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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Hepatitis / July 2006Test results 2 weeks early
Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 million. Here's a very short diary I kept. 4/27/06 8:00pm Today I had my first treatment starting with 3 pills at 10:00am and my first interferon shot at around 2:00pm. I took my second set of pills at 7:30pm on a semi empty stomach. I had a smoothie and a yam after my 2:00pm shot. I feel a little bit of nausea from not eating. I will have some cereal to see if it helps. 4/28/06 6:00pm Today I took my three pills in the morning around 10:00am with a smoothie and lots of water. No side effect symptoms so far just a little nausea this morning around 11:00am. Eating helped the nausea. I have been joking with Rae that I may have gotten a placebo rather than interferon. I hope that I don't regret saying this once the cumulative symptom results appear. I stayed home from work today anticipating a harsh day. Overall it was uneventful. 4/29/2006 4:00pm Today I spent a lot of time in bed watching celebrity gold not because I felt tired or fatigue but simply because I wanted to kick back and do nothing too my morning and afternoon dose with no side effects whatsoever. 4/30/2006 This morning we were scheduled to go to church but decided against it. Mom had special seating setup for us. I felt bad backing out at the last moment but I did. Today Rae gave me my morning dose with orange juice and yogurt. Rae and I went out for a long walk on a beautiful sunny day. Today, we had smoothies for lunch. Boomer likes them so we prepared a big batch. I spent some time talking to a customer most of today. No site visible or noticeable side effects so far and that makes me very happy. I hope the meds are killing those critters 24/7. 6/27/06 Since April 30th I take my 1200MG at around 10:00- 11:00am. I rest until 2:00 or 3:00pm then I get up to spend time with my beautiful family I take my second dose at bedtime. I login to work and respond to any email or vmail messages. I plan to go to work every morning but end waking up at 7:00am go right back to sleep. Very discouraging not being able to pop out of bedlike I have for 10 years. I worry about work but get assurance that I should only worry about getting better and not to worry about work. As a man and provider for my family, I feel very awkward staying home every day. Rae Marie and the kids keep me going every day.... I take all the vitamins and herbs thanks to my wife reminding me every day. I feel in good physical and mental shape, I need to go to work to stay in contact with my customers and co-workers. I hear from them regularly and rarely hear from my boss directly unless I call to discuss business related issues. I see Dr Lumkong for my viral load test July 6th and wait for the results. Regardless of the results I will move forward with my lovely family taking the herbal treatments. I want to live a happier more fulfilling life. 6/29/06 Today I slept through the night and into the morning. I had my Interferon shot at around 7:00pm with no side effects. I had a decent day with response to work email and vmail. my wife makes sure I take my Milk Thinsel and Flax Seed oil with 4000MG Vitamin C and "LiverCleanse" 6/30/06 Today I stayed in bed longer than I should have. Rae and I got plenty of rest. We got up to go get some fresh air and take care of Boomer's new job which he seems to like . We'll see if he likes it. Once we got out o the house the laughter and fun I look forward to just gushed out. My wife has a great sense of humor which helps with dull moments. We look forward to a dinner outdoor this 4th of July weekend. I look forward to going to work on Wed July 5th to catch up. So far so good.... Thanks Rae! I couldn't do it without your support and love and compassion. 7/11/06 I had a blood panel done July 6th to determine if I needed additional meds to fight my anemia and low blood cell counts. I was to return July 20th for my "final" blood panel to determine my viral load. Yesterday morning my beatiful wife Rae answered a call from the Doctors office expecting to hear that I would need more meds or calling to give some routine instructions. The nurse surprised Rae at around 8:0 am with a "your husband's Hep c virus is undetectable" with no trace of the virus. Keep in mind that my final test was two weeks away July 20th. Needless to say this is the best news I have heard in my life. It took some convincing before my wife would walk upstairs to give me the good news. We then called the doctor's office together to make sure they were not referring to someone else. It took 10-12 weeks of absolute hell and suffering but the medication did the job to the point where there is absolutely not trace of the virus in my bloodstream. I have to continue taking the same medications for 24 weeks to make sure there is no relapse. Mentally I have come back to life but physically I have a very difficult time in the morning when I take my morning dose. My evening dose is at bedtime so I get to sleep through it most of the time. My appreciation for life has changed I look at life as a second chance now and appreciate my wife, both our kids more than ever. I couldn't have pulled through this crisis without my wife's medical knowledge and natural caring kindness. My dear wife immediately researched my condition and took action without any hesitation, she knew exactly what to do and when. I will make every effort to never allow you to go through any medical crisis alone again... I look back at your hospital stays where I should have been there for you but failed you. My work was very supportive by allowing me to tele-comute every day. I want o travel with my family on a long fun roadtrip. Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and cc lacostarae@yahoo.com welcome to the group. Were here to share and listen. I've done the 52 weeks of treatment (failed SVR). I know first hand on the Side affects, they were troublesome for me, but I did the whole 11 months. Stick around, always nice to know there are others in the same canoe.  SignatureRuss http://www.tannersacre.com sourdo55 at yahoo.com > Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 > million. Here's a very short diary I kept. [quoted text clipped - 110 lines] > Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and > cc lacostarae@yahoo.com > I want o travel with my family on a long fun roadtrip. > > Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and > cc lacostarae@yahoo.com That's fantastic! I love to read that kind of stuff. thankful in Kentucky....Doug > > I want o travel with my family on a long fun roadtrip. > > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > That's fantastic! I love to read that kind of stuff. thankful in > Kentucky....Doug > Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 > million. Here's a very short diary I kept. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > ...Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and > cc lacostarae@yahoo.com Dear BlownAway, After reading your post, I have a concern that I will post here: Your chances of attaining SVR may be improved if you discontinue taking the milk thistle while you are on treatment. If you search posts here in ash-c and elsewhere you will find ample evidence that milk thistle is now contraindicated for you because it may reduce the efficacy of treatment. BTW, I use flaxseed oil too -- chose it as a supplement to take with the ribavirin because as a fatty acid it will help maximize absorbtion of the ribavirin from the GI tract and because it's exceptionally high in omega 3 it's an oil with optimal nutritional qualities. FWIW, I stopped taking milk thistle early in treatment when I learned that although it may relieve liver inflammation, the mechanism by which it does so may also interfere with the drugs. I now take a chosen combination vitamin and mineral supplement with NO IRON and take extra folic acid. Also learned here that consuming lots of tomato juice will sometimes help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin, so I now reconstitute a couple-few 16 oz cans of tomato sauce each day and chug 'em down with Tapatio chili sauce. Yum. (Tomoto is acidic too, which might be good also.) Glad you have loving support from wife and others, -BG Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Wed, Jul 19, 2006, 12:35pm (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) BlownAway wrote: Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 million. Here's a very short diary I kept. ..I take my Milk Thinsel and Flax Seed oil with 4000MG Vitamin C and "LiverCleanse"... ..Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and cc lacostarae@yahoo.com Dear BlownAway, After reading your post, I have a concern that I will post here: Your chances of attaining SVR may be improved if you discontinue taking the milk thistle while you are on treatment. If you search posts here in ash-c and elsewhere you will find ample evidence that milk thistle is now contraindicated for you because it may reduce the efficacy of treatment. BTW, I use flaxseed oil too -- chose it as a supplement to take with the ribavirin because as a fatty acid it will help maximize absorbtion of the ribavirin from the GI tract and because it's exceptionally high in omega 3 it's an oil with optimal nutritional qualities. FWIW, I stopped taking milk thistle early in treatment when I learned that although it may relieve liver inflammation, the mechanism by which it does so may also interfere with the drugs. I now take a chosen combination vitamin and mineral supplement with NO IRON and take extra folic acid. Also learned here that consuming lots of tomato juice will sometimes help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin, so I now reconstitute a couple-few 16 oz cans of tomato sauce each day and chug 'em down with Tapatio chili sauce. Yum. (Tomoto is acidic too, which might be good also.) Glad you have loving support from wife and others, -BG ///////// Holy cow, Burke!! Have you given any consideration to the high iron content of tomato sauce? And you're doing 2 or 3 cans a day? Wow!! You're supposed to be limiting the amount of iron you ingest, not overdosing on it. :-) If you think about it, you're getting more iron in a can of tomato sauce than you are in a multi-vitamin with iron. You