Hopefully this post will not cause another, that is not my intent.
For those who haven't expunged that thread from their memories (the smart ones probably did :) ) I had promised to feed David to "ComeAgain" (no offense CA, just in jest :) ) should David not come through with a couple of promises he made both to me and the group.
Specifically, David said he would include reference to his treatment on the web site so as not to give the impresion he avoided it at all costs. And second, he would make clear that liver enzyme levels and viral load are cannot predict liver damage. No where on his web site did he ever say that Milk Thistle would cure HCV, so that was a non-issue even though some who didn't visit his web site kept bringing the "cure" thing up. In spite of that, David went out of his way to state that it is not a cure. Kudos.
Anyway, I got an email from David a day or so ago with the changes he made to the site. I won't give out the site address (against MH rules not to mention Marquis of Queensbury) but here are the two additions he made to his web site as he said he would.
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1. "...Because of (John's)* success I thought I would then try interferon/ribaviran. I could only make it through four months before I had to stop. I was depressed, suicidal, exhausted, and to make matters worse, my hair started to thin. I want to stress, however, that depending on how damaged your liver is, this route might be the only one available to you. Herbs won't cure Hep C. The only way to actually rid yourself completely of the virus is with the combo treatment of interferon and rib.)
* John is someone referenced on the site who did SOC and became SVR, I believe.
And very clearly:
2. "** While normal liver enzymes and low viral loads are desirable, neither can be totally relied on to determine how much liver damage you have, and neither should be used to determine whether or not you need interferon treatment. That decision can only be made under the guidance of a liver specialist performing a liver biopsy. **
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Elsewhere on the site -- and before he posted here -- you will also find the following language:
If you are like me, in a holding pattern waiting for modern medicine to find a cure without debilitating side effects, I urge you to give (name of his product deleted by me) a try. Take it for six months and then have your levels checked again. Hopefully they will start to go down. They did for us. Let me know; I welcome your feedback. If you are still drinking alcohol, STOP NOW. It's your life, your liver. You can make it better and have hope that we will all be rid of this virus someday.
** While normal liver enzymes and low viral loads are desirable, neither can be totally relied on to determine how much liver damage you have, and neither should be used to determine whether or not you need interferon treatment. That decision can only be made under the guidance of a liver specialist performing a liver biopsy. **
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So David did come through with his promises and that's why I'm posting. I'm sure people will process this as they like so I will draw no conclusions. Just wanted to post a promised follow-up and hopefully no other posts will follow mine although I'm sure some will. They just won't be mine.
-- Jim