Anyone asymptomatic and not treating at this time?

[Sunnyside863]

Was recently diagnosed as positive for HCV.  Next is the PCR test and to find out if its active, inactive, or GONE hopefully.  I have no symptoms at all (other than mental anguish), Thank God!!!  
Just wondered if anyone else is in the same predictament as myself and get your opinion on if you are treating or not, and what are you doing prophylactilly.  I suppose you could monitor the symptoms by getting bloodwork every 6 mos, etc.

Have a super day and God Bless all of your hearts:)

[Idyllic]

Hepatitis C is an invisible disease. Many if not most of us never have symptoms.

I use this example a lot since it is very recent and the person is deciding on when to treat. A ex-gym pal was diagnosed with HCV. She was told she could wait to treat the since she is in excellent, enviable physical condition, her liver enzymes are normal and she has a very low viral load. As a result she has done nothing.

At the insistence of her husband she had an ultrasound and it was apparent she would need a biopsy. Her Biopsy was stage 3. Now she is mad at her doctors and regretting all these years that have past and she did nothing. I feel so bad for her. I used to see her every day at the gym and in the locker room I would have talked to her.

I am in no way implying your situation is this dire but you never know until you pop the hood and take a look.

Like Pooh says you could wait to treat but it helps to know at what stage of the disease you are so you can make an informed choice.

[orphanedhawk]

I was asymptomatic until somewhat before I was diagnosed. And then, I thought all my symptoms were from going into menopause, because they were the same.
When diagnosed, I already had decompensated cirrhosis.
Not to scare you, but not having symptoms means nothing when it comes to hep C and liver disease. This is a sneaky virus.

[jerialice]

great post! thanks- also the drug companies will help with meds. i got my first 2 tx thru a liver foundation who covered all expenses.
that's why trials can be helpful too. alto when my sis had cancer they would not take her unless she insurance?
oh well, best of results and hopeful the bug is gone...
ja

[nygirl7]

I was asymptomaatic but arleady stage 3 when I treated........that is what you need to find out how much damage has been done to your liver.  Poohbear is exactly right in her great post!

[pooh55811]

I just saw your other post. If you are unemployed and have no insurance and you have a low fibrosis stage or no fibrosis at all, waiting to treat may be a desirable option. The drugs, the tests, and the MD visits can really add up in terms of cost.  The other thing you could do is try to get government  insurance for the low income or financial assistance for your treatment through a University affiliated medical center. They generally have financial aid for the low income.

[pooh55811]

You may be putting the cart before the horse but it is always helpful to be prepared. Hopefully, you will have a negative PCR test. Then it will all be moot.

But, to answer your question.....

Hepatitis C does not present many unique and easily identifiable symptoms. In retrospect many of us realize that we have had increasing fatigue or joint aches or other symptoms which had been attributed to something else but which were, in fact, probably due to HCV. Some of us had diseases which were HCV related but the connection was never made at the time. If one waits for easily identifiable and specific symptoms, the liver may already have sustained a great deal of damage. Symptoms don't tell you the status of your liver. Neither does most blood work .Liver enzymes can be normal even in the face of a higher fibrosis stage. A biopsy does show the state of the liver.

I was diagnosed last summer. My biopsy showed Grade 2, Stage 2. My main symptoms were fatigue and aches but I was attributing them to getting older and being overweight. In retrospect, I am sure they were HCV symptoms. I opted for treatment as soon as possible even though my fibrosis stage was mild and I was not that symptomatic. I would do the same again if presented with the choice.

In retrospect, I know the systemic vasculitis I had in 1993-94 was caused by Hep C. Of course, I did not know it then, but now I do. In addition, Hep C can cause all sorts of extrahepatic diseases, something that was not widely known until very recently. Take a look at this thread. There are several posts in it that list the various extrahepatic conditions and diseases that can be caused or exacerbated by Hep C.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/Commentary-from-Dr-Koretz/show/1770559

So, if you do have a positive PCR, you have some options. You can get a liver biopsy and find out the status of your liver. Knowing the stage at which your liver is will most likely have a major impact on whether you treat ASAP or have the option to wait for new drugs. If you are at Stage 0, 1, or 2, you probably can wait. If you are at Stage 3 or 4, it would be advisable to treat sooner rather than later. Treatment works better if the fibrosis stage is low. Also, if one has a higher fibrosis stage, the treatment complications can be more severe. Plus, the longer one waits, the more likely the chance of extrahepatic diseases appearing. In addition, the fibrosis progression tends to pick up speed as one ages. Also, younger people have a higher treatment success rate.

On the flip side, the treatment is no picnic. While everyone is different, the current treatment can be mild for some or the treatment can be grueling for others. However, the treatment is normally doable. The worst side effects can be treated. On occasion, people can have long term side effects from the treatment. This is not common, but it is a possibility.

There should be some new drugs coming out in 3-5 years but no one knows for sure when they will be on the market. These drugs appear to be easier on the body than the current medications. If your fibrosis stage is low, then you probably have the option to wait for new drugs.

In the meantime, if your PCR is positive, you can eat healthy food, exercise, stay in shape. Organic fruits and vegetables won't contain the toxic herbicides and pesticides that regular produce does. Lose weight if you are overweight. Avoid alcohol and any toxic substances. You can get tested for Vitamin D levels (they tend to be low in people with Hep C). And you can get tested for iron related abnormalities as well as various blood count levels and liver function tests. Keep in mind, though, that liver function tests very often don't show the condition of your liver until you ave a high fibrosis stage (cirrhosis).

So monitoring your symptoms and getting every 6 month blood work may give you a very false sense of security. There are people on this forum who had cirrhosis and showed no symptoms and had relatively normal labs. Most of us did not find out we had Hep C because of routine lab or noticeable symptoms. We found out by accident.

So, the first step is finding out if you do actually have chronic active Hep C. If not, all of this information is moot for you.

Best of luck.