Aa
pharma vs holistic hep c treatment
Along comes this HVC after hitching a ride for about 25/30 years. Read lots on the net about past and present pharma and natural herbal therapys,side effects and degrees of success on both sides. Without being derogatory, I'll call'em the Suits and the Hippies.
The Suits have some very convincing momentum in the battle against HVC for us but at a cost, both financial and side effect prone with varying success. The Hippies seem to be gaining (by my observation from the failure of the Suits) some momentum with less costs, little to no side effects with claims of degrees of success. Both are advancing in their knowledge and help so I must add I praise them all for effort.
Non are going to disappear tomorrow, nor am I but here's my question finally. Has anyone given any particular, less invasive and side effect prone Hippy strategy to return to (full health HVC wise) or is this more often used as a last resort (as I seem to gleen) after the Suits have had their chance but left you less than satified with their end result.
(If they would only get their collective knowledgeable heads together for all our benefits.)
Theewoodman
The Suits have some very convincing momentum in the battle against HVC for us but at a cost, both financial and side effect prone with varying success. The Hippies seem to be gaining (by my observation from the failure of the Suits) some momentum with less costs, little to no side effects with claims of degrees of success. Both are advancing in their knowledge and help so I must add I praise them all for effort.
Non are going to disappear tomorrow, nor am I but here's my question finally. Has anyone given any particular, less invasive and side effect prone Hippy strategy to return to (full health HVC wise) or is this more often used as a last resort (as I seem to gleen) after the Suits have had their chance but left you less than satified with their end result.
(If they would only get their collective knowledgeable heads together for all our benefits.)
Theewoodman
Nikita:
Good luck on your biopsy today...Lets hope that your degree of liver damage is not as yet to the degree that you have to worry about the Tx. regime you choose.
I would also like to add to my last post to you that I have undergone acupuncture tx. many ,many times in the past for sprains.strains etc.from athletic injuries ,and in all the viral load tests I have had over the years,not once did my numbers come down,as a result of these treatments.
Who knows,maybe they were sticking those needles in all the wrong spots :)
WILL
Good luck on your biopsy today...Lets hope that your degree of liver damage is not as yet to the degree that you have to worry about the Tx. regime you choose.
I would also like to add to my last post to you that I have undergone acupuncture tx. many ,many times in the past for sprains.strains etc.from athletic injuries ,and in all the viral load tests I have had over the years,not once did my numbers come down,as a result of these treatments.
Who knows,maybe they were sticking those needles in all the wrong spots :)
WILL
Here's an example of backing up your statements with clinical studies;
Hep C is rarely if ever transmitted sexually. Please see the study below.
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/hepatitis/notransmission.html
Documented cases of Chinese medicine lowering VL to zero (when there is NO test available that measures to zero) are sad at best. I want to see a clinical study that proves this.
Hep C is rarely if ever transmitted sexually. Please see the study below.
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/hepatitis/notransmission.html
Documented cases of Chinese medicine lowering VL to zero (when there is NO test available that measures to zero) are sad at best. I want to see a clinical study that proves this.
". According to two different acupuncturists/chinese medicine specialists that I met..."
This is what is known as 'anecdotal evidence'.
No reputable chinese medical practitioner I've met has ever claimed a cure or a 'zero' viral load. On the contrary, any such claims would make me suspicious that they were even competent to practice. And I've used TCM before, during and after tx.
Let us know when you get that documentation.
This is what is known as 'anecdotal evidence'.
No reputable chinese medical practitioner I've met has ever claimed a cure or a 'zero' viral load. On the contrary, any such claims would make me suspicious that they were even competent to practice. And I've used TCM before, during and after tx.
Let us know when you get that documentation.
Hi,
You said there are documented cases of people using Chinese medicine, and their viral load was lowered to zero.
What viral load test measures to zero ?
You said there are documented cases of people using Chinese medicine, and their viral load was lowered to zero.
What viral load test measures to zero ?
hi will, thanks for the feedback. the studies that i refer to are on patients using traditional chinese medicine. According to two different acupuncturists/chinese medicine specialists that I met, there are cases (documented) where within a group of patients with Hep C, several were able to get their load down to zero by end of treatment. will definitely keep you and everybody else updated by posting anything i find here. BTW, I am same genotype as you and understand the challenge. haven't gone through treatment yet... not sure what i am going to do yet... not against Inf/Riba but not convinced either. I am doing the biopsy today. so, first thing first... :)
Take good care of yourself,
Nikita
Take good care of yourself,
Nikita
I said this earlier in this thread:
"Unfortunately today the only treatment that IS clinically proven to eradicate HCV is the combination tx.of Inf/Riba. "
And you have asked me this:
"hi willbb, how do you arrive to this conclusion? "
Not being in the medical field I personally have conducted no studies to arrive at this,however like most of us here I read and do as much research as possible to try and stay up to date and so far I found no data that I trust to belive otherwise.
