Thanks all. Love the tender age so I will follow suit - at my tender age of 58 am seeing specialist on 19 Sept ( after being given one for mid Oct) so wil know more from there. Not sure what other tests they will do from the town I,m in - for some tests they would have to send me to one of the bigger centres. Just about got my head around this whole thing ( always thought I was extremely lucky from my wayward life 25 - 35 years ago) so its onward and getting back to life etc instead of going through the feeling sorry for myself process ( had to go through it though). Am managing to keep up my high mileage running ( some days are harder than others though ) with a big plan for next year. Cheers all Perry
TN99 said
Aug 28, 2013
Hi Perry,
I'm same geno as you 3a.
Gen3's can indeed be difficult to treat due to fatty liver, body weight and a variety of other factors.
My biopsy showed no scarring or cirrhosis, but mild steatosis (fatty liver.)
Need a biopsy to know the status of your liver for sure.
My ALT/AST where about the same as your and high iron. Due to my relatively youngish age (44) my doc said I was a good candidate for weight based Ribavirin and Pegasys therapy and gave me about 80% odds of achieving SVR.
I started the dual therapy right away.
Viral load was 9.4mil at the start and by week 4 down to 318. I'm on week 9 now and so far side effect have been mild to bearable. I will carry on with the full 24 weeks.
The drugs do work for the majority of people.
news said
Aug 26, 2013
That's about where I started, except that I was 1a. Some fat, stage 3-4 fibrosis, VL 6 million, ALT/AST readings in the 150-160 range. They did a biopsy right before beginning treatment. My ultrasounds always look OK, but the doc doesn't trust them for fibrosis level. He is just looking for swelling, and also liver cancer, which is a risk with cirrhosis. I will need ultrasound about every six months forever. I know it's nerve racking to have to wait, but your chances are excellent for a completely virus free outcome. If you take my advice, you will embrace the treatment full force and live it during the time you are doing it. As Malcolm said, the chances for success have never been higher.
Alan
-- Edited by news on Monday 26th of August 2013 02:57:05 PM
perry said
Aug 26, 2013
thanks mate - viral load was just over 4 mil ( hi medium I think ) and the AST and ALT were between 160 and 190.
mallani said
Aug 26, 2013
Hi Perry,
Welcome. To give my opinion on your results: Ultrasound is pretty crude at picking up fatty infiltration and cirrhosis. The fact that changes were noted suggests you probably should have a liver biopsy or Fibroscan. Fatty infiltration is common in Geno 3. Iron levels are often raised in chronic HepC. It is due to iron being released from damaged hepatocytes. You should get a full iron profile, try to limit your iron intake, and don't take any supplements that contain iron. Finally, Geno 3 is still treated with Peg and Riba, but this may change after the current Trials of the new DAA's. I think Geno 3 is possibly more difficult to treat than Geno 1 at this stage, but there are lots of variables. Let us know your Viral Load, liver enzymes etc and if you are going to have a biopsy. Chances of eliminating the virus have never been better, so relax and keep us posted. Cheers.
perry said
Aug 26, 2013
Hi all. Just phoned my Drs office to try and get some results of test ordered by the specialist - don't actually see him till Sept 19th. Results they gave me over the phone;
1 - Ultra sound on upper abdomen. They said this showed a fatty liver with poss early signs of chirosis.
2 - iron levels were done which came back as raised/elevated ( not sure by how much)
3 - genotype came back as 3a.
Will have these confirmed properly when I see the specialist. Could you very knowleable people let me know a bit more ???? I was expecting a genotype of 1 but from what I have read the 3 is easier to treat?
Cheers all - look forward to hearing back from you
Thanks all. Love the tender age so I will follow suit - at my tender age of 58 am seeing specialist on 19 Sept ( after being given one for mid Oct) so wil know more from there. Not sure what other tests they will do from the town I,m in - for some tests they would have to send me to one of the bigger centres. Just about got my head around this whole thing ( always thought I was extremely lucky from my wayward life 25 - 35 years ago) so its onward and getting back to life etc instead of going through the feeling sorry for myself process ( had to go through it though). Am managing to keep up my high mileage running ( some days are harder than others though ) with a big plan for next year. Cheers all Perry
I'm same geno as you 3a.
Gen3's can indeed be difficult to treat due to fatty liver, body weight and a variety of other factors.
My biopsy showed no scarring or cirrhosis, but mild steatosis (fatty liver.)
Need a biopsy to know the status of your liver for sure.
My ALT/AST where about the same as your and high iron. Due to my relatively youngish age (44) my doc said I was a good candidate for weight based Ribavirin and Pegasys therapy and gave me about 80% odds of achieving SVR.
I started the dual therapy right away.
Viral load was 9.4mil at the start and by week 4 down to 318. I'm on week 9 now and so far side effect have been mild to bearable. I will carry on with the full 24 weeks.
The drugs do work for the majority of people.
That's about where I started, except that I was 1a. Some fat, stage 3-4 fibrosis, VL 6 million, ALT/AST readings in the 150-160 range. They did a biopsy right before beginning treatment. My ultrasounds always look OK, but the doc doesn't trust them for fibrosis level. He is just looking for swelling, and also liver cancer, which is a risk with cirrhosis. I will need ultrasound about every six months forever. I know it's nerve racking to have to wait, but your chances are excellent for a completely virus free outcome. If you take my advice, you will embrace the treatment full force and live it during the time you are doing it. As Malcolm said, the chances for success have never been higher.
Alan
-- Edited by news on Monday 26th of August 2013 02:57:05 PM
thanks mate - viral load was just over 4 mil ( hi medium I think ) and the AST and ALT were between 160 and 190.
Hi Perry,
Welcome. To give my opinion on your results: Ultrasound is pretty crude at picking up fatty infiltration and cirrhosis. The fact that changes were noted suggests you probably should have a liver biopsy or Fibroscan. Fatty infiltration is common in Geno 3. Iron levels are often raised in chronic HepC. It is due to iron being released from damaged hepatocytes. You should get a full iron profile, try to limit your iron intake, and don't take any supplements that contain iron. Finally, Geno 3 is still treated with Peg and Riba, but this may change after the current Trials of the new DAA's. I think Geno 3 is possibly more difficult to treat than Geno 1 at this stage, but there are lots of variables. Let us know your Viral Load, liver enzymes etc and if you are going to have a biopsy. Chances of eliminating the virus have never been better, so relax and keep us posted. Cheers.
Hi all. Just phoned my Drs office to try and get some results of test ordered by the specialist - don't actually see him till Sept 19th. Results they gave me over the phone;
1 - Ultra sound on upper abdomen. They said this showed a fatty liver with poss early signs of chirosis.
2 - iron levels were done which came back as raised/elevated ( not sure by how much)
3 - genotype came back as 3a.
Will have these confirmed properly when I see the specialist. Could you very knowleable people let me know a bit more ???? I was expecting a genotype of 1 but from what I have read the 3 is easier to treat?
Cheers all - look forward to hearing back from you