Aa
Miracles do happen!
Well, as you may or may not recall.. my last post was early March when the Dr. pulled me out of the triple therapy .. cold turkey.. like.. stop now...after 2 months and 1 week. They pulled a couple of gallons of fluid out of me, sent me home and started talking about introducing me around Mayo for transplant.. I could hardly get off the couch, was up to 205lbs from 175, and looked like death warmed over.
Fast forward to last Friday when I received a letter from the Dr. that my latest tests show the Hep C virus as undetectable for both the Quant real time and the Virus Log tests!.. along with a note from the Dr. that said "Although the treatment was cut short, it appears to have cleared the virus. Great news and congratulations!"
Wow.. the side effects are mostly gone (evidently the Riba stays in your system for 6 months) My liver function test are in normal range (first time in 40 years) and only my platelet count (80) and my bilirubin (1.3 and 0.7) are out of range..
I just stopped taking the diuretic and will see if my liver is functioning well enough to stay off those..
She is having me do semi annual ultrasounds to be proactive for potential liver cancer, but otherwise feels that unless something stupid happens, my liver should last as long as I do :-)
One of the weird things is that now, after the treatment, I was diagnosed as "prediabetic" (never the case before, no family history).. but glucose is running just above 110 and my A1C is at 6.0.. so am controlling with diet and exercise.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks to all who kept me in their thoughts and prayers, to me, there is no other explanation.. and I count my blessing daily.
Cheers!
Fast forward to last Friday when I received a letter from the Dr. that my latest tests show the Hep C virus as undetectable for both the Quant real time and the Virus Log tests!.. along with a note from the Dr. that said "Although the treatment was cut short, it appears to have cleared the virus. Great news and congratulations!"
Wow.. the side effects are mostly gone (evidently the Riba stays in your system for 6 months) My liver function test are in normal range (first time in 40 years) and only my platelet count (80) and my bilirubin (1.3 and 0.7) are out of range..
I just stopped taking the diuretic and will see if my liver is functioning well enough to stay off those..
She is having me do semi annual ultrasounds to be proactive for potential liver cancer, but otherwise feels that unless something stupid happens, my liver should last as long as I do :-)
One of the weird things is that now, after the treatment, I was diagnosed as "prediabetic" (never the case before, no family history).. but glucose is running just above 110 and my A1C is at 6.0.. so am controlling with diet and exercise.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks to all who kept me in their thoughts and prayers, to me, there is no other explanation.. and I count my blessing daily.
Cheers!
Well, well, well...
Have thought about you often since March, hoping and praying for a miracle like this. I'm so incredibly happy for you, Hal. You went through such a tough ride there and absolutely deserve a miracle of this magnitude. Happy Father's day to you, my friend.
Have thought about you often since March, hoping and praying for a miracle like this. I'm so incredibly happy for you, Hal. You went through such a tough ride there and absolutely deserve a miracle of this magnitude. Happy Father's day to you, my friend.
"Riba doesn't stay in your system for six months, but the damage to your reproductive system does. At least that long. "
Hmm, our doctor says it does stay in your system for 6 months. I'm hoping you're right and he's wrong ;)
Hmm, our doctor says it does stay in your system for 6 months. I'm hoping you're right and he's wrong ;)
Congratulations Hal.
Two things:
Riba doesn't stay in your system for six months, but the damage to your reproductive system does. At least that long.
Get the HOMA test done to see if you're insulin resistant. Even with a shortened course of tx, I ended up having to take an insulin sensitizer after txing. Diet and exercise alone couldn't control my blood sugar.
Stay well.
Two things:
Riba doesn't stay in your system for six months, but the damage to your reproductive system does. At least that long.
Get the HOMA test done to see if you're insulin resistant. Even with a shortened course of tx, I ended up having to take an insulin sensitizer after txing. Diet and exercise alone couldn't control my blood sugar.
Stay well.
Holy smokes! 9 weeks...!!! I am.SO incredibly happy for you! You must be beaming..you reallu deserve this. It is just so nice to read these kind of posts. Thank you for coming back to let us know..you have given others now or soon to treat so much help.
As for the weight and abnormal glucose test: you would be amazed how quickly this can change with proper diet and exercise. It sounds like you are doing well with that...but if you do not start seeing changes as soon as you would like I would suggest seeing a nutritionist. Even knowing what foosa are good and which are bad sometimes is not enough. Nutritionists have tought me so much and I was able to lose 30 lbs from it. Diabetes is very prevalent in my family, so I have to stay away from anything white like bread an.d pastas. I have grown to love the new foods on my plan...and I'm almost down to my highschool weight!
Good luck with the weightloss/blood sugar tests in the future, and once again thank goodness for this beautiful miracle! May your liver, now hcv free remain clear of any cancer and give you years of life, love and happiness!!!!!
Best Wishes,
Laura
As for the weight and abnormal glucose test: you would be amazed how quickly this can change with proper diet and exercise. It sounds like you are doing well with that...but if you do not start seeing changes as soon as you would like I would suggest seeing a nutritionist. Even knowing what foosa are good and which are bad sometimes is not enough. Nutritionists have tought me so much and I was able to lose 30 lbs from it. Diabetes is very prevalent in my family, so I have to stay away from anything white like bread an.d pastas. I have grown to love the new foods on my plan...and I'm almost down to my highschool weight!
Good luck with the weightloss/blood sugar tests in the future, and once again thank goodness for this beautiful miracle! May your liver, now hcv free remain clear of any cancer and give you years of life, love and happiness!!!!!
Best Wishes,
Laura
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