1st week VL results!

[StainedGlass]

R1626 Trial
My study nurse called with my week 1 VL - 277,000.
My baseline was 3,020,000
Of course UND would be nice but - OK, I'll be patient...
So far so good - things are working! Mid way through week 2 and have not had any significant SX.
2nd IF dose last friday offered no ill effects other than the anxiety around self injecting.  Will find out more info thursday re: my blood work - WBC, Neutrophils etc.  
I am sure there will be an accumulating effect from the TX combo and I am sure there will be tough days ahead.  My litmus test will be swimming.  I swim 3 nights a week,60 lengths after working long days (not physical work) so I will see how / if that will tapers off as my Hemo adjusts.

A report from a greenhorn bug beater :)
cheers
B

[jmjm530]

I include myself as a dummy because I never looked at a single log reading before, during or after treatment -- yet kept track of log drops nicely by simply moving the decimal point over for each log.

So, if you start with a baseline viral load of 20,000,000

A one-log drop equals 2,000,000 (decimal point moves over one place from baseline)

A two-log drop equals 200,000 (decimal point moves over two places from baseline)

A three-log drop equals 20,000 (decimal point moves over .......

A four-log drop equals 2,000

---------------
So, in the case of "StainedGlass" above -- baseline 3,020,000 and one-week at 277,000, you can quickly see that moving the decimal over one place (one log) gets you to 302,000. (A two-log drop would be 30,200) Since StainedGlass did slightly better than 302,000, you can estimate slightly more than a one-log drop or a 1.04 log drop to be exact if you want to use the calculator gratis to Zazza.

etc, etc.

[StainedGlass]

Whoa 5K in -18 deg!  Thats brutal.  I am so soft out here on the wet coast.
I usually average 35 - 40 min and thats only a 25m pool. Try to swim straight through occasionally pausing to clear my goggles.  My work is fairly sedentary so this is a must for me.  Much like running,  I find it very meditative and stress relieving.  Something I think will be helpful against the riba sx's.
Cheers
B  

[Trish77]

How long does it take you to do your 60 lengths?  I'm glad you're still swimming so far.  I just did my last pre-tx 5K maintenance run .. -18 degrees out there!  I'll see how I manage to keep those up 3x a week too.  I will look forward to comparing notes. :)  

Trish

[Trish77]

That is GREAT!  Thank you so much!!  My starting VL is 6.11+  ... now I know!  

Thank you, CS.

[CockSparrow]

In case you want to know how to do it from Logs to VL Heres how

To convert the VL expresed in log to a VL.
you need to do ten to the power of the figure.
With calculator it goes like this:-

Enter 10
Click X^Y
Enter number 5.442
Click =

Result comes back 276694 or so!
Pretty close to the number, so round to the nearest 1000.

VL = 277000

CS

[CockSparrow]

Trish
Heres how to do it manually

To calculate your Viral Load in Logs
Run Calculator on your PC
View Scientific
Enter VL number
Click the Log button

Starting VL 3,020,000 = 6.480 logs. The numbers to the right of the decimal point go on forever. So round up or down to 3 decimal places.
Week 1 VL Test 277,000 = 5.442 logs. Once again number is rounded

6.480 – 5.442 = 1.038 or 1.04 rounded.

Hope this helps
CS

[StainedGlass]

Sorry for being so long to get back on - had my reg. 12hr day and went  for a swim. It makes for a long day.  The good thing - I am still able to do my usual 60 lengths!
Yes - a 1log drop in 1 week. I hope it  moves to UND - like for ever man...
I hadn't figured out the math my self so when the study nurse called with the numbers I didn't sound too excited as I was trying to run the numbers through my head and after a pause she said - "Thats a 1 log drop!"  Thanks for the site Zazza.  I should know this.

Trish - I go in for my weekly round of tests and visit tomorrow so I should get a copy of my last blood work to compare with my baseline.

dointime - The pegasys comes in blank vials.  The dosage is a full 1ml syringe.  I gather for the reduced arm they dilute the vial?  And as far as comparing notes - I haven't had anyone to compare with up until now ;)
cheers
B

[dointime]

Thanks for posting.  It's great you are not getting bad sides at the moment.  

I have been wondering something about this trial.  How do they manage to disguise the Pegasys dosage?  I mean a syringe filled with 180mcg is obviously more full than a syringe filled with 90mcg.  Being only human, aren't you guys all comparing notes on your syringes to try and figure out which arm you are in?

dointime    

[Trish77]

Thank you, much appreciated.  I'll check out that link.  Thanks for posting it.

Trish

[zazza]

You can use a scientific calculator to calculate the exact log10 value of any viral load number expressed in IU/ml. Use this link for example:

http://www.calculator.com/calcs/calc_sci.html

Key in the viral load number. Then hit the key marked "log" in the upper left hand corner. That's all.

So to see the log decrease between two numbers, just do the above log transformation for both numbers, then subtract one with the other.

An easy way to understand how much a one log decrease would be for any given number, is to move the decimal point one step to the left. In StainedGlass' case a one log drop would be going from 3'020'000 IU/ml to 302'000 IU/ml.

[Trish77]

I'm way off then...I'm sure it's been posted here plenty of times...but can you tell me the formula for calculating this?  Thanks.

Trish

[CockSparrow]

You have had a 1.04 log drop. Not bad for one week.
Your next VL will be interesting.
CS

[Trish77]

That's fantastic.  If my rudimentary calculations are correct, you've already got your 2 log drop.    UND by 4 weeks....that's what I'm hoping for you.  I'll be interested to see your blood work results as you go along.  I'm glad you're doing well.  I'm thinking the same...there will be some tough days ahead so I'll take the good days while they're there and I'll take ON the tough days when they get here. :)  Take care!

Trish