Treatment or Not

[TeeTom]

There is a lot of contraversey about wheather or not ot take the standard treatment for HCV. Well, lets just see how many would take the treatment, or retake the treatment in order to clear the Dragon. I personally don t like the idea of a critter running around in my body un-wanted. I would probably drink gas to get rid of it if that is what it took. So I created this poll to see if the people of this board would vote to treat with SOC and any of the PI's if available or re-treat for non-responders. The choices are simple Treat? Not Treat? Re-Treat?

Teetom

[merryBe]

treat if stage 3 or 4

wait for PI's and then treat if stage 1 or 2.

[enolia]

I just started treatment with Tenof 2 months ago. I didn't know then all the impacts...
I ve been carrying chronic hep b for many years. Now I am 37 and would like to stop it because I would like to get pregnant. Plus I heard I may take this forever..even though doctor said my viral load is low and have good changes of getting this cleared out!
The problem is they say you can't stop because the viral load may go up. What a dilemma. I would have waited for sure, especially that my health and liver are in good shape for now.

[IMstacie]

I've treated with the interferon/riba.  I have a few months to the SVR test.  If I replase, I don't believe I would treat again.  I stuck it out and was two wks shy of 48 wks but It was rough for me.   It's hard to say at this point, I just don't think I could do it again.

[GSDgirl]

I was getting sick with flu like symptoms that would lay me flat out on the couch the last year before I was diagnosed.  When the porphyria (PCT) started with the blisters on my hands is when I was diagnosed Geno 2B, treated 6 months and cleared.  It will be 2 years at the end of March.

I still have side effects but as sick as I was getting I didn't have a choice and would do it again.

Denise

[annieCinMD]

I would treat again if:
a) The disease progressed beyond my current Stage 1
b) They come up with something that works and doesn't involve interferon
I had horrible sides and am still having some of them over 6 months post tx. I attribute the worst of them to the interferon. I found out from the first tx that I do not get a good response to interferon (not a complete non-responder but not a quick responder either).

[Trish77]

I treated once at Stage 1 Grade 1.  With the exact same variables in my life, I would treat again.  I was able to get on with my life after treatment exactly as I'd hoped.  I went from the contract job I held during treatment to the fulltime permanent job after treatment and don't have to interrupt my life at any future time to do treatment.  

If I had not achieved SVR, I would do treatment again at a future date, however I would have put it on hold for some years to get into that job and would have monitored my liver damage ongoing and kept an eye on clinical trials and new developments and waiting for the opportunity to fit it back into my life as long as I had the luxury of choice, which I'd try to maintain with the constant monitoring.  It is and would be my preference to be HCV-free rather than live with it as I'd be concerned about the extra-hepatic illnesses that carrying the virus can bring about and I didn't want the concern of possibly passing it on to other people.  I also found that carrying the stigma of it was not something I wanted either, to be blunt honest - I found it rather interfering to have to declare my HCV at those morally responsible times and it is a decided relief to not have to do that anymore.

Knowing what I know now, I would try harder to lose that 20 pounds the docs suggested but not demanded that I lose prior to treatment and I would improve my diet.

As you can see, alot of considerations that are very individual per person - there is the whole impact on a life to be taken into account as well.  You'll have to decide what fits for you and good luck with your decision.

Trish

[Diamond_Lil]

Ditto on what WriteItDown said.  The exposure to interferon is not as concerning as the efficacy of the drugs.  There is nothing substantial documented showing less exposure to interferen as in 24 wks verses 48 weeks guarantees an individual will have less side effects during or post treatment.
Also, there is not enough data yet showing results of long term side effects from the protease and polymearse inhibitors but there is data proving they are far superior to the current standard of care.  However, interferon and ribavirin will still remain part of the third generation of treatment.

[Willy50]

My world view is that everything is complicated. and few things are simple

I'm a stage 1, geno 1a, watch and wait male.  I'm of the opinion that the new PI's will be out in about a year and I would personally wait for them even longer if needed as my own personal choice.  Am I against treatment? No, if it is indicated by staging or by desire I say go for it.  I'm holding out hope that that I can do it once and for a shorter period than is currently experienced for people of my sex, age and genotype..  
I am treatment naive.

Willy

[WriteItDown]

Um, for me it would be a more complicated answer.  If I were a naive Geno 1 with not too much damage no way would I do SOC now -- I'd wait for the PI's.  But would I treat eventually?  Yes.

If I'd treated before and failed I'd want to hit it with the best PI or polymerase inhibitor possible, so if I had time I might wait to see the trial results from the newest drugs before deciding to try to get in on one of the Phase III trials or do Boc or Tela.... and it might also depend on whether I was a relapser or a non responder.

[desrt]

Tx'd 23 weeks '02-'03. Seven years of UND PCRs as of this week (YeeHah).

I would tx again tomorrow if:

1) Fibrosis score higher than 1.

and/or

2) Able to do a 24 week tx. (i.e. geno 2 or 3 with RVR or  geno 1 with SOC + PI w/RVR.

[Bill1954]

Hi Tommy; I treated twice, and would certainly do it again if required.

Bill