Welcome Dean. Good idea to quit smoking. I quit about 3 years ago inpreparation for this treatment. Boy was I glad I did after starting. Also started going back to gym 1 1/2 years prior to starting. Good luck.
jimbob
Loopy Lisa said
Apr 8, 2014
Welcome Dean,
Sorry to hear about the razor situation, actually it is disgusting and I would be furious if that was me. For the life of me I cannot understand how they allowed this to happen - sorry but I had to say it, it raised some anger in me. It is good that your wife is supporting you and nudging you towards a better life style and options. It is a bright future for Geno 1s and 4s with the newer medications having good results. 53 is still young in this day and age so what a good time to treat. Wishing you the best of luck in the future!
-- Edited by Loopy Lisa on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 11:11:44 PM
-- Edited by Loopy Lisa on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 11:12:18 PM
OldenSlow said
Apr 8, 2014
Hi Dean,
Welcome and congrats on 16 yrs of sobriety. Well done! I think you need to get that liver staged via biopsy/fibroscan etc., along with all relevant blood panels. It will give you a fix on the urgency for treatment. You may have the option of waiting until current coverage issues settle down and even newer and better drugs are available.
The more information forum members have of your case specifics, the better able we will be to offer constructive input. That's entirely up to you. Stay in touch and best of luck.
wayne
Tig said
Apr 8, 2014
Hi Dean,
Welcome to the forum! I'm glad you have introduced yourself. I would expect you will get a number of responses from fellow members, new and old alike! This in my opinion is the most friendly and knowledgeable group of like minded people I've found anywhere. I recently finished treatment, successfully achieving SVR12 in March. Trust me, it's a good day when you finally get that piece of paper with those three letters on it!
I didn't see any mention on your intro about trying any form of treatment before now. Have you spoken with a hepatologist or gastroenterologist about starting treatment? There are a number of new products on the market, in trials and some very good options in the process of FDA approval now. It is a very good time to treat and the rates of success on some of the newest options have reported success rates in the 95-100 percentile! The recent Interferon based protocols did leave room for improvements by all means and the Sovaldi backbone treatments seem to be the one offering the best results seen to date.
Have you had any recent testing done? Things like biopsies, fibroscan and liver function (AST/ALT), genotype and viral load tests posted here can help us understand your own situation better. We often post them in our signature section, so people always have a quick reference when replying. Please feel free to share anything and always feel free to ask any questions you might have. If you haven't already seen our search function at the top center, check that and you'll find an abundance of information on just about everything. The home page offers up all the various threads and if you don't find what you're looking for, post a new topic/question in the appropriate thread and someone will reply.
Glad to hear you've stopped the drinking, nothing causes a faster decline in liver health when infected with HCV. It's doubly hard on the liver and stopping gives your liver a better chance of successfully beating this disease, among other benefits. Quitting smoking is another feather in your cap! You're going to feel so good, you won't know what to do with yourself, lol! (I've even gotten off my butt and started exercising again, woot!) It's all good Dean! I wish you the best of luck moving forward and hope you keep us informed of your progress. I'm glad you're here!
Tig
Dee Dee said
Apr 7, 2014
Good luck on your tx bodford...the sovaldi teamed up with olysio seem to be doing miracles For lots of people! Hope you can start one of these treatments ..
Groupergetter said
Apr 7, 2014
Hi Bodford, welcome to the forum from another relative newcomer. I started treatment about a month ago. The new meds, Sovaldi and whatever seem to be working without too many side effects. Good you are working to quit the kick habit. They really contribute to a number health issues. It's a great time to be considering treatment. Hope all goes well for you, and your journey to being cured isn't far off. Take care
bodford said
Apr 7, 2014
I became aware I had the hep-c virus during a routine blood donation (Red Cross) in 1988. At that time it was non-A, non-B hepatitis. I had been in a county jail for 5 months where we had to shave for visitors each Saturday. We shared razors which were nasty and rusty. I suspect that is where I acquired the virus. I was 27 and basically due to ignorance did nothing about it. A number of years later I stopped drinking. I am now a recovering alcoholic sine April 28, 1998. I was married in April of 2002 and my wife talked me into seeing an endocrinologist to check into treatment options. The type I have only had a success rate of ~50% with medicines available then in 2005. I couldn't afford the price on those odds. Now this new Solvaldi is out but at an exorbitant price. I'm lucky as I don't suffer any ill effects at 53 after the virus has percolated for at least 25 years. I use no holistic treatments either but am a daily marijuana smoker. I am stopping cigarettes now. Taking chantex and 5 days past quit day with only 2 slips for a smoke.