get enough iron in your normal diet to be sufficient for red blood cell production, even with hemolytic anemia. With that type of anemia, the problem isn't a shortfall of iron in the diet, it's that the red cells are bursting faster than your bone marrow can replace them. It's also true that production of red cells in bone marrow is being suppressed. Adding more iron to your diet isn't going to do you any good. At any rate, the virus needs iron to replicate. Excessive iron helps the virus and damages your liver. I'd reconsider drinking a few 16oz cans of tomato sauce every day. Food for thought, so to speak. Elmo http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum > Re: Test results 2 weeks early > [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > tomato sauce every day. Food for thought, so to speak. > Elmo Elmo, With the information you provide about tomato sauce being high in iron, I will have to look at what I'm doing with my diet again. I did not realize tomato sauce is high in iron. I normally avoid iron supplements (especially now as a hep patient), but I had no idea that by consuming so much tomato sauce I could be effectively supplementing my diet with unwanted iron. Jeez...I even went for the unsalted variety so as not to be dosing myself with too much sodium! Now, to be clear, the only reason I'm drinking the tomato sauce/juice is because I found a report of a study (posted in ash-c) that specifically found a causal correlation between the consumption of tomato sauce/juice and the prevention of the hemolytic anemia caused by administration of ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Because tomato sauce/juice has been shown to help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin therapy, and because I have a borderline case of hemolytic anema that hope won't get too much worse, it has seemed prudent to drink a lot of tomato! Iron and tomato sauce. Go figure. Got to wonder why the efficacy of tomato juice for helping Hep-C patients avoid anemia was studied if tomato presents an over-abundance of iron to the iron-sensatized liver in the first place. Anybody know more about the tomato study? Find a link? -BG Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Wed, Jul 19, 2006, 3:47pm (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) elmoemerson@webtv.net wrote: Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Wed, Jul 19, 2006, 12:35pm (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) BlownAway wrote: Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 million. Here's a very short diary I kept. ..I take my Milk Thinsel and Flax Seed oil with 4000MG Vitamin C and "LiverCleanse"... .Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and cc lacostarae@yahoo.com Dear BlownAway, After reading your post, I have a concern that I will post here: Your chances of attaining SVR may be improved if you discontinue taking the milk thistle while you are on treatment. If you search posts here in ash-c and elsewhere you will find ample evidence that milk thistle is now contraindicated for you because it may reduce the efficacy of treatment. BTW, I use flaxseed oil too -- chose it as a supplement to take with the ribavirin because as a fatty acid it will help maximize absorbtion of the ribavirin from the GI tract and because it's exceptionally high in omega 3 it's an oil with optimal nutritional qualities. FWIW, I stopped taking milk thistle early in treatment when I learned that although it may relieve liver inflammation, the mechanism by which it does so may also interfere with the drugs. I now take a chosen combination vitamin and mineral supplement with NO IRON and take extra folic acid. Also learned here that consuming lots of tomato juice will sometimes help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin, so I now reconstitute a couple-few 16 oz cans of tomato sauce each day and chug 'em down with Tapatio chili sauce. Yum. (Tomoto is acidic too, which might be good also.) Glad you have loving support from wife and others, -BG ///////// Holy cow, Burke!! Have you given any consideration to the high iron content of tomato sauce? And you're doing 2 or 3 cans a day? Wow!! You're supposed to be limiting the amount of iron you ingest, not overdosing on it. :-) If you think about it, you're getting more iron in a can of tomato sauce than you are in a multi-vitamin with iron. You get enough iron in your normal diet to be sufficient for red blood cell production, even with hemolytic anemia. With that type of anemia, the problem isn't a shortfall of iron in the diet, it's that the red cells are bursting faster than your bone marrow can replace them. It's also true that production of red cells in bone marrow is being suppressed. Adding more iron to your diet isn't going to do you any good. At any rate, the virus needs iron to replicate. Excessive iron helps the virus and damages your liver. I'd reconsider drinking a few 16oz cans of tomato sauce every day. Food for thought, so to speak. Elmo Elmo, With the information you provide about tomato sauce being high in iron, I will have to look at what I'm doing with my diet again. I did not realize tomato sauce is high in iron. I normally