Hi and welcome.

Now, get real. Drinking alcohol is just going to make things worse.

Are you on anti-depressants? If not why?

I'm not sure what your saying here, you were diagnosed 2 or 3 years ago? Or
you know for certain you contracted the virus in that time frame?

How old are you? Have you had a biopsy? Geno type? Viral load? ALT and AST
scores?

We can't help you without some more information. I'm glad your here, there
is a lot of good knowledge here.

Oh, and your hair won't fall out from treatment. Mine got brittle and
"colorless" but is fine today as it was before treatment.

There isn't anything to reduce your viral load but interferon and ribaviran
treatment. Any new treatments are years away.

Milk Thistle is considered a help to the liver. But you can do more by a
good diet, less red meats, more veggies, and NO ALCOHOL!!

Sorry for sounding so harsh, but if you don't take this seriously it may
become a very serious problem for you later on.

Good luck.

Better stop drinking. The only herbal medicine that has shown any real
effect is Milk Thistle.

Alias

That's OK, we don't expect you to read 7000 messages. Just read the ones
from me, that will be sufficient... ;-)

Well... the first problem is right there: "i still drink at times". You
want to live with HCV without treating it? Then stop today. There's some
controversy about small amounts of alcohol being OK even with Hep
(meaning about one glass of wine every other day), but is it worth the
risk?

As for 2-3 years: was that when you were diagnosed, or have you only had
it for that long? Many people only get the diagnosis after having had
HCV for decades. If it's really just 2-3 years since you were infected,
you probably don't have much to worry about. But are you sure? Was a
biopsy done? Do you know anything about the state of your liver?

If you really only had it for 2-3 years, your chances of clearing in
treatment would be excellent, the longer you have it, the harder it
gets. Depression and psychosis can be a problem, but in most cases can
be controlled with appropriate meds. And your hair won't fall out. But
on the other hand, your chance of developing serious complications
within the next few years is relatively low, so waiting may be a
reasonable option. There might be new meds with fewer problems by then.

There is none. Milk thistle is generally thought to be beneficial, but
it will not reduce viral load. There is no benefit to reducing viral
load anyway, since there's no connection between viral load and liver
damage. Only completely eliminating the virus will halt damage, and only
the current interferon treatments can do that.

There certainly is no harm in taking milk thistle, and it may indeed be
helpful, but do not rely on it to protect you from the effects of the
virus. It won't.

Thomas

Welcome Sweet Home Bama, Please stay with this group for support and
answers. Sorry for all the childish bickering that goes on here. If you
can ignore it you will be just fine.
QUIT DRINKING!!!
It is slow suicide!
See a goog liver doctor!
Sticking your head in the sand doesn't make it go away!
GET HELP!
You only live once, or so I'm told.
Sue

You're sh.t out of luck if you're looking to herbals to reduce your
viral load.  Milk thistle is good for reducing LFT scores, but it's
unclear whether it has any affect on protecting the liver from further
damage.  Drinking alcohol, as long as you have hepc, isn't very smart.
Your psych difficulties, drinking, shouldn't keep you from tx as long as
your doctor and shrink work together to get you thru.  You should
reconsider, particularly if you have liver damage.  And figure out a way
to get off the booze.  Welcome to the group.
Elmo

http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile

http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum

milk thistle and ip-6

but dont expect a lowered viral load out of milk thistle or ip-6. just
liver help... Randy

Hello Bama,

I have had hep c for 22 years and 10 months, my LFTs have been monitored for
years and I have had two liver biopsies during that time.  In the UK they
did not treat with interferon unless your liver showed signs of damage, mine
didn't for 22 years - it is worth bearing in mind that for many people this
is a slow moving virus.    I was infected when i was 11 years old, but was
not diagnosed until I was 26,  growing up with hep c I cannot say whether I
had side effects or not, it is perculiar perhaps to think that having hep c
is for me my norm.

I have used traditional chinese medicine on and off since I was diagnosed,
TCM has not rid the virus from my body and no one would ever claim that it
could.  I do however think that it may have a role to play in managing the
side effects of living with the virus.  Be aware there are a lot of
charlatons around and if you are going to consider TCM you need to find a
good registered pratitioner.

My last liver biopsy showed signs of fibrosis and I am now half way through
interferon treatment (week 12)  I was convinced interferon was not for me
and really scared.  I can't say that interferon is easy because that would
be a lie, however it has not yet been hard.  I had 5 years between liver
biopsies and used this time to get myself fit and to stop drinking and
smoking.  I think raising my fitness levels before starting treatment has
been a really good investment, 12 weeks in and I swim every day and weight
train 3 times a week.  I am still having on to my hair, not even the
slightest thinning.

I guess what I am trying to say is that you have options open to you.  The
earlier you start treatment the more likely your chance of success, but
equally if you take a year or two to get used to it and prepare then that
may well be time well spent.

Good luck
Jonathan

thanks to most who posted ;o)

it's great to have a support system with current info...

now i'm seriously considering getting another biopsy and pursueing treatment
(non herbal - altho i'll probably still try milk-thistle)

i'll keep the group updated and post when i think of something to ask or
add...

bama