Hepatitis Forums
Hepatitis C Main Forums => On Hepatitis C Treatment => Topic started by: Pelham123 on July 30, 2014, 05:58:05 pm
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Hello. Thank you for being here. I would appreciate any wisdom you can share with me.
I was diagnosed last month with Hep C. I got it in 1971, evidently, so 40+ years ago. I have had my blood tested yearly, with no indication of the disease until May of this year, when my AST/ALT went off the charts. I started Sovaldi/Ribo last week. The doctor is having my blood analyzed weekly during treatment. My question is, what should I expect? Is it common to see the hepatic function panel go up before coming back down, or may I see some improvement right away? My ferritin and iron levels are also elevated
AST 218 ALT 349 Bilirubin Total .7 Albumin 4.6 Globulin 3.4
Iron 174 Ferritin 334
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Sorry my prior post may be confusing, to clarify, I had never been tested for Hep C before; I had a complete blood panel yearly, as part of my annual exam. I keep a spreadsheet. My numbers were always within range.
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Oh my - this is probably quite an unexpected event in your life. I am sorry I don't have much time to post, as I am headed out of town, but briefly, here are a couple of points:
1) Your ALT will likely drop, but don't know how quickly it will get to normal. It is not common for it to go up and then drop, but that does happen. As long as it doesn't increase a lot for very long, this is OK.
2) Expect to have some side effects, such as fatigue, irritability, insomnia, itching, rash, headache. All these can be managed, and the sooner, the better
3) Expect to be cured - you have excellent chances.
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Hi,
I'm on the same combo as you, one month so far. In the two week blood lab my ast/alt went to normal range. Mine was not quite as high as yours, but you will at least see improvement. You Iron is high, and there is another iron binding test to see how much the liver has absorbed. Ask your doctor if blood letting is an idea. They remove a pint of blood, and the iron goes down. May or may not be agreeable with your doc.
I am on a 24 week plan, you probably are on a 12 week. If you don't have any cirrhosis then if you clear the virus (which it should) then the liver will heal. Your albumin is at a good level.
I just got by 4 week lab drawn, and I am anxious to get the results.
You may get restless and a little anxiety, some get a rash. Drink a lot of water everyday and things will not get severe.
Hope all is well
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Thank you for taking time to respond. My iron IS high, and it's complicated. While iron binding is normal, and % saturation normal; I tested positive for the H63D gene for hemochromatosis. RARELY do people with this gene actually have hemochromatosis ... still, it's complicated. I'm hoping the numbers come down with treatment.
I had an ultrasound and everything looked normal; but, I haven't had a liver biopsy. The Dr. said after treatment it would probably be wise to have one just to be sure my body isn't retaining iron.
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Hi again,
Just for the record, I knew about my Hepc 43 years ago, so it lingers.
My doctor did a blood test called fibosure and it is pretty good at getting the fibrosis readings. He then asked for a fibroscan and it concured I have stage3 fibrosis/bridging.
Indicating no cirrhosis yet, but justifying treatment asap. Maybe you can ask the doctor about these, they are non-intrusive, no pain.
The iron seems probmatic, but clearing the virus is priority. I have some other issues from the Hepc that clearing the virus should solve, I pray.
Not too many are doing the sol/rib combo on this forum, so keep in touch with results and experience, it will help both of us.
Later