Treatment

[Guest guest]

Good luck, . Your positive

attitude will make all the difference in the world……..that and all the support

you’ve got here.

Dorothy

From: Hepatitis_C_Central [mailto:Hepatitis_C_Central ] On Behalf Of Matchinsky

Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 7:15

AM

To: Hepatitis_C_Central

Subject:

Treatment

I

start my third treatment today. It will be 72 weeks of daily injections,

plus the pills. But I have a positive attitude about this treatment.

Fighting

the dragon.

m

[Guest guest]

Good thoughts be with you on your way ! Mike Matchinsky wrote: I start my third treatment today. It will be 72 weeks of daily injections, plus the

pills. But I have a positive attitude about this treatment. Fighting the dragon. m "Running is to dogs what dancing is to people.

It is their way to get into the rhythm of the universe." ~Stanley Coren~ No virus found in this outgoing message.Checked by AVG.Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1328 - Release Date: 3/13/2008 11:31 AM

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[Guest guest]

I wish you luck .....I started my first tx today.....we will get thru this together... Hugs and Prayers, Tina Matchinsky wrote: I start my third treatment today. It will be 72 weeks of daily injections, plus the pills. But I have a positive attitude about this treatment. Fighting the dragon. m "Running is to dogs what dancing is to people. It is their way to get into the rhythm of the universe." ~Stanley Coren~ No virus found in this outgoing message.Checked by AVG.Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1328 - Release Date: 3/13/2008 11:31 AM The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything.

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[Guest guest]

Good luck to both of you!! We'll be here to support and it's always nice to have a tx "buddy" as it were. Sharon in NW Washington Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but about how to dance in the rain. I wish you luck .....I started my first tx today.....we will get thru this together... Hugs and Prayers, Tina Matchinsky wrote: I start my third treatment today. It will be 72 weeks of daily injections, plus the pills. But I have a positive attitude about this treatment.Fighting the dragon.m"Running is to dogs what dancing is to people. It is their way to get into the rhythm of the universe."~Stanley Coren~

[Guest guest]

There is strength in numbers!

" Running

is to dogs what dancing is to people.

It is

their way to get into the rhythm of the universe. "

~Stanley

Coren~

From:

Hepatitis_C_Central

[mailto:Hepatitis_C_Central ] On Behalf Of curlytoes45

Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 11:54 AM

To: Hepatitis_C_Central

Subject: Re: Treatment

I wish you luck .....I started my first tx

today.....we will get thru this together...

Hugs and Prayers,

Tina

No virus found in this outgoing message.

Checked by AVG.

Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1328 - Release Date: 3/13/2008 11:31 AM

[Guest guest]

hang in there Tina,, and best of luck,, we're here for you ,, you know that!!!! Dont forget to drink your water and take tylenol 30 min before your shot and again a couple of hours afterwards,, GO KICK DRAGON BUTT honey!!! lolhugsjaxcurlytoes45 wrote: I wish you luck .....I started my first tx today.....we will get thru this together... Hugs and Prayers, Tina Matchinsky <michaelboxernest (DOT) net>

wrote: I start my third treatment today. It will be 72 weeks of daily injections, plus the pills. But I have a positive attitude about this treatment. Fighting the dragon. m "Running is to dogs what dancing is to people. It is their way to get into the rhythm of the universe." ~Stanley Coren~ No virus found in this outgoing message.Checked by AVG.Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1328 - Release Date: 3/13/2008 11:31 AM The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The man who kneels to God can stand up to anything. Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. Jackie

[Guest guest]

Good morning,

This is Steve again from Ca.

I got through my bio and got the results.

I have geno 1a and im stage 2-3 with a VL count of 2,190,000 and my

log10 was around 6.354. I dont have the paperwork in front of me.

Well the doctor want me to start treatment. Are there others out there

that have went into remission with geno 1a at stage 2-3?

I realize geno 2 has a higher success rate for remission.

Ive had it 37 years already, some have said maybe it might not be

worth it to start treatment. I guess Im looking for success stories to

see if I want to go through this or not.

These newsgroups have been a blessing. Ive learned a lot from

everyone, thanks for the encouragement in getting through my bio.