avoid iron supplements (especially now as a hep patient), but I had no idea that by consuming so much tomato sauce I could be effectively supplementing my diet with unwanted iron. Jeez...I even went for the unsalted variety so as not to be dosing myself with too much sodium! Now, to be clear, the only reason I'm drinking the tomato sauce/juice is because I found a report of a study (posted in ash-c) that specifically found a causal correlation between the consumption of tomato sauce/juice and the prevention of the hemolytic anemia caused by administration of ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Because tomato sauce/juice has been shown to help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin therapy, and because I have a borderline case of hemolytic anema that hope won't get too much worse, it has seemed prudent to drink a lot of tomato! Iron and tomato sauce. Go figure. Got to wonder why the efficacy of tomato juice for helping Hep-C patients avoid anemia was studied if tomato presents an over-abundance of iron to the iron-sensatized liver in the first place. Anybody know more about the tomato study? Find a link? -BG //////////// I haven't read the 'tomato study', but know that tomato juice and tomato sauce contain plenty of iron, that's why they are red.....the same as beef. I'm not questioning the results of the single study you mentioned that was posted in this group about a diet high in iron preventing hemolytic anemia. On the other hand, if you are suffering from hemolytic anemia, it's better getting your body to produce more red cells (procrit, if you can get it) than ingesting more iron. I'm guessing your serum ferratin levels (iron in your system) are plenty high, especially if alot of red cells have been bursting because of the tx drugs. You don't need to be drinking tomato juice other than in moderation. Doc Elmo I really mean it. :-) http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum > Re: Test results 2 weeks early > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Doc Elmo > I really mean it. :-) Elmo, I checked for the iron content in the tomato sauce. It ain't that bad: Each can (15 oz) contains only 4% of the standard daily value esablished by FDA. The current Daily Value is 18 mg. Thus, one 15 oz can of tomato sauce contains 0.72 mg. Two cans, the amount I normally consume per day on average, contains 1.4 mg, which is only 8% of the FDA recommended Daily Value. Thus, red as it is, tomato sauce doesn't contain all that much iron. It may be enough that you would choose to avoid it, but I'm going to stick with it. Anyway, thanks for the feedback all. -BG Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Wed, Jul 19, 2006, 11:15pm (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) elmoemerson@webtv.net wrote: Re: Test results 2 weeks early //////////// I haven't read the 'tomato study', but know that tomato juice and tomato sauce contain plenty of iron, that's why they are red.....the same as beef. I'm not questioning the results of the single study you mentioned that was posted in this group about a diet high in iron preventing hemolytic anemia. On the other hand, if you are suffering from hemolytic anemia, it's better getting your body to produce more red cells (procrit, if you can get it) than ingesting more iron. I'm guessing your serum ferratin levels (iron in your system) are plenty high, especially if alot of red cells have been bursting because of the tx drugs. You don't need to be drinking tomato juice other than in moderation. Doc Elmo I really mean it. :-) Elmo, I checked for the iron content in the tomato sauce. It ain't that bad: Each can (15 oz) contains only 4% of the standard daily value esablished by FDA. The current Daily Value is 18 mg. Thus, one 15 oz can of tomato sauce contains 0.72 mg. Two cans, the amount I normally consume per day on average, contains 1.4 mg, which is only 8% of the FDA recommended Daily Value. Thus, red as it is, tomato sauce doesn't contain all that much iron. It may be enough that you would choose to avoid it, but I'm going to stick with it. Anyway, thanks for the feedback all. -BG ///////// Enjoy! :-) elmo http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum >Now, to be clear, the only reason I'm drinking the tomato sauce/juice >is because I found a report of a study (posted in ash-c) that [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Anybody know more about the tomato study? Find a link? Here it is: Tomato-based functional food as interferon adjuvant in HCV eradication therapy. Morisco F, Vitaglione P, Carbone A, Stingo S, Scarpati S, Ascione A, Marmo R, Fogliano V, Caporaso N. Department of Food Science, University of Naples, Federico II, Italy. GOALS: The authors conducted a study to verify whether supplementation with an antioxidant-rich tomato-based functional food reduces anemia during pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress plays a major role in the physiopathology of hemolytic anemia during ribavirin therapy. The efficacy of antioxidant supplementation with vitamins C and E as pure compounds, is still controversial. METHODS: A functional food with a high content of natural antioxidants and with high carotenoid bioavailability was developed. The authors enrolled 92 patients with chronic hepatitis C, treated with standard combination therapy. Forty-six of them received a daily dose (100 g) of functional food (group 1), and 46 did not (group 2). The effect of antioxidant activity was assessed comparing compliance with the full dose of ribavirin and hemoglobin levels during the first 3 months of treatment. RESULTS: Only 8.7% of patients in group 1 had to reduce their daily ribavirin dose, whereas ribavirin reduction was necessary for 30.4% of patients in group 2 (P = 0.09). Hemoglobin levels showed significant differences at 15, 30, and 90 days during the observation time. