Re: Re: Intro and questions

[Guest guest]

Hi , Why is your doc 'refusing' you treatment? You have cirrhosis and you must stop this virus OR you will end up with ESLD and a liver transplant if you can find a donor. Am I misunderstanding what you said? There is NO reason that your doc should be refusing you treatment, especially when you have so much damage... Many times as the damage continues, the viral load actually drops and your liver functions drop into the normal level too and that is NOT a good thing.. Washburn wrote: Hi joannauI am getting to the point where I am kinda glad Ireally don't have a choice to do Tx or not. I am 53,HCV, geno 3, with cirrhosis & acities and a viral loadof 255,000. That's all I know so far and with thisinfo my Gastro Dr. Has refused to give me Tx. With allthe crap I have had to learn this past month about HepC I cannot imagine having to make a decision on Tx ornot. I was all for it but now wonder myself if its thebest thing. At best

I will have one heck of a ride tobeat it. Seems like a liver transplant may be betterbut then I may have to do TX anyway AHHHHH. I'm in ano win situation right now.Jan 29th I will meet with my first Hep C specialist atthe Mayo Clinic to to discuss a whole week of testingto determine more and to get on the transplant list.That should be real fun with my tiny little rubberveins that are next to impossible to get blood out of:( I do have a question. My gastro Doctor (who I hate)has put me on 40mg of Lasix and 50mg of Aldactone BID.Why he increased it I'll never understand. I was doingfine at a lower dose. Had my 2 week blood work and mypotassium came back high (5.5). Well he freaked andasked If I was taking any potassium supplements. Itold him no but I do eat allot of high potassium foodsand my potassium levels were always around 4.8 whichis normal but on the high end of the scale. Myquestion

is why does he have me on the Aldactone if Ido not have a problem with losing potassium on theLasix? Even with the elevated potassium he kept me onthe Aldactone. I'm thinking he has no clue what he isdoing or is it me? I dislike taking drugs but at thispoint he is all I have and can only hope he knows whathe is doing. I also went from waking up 1 or twice anight to pee to 4 or 5 times a night to pee. I am sotired I cannot even think straight now.Also on Milk Thistle...I got some Livatone whichhelped with the craping from the water pills but.... Ihad terrible gas with pain and bloating. I was onlytaking 1 day and then went to 2 a day. Bang I startedto retain water in addition to all the other funthings. Why am I having a problem with it when so manyother don't and now the dang cramping in my fingerstoes and legs is back since I stopped

__________________________________________________________Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shoppingJackie

[Guest guest]

Joanna, I’m on Long Island and have

a very good doctor at North Shore University

Hospital in Manhasset if you want to

go another 25 minutes or so from Manhattan.

I like him a lot and he actually calls you

back himself when you need him. The entire staff is wonderful and I’m

very happy I chose him.

It could take a couple of months to get an

appointment to see him so if you’re interested, give him a call soon.

Bernstein, MD, FACP, FACG

Chief

Dr.

Bernstein graduated from the s Hopkins University.

He received his MD from SUNY-Stonybrook School of Medicine. He completed his

medical residency at Montefiore Medical Center

in the Bronx, New York.

He completed his training in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Miami/

Memorial

Hospital in Miami, Florida

under the direction of Dr. Eugene Schiff.

Dr.

Bernstein is board certified in Internal medicine and Gastroenterology. He has

held academic positions at the University

of Miami, SUNY-StonyBrook

and is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at the New York University

School of Medicine. He is currently the Director of Hepatology at North Shore

University Hospital

and Long Island Jewish Hospital. Dr. Bernstein is a past President of the New

York Gastroenterological Association and the Treasurer of the Bockus

International Society of Gastroenterology.

Dr.

Bernstein is internationally recognized as an authority in diseases of the

liver. He has participated in more than 50 large clinical and investigator

initiated research trials. Dr. Bernstein has published more the 50 papers in

peer reviewed journals and delivered more than 100 invited academic lectures on

five continents. He has received numerous awards including the prestigious

Sheila Sherlock Prize for Clinical Research, and the American Liver Foundation

Physician of the Year in 2001.

Dr.

Bernstein is often quoted as an expert in liver disease in numerous

publications in the United States,

Canada and Europe.

Dr. Bernstein is a Fellow of the American

College of Gastroenterology and the American College of Physicians. He serves as a

member of numerous scientific committees within these and many other organizations.

He is reviewer for numerous peer review journals in the United States and Europe.

Dr. Bernstein is the author of the column “LiverLines” which is

published twice a month in all newspapers published by Anton Press.

From:

Hepatitis_C_Central

[mailto:Hepatitis_C_Central ] On

Behalf Of joannau

Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008

10:48 AM

To:

Hepatitis_C_Central

Subject: Re:

Intro and questions

Hi Jackie and Group,

I'm not sure for how long I've had it. One of my doctors suspects

that I got it during a surgery that I had 35 years ago. It might

have happened then, or later, but I've probably had it for more than

20 years. I cannot say for sure though…

I found out about it in 2003, just when I was trying to get

pregnant. Now I have a wonderful 3-year –old son, who is virus FREE

(that was my big fear during pregnancy). Taking care of him is

tiring, but I haven't gone back to work yet, so this may be a good

moment for the treatment. My husband has good insurance, so that is

not an issue either. This may change soon, though, as my husband

expects to be laid off this year...

I'm really sorry you were left with so many problems after the

therapy. It sounds quite scary… That's why I'm thinking now of

searching for a really good doctor, who specializes in treating Hep C

for another opinion, and maybe having the biopsy (although I was

hoping to avoid it). Perhaps someone from the group can recommend a

good specialist in Northern NJ

area or in Manhattan?

And if I decide to treat- does it really matter who is treating me –

is the treatment a pretty standard procedure, or can a good doctor

make a difference?

Joanna