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475555 tn?1469304339

Antioxidants, blood analyses, and fibrosis update

Hello medhelpers, fellow sufferers of hep C, forum lurkers, people who got here by a wrong mouse click, and all victims of the medical profession. Greetings from Buenos Aires!

It's been quite a while since I posted [not long enough for some, I'm sure], but I have an update that may be of interest, which I propose to share with those who want it, in my inimitable if much-maligned style. And for those who don't want it, I say phooey.

Before I get into it, though, I just want to say a special Hi! to my friends trish, aheart, nygirl, james, bali, susi, figuy, hector, willing, mary, gsd, goofydad, lauri, walrus, desrt, marcy, and all my other dear friends who I see from looking over recent posts are still active in the forum. I love you all very much. And I don't use that word lightly.

Now to the gist. First, I still haven't done tx three years after being diagnosed HCV+. Why? because I'm 67, genotype 1, and have a high viral count, and I don't like my chances [around 35%] with standard antiviral therapy. I haven't been able to get into a trial of the newer meds like Teleprevir and Boceprevir because of my high gammaglobulin and because there are very few trials here in Argentina. Also frankly because Interferon + Ribavirin really put me off. I can't tango while scratching riba-rash.

So what I did was study up on what causes liver fibrosis. I found that it was mostly the oxidation of hepatic cells going on in the liver, so I prescribed for myself - with the go-ahead of a hep MD - a regime of antioxidants. These are PPC [polyenylphosphatidylcholine, as Phoschol], ALA [alpha lipoic acid], milk thistle [as Siliphos], and vitamin E [as mixed tocopherols]. I chose these four antioxidants because they have been tested and shown to reduce hepatic oxidation and/or liver damage and not to have serious negative side effects.

I started taking them almost two years ago, at a point when my hepatic enzymes had both reached 100 and my platelets had dropped to around 115k. A few months after beginning the antioxidant regime coupled with a strict non-fat diet of healthy foods like grains, fruit, and raw vegetables, my hepatic enzymes have gone down to the high end of the normal range [41 and 44 in an April 2011 blood test], and my platelets, which had been dropping steadily for years, are holding at 135k.

I'm content. If, with the aid of this regime, I can hold the fort and wait for the approval of a more effective and less dangerous therapy, I think I've done the right thing. For me.

If this is useful to others, well and good. I have no idea if what I'm doing will work for other people. I offer it as a personal experience. The antioxidants appear to be working for me. My hep MDs [I have two] can hardly believe the results of my recent blood analyses and are totally on my side.

All this said, I plan to have a new biopsy this year because blood test results are not conclusive of the extent of fibrosis. They are supposed to be a sign of current liver cell destruction and liver function, nothing more. Biopsy is no sure thing, either, as many have pointed out here and as more and more articles attest, since fibrosis is not always uniform in the liver as was once believed. But biopsy is the best test we've got. So I'll do another, while sticking to my antioxidants.

I hope you will excuse my long-windedness and my little jokes, and that this info is of some use.

Cheers to all!

Mike



46 Responses
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29837 tn?1414534648
He stated that Fibrosis is "dead tissue" and how can you bring dead tissue back to life?

Magnum
Helpful - 0
92903 tn?1309904711
  "...my Gastro said Fibrosis is irreversible, even with treatment,..."

Did that come from the Gish group from CPMC? That was not their position when I last spoke to them.

Mike - Good to hear from you. When I worked for huge bank, we did a giant market research project and uncovered that customers wanted "easy banking". So they did a bazzilion dollar ad campaign swearing that they had the easiest banking - no new toools, no new services, just show them an eagle and tell 'em what they want to hear. In that sppirit, I'm adding Tango Dancer to my medhelp profile. Thanks for the tip :)

Please be sure to watch your liver carefully, as the consensus seems to be that fibrosis pregression is non-linear. It can sneak up on you. I know this too well. Your supplement cocktail seems to being doing it's job. Maybe I oughtta order up some more Phoschol. That's some pricey swill that tastes ghastly.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
good results - always good to remember our own hepatic stellate cells are the troublemakers responsible for fibrosis generation. If  you can keep their activity in check you can afford to continue living  with the virus, though in the end eliminating it is the only cure.  Of course knowing whether the supplement regime is really protective is the issue. Improved overall QOL and normalized enzymes seem very promising but annual fibroscans are probably a good backup check. Thanks for the update!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You said:  "...my Gastro said Fibrosis is irreversible, even with treatment,..."

I'd get a new doctor fast.
Where has this guy been - under a rock?
There are so many reputable sources that dispute that I can't believe a gastroenterologist actually said that.

Mike
Helpful - 0
1657052 tn?1302211717
hi yall!! this is my first post, im hep c 1a, im on week 25 of 48 and whew these sides are no joke,mainly the first 2 months..gotten better as ive gone along, but always sumthin!!!  i think of it as a marathon not a sprint..and marathons are plenty hard..i wish my dr wouldve waited till i could take less interferon, from what ive heard even new meds will be along with interferon, but only 6 months instead of 48 wks.. ive been clear since 12 weeks.. thank u Jesus!!, but still have a long way to go..lot of skin issues right now and my hair is falling out somewhat..hello wig!!! maybe i can get a real cool purple one or somethin..haha..tryin to take as little pills as possible, everything has to go thru liver..one multi vitamin and advil after shot also have acid pills on hand, that started fairly quickly..i pray for all of yall to get clear of this mess and move on..it sure has me doin some internal changing..not takin anything for granted anymore!!! wake up call really for me.. hope yall have a happy Easter!!!  cheryl
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal

i meant: what we have on hbv tx cannot be applied to hcv
Helpful - 0
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