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrated that the authors' functional food reduces the severity of ribavirin-related anemia and improves the tolerance to the full dose of ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1 5220675&dopt=Abstract Thomas SignatureTo reach me, complete my last name in the address. > >Now, to be clear, the only reason I'm drinking the tomato sauce/juice > >is because I found a report of a study (posted in ash-c) that [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > -- > To reach me, complete my last name in the address. Thank you, Thomas. 8.7% versus 30.4%...impressive! -BG Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Thu, Jul 20, 2006, 1:10pm (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) Thomas Wagner wrote: Now, to be clear, the only reason I'm drinking the tomato sauce/juice is because I found a report of a study (posted in ash-c) that specifically found a causal correlation between the consumption of tomato sauce/juice and the prevention of the hemolytic anemia caused by administration of ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Because tomato sauce/juice has been shown to help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin therapy, and because I have a borderline case of hemolytic anema that hope won't get too much worse, it has seemed prudent to drink a lot of tomato! Iron and tomato sauce. Go figure. Got to wonder why the efficacy of tomato juice for helping Hep-C patients avoid anemia was studied if tomato presents an over-abundance of iron to the iron-sensatized liver in the first place. Anybody know more about the tomato study? Find a link? Here it is: Tomato-based functional food as interferon adjuvant in HCV eradication therapy. Morisco F, Vitaglione P, Carbone A, Stingo S, Scarpati S, Ascione A, Marmo R, Fogliano V, Caporaso N. Department of Food Science, University of Naples, Federico II, Italy. GOALS: The authors conducted a study to verify whether supplementation with an antioxidant-rich tomato-based functional food reduces anemia during pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress plays a major role in the physiopathology of hemolytic anemia during ribavirin therapy. The efficacy of antioxidant supplementation with vitamins C and E as pure compounds, is still controversial. METHODS: A functional food with a high content of natural antioxidants and with high carotenoid bioavailability was developed. The authors enrolled 92 patients with chronic hepatitis C, treated with standard combination therapy. Forty-six of them received a daily dose (100 g) of functional food (group 1), and 46 did not (group 2). The effect of antioxidant activity was assessed comparing compliance with the full dose of ribavirin and hemoglobin levels during the first 3 months of treatment. RESULTS: Only 8.7% of patients in group 1 had to reduce their daily ribavirin dose, whereas ribavirin reduction was necessary for 30.4% of patients in group 2 (P = 0.09). Hemoglobin levels showed significant differences at 15, 30, and 90 days during the observation time. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrated that the authors' functional food reduces the severity of ribavirin-related anemia and improves the tolerance to the full dose of ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1 5220675&dopt=Abstract Thomas SignatureTo reach me, complete my last name in the address. Thank you, Thomas. 8.7% versus 30.4%...impressive! -BG ////////////// If that translates into more heppers getting their SVR, then it's a wonderful thing. I'd like to have seen results as to SVR rates for those who drank the tomato juice as well as the SVR rates for those in the control group who didn't drink the stuff. You have to consider that this was a single, small study (only 92 participants). elmo not quite ready to eat crow :-) http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum > Re: Test results 2 weeks early > [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] > > http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum I think you make an astute point about testing for variation in SVR dependant upon the tomato sauce variable. But recall that 92 would be a good number of subjects for statistical signficance. I think a third that number may have been adequate, so I going with it. I say the results are as good as a tall jar of tomato juice with a dash of Tapatio's and some celery, so it's bottoms-up for me. Now, about the vodka... -BG Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Fri, Jul 