jimbob
Welcome Dean,
Sorry to hear about the razor situation, actually it is disgusting and I would be furious if that was me. For the life of me I cannot understand how they allowed this to happen - sorry but I had to say it, it raised some anger in me. It is good that your wife is supporting you and nudging you towards a better life style and options. It is a bright future for Geno 1s and 4s with the newer medications having good results. 53 is still young in this day and age so what a good time to treat. Wishing you the best of luck in the future!
-- Edited by Loopy Lisa on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 11:11:44 PM
-- Edited by Loopy Lisa on Tuesday 8th of April 2014 11:12:18 PM
Hi Dean,
Welcome and congrats on 16 yrs of sobriety. Well done! I think you need to get that liver staged via biopsy/fibroscan etc., along with all relevant blood panels. It will give you a fix on the urgency for treatment. You may have the option of waiting until current coverage issues settle down and even newer and better drugs are available.
The more information forum members have of your case specifics, the better able we will be to offer constructive input. That's entirely up to you. Stay in touch and best of luck.
wayne
Hi Dean,
Welcome to the forum! I'm glad you have introduced yourself. I would expect you will get a number of responses from fellow members, new and old alike! This in my opinion is the most friendly and knowledgeable group of like minded people I've found anywhere. I recently finished treatment, successfully achieving SVR12 in March. Trust me, it's a good day when you finally get that piece of paper with those three letters on it!
I didn't see any mention on your intro about trying any form of treatment before now. Have you spoken with a hepatologist or gastroenterologist about starting treatment? There are a number of new products on the market, in trials and some very good options in the process of FDA approval now. It is a very good time to treat and the rates of success on some of the newest options have reported success rates in the 95-100 percentile! The recent Interferon based protocols did leave room for improvements by all means and the Sovaldi backbone treatments seem to be the one offering the best results seen to date.
Have you had any recent testing done? Things like biopsies, fibroscan and liver function (AST/ALT), genotype and viral load tests posted here can help us understand your own situation better. We often post them in our signature section, so people always have a quick reference when replying. Please feel free to share anything and always feel free to ask any questions you might have. If you haven't already seen our search function at the top center, check that and you'll find an abundance of information on just about everything. The home page offers up all the various threads and if you don't find what you're looking for, post a new topic/question in the appropriate thread and someone will reply.
Glad to hear you've stopped the drinking, nothing causes a faster decline in liver health when infected with HCV. It's doubly hard on the liver and stopping gives your liver a better chance of successfully beating this disease, among other benefits. Quitting smoking is another feather in your cap! You're going to feel so good, you won't know what to do with yourself, lol! (I've even gotten off my butt and started exercising again, woot!) It's all good Dean! I wish you the best of luck moving forward and hope you keep us informed of your progress. I'm glad you're here!
Tig
Good luck on your tx bodford...the sovaldi teamed up with olysio seem to be doing miracles For lots of people! Hope you can start one of these treatments ..
Hi Bodford, welcome to the forum from another relative newcomer. I started treatment about a month ago. The new meds, Sovaldi and whatever seem to be working without too many side effects. Good you are working to quit the kick habit. They really contribute to a number health issues. It's a great time to be considering treatment. Hope all goes well for you, and your journey to being cured isn't far off. Take care
I became aware I had the hep-c virus during a routine blood donation (Red Cross) in 1988. At that time it was non-A, non-B hepatitis. I had been in a county jail for 5 months where we had to shave for visitors each Saturday. We shared razors which were nasty and rusty. I suspect that is where I acquired the virus. I was 27 and basically due to ignorance did nothing about it. A number of years later I stopped drinking. I am now a recovering alcoholic sine April 28, 1998. I was married in April of 2002 and my wife talked me into seeing an endocrinologist to check into treatment options. The type I have only had a success rate of ~50% with medicines available then in 2005. I couldn't afford the price on those odds. Now this new Solvaldi is out but at an exorbitant price. I'm lucky as I don't suffer any ill effects at 53 after the virus has percolated for at least 25 years. I use no holistic treatments either but am a daily marijuana smoker. I am stopping cigarettes now. Taking chantex and 5 days past quit day with only 2 slips for a smoke.