Blessings to all,

Steve in Ca.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,Well the good news is that you dont have cirrhosis,, yet,,, and that is wonderful news ,, your liver CAN regenerate if you can get the virus into remission!!!!! I am a geno 1a too and I had a LOT more damage than you do, and I am a success story as far as the hep virus goes.. I successfully treated and finished tx 5 years ago... It was the most difficult year of my life, but I BELIEVE its more about your attitude and mind set than nearly anything... IF you do decide to do treatment, you MUST set your mind to ABSOLUTELY finishing tx... You have to believe that there is NO alternative,, you will not stop tx until you finish, no matter what.. AND you must have a doc who will treat your side effects.. Most ppl have flu like symptoms and handle it quite well.. and Im not trying to start a sex war here but I think that women, from bearing children have maybe a little different concept of what pain is.. We've felt real pain before so this achiness we have,

while it can be most uncomfortable , its nothing like having children.. Men, on the other hand have not felt THAT kind of pain and maybe totally blown away by the way this medication can make you feel.. But if you set your mind to it, you can finish and if you finish, you DO stand a very good chance to reach remission.. With the new pegylated INF, it does seem like more are reaching SVR.. However, with geno 1, we all know its about 50/50 with the best of odds... some say its only 40% success,, but let me tell you, if you are in the 40% that are successful, it feels pretty darn good...What I would do, if in your shoes is to ask your doc directly what he will do for you if you need extra help with the side effects. Will he RX you norco for pain? Will he give you restoril or other sleeping medication for insomnia? Are you on an SSRI? If not, will he give you one and get you started on it before you start tx?What will he do if you become anemic? Will he RX

you procrit or neupogen for white cells or will he cut your meds? You have to do AT LEAST 80% of your weight based medications 80% of the time to even stand a chance... Many docs will just lower the meds instead of giving you the procrit and neupogen... and THAT totally REDUCES your already lowered chance of SVR... Are YOU WILLING to drink all that water,, and rest when you need it and are YOU willing to suffer for a year to get rid of this virus? There are many who start with the attitude of "Oh well, Ill try and if it makes me too sick, Ill just stop tx" and THAT 'can' cause the virus to mutate and then you will NEVER put it into SVR... So what I BELIEVE, and its only my opinion,, is that IF you start tx, you must start it with the attitude "come hell or high water, Ill finish with all the medications needed to kill the virus"... The only time when its good to stop tx midstream is if you are not responding.. if at week 12 you are not undetectible or

havent reached that 2 log drop in virus.. If you do 2 log drop but are still detectible, then you might have to extend the treatment another 12 weeks... Dr. Ben Cecil, who is the best hep doc America has to offer, emailed with me back and forth and he told me that he keeps his patients on tx for a full 48 weeks AFTER they become undetecible for the best possible outcome.. I've seen him retreat a few who immediately relapsed after end of tx and he extended their next tx to 72 weeks and they did reach SVR.. but it was not without long standing/permanent effects from the treatment... Unfortunately, its a crap shoot but IF YOU are willing to play the game , you might just win hon.... But if it were me, and as I've said,, I would make sure that your doc will treat all the side effects and not just lower your treatment meds immediately..Being stage 2-3 is a great place to stop this virus... Did they give you a grade of inflammation? That is also rated 0-4 and it

tells you how 'active' the virus is,, Steve, you can do this,, but its up to you whether or not you WANT to do it... Even doing treatment can reduce your chance of liver cancer by 40%,, and while doing tx you are giving your liver a break,, hugs,jackien6tt wrote: Good morning, This is Steve again from Ca. I got through my bio and got the results. I have geno 1a and im stage 2-3 with a VL count of 2,190,000 and my log10 was around 6.354. I dont have the paperwork in front of me. Well

the doctor want me to start treatment. Are there others out there that have went into remission with geno 1a at stage 2-3? I realize geno 2 has a higher success rate for remission. Ive had it 37 years already, some have said maybe it might not be worth it to start treatment. I guess Im looking for success stories to see if I want to go through this or not. These newsgroups have been a blessing. Ive learned a lot from everyone, thanks for the encouragement in getting through my bio. Blessings to all, Steve in Ca. Jackie