21, 2006, 11:07am (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) elmoemerson@webtv.net wrote: Re: Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Thu, Jul 20, 2006, 1:10pm (CDT-2) From: burkegilman@moxmail.net (Burke Gilman) Thomas Wagner wrote: Now, to be clear, the only reason I'm drinking the tomato sauce/juice is because I found a report of a study (posted in ash-c) that specifically found a causal correlation between the consumption of tomato sauce/juice and the prevention of the hemolytic anemia caused by administration of ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Because tomato sauce/juice has been shown to help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin therapy, and because I have a borderline case of hemolytic anema that hope won't get too much worse, it has seemed prudent to drink a lot of tomato! Iron and tomato sauce. Go figure. Got to wonder why the efficacy of tomato juice for helping Hep-C patients avoid anemia was studied if tomato presents an over-abundance of iron to the iron-sensatized liver in the first place. Anybody know more about the tomato study? Find a link? Here it is: Tomato-based functional food as interferon adjuvant in HCV eradication therapy. Morisco F, Vitaglione P, Carbone A, Stingo S, Scarpati S, Ascione A, Marmo R, Fogliano V, Caporaso N. Department of Food Science, University of Naples, Federico II, Italy. GOALS: The authors conducted a study to verify whether supplementation with an antioxidant-rich tomato-based functional food reduces anemia during pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C. BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress plays a major role in the physiopathology of hemolytic anemia during ribavirin therapy. The efficacy of antioxidant supplementation with vitamins C and E as pure compounds, is still controversial. METHODS: A functional food with a high content of natural antioxidants and with high carotenoid bioavailability was developed. The authors enrolled 92 patients with chronic hepatitis C, treated with standard combination therapy. Forty-six of them received a daily dose (100 g) of functional food (group 1), and 46 did not (group 2). The effect of antioxidant activity was assessed comparing compliance with the full dose of ribavirin and hemoglobin levels during the first 3 months of treatment. RESULTS: Only 8.7% of patients in group 1 had to reduce their daily ribavirin dose, whereas ribavirin reduction was necessary for 30.4% of patients in group 2 (P = 0.09). Hemoglobin levels showed significant differences at 15, 30, and 90 days during the observation time. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrated that the authors' functional food reduces the severity of ribavirin-related anemia and improves the tolerance to the full dose of ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1 5220675&dopt=Abstract Thomas SignatureTo reach me, complete my last name in the address. Thank you, Thomas. 8.7% versus 30.4%...impressive! -BG ////////////// If that translates into more heppers getting their SVR, then it's a wonderful thing. I'd like to have seen results as to SVR rates for those who drank the tomato juice as well as the SVR rates for those in the control group who didn't drink the stuff. You have to consider that this was a single, small study (only 92 participants). elmo not quite ready to eat crow :-) http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum I think you make an astute point about testing for variation in SVR dependant upon the tomato sauce variable. But recall that 92 would be a good number of subjects for statistical signficance. I think a third that number may have been adequate, so I going with it. I say the results are as good as a tall jar of tomato juice with a dash of Tapatio's and some celery, so it's bottoms-up for me. Now, about the vodka... -BG //////////// I did some label checking at home with my 'Neuman's Marinara' and it came in at a whopping 10% RDA for iron when I posted my origanal entry to you (no tomato sauce in the house). Yesterday, at the grocery store, I looked at a 16oz can of tomato sauce and it has only 4% RDA for iron, which isn't very much. Most foods have that much iron.....so either way, drinking the stuff can't hurt (I guess). :-) Bottoms up!! elmo http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum BG - I will take your advice on the milk thistle! I have been using it for 4 months now. My red blood cell count is sometimes low my doctor recommended 650MG iron daily. I have some difficult days with no energy at all. I usually get my second wind at around 2:00pm and try to excercise for a few minutes. The mental aspect of not knowing is now gone which helps a great deal. Undetectable from 10 Million type 1A in 10 weeks of 180MG interferon once a week and 1200MG Daily of Ribavirin. > > Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 > > million. Here's a very short diary I kept. [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > -BG Your doc recommended iron supplements while you're trying to kill the hepc virus? ahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!! Next thing you know, he'll