ALT/AST normal questions

[Trish77]

I have decided to go ahead with treatment in January and my tx is covered to 80%.  I applied for coverage for the remaining 20% to our federal drug plan here and their response is that because my ALT/AST is normal, no treatment is required.

Subsequent reading tells me that some people have normal ALT/AST and yet can have progressed stages of liver damage and high viral load....and that the reverse has also been found, that you can have elevated levels of ALT/AST and yet have none to minimal liver damage.

If you have been / are either of these scenarios, can you weigh in please?  And also, can you weigh in on whether what I've stated is true or false?

First of all, I want to be sure I have my facts right.  Second of all, I'll likely proceed with tx regardless but it's going to be tight.  Third of all, my GI is really, really upset with their position as it's from their "medical expert".  He's written them a really nasty note as he has to include his treatment recommendation along with my application and their expertise trumps his apparently.  

What I'm MOSTLY concerned about ... is that if they're only basing it on ALT/AST levels and this is their expert, there are others who will also be applying who don't have any coverage at all or worse coverage than me who will be turned away for this.  I don't want to let this slide and I want to make sure of my facts before I decide what I want to do about this, both for myself and others with HCV as a whole.

Any info you can share that clarifies the picture here will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Trish

[Lady Lauri]

Job is interesting, different. Tho I haven't been there in 3 mths :}
  No mundane, monotonous job will work for me!  Get bored, I'm out.   A ‘9 to 5’ job has never worked for me. Any work I have ever done has to be 'flexible' also, for various reasons.
I don't do 'normal' to well, LOL. Let alone I don’t deal with ‘boss’s’ to well either.
                                      
                                                                                     LL

[Lady Lauri]

Pigeonca, I like your idea.......but than we'd have another civil war ??? (in jest, sort of.)

All....... I saw this coming in the religious comment.
  Good and bad in all walks of life, as Andiamo said.......both sides, good and bad points, in pretty much everything from politics to religion to even tx!!
  I better stay out of this one, all I will say is I have a real problem with "God' being taken out of EVERYTHING as it may offend someone while every other weirdo, terrorist, anti Christ and soooo oooonnn can say whatever the h*ll they want, anywhere, anytime with 'rights' to do so.
  I better shut up now!
I'm an odd ball, I agree with some points in all arguements (nearly) yet won't bend in the above.

                                                                                     LL

[Andiamo1]

Could it be that both sides have some good arguments and some bad?

It won't be long before everyone recognizes the real threat to the US is economic.  The problems ahead will be so severe that we will have to unite in order to solve them.

[gauf]

A billion people (1/5 world population), that's a pretty big cult. Amazing that you are smarter than all those people....not to mention some of the greatest philosophical minds in history, Augustine, Aquinas, Bonaventure..... Indeed, I was awestruck by your intellectual prowess in the above attempt at...humor?

[scratchinghead]

No, just don't like cults. (I knew you couldn't let well enough alone).

[gauf]

Of course! Good and bad in any group. John Kerry is a Catholic and believe me, I practice a totally different form of Catholiscism. And Scratching head?  You sound like a bigot my friend.