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In the end we need to eliminate this virus and make it an illness of the past like polio, measle..thank you Lucinda, your blog is the best..
I highly recommend you join the Hep Forum. There you will find support and great info from others with hep C who have been where you are and have gone through treatment. http://forums.hepmag.com/index.php?action=forum One thing - don't worry about your viral load - it means nothing other than it proves you have hep C. I've been where you are, and now I am cured. Support mattered more than anything else, and the Hep Forum is great for that. Lots of tips there to help you through it. Also, I removed your phone # from your message - you said you are a little foggy - don't give out your number to strangers - it just makes good sense. Finally, I've written 2 books about hep C. Hepatitis C One Step at a Time may be helpful for you. If you click on this link http://www.lucindaporterrn.com/, and then on the book cover (the blue book), it will take you to Amazon where you can read quite a bit for free.
Hello,my name is Valerie and I'm 48 years of age. I have Hep-C and I was treated in 2011 for 6 months with Rivirbrin,interferon but sadly to say it didn't work. The good news of things is myy new Gastroentrologist Dr. is recomending Solvaldi to my new Hepatologist witch I see for the first time on March 4th. 2015. I pray that I'm able to do this treatment because my life depends on this cure. My viroload is over 7miillion and I'm not feeling to well and since my last treatment my liver has some scaring and liesons. I'm scared and I have mixeed emotions at this time of my life. I try to read as much information on Hep-C as I can,but the fatigue and fogginess along with other symtoms have me in bed alot. I want to live and need all the support I can get. If there is any iformation You can help me with I would grately appreciate it. Thank you so much for your blog and info. God bless and I hope to hear from you. Sincerly, Valerie Corona
Thank you for your posting, this is very interesting questions. I believe, we need to accept reality, even if it is not so easy psychologically. >However, to suggest that we shouldn't do widespread screening for hepatitis C is absurd If I correctly understand, speaking formally, Dr.Koretz's opinion is justified. Really, HCV treatment is experimental treatment (like clinical trials) - because we do not have complete evidence base from point of view of evidence-based medicine. Leading world-known hepatologists agreed with this fact ("definite evidence for the clinical efficacy of interferon therapy was never established and SVR was never formally validated", "To conclude, we are aware that definite proof for the surrogacy of SVR and clinical benefit of interferon-based antiviral therapy is lacking." - http://www.journal-of-hepatology.eu/article/S0168-8278(13)00598-9/fulltext). In this situation, widespread mandatory HCV screening may lead to uncontrolled spreading of, by fact, experimental treatment and a lot of social stigma. In my opinion, this may be a danger. In many countries, modern interferon-free regimens are not yet available (due to high price) - and widespread mandatory screening may lead to situation, that millions of HCV-infected people in such countries will be stigmatized and will be pushed to receive suboptimal interferon-based treatment (including patients without insurance). For example, in my country, HCV treatment is not covered by insurance at all, and only interferon-based regimens are available at high price for majority of population. From the other side, for example, I undoubtedly prefer to know that I have HCV as early as possible. In my opinion, doctors should encourage their patients to get HCV-tested anonymously (but not mandatory) and doctors should fully inform their patients about drawback sides of HCV therapy. Not only about positive sides, but about negative sides too (something like Dr.Koretz does). >Various studies have shown that having chronic C will reduce life expectancy by 15 or more years. The problem with such studies, usually, that HCV infected people relatively often have other causes for reduced life expectancy... For example, history of alcohol or drug abuse, coinfection, surgery with transfusions of contaminated blood etc. Thus, association between shorter life expectancy and HCV does not mean "causative relation". We cannot be sure that HCV reduces life expectancy by 15 years instead of other factors. >Successful hepatitis C treatment leads to improved outcomes, including better cognitive ability and mental health. On the other hand, some studies show high percent of persistent cognitive problems due to HCV therapy, despite SVR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25326107 >The word is cure. But some studies show, that HCV replicates in very low concentrations in up to 80% of patients with SVR - http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/10/1277.long >Granted, treatment was a bit harder in 2013 when Koretz wrote this, so caution was necessary. I agree. Moreover, nowadays, in many countries even peginterferon treatment is not accessible for majority of people and, obviously, this situation will be continued for years. In anyway, I hope, that discussions in "medical world" about these questions will lead to lowering of price of modern interferon-free therapy, that, in turns, will lead to wider availability of this therapy. As a doctor wrote: "Finally, if these drugs have not been shown to do more good than harm, and the lack of evidence is clearly the responsibility of the drugs' manufacturers who chose not to do very large and/or long-term randomized controlled trials and not to assess clinical outcomes, what justification is there for the gargantuan prices of these drugs?" (http://hcrenewal.blogspot.ru/2015/01/the-fashion-challenges-of-emperor-of.html) With best wishes, Serg. (HCV 1b, peg/rib in 2005-2006, relapsed)
Totally agree with your article.More testing is needed.I wish i'd found out 10 years ago i had hepc.Here's hoping some of the new wonder drugs get passed in Australia in march. Gerry B.
Lucinda K. Porter, RN
You are absolutely right! (thank you for the kind words.)
April 25, 2015