reduce your dose of ribavirin. ahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! Tell your doc to give you some fricking procrit. elmo //////////// BG - I will take your advice on the milk thistle! I have been using it for 4 months now. My red blood cell count is sometimes low my doctor recommended 650MG iron daily. I have some difficult days with no energy at all. I usually get my second wind at around 2:00pm and try to excercise for a few minutes. The mental aspect of not knowing is now gone which helps a great deal. Undetectable from 10 Million type 1A in 10 weeks of 180MG interferon once a week and 1200MG Daily of Ribavirin. Burke Gilman wrote: BlownAway wrote: Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 million. Here's a very short diary I kept. ..I take my Milk Thinsel and Flax Seed oil with 4000MG Vitamin C and "LiverCleanse"... ..Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and cc lacostarae@yahoo.com Dear BlownAway, After reading your post, I have a concern that I will post here: Your chances of attaining SVR may be improved if you discontinue taking the milk thistle while you are on treatment. If you search posts here in ash-c and elsewhere you will find ample evidence that milk thistle is now contraindicated for you because it may reduce the efficacy of treatment. BTW, I use flaxseed oil too -- chose it as a supplement to take with the ribavirin because as a fatty acid it will help maximize absorbtion of the ribavirin from the GI tract and because it's exceptionally high in omega 3 it's an oil with optimal nutritional qualities. FWIW, I stopped taking milk thistle early in treatment when I learned that although it may relieve liver inflammation, the mechanism by which it does so may also interfere with the drugs. I now take a chosen combination vitamin and mineral supplement with NO IRON and take extra folic acid. Also learned here that consuming lots of tomato juice will sometimes help prevent hemolytic anemia related to ribavirin, so I now reconstitute a couple-few 16 oz cans of tomato sauce each day and chug 'em down with Tapatio chili sauce. Yum. (Tomoto is acidic too, which might be good also.) Glad you have loving support from wife and others, -BG http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum > BG - I will take your advice on the milk thistle! I have been using it > for 4 months now. My red blood cell count is sometimes low my doctor > recommended 650MG iron daily. I have some difficult days with no energy > at all. I usually get my second wind at around 2:00pm and try to > excercise for a few minutes. The mental aspect of not knowing is now > gone which helps a great deal. BlownAway, Are you sure about that 650 mg iron daily recommendation? (650 mg of iron is around 36 TIMES the normal Daily Value of 18 mg recommend by the FDA -- maybe your off in the number you posted.) Anyway, although my talk about tomato sauce is something of personal choice, it's been made abundantly clear in this group that iron supplements are a no-no as a rule for hepatitis patients. Also made abundantly clear in this group is that iron supplementation cannot and will not alleviate the hemolytic anemia caused by ribavirin. Iron supps work for some other kinds of anemia or for other causes of anemia -- but not for anemia induced by ribavirin administration. If you need medical intervention for anemia caused by ribavirin, then as far as I know there are only two options: Reduction of ribavirin dosage or administration of Procrit (or similar stimulant of red blood cell production). For obvious reasons, patients prefer to avoid HCV treatment dosage reduction. elmo is probably right -- if your anemia is bad enough and you can get Procrit, then get it. -BG Test results 2 weeks early Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Wed, Jul 19, 2006, 12:44am (CDT-2) From: bugseason2005@yahoo.com (BlownAway) Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 million. Here's a very short diary I kept. 4/27/06 8:00pm Today I had my first treatment starting with 3 pills at 10:00am and my first interferon shot at around 2:00pm. I took my second set of pills at 7:30pm on a semi empty stomach. I had a smoothie and a yam after my 2:00pm shot. I feel a little bit of nausea from not eating. I will have some cereal to see if it helps. 4/28/06 6:00pm Today I took my three pills in the morning around 10:00am with a smoothie and lots of water. No side effect symptoms so far just a little nausea this morning around 11:00am. Eating helped the nausea. I have been joking with Rae that I may have gotten a placebo rather than interferon. I hope that I don't regret saying this once the cumulative symptom results appear. I stayed home from work today anticipating a harsh day. Overall it was uneventful. 4/29/2006 4:00pm Today I spent a lot of time in bed watching celebrity gold not because I felt tired or fatigue but simply because I wanted to kick back and do nothing too my morning and afternoon dose with no side effects whatsoever. 