waiting for results of liver biopsy.
48 yrs old
200lbs
genotype 2b
vl 750,000
liver function normal.
no symptoms.
diagnosed 7 yrs ago.

if biopsy shows stage one does anyone recc. getting treatment?
from what i've read on this board some folks are cleared for six mos. (that's great) but the other result is it's come back.
has anyone cleared the virus for 'good'?
i take care of my liver and feel fine. dilemma is should i risk messing with my present state?
realize it's totally up to me. if it was going to come back after a few years i'd rather not risk increasing depression, discomfort etc.
where are the folks that have been 'cleared' for a long time?
does tx really work?

waiting for results of liver biopsy.
48 yrs old
200lbs
genotype 2b
vl 750,000
liver function normal.
no symptoms.
diagnosed 7 yrs ago.

if biopsy shows stage one does anyone recc. getting treatment?
from what i've read on this board some folks are cleared for six mos. (that's great) but the other result is it's come back.
has anyone cleared the virus for 'good'?
i take care of my liver and feel fine. dilemma is should i risk messing with my present state?
realize it's totally up to me. if it was going to come back after a few years i'd rather not risk increasing depression, discomfort etc.
where are the folks that have been 'cleared' for a long time?
does tx really work?


You are right to be waiting for the results of the liver biopsy. And your concerns are valid.

Sean, here on this board and in his online journal is grappling with this question. Read through his thoughts and come back here for a discussion. There is no message board on that site. Click on "weblog" on the banner at the top of the homepage.

I hope this helps,

thanbey

hepatitis c outreach project
www.hcop.org

...all information is intended for general information and is not an attempt to speak to the specifics of any one person's medical situation or decision...........

preapproved by moderator1

read sean's thoughts below.
thanks but didn't glean much from them. am I missing something? He wrote he had some discomfort, and was just checking up on it's progress because it'd been several years since his last biopsy.
I'm after hearing about/from a few folks' success / failure rates & sides with my genotype.
thank you very much though. i do appreciate the response.
i've had the biopsy, just waiting for results.
will determine what course to take w/my doc when time comes in the next few weeks.

I am in stage 2. Haven't felt well for many years. I did ask my specialist about new treatments on the Horizon and about waiting. He indicated nothing really new was likely to come along for at least another 5 years. He also told me that it should not be a problem if I should elect not to have treatment within the next 5 years or so.

Also my doc will not consider treating anyone without getting clearance from a psychiatrist and continue with the psychiatrist during the full course of treatment.

With all the research I have done and all I have heard there doesn't seem to be an answer as to what is best as there are so many variables. I sure wish I had a better answer as i still have so many questions to which there are no definitive answers.

Alice

Hi Flipp and Alice,

Alice's doc is right, it seems to me, there will be nothing much new on the treatment front for at least a few years. The earlier promising ideas such as Heptazyme or BILN whatever it is, seem not to be panning out. Or at least, need more work than we hoped.

So the real choice remains between no tx or some version of interferon plus other goodies.

I am undecided but leaning, after a recent disappointing biopsy, toward tx. I've waited four years or more, but my numbers kept getting worse (I didn't reallynotice how continually this was going, had told myself they were "variable.") and now the biopsy is a bit worse than my first three and a half years earlier.

The on line journal thanbey referred to , Flipp, is on the hcop site/blog. I am wrestling with whether to treat and am not at all certain which way to go, but I do NOT encourage tx in anyone who does not have some reason for going there. Not because anyone else says so, nor out of fear.

Nor would I discourage it if someone just feels they can handle the risk, and want to be virus free.

The important thing is to maintain a clear eye for our own freedom to choose.

There are indeed no definitive answers. Unfortunately. At least we are lucky (???!!!??) enough to have a virus that proceeds so slowly that we can take our time and figure out what course is right for each of us.



sean

sean
can't find your journal but did nav to blog site.
i find thoughts from brendan.
that u?

sean
can't find your journal but did nav to blog site.
i find thoughts from brendan.
that u?


You'll find several entries, beginning at the bottom of the page. Sean explains that he is also brendan in his first entry.

best,

thanbey