[Guest guest]

Hi SteveIm glad that we can all help you here,, we truely ARE a special group of folks.. With your attitude, you'll do fine on tx.. Now I have a friend who 'may' know of a good gastro in the LA area,, it is Dr. Darling who runs the FAIR foundation. Have you heard of him? I know he himself has had more than one liver transplant and has helped other ppl to secure livers as well..not that you need a transplant, but he does know all the best docs in that area,, so let me ask him what he knows about a good doc in your area and Ill email you off the forum with that info.. Your stage tells you how actively your virus is replicating and doing it dirty work, you's was stage 2-3 which means its moving along,, not at a dead run but it is actively munchin on your liver so its a good time to do treatment. It sounds like you've been lucky enough to catch all of this before it turns your liver into a cirrhotic state which is really really good...Well, let

me email Dr. Darling and see who he might recommend.. and Ill email you offline with that info.. I hope that is ok.jaxn6tt wrote: Hi Jackie, Thanks for all the great information, on the tx and side effects. you are a success story indeed, I'm very happy for you. Well Jackie I am going to give it a shot, no pun intended. Only by Gods grace will I be able to get through this but I will stick it out and Pray that I will go into remission so that I might live to tell others of God's victory over

the enemy who has been working overtime on me for over 40 years but yet has not brought me down. I must admit this one really shook my being as it has with everyone else who has it I know. I just couldn't NOT try to achieve remission. I have always had a positive attitude on life so I guess this seems to be part of it at this point in my life. It has taken me about six months to get to this point after going into denial when first told so this is progress. Now to work on doing the tx. So from what I understand here after 12 weeks hopefully it has dropped two log and that I am undetectable, If not I guess a person is SOL at that point. I could see where this would be a big encouragement giving incentive to continue with the treatment. As my Daughter says you could find Joy within the misery of doing the tx at that point.Amen to that. It seems this Doctor is willing to work with me on rx. He is a GI guy and I

thought about going to another Dr. , a specialist but I know what the outcome will be. Even so my thoughts are to find a specialist in the Los Angeles area to see. I have been trying to take notes on the drugs taken for side effects so I can discuss this with him on my next visit. Oh and I need to find out about this SSRI you mentioned.And you mentioned lots of water? Jackie you asked about the grade of inflammation. Im not sure what that is but my paper work says...Chronic hepatitis , consistent with hepatitis C, with grade 2-3 activity and stage 2-3 fibrosis. Mild mixed micro and macrovesicular steatosis without steatohepatitis. There are a lot of other numbers and info, AST (SGOT) 75 high, ALT (SGPT) 86 high. Are there other numbers I should mention that are important? Sorry to ramble, thanks for the information and encouragement. Steve in Ca. Good morning, > > This is Steve again from Ca. > I got through my bio and got the results. > I have geno 1a and im stage 2-3 with a VL count of 2,190,000

and my > log10 was around 6.354. I dont have the paperwork in front of me. > > Well the doctor want me to start treatment. Are there others out there > that have went into remission with geno 1a at stage 2-3? > I realize geno 2 has a higher success rate for remission. > Ive had it 37 years already, some have said maybe it might not be > worth it to start treatment. I guess Im looking for success stories to > see if I want to go through this or not. > > These newsgroups have been a blessing. Ive learned a lot from > everyone, thanks for the encouragement in getting through my bio. > > Blessings to all, > > Steve in Ca. > > > > > > > Jackie > Jackie

[Guest guest]

Hi Listen honey,, its NOT FAIR to KEEP info from everyone,, WE NEED to make informed decisions and the only way to do so is to know the truth,, positive OR negative.... besides honey, we are here for you and if we dont know how you are doing, we cannot help you!Good luck with the procrit!hugsjax Matchinsky wrote: I haven’t posted lately because I hate being negative, and that’s where I’ve been at. I’ve been sick, but I don’t want newcomers to get the idea that treatment is the same for everyone. My hemoglobin has been dropping like a rock, so today I re-start Procrit. Fighting the Dragon No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.13/1377 - Release Date: 4/14/2008 9:26 AM Jackie