4/30/2006 This morning we were scheduled to go to church but decided against it. Mom had special seating setup for us. I felt bad backing out at the last moment but I did. Today Rae gave me my morning dose with orange juice and yogurt. Rae and I went out for a long walk on a beautiful sunny day. Today, we had smoothies for lunch. Boomer likes them so we prepared a big batch. I spent some time talking to a customer most of today. No site visible or noticeable side effects so far and that makes me very happy. I hope the meds are killing those critters 24/7. 6/27/06 Since April 30th I take my 1200MG at around 10:00- 11:00am. I rest until 2:00 or 3:00pm then I get up to spend time with my beautiful family I take my second dose at bedtime. I login to work and respond to any email or vmail messages. I plan to go to work every morning but end waking up at 7:00am go right back to sleep. Very discouraging not being able to pop out of bedlike I have for 10 years. I worry about work but get assurance that I should only worry about getting better and not to worry about work. As a man and provider for my family, I feel very awkward staying home every day. Rae Marie and the kids keep me going every day.... I take all the vitamins and herbs thanks to my wife reminding me every day. I feel in good physical and mental shape, I need to go to work to stay in contact with my customers and co-workers. I hear from them regularly and rarely hear from my boss directly unless I call to discuss business related issues. I see Dr Lumkong for my viral load test July 6th and wait for the results. Regardless of the results I will move forward with my lovely family taking the herbal treatments. I want to live a happier more fulfilling life. 6/29/06 Today I slept through the night and into the morning. I had my Interferon shot at around 7:00pm with no side effects. I had a decent day with response to work email and vmail. my wife makes sure I take my Milk Thinsel and Flax Seed oil with 4000MG Vitamin C and "LiverCleanse" 6/30/06 Today I stayed in bed longer than I should have. Rae and I got plenty of rest. We got up to go get some fresh air and take care of Boomer's new job which he seems to like . We'll see if he likes it. Once we got out o the house the laughter and fun I look forward to just gushed out. My wife has a great sense of humor which helps with dull moments. We look forward to a dinner outdoor this 4th of July weekend. I look forward to going to work on Wed July 5th to catch up. So far so good.... Thanks Rae! I couldn't do it without your support and love and compassion. 7/11/06 I had a blood panel done July 6th to determine if I needed additional meds to fight my anemia and low blood cell counts. I was to return July 20th for my "final" blood panel to determine my viral load. Yesterday morning my beatiful wife Rae answered a call from the Doctors office expecting to hear that I would need more meds or calling to give some routine instructions. The nurse surprised Rae at around 8:0 am with a "your husband's Hep c virus is undetectable" with no trace of the virus. Keep in mind that my final test was two weeks away July 20th. Needless to say this is the best news I have heard in my life. It took some convincing before my wife would walk upstairs to give me the good news. We then called the doctor's office together to make sure they were not referring to someone else. It took 10-12 weeks of absolute hell and suffering but the medication did the job to the point where there is absolutely not trace of the virus in my bloodstream. I have to continue taking the same medications for 24 weeks to make sure there is no relapse. Mentally I have come back to life but physically I have a very difficult time in the morning when I take my morning dose. My evening dose is at bedtime so I get to sleep through it most of the time. My appreciation for life has changed I look at life as a second chance now and appreciate my wife, both our kids more than ever. I couldn't have pulled through this crisis without my wife's medical knowledge and natural caring kindness. My dear wife immediately researched my condition and took action without any hesitation, she knew exactly what to do and when. I will make every effort to never allow you to go through any medical crisis alone again... I look back at your hospital stays where I should have been there for you but failed you. My work was very supportive by allowing me to tele-comute every day. I want o travel with my family on a long fun roadtrip. Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and cc lacostarae@yahoo.com ///////////////// burrrrrrrrrppppppppppppppppp! farrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttttttt!! elmo http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum welcome to the group. Were here to share and listen. I've done the 52 weeks of treatment (failed SVR). I know first hand on the Side affects, they were troublesome for me, but I did the whole 11 months. Stick around, always nice to know there are others in the same canoe. SignatureRuss http://www.tannersacre.com sourdo55 at yahoo.com > Diagnosed Jan 25, 2006 with hep C Genotype 1A with viral load of 10 > million. Here's a very short diary I kept. [quoted text clipped - 110 lines] > Please email any questions or concerns to bugseason2005@yahooo.com and > cc lacostarae@yahoo.com |
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