If you have proof of another cure that I have not found I would appreciate your citing the studies,trial #"s etc for my perusal, as I am always interested in what others have found.
I stated that it was "unfortunate "that this is the only known treatment,as I am one of the approx.50-55% of folks with Geno 1 that this treatment "so far" did not work for ,and I currently take a number of natural products(like I have for many decades) to try and stay as healthy as possible until something else comes along that I trust will work for me to eradicate the virus ...or to a least to a sensitivity of UND
All the best
WILL.
"Unfortunately today the only treatment that IS clinically proven to eradicate HCV is the combination tx.of Inf/Riba. "
And you have asked me this:
"hi willbb, how do you arrive to this conclusion? "
Not being in the medical field I personally have conducted no studies to arrive at this,however like most of us here I read and do as much research as possible to try and stay up to date and so far I found no data that I trust to belive otherwise.
If you have proof of another cure that I have not found I would appreciate your citing the studies,trial #"s etc for my perusal, as I am always interested in what others have found.
I stated that it was "unfortunate "that this is the only known treatment,as I am one of the approx.50-55% of folks with Geno 1 that this treatment "so far" did not work for ,and I currently take a number of natural products(like I have for many decades) to try and stay as healthy as possible until something else comes along that I trust will work for me to eradicate the virus ...or to a least to a sensitivity of UND
All the best
WILL.
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Many people recover from treatment pretty well, some come out with what I call "souvenirs" that are permanent but manageable. For a certain segment of people, treatment has either been extremely difficult and harmful with more distressing outcomes OR it has simply failed. One fellow in my support group has tried treatment twice and it's failed and each time, he's come away from it with permanent health conditions. For him, treating a third time is a daunting proposition. It frankly pi$$es me off to no end that this is ignored by those who so fervently push treatment - these people need to be exploring alternatives to keep the impacts of existing Hep C under control. For that matter....it's also a matter of personal choice if someone reads about the side effects of interferon and ribavirin and decide that they want to avoid treatment until better options come along and see if they can live with their Hep C instead. That is THEIR choice, as long as it's an educated one. Their body, their life. They have NOT automatically sentenced themselves to death in that case if they are carefully watching and monitoring their health and are making use of alternatives to keep their fibrosis and their viral load in check. People say there is no usefulness to keeping viral load in check but that's not entirely known - what IS known is that treating with a lower viral load potentially offers more chance of success so if one is keeping options open and trying to create optimal conditions IF they do end up having to go into treatment. I would be looking to keep viral load down as a " can't hurt, might help" approach as there are new things being learned all the time about Hep C.
There is nothing CLINICALLY proven to cure Hep C other than the known drug therapy we have today. That is a fact. That does not mean that there are not other things out there that improve conditions for persons with Hep C - and potentially even improve them to the point where life expectancy and the quality of life and health prognosis is greatly enhanced for persons with Hep C. Perhaps if we explored these options more fully, it may be that CURE is not the only acceptable goal that persons with Hep C can entertain - nor should be allowed to entertain, when the current drugs are as difficult as they are with side effects that range from mild to debilitating from person to person and when the current rate of success with SOC drugs is still just under 50%. New and promising drugs on their way but still not a 100% panacea and accessibility to these drugs along with the new resistance issues to be addressed remain to unfold.
I have thyroid issues as one of my "souvenirs". I take daily medication. Easily manageable and controllable. Perhaps...just perhaps...we might find something that keeps Hep C in check enough to increase life expectancy and inhibit damage to the point where the number of liver transplants from Hep C is greatly decreased as well. That isn't going to happen if the only option people ever entertain or investigate is the current pharmaceutical treatment.
Surviving Hep C is the goal....cure is certainly a great way to achieve that. For some, that isn't going to happen and it would be nice if people can stop beating the treatment drum long enough to give a voice to those who need to discuss other options....and those who simply WANT to along the way to determining what is best for themselves in their own situation. If treatment ends up being the best option for a person, that will become clear to them and I'd rather have the freedom to explore all my options so that I can feel some comfort with the option I've settled on after all that, knowing why what I've chosen is best for ME.