live

[heals1]

if i dont have treatment for geyno type 3a and keep living the life im living now i dont take drugs any more but i would say im a binge drinker and am not realy sure about the treatment is the cure worst than the poison

[lulu647]

Type 3a is known to escalate rapidly after 20 years or so, causing major damage and other symptoms. My blood work was good, but a biopsy showed that I was pre-cirrhotic. I would get treated, if you can get into a 7977 study, they seem to be having great results with type 3a. I was type 3a, and so far am undetectable 12 weeks post treatment, with 7977 and ribavirin.
If you have been a binge drinker, it will not be that hard to lay off the alcohol until you are SVR, which you must do. Again, if you can get into a trial, go for it. This stuff is going to be expensive when it hits the market. And get a biopsy. They are no big deal, really.

[JDB1964]

Please take some time to educate on this disease. I have 3a and was a binge drinker until the moment I found out I had the virus. At that point I commited to avoid alcohol. It is a challenge on every front. Dealing with the knowledge of this disease certainy stressed me to the point of wanting to drink but with the help of a support group.I have avoided alcohol for 18 months.I too was morbidly afraid of the standard of care meds available so I researched and found a clinical trial that I beleive has cured this disease! GS7977 + Riba 12 weeks. I was undetectable in under 7 days with NO SIDE EFFECTS! Prepare yourself mentally and physically and try to beat this. It can happen!

JB

[orphanedhawk]

I know it's hard to believe how much ignorance is in the world, but there is a lot of it.

heals1:
Hep C is a virus that is now responsible for the majority of liver cancer and liver transplants in the US. It also now kills more people here than AIDs.

The worst thing you can do if you have the virus is drink alcohol.

As a post transplant patient whose liver was destroyed by this virus, yes, the cure for hep C was indeed worth it to me.
And I didn't binge drink, ate healthy and exercised. Nothing like that will stop the virus.

[can-do-man]

Can anyone believe this post is on the up and up......... Please!!!

[Idyllic]

Is the cure worse than the poison. By the poison, which do you mean? The meds to treat the virus or alcohol?

Oh and binge drinking is usually defined as:

Binge drinking usually refers to drinking lots of alcohol in a short space of time or drinking to get drunk.  --> So you do not mean the drinking habit of your Average Joe.
__________________-

What stage of fibrosis are you? It would help to know how advanced your fibrosis is before attempting to take a guess at your question without being misleading.

Also, when was your last set of labs?
Please post with the additional info as soon as you can :)


________

Here are a few articles about the effect alcohol has on Hepatitis C

1. Immunology researchers have demonstrated that alcohol promotes the proliferation of hepatitis C virus in human liver cells.
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/hepc/a/blupa030626.htm

2. For people with hepatitis C, there may be no safe level of alcohol
http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/news/20040312/bad-mix-alcohol-hepatitis-c