starting treatment.

[granttg]

I'm staring treatment Tuesday. I'm not sure what medicine Im sure it will be interferion and something else. My question is does the side effects of the meds stat as soon as you start or does it take a little while

[maybe368]

Boy, that sure sounds like medical advice, I would tread carefully if I were you. That is just my opinion, of course...Mark

[rambleon40]

If you say so.  

From where I sit, it's common sense coupled with too much experience.

[christinatas]

hell,i dont know what i'll do period,i am on the fence stradling it.i dont go to dr til feb 5th....

[maybe368]

We are well aware of your opinions and I believe I have more experience than you with treatment. I have followed your posts and, in my opinion, many border on medical advice. Just be careful unless you have the correct letters after your name, best wishes...Mark P.S by the way, have you seen all the SVR reports lately? That should be very positive news for everyone.

[can-do-man]

"PS - An ever increasing number of physicians are starting to question the wisdom and benefit of INF combo therapy."

If that is true then why are we not hearing about it???

[pooh55811]

I agree with Advocare. You will probably not start treatment this Tuesday. You will probably be discussing more about the treatment, doing some tests, having a liver biopsy. You mentioned 3 drugs so you must be Genotype 1. If your doctor does not mention a liver biopsy, it would be wise to ask him/her about a liver biopsy so that you know at what stage of fibrosis you liver is. If you have a lower fibrosis stage treatment is not nearly as urgent as it would be if you have a higher fibrosis stage. If you have a liver fibrosis stage of 3 or higher, it becomes more urgent to treat sooner rather than later.

Your general health may be a factor too so, if you have other medical problems, be sure to discuss these with your treating doctor.

I would encourage you to try to read as much as possible about Hepatitis C and the treatment so that you know what questions to ask, what the treatment will be, what the side effects can be, and so forth. Also ask as many questions on this forum as you feel the need to ask.

Treatment is no picnic, but it is doable. This forum is a great place to get tips and feedback and help with the side effects.  As far as the side effects are concerned, they vary from person to person. Some get several side effects others do not get many at all. Some have more troublesome side effects and others have few side effects. For me they started the first day, but they vary from day to day, both in type and in intensity. One key is to be sure to get your side effects, if you have them, under control immediately. Treatment is much easier if you have a treating team that is able to recognize, access/evaluate, and treat the side effects immediately.

Many of us have treated, are in treatment, or are waiting to treat. Many who have treated are now attaining SVR (cure).

I am 67 (65 when I started treatment). I am Genotype 1. I started with a viral load of 14.4 million. I was at Grade 2, Stage 2 liver fibrosis. I treated with Interferon, Ribavirin, and Incivek for 48 weeks. I finished treatment in August. My 12 week (12 weeks after end of treatment) viral load test was undetectable and this means I have 99.7 % chance for cure, very good odds. Almost all side effects are gone now and I feel 1000 % better than I have felt for 19 years. I feel like I have a new lease on life and I feel great.

So please hang around and ask questions and get the support you needs. We are here to help.