At what point does treatment become pointless?

[amell]

I'm not opposed to treatment, but I've lived with this disease the better part of my life and now it's beginning to catch up with me. I'm not anymore a young man (sorry, spell check is delaying words as I type) and I'm beginning to believe that I'm to the point which treatment becomes treatment for the sake of treatment and little more.
I'm not real big on the notion of living to a very old age when I'm all but completely dependent on others  to take care of my every need.
For the past 20-30 years I've been a caregiver for old folks who have outlived all of their friends and every one of the old folks I've cared for has told me that they regretted living so long.
Anyway,  how do I determine whether it's worth the bother or not?  Perhaps I can be cured and perhaps by the time I'm cured I'll be too old to care.
Any thoughts?

[gnatcatcher]

amell, I just read all 10 of your posts going back almost 2 years now. I'm caring for an elderly parent now, too, and did a lot of volunteer work in nursing homes. It can really get to you, especially since I've had some major health problems since I was 20. So . . . I hear you (I think).

FWIW, on another of your threads, Lynn quoted a poem that I DON'T agree with ("Do not go gentle . . ."). I'd love to go gentle into that GOOD night, but the universe may have other plans. There are many life philosophies on these forums; I just want you to know that yours does have company.

As to whether treatment is worth the bother, for me it was. Harvoni works quickly (the virus was already undetected after just a few weeks of the 12-week treatment) and not only cured the HCV, it enabled my liver to go from cirrhosis to a much lower degree of fibrosis. Most people posting here after their cure have benefitted; a few have not. There's no crystal ball to tell you what results you would get, just odds greatly in your favor with the new meds. What do you have to lose by hearing the VA doc out?

Gnatty
(who had HCV for nearly 44 years pre-cure and is quite a bit older than you)

[Lynn K]

Hi Gnatty and amell

Hey just my outlook about the rage at the dying of the light poem and my interpretation of its meaning to me it means to not give up while there is hope.

I know not everyones opinion about health and life struggles mirror mine. Amell’s experiences likely have shaped his thoughts in a much different way than mine about these matters.

As far as treating or not I had hep for probably 37 years and was diagnosed with cirrhosis after 30 years of being infected. I was cured 3 years ago but still have cirrhosis now for 10 years.

Had I not been able to cure my Hep c the odds are I would likely have begun to develop decompensated cirrhosis and become very ill. Those odds were getting higher and higher with every passing day. Now that I am cured I can look forward to many healthy years to come. I am turning 60 this March with hopefully many good years left me.

Dying of cirrhosis can be very difficult and if taking a medicine for 12 weeks can prevent this it would be my thinking you would want to avoid this fate.

Peace