greater chance in the next few years of crossing over to cirrhosis which lowers the odds of successful treatment in the future than he has suffering from accelerated liver disease due to interferon use.

Also, he lives in Hong Kong and SOC is the only available method of treatment.  Right now he has a very good chance of eradicating the virus and avoiding cirrhosis and a low probability of suffering long term side effects and further liver damage because of interferon use.

[rambleon40]

I would take a few months and do some more research and think very, very carefully about what you should do.  The cost-benefit analysis is not as rosy as most liver docs and BigPharma present.  You may still come down in favor of treatment, but right now I am almost certain you have little idea of the real risks you run w/ INF combo treatment vs. the high odds of dying from causes entirely unrelated to Hep C.

For instance there is, in my opinion, a growing amount of evidence that INF treatment too often accelerates liver damage.

Jumping into treatment on Friday is rash.  I believe even those in this forum more inclined to support INF treatment than myself might agree.  

[rambleon40]

I respectfully assert that the cure rate goes down the further advanced the damage to the liver.  

[Asuncion]

I was 55 when I tried Interferon Ribavirin therapy. I relapse, but I am 60 now and will give it another try.

You should do a genetic test (IL28B) as desrt tells you. You could end up doing more than 24 weeks. Be prepared, it is a hard blow when doctors don´t tell you to.

Best regards,

[Kristina538]

I did the interferon/riba combo with Stage 3/4 (3A) and was told initially, a 50/50 chance because of the early cirrhosis; with RVR on the 4 weeks 75-80% chance.  My Dr used aggressive treatment with 1000 riba and I managed SVR.  I was 55 and had carried the virus for 26 years.