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Weighing All Options Before TX
I have obviously been dx with hcv. As well many of you probably already know I've been dx with Huntington's Disease. With that said I know how long I have based on family history with HD.
With hcv I'm at stage 3 liver disease (fibrosis) no traces of cirrhosis at this point. I was told to get to the next stage is anywhere between 3 - 5 years. So, this is my question.
I'm just curious to know IF I decided to let nature take its course without treatment and I go back to my original life style. Casual drinking which is very little at most 6 cans of beer a week sometimes none. No Smoking and eating properly approximately how many years until final stage of liver disease?
With hcv I'm at stage 3 liver disease (fibrosis) no traces of cirrhosis at this point. I was told to get to the next stage is anywhere between 3 - 5 years. So, this is my question.
I'm just curious to know IF I decided to let nature take its course without treatment and I go back to my original life style. Casual drinking which is very little at most 6 cans of beer a week sometimes none. No Smoking and eating properly approximately how many years until final stage of liver disease?
I'm so glad to hear that you aren't drinking and are starting tx. Tx is hard, as you've no doubt learned from reading posts on this forum, but it is a lot easier to manage if you've got this forum to help you. Do you know which genotype your virus is and which tx you will be taking?
Thanks you both so much and I will begin tx next week. I have not had a sip of alcohol since my dx in Sept. or Oct. Your exactly right ceanothus either way would be ugly and I just was comparing the two options. I just was curious, thats all.
Again thank you both so much for your thoughts and insights as they are GREATLY appreciated!
Again thank you both so much for your thoughts and insights as they are GREATLY appreciated!
Oops again, that was supposed to end with TX, but the damn spell-correction messed it up.
Oops, it sent before I was finished writing. What I wanted to say is that having your liver fail is extremely unpleasant, and I don't think any amount of "living carefree" in the meantime would be worth having that happening the end. You really can enjoy what time you have AND take care of your liver at the same time. Stage 3 liver disease is still treatable - many of us on treatment have already got cirrhosis and are still on our way towards a cure with the newer treatments. I believe it is always worth trying to take care of your liver. Try to quit the alcohol and consider starting Rx.
OrphanedHawk is right, the course of HCV is incredibly variable and most doctors wouldn't even try to guess at how long it would take to progress, other than to say that it will almost certainly progress much more quickly if you ingest alcohol regularly, even in small amounts, and more slowly if you try to take care of your health.
It sounds like you are thinking that you will die soon enough from the Huntington's so you might as well live the way you want during your remaining time. I don't know enough about you or Huntington's to comment on that idea, but I can tell you that dying of liver failure
It sounds like you are thinking that you will die soon enough from the Huntington's so you might as well live the way you want during your remaining time. I don't know enough about you or Huntington's to comment on that idea, but I can tell you that dying of liver failure
None of us have a crystal ball.
Who told you this?
My hepatologist is very experienced, knowledgeable, a cutting edge professional and he won't give estimates of time because he's worked with hep c for years.
Hep C is very fickle. It doesn't go by rules. So nobody can guess how long it will take for your liver to become cirrhotic, which is what stage 4 is, cirrhosis.
Once you have cirrhosis, hep C is harder to treat. And there are various side effects of cirrhosis as well.
Drinking alcohol, any alcohol with hep C is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
No beer, none.
If you are serious about your health you will quit drinking now. If that is hard for you, seek help.
And begin treatment or start thinking thinking about what it'll be like to get a liver transplant.
Who told you this?
My hepatologist is very experienced, knowledgeable, a cutting edge professional and he won't give estimates of time because he's worked with hep c for years.
Hep C is very fickle. It doesn't go by rules. So nobody can guess how long it will take for your liver to become cirrhotic, which is what stage 4 is, cirrhosis.
Once you have cirrhosis, hep C is harder to treat. And there are various side effects of cirrhosis as well.
Drinking alcohol, any alcohol with hep C is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
No beer, none.
If you are serious about your health you will quit drinking now. If that is hard for you, seek help.
And begin treatment or start thinking thinking about what it'll be like to get a liver transplant.
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