Hepatitis C?

Question

My husband has been on interferon/ribviron for hepatitis C but today he went to doctor an he was told before he took the meds his virual load was in the millions an it usual is in the thousands an if the blood they took today don't show a change after he has took a month of the medication that they would stop this type of treatment and talk about one other option ,I'm not sure what they would be ,is there any other medication they use for hepetitis C or is doctor refering to liver transpalnt? Also has anyone ever heard of the viral load being this high ?

Answer 1

first of all, the "success" stories above my post are probably two out of thousands that had the right chemstry to fight off the virus naturally, however, we don't know what their viral load is as they continuously talk about enzymes which do improve, but do not kill off the virus, nor its damaging effects....so far to date, there is not one cure all for what all ails you. HCV is much smarter than money.

now that i have that out of the way.....the doctor should ALWAYS wait until the 6th month mark. That is the only way they will know for sure if he is responding. A month is not long enough by any means.

Most who are going to respond well usually do so by the third to fourth month, but others may take up to 6 months. If there is a viral load of any kind at the 6th month checkup, THEN the doctor should take him off of the treatment.

Regardless of responding or not, the liver needs the break and antiviral chemotherapy (ribavirin and interferon) will do just that!

There are some promising studies being done with new medications and will more than likely be used within the next two years or less.

Try not to worry, but I would demand he stay on treatment for 6 months. Thats the standard trial period for virus level drops.

Good luck and hugs to you both!

Answer 2

The treatment medications should be given at least three months to see if he is showing a two log drop (drop off two zero's from the original viral load. EX: if his pre-treatment viral load was 2,000,000, then he is demonstrating a response to the meds if his 12 or 24 week viral load is 20,000 or less). It is typical for people to have a viral load in the millions. There is no other conventional medication for hepatitis c. Alternatives treatments often claimed to cure the disease, or they claim to have liver enzyme levels back to normal. Normal enzymes don't mean the disease is cured. 40% of people with hep c have liver enzyme levels within normal limits. Search for real research on these alternatives. There isn't much. 20% of the people that get hep c clear it on their own, so be careful of these claims.
Even if the treatment doesn't give your husband a sustained response (undetectable viral load one year after the end of treatment), the interferon has been shown through research to have a histologic improvement in the liver; in other words the damage to the liver can regress by one or two stages). If someone has advanced liver disease, such as decompensation, end stage liver disease, then they may not be able to do the treatment due to the liver's inability to function properly. At that point a person would need to go for a transplant evaluation. My advice would be to educate yourself so you can ask the doctor the appropriate questions so you ( or your husband) can make informed decisions about his healthcare. Make sure he is being followed by a gastroenterologist that has a large percentage of HCV patients. You don't want a doctor that is not up to date on the latest research and treatment of HCV. He should be vaccinated against hep A and B in order to prevent his liver from being attacked by another form of hepatitis, which would increase the damage dramatically. Keep copies of his lab work and learn what those numbers mean. Join a support group so you can learn from others who have dealt with this before. I have gone through the treatment. I am blessed to be a responder for 6 years now. I have my energy back and life is good. Best wishes to you and your husband.

Answer 3

The goal of treatment is sustained response--meaning that the virus is not measurable in the blood after drug therapy is completed. Those who continue to have measurable levels of the virus after treatment are considered non-responders. Relapsers "clear" the virus during therapy or shortly thereafter, but the virus returns after therapy ends.

Hopefully he is responding to therapy. I am not sure of any other treatments for Hep C other than liver transplant.
I did find information on some promising new treatment that are still in clinical trials:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/action/FindCondition?ui=D006526&recruiting=true

Hopefully he responds to the Pegasys treatment. Depending on the source, I am finding that 50-80% respond favorably to the interferon/ribavir treatment.
Hope this helped, good luck!

Answer 4

My husband died of Hep-C 12 years ago when they first diagnosed it. He took interferon for about 2 weeks but had to stop because his blood got too thin and he bled too much. I guess they have to start using it before the hep gets so bad. He was in the very last stages.
I know they have more things now for it, but I am not sure what they are.

Answer 5

I don't know, but I was diagnosed in 2000 (accidentally, the result of an employment physical) with "chronic acute Hepatitis C". In fact, I was diagnosed twice! Although I never experienced dire symptoms, a friend told me about a Chinese herbalist / acupunturist (who's also an MD) who cured me of Hepatitis C by taking a special tea each night for a month (I also got 2 acupuncture treatments, a week apart). I was tested by my western doctor's lab about 6 months later, and was told that I had NO indications of the condition. AND, I sent a friend (who was actually experiencing dire symptoms, and had been on interferon for a year, with no positive results) to the same doctor. After this alternative treatment, he was told that his numbers were in the normal range, whatever that means....You can contact me for more info at:

suzannesmith.wordpress.com

Answer 6

You can make to help slow the progression of hepatitis C and keep you healthier:

Be careful with your medicines.
Avoid alcohol

To know more details how to improve liver , you can refer to :http://adola.net/go/fattyliver-bible/

Hope this useful!

Answer 7

I coached a woman several years ago with Hep C, which she had for over 20 years. During that time she did just about every treatment available from Conventional Medicine, including interferon. On day 30 of her Juice Fast her liver enzymes were normal for the first time in 20 years. On day 43 of her Juice Fast the tumor on her liver was GONE ! ! ! Here's what Dr. Schulze has to say about Hep C, juice fasting and interferon.

"Juice-fasting allows your body to balance its hormones and replace chemicals it is deficient in."

SCHULZE: Many people are sick because they don't produce enough insulin in their body. Or, they don't produce enough thyrox in their thyroid. Or, they don't produce enough interferon or immunoglobulin for the immune system to be strong. They don't produce enough estrogen or progesterone or testosterone.

Those chemicals are all built from nutrition. One of the things that juice fasting does is, it supplies your body with a tremendous amount of nutrition. So it balances your metabolism, balances your hormones, balances your endocrine system, your thyroid, your pancreas, and your reproductive organs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please, do not rely on Conventional Medicine!

"...conventional medicine is "the leading cause of death" in the United States.

...Over 700,000 Americans die each year at the hands of government-sanctioned medicine, while the FDA and other government agencies pretend to protect the public by harassing those who offer safe alternatives."

To read the entire article, go to:
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_awsi_death_01.htm

Answer 8

http://www.liverfoundation.org/db/articles/1005
This well help you out tremendously.