Aa
scared
Recently diagnosed in July 2011 with hep c genotype 3 with viral load of 995,000. Stage 1 cirrhosis and fibrosis confirmed after liver biopsy. I believe I contracted virus 20 to 25 years ago. I go to a GI doc Friday and I am really nervous. I am just wondering if I am a candidate for treatment and what to expect from treatment. Will I be able to work a strenuous job still. I am a nervous wreck about my future and it is tearing me apart piece by piece. Will my life ever be normal again? Please help!
alagirl.....thank you for the inspiration, I really need it. My ups and downs are extreme at this point. Lots of tears and anger toward myself for getting myself into this situation. I admire your strength after reading your story. Thanks again!
My kingdom for an edit button. Sorry, meant to say, than some of the other genotypes.
It's totally ok to be scared. I was scared. But maybe you could try to reframe it. You are the exact same person you were before you got this news. Nothing about you has changed. You just have additional information. Information is never a bad thing. It allows you to make decisions.
Also, your liver damage looks to be minimal. That is an exceedingly good thing and puts you into a group many wish they were in. Added to that, you have a genotype that responds to treatment more successfully than some of the other treatments. Very good information.
I don't see why you wouldn't be a great candidate for treatment to just go ahead and knock this thing out while you have little liver damage. But you will have to discuss that with your doctor. There can be side effects and some people can work tough jobs and others cannot. It is variable and not something we can predict. I am also not familiar with length of treatment for geno 3's, particularly with the new treatment drugs, so someone else would have to speak to that. Possibly it's shorter.
Anyway, to sum it up, you're still you. You have time to make decisions. So take a deep breath and calm down. Having this informations is actually a good thing, it allows you to plan. You're going to be ok. Many have gone through this before you and are going through it now. You can do this.
Also, your liver damage looks to be minimal. That is an exceedingly good thing and puts you into a group many wish they were in. Added to that, you have a genotype that responds to treatment more successfully than some of the other treatments. Very good information.
I don't see why you wouldn't be a great candidate for treatment to just go ahead and knock this thing out while you have little liver damage. But you will have to discuss that with your doctor. There can be side effects and some people can work tough jobs and others cannot. It is variable and not something we can predict. I am also not familiar with length of treatment for geno 3's, particularly with the new treatment drugs, so someone else would have to speak to that. Possibly it's shorter.
Anyway, to sum it up, you're still you. You have time to make decisions. So take a deep breath and calm down. Having this informations is actually a good thing, it allows you to plan. You're going to be ok. Many have gone through this before you and are going through it now. You can do this.
It looks like that report you have very mild inflamation and also very mild liver damage... The scoring on biopsy is usually based on the scale below for inflamation as well as fibrosis. because liver damage(fibrosis) often progresses very slowly as has been the case for you ..there is no immediate panic...talk to your specialist to see if he/her recommends treating at this time.
Good luck
Will
What Does My METAVIR Score Mean?
The fibrosis is graded on a 5-point scale from 0 to 4. The activity, which is the amount of inflammation (specifically, the intensity of necro-inflammatory lesions), is graded on a 4-point scale from A0 to A3.
Fibrosis score:
F0 = no fibrosis
F1 = portal fibrosis without septa
F2 = portal fibrosis with few septa
F3 = numerous septa without cirrhosis
F4 = cirrhosis
Activity score:
A0 = no activity
A1 = mild activity
A2 = moderate activity
A3 = severe activity
Good luck
Will
What Does My METAVIR Score Mean?
The fibrosis is graded on a 5-point scale from 0 to 4. The activity, which is the amount of inflammation (specifically, the intensity of necro-inflammatory lesions), is graded on a 4-point scale from A0 to A3.
Fibrosis score:
F0 = no fibrosis
F1 = portal fibrosis without septa
F2 = portal fibrosis with few septa
F3 = numerous septa without cirrhosis
F4 = cirrhosis
Activity score:
A0 = no activity
A1 = mild activity
A2 = moderate activity
A3 = severe activity
thanks for response willbb. my family doc called it grade 1 cirrhosis. the diagnosis reads this.....there is mild portal chronic inflamation grade 1 of 4, consisting chiefly of lymphocytes. Bile ductules are normal. There is mild portal fibrosis stage 1 of 4, confirmed by trichrome stain. there is no significant lobular inflamation. Hope this helps...I am not sure what this all means until I see my GI doc friday. Thanks for your input!
Hi there...as orphan hawk says ..geno 3 has a good success rate ....approx. 75% with the combo therapy of Intereferon /Ribavirin and usually done for 24 weeks.
A little confused by your post tho...do you have cirrhosis (which is usually categorized by stage 4 ) or do you have st 1 fibrosis..which would be considered very mild damage? either way ..unless you have decompensated cirrhosis you should be a candidate for treatment.
As far as being able to work on treatment ...many do and have relatively mild side effects..and others have more severe sides and sometimes need time off work. It is impossible to know how you will respond until you start.
Good luck with the appoint. with the GI and welcome to the group
Will
A little confused by your post tho...do you have cirrhosis (which is usually categorized by stage 4 ) or do you have st 1 fibrosis..which would be considered very mild damage? either way ..unless you have decompensated cirrhosis you should be a candidate for treatment.
As far as being able to work on treatment ...many do and have relatively mild side effects..and others have more severe sides and sometimes need time off work. It is impossible to know how you will respond until you start.
Good luck with the appoint. with the GI and welcome to the group
Will
Relax.
You have an easy genotype to treat, your viral load is not that high although viral load count doesn't equal liver damage.
Stage 1 is certainly better than having a more advanced stage.
People with genotype 3 do the treatment for 24 weeks,
You can start treatment and be fine by next Spring!
Many of us have hep C for 20 or 30 years before finding out.
Good luck,
OH
You have an easy genotype to treat, your viral load is not that high although viral load count doesn't equal liver damage.
Stage 1 is certainly better than having a more advanced stage.
People with genotype 3 do the treatment for 24 weeks,
You can start treatment and be fine by next Spring!
Many of us have hep C for 20 or 30 years before finding out.
Good luck,
OH
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