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!
Congratulations. Glad that you had a great Father's Day. Looking forward to seeing the official SVR post.
I always seem to arrive late to every party, but at least I did make it. Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you, and grateful too, as this gives me more reason to hope for my own SVR. I've just finished my 34th week; 14 more to go (geez, that is more time left than you had total - I've just GOT to SVR!) Again. I'm so glad your difficult tx has a happy ending!
Thanks all.. I think I have another blood test scheduled for October along with an ultrasound (they want to scan me semiannually to catch any potential cancer early) and I will certainly let everyone know..
My weight is steady at 177 (on 6 ft) and my blood sugar is running from 85 to 120 depending on time of day, length of time after meals etc. So that is looking good.. and I am now 4 days out from stopping the spironolactone and have seen very little evidence of fluid build up (ankles, weight gain, calves etc) so I remain hopeful there.. (which is good because growing breasts and sore nipples are really not something I am too excited about :)
I played 18 holes of golf for fathers day..and other than being a little tired and sore, I made it all the way through..
I will say Fathers Day has a special meaning now, since my son (just graduated high school) after watching his old man deteriorate into an invalid, can now go off to college with out that worry on his mind!
Again, thanks everyone and God bless.. I keep everyone with this horrible disease in my prayers..
BTW, regarding the mechanics of ribavirin:
"Of special concern is ribavirin's long half-life in the body. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) concentrate the drug and are unable to excrete it, so this pool is not completely eliminated until all red cells have turned over, a process estimated to take as long as 6 months. "
My weight is steady at 177 (on 6 ft) and my blood sugar is running from 85 to 120 depending on time of day, length of time after meals etc. So that is looking good.. and I am now 4 days out from stopping the spironolactone and have seen very little evidence of fluid build up (ankles, weight gain, calves etc) so I remain hopeful there.. (which is good because growing breasts and sore nipples are really not something I am too excited about :)
I played 18 holes of golf for fathers day..and other than being a little tired and sore, I made it all the way through..
I will say Fathers Day has a special meaning now, since my son (just graduated high school) after watching his old man deteriorate into an invalid, can now go off to college with out that worry on his mind!
Again, thanks everyone and God bless.. I keep everyone with this horrible disease in my prayers..
BTW, regarding the mechanics of ribavirin:
"Of special concern is ribavirin's long half-life in the body. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) concentrate the drug and are unable to excrete it, so this pool is not completely eliminated until all red cells have turned over, a process estimated to take as long as 6 months. "
Hey Hal,
Nice to hear from you again and with great news...Congratulations!
Enjoy and stay well...
~Will
Nice to hear from you again and with great news...Congratulations!
Enjoy and stay well...
~Will
PS: Looks like your 747 did not crash after all, just a very close call.
Best to you.
Best to you.
Major congratulatioms to you! When that Incivek, which is such a heavy hitter, works......it works! And you are living proof that the drug does its business pretty darned quick in treatment.
I know you are o er the moon with all the good news!
I know you are o er the moon with all the good news!
Unbelieveable. You will get another viral load test about September when you have been off tx for 6 months, won't you? That will be your official SVR
Hal, this gives hope that maybe they will be able to shorten treatment for all of us someday.
Congratulations
frijole
Hal, this gives hope that maybe they will be able to shorten treatment for all of us someday.
Congratulations
frijole
Amazing story. Nothing like a good old fashion miracle to hit our forum. Congratulations sir! So very happy for you :)
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
Congratulations! I am so happy for you. You did go through a lot and the odds were against you, but you did it. Keep us posted. Best of luck.
i remember lots of us hoping you would svr but it seemed like a long shot....this is such great news hal!!!...seems like the worse the tx the more the chance for svr....i feel better all the time 7 months post tx...i think one year post tx i'll be 120 percent...good luck and thats a great post to read! ...billy
This is encouraging news to all of us.I was pulled off 11 weeks of Incevic.I was UND 3 week follow up.I now have to wait till Sep. for my 6 month.I was a rude advocate for the new treatment because I didn't have faith in them.Now with all the success stories( I have been looking for and found) I have dusted off my pom poms and shaking them wildly for you and all the others to go on to SVR.Keep us posted and congratulations.
Congrats !!
Like I posted in another thread the new PI's add a whole new spin on treatment. The PI's kill the virus within hours if not a few days. As is common with HCV everything is overkill with the treatment and the reason for 12 week PI therapy.
Hopefully someday they will reduce the time these harsh drugs are in the body.
Like I posted in another thread the new PI's add a whole new spin on treatment. The PI's kill the virus within hours if not a few days. As is common with HCV everything is overkill with the treatment and the reason for 12 week PI therapy.
Hopefully someday they will reduce the time these harsh drugs are in the body.
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