Hal, we have people here that that have done the daily infergen route
and were successful. I haven't gone the Infergen route yet, but it will
probably be my next round of tx unless they come up with something
before that time. My first round was with interferon and riba, back in
1998. The second round was peg and riba a few years back. I have never
made it to the undetectable level, but according to my biopsies my liver
hasn't had much of a change since the first one back in 1992. I'm hoping
something will come along better than Infergen. BTW, welcome to the
group, hang around for a while and get to know everyone.

Dwight

On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 21:25:53 -0700, Harald Sundt <h_sundt@efn.org>, in
message ID <1153628192_2933@news-east.n>, in the newsgroup
alt.support.hepatitis-c wrote:

My route to health was easier than yours thankfully.
I did 24 weeks of weekly interferon and twice daily riba thanks to an
easier genotype.  It worked first time for me.  I finished tx about 2
years ago.
It sounds like you've only recently got the undetectable result for 6
months after tx. If so, you've probably won the war so congratulations
to you. You are asking what other tx is available but as far as I
know, you have just done the strongest currently available.  Normally,
no virus 6 months after tx is regarded as good as a cure (though there
are rare exceptions I think) so asking about what other tx is
available is almost certainly unnecessary.
I'm told that daily infergen is a harsher experience than more normal
tx so your SVR is well earned.
There is a guy posts here who did infergen on his third attempt before
he shifted the virus.  I'm sure he'll emerge soon spluttering and
farting his way to the surface :-) .

2nd Treatment: Daily Infragen and 2x Ribaviren - Have I company?  

Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Sat, Jul 22, 2006, 9:25pm (CDT-2)
From: h_sundt@efn.org (Harald Sundt)
2nd Treatment: Daily Infragen and 2x Ribaviren - Have I company?
I have Hep-C Gynotype 1 a.
After the 9/11 Blood Drive I donated blood and then got a yellow
postcard in the mail from the Red Cross saying I have a potentially
fatal blood disease...please don't donate again.
[[[[[ scream. cough,... oh holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! ]]]]]
I did 11 months of weekly Interferon and 2x Ribaviren. It was an early
"sole therapy" now have a 2nd incarnation in dual therapy with strong
results.
I was ZERO detectable virus from the first month's bloodwork until month
10 week 2.
Shucks.
Ending January 15th, 2006, I did 11 months of Daily Infragen and 2x
Ribaviren. I was ZERO detectable virus until 2nd Post Treatment Blood
Work ( 6 months after ending treatment. - I was still ZERO detectable at
6 months after ending treatment.).
Has anyone else gone this road I just went? What was your experience?
Is there any serious tx after what I have done?
I'll compare and contrast my experiences on this board if anyone is
interested.
Thanks
Hal - Cottage Grove
ps (I know my spelling is bad)
----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet
News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the
World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms -
Total Privacy via Encryption =----  
////////////
Hi Hal!  I'm confused....did you beat the dragon, or didn't you?  
My experience is a bit different than yours, I used daily Infergen for
awhile, did several weeks of Pegasys at the same time I was doing daily
Infergen, along with ribavirin (1400mg/day) and amantadine.  Finished
off the tx with just weekly Pegasys and the oral meds after I'd been
undetectable for awhile.  That was the formula that worked for me, I'm
still undetectable more than 2 years later.  

Look at it this way, Hal......  At least you won't have anyone picking
over your body for spare parts when you die.  They still might cut the
top off your head to examine your brain, tho.  :-)  

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

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

Hal,

I also got the infamous letter from a blood bank:  in my case, it was
in 1990 (I think) just after I donated blood after my father's death to
help replace blood he had used.

At that time, I went to my doctor and she had NO idea what "Hepatitis
C" was.  She had to call a lab just to find out what had to be done to
test for it.  I was told to not worry about it unless I had high liver
enzyme tests.

Now fast forward to 1997 and I had a physical with alt/ast very high.
Got a referral to a gastro dr who was very good, had a biopsy
(fibrosis), and went through 5 months of interferon (Intron/A).  No
response.  4 months of Infergen - No reasponse.  So decided to wait
until better treatments were available.

2 years after first biopsy I had to make a major pension decision, so
asked my dr to do a second biopsy to help me with my decision.  We both
didn't expect to see a change, and if it wasn't progressing very fast,
that would be something to consider for my decision.  But, the doctor
phoned me at home (always a bad sign) and now I have extensive
bridging....  it's time to try another treatment.

The riba/interferon combon has just been approved, so decided to try
that.  Shots every other day and lots of pills.  I responded
slowly...each month (well mostly) was better than the last.  And at 10
months, I finally started getting normal liver enzymes.

I've now been clear of hepc for 5 years.    My lesson here is: 1. don't
panic.  2. Don't give up (*smile*).

I'm trying to remember this myself now as I was just diagnosed with
(unrelated to the hepc) breast cancer.  Guess if it isn't one thing,
it's another (*grin*).

FYI: I worked full time all through treatment (although my mind was
tapioca at times).  I used fudgsicles to combat nausea, slept a lot,
and I set up an "ice cream jar" in the kitchen for when I got cranky.
If anyone in the family thought I was getting very cranky and unfair,
they would take money from the jar and buy each of us an ice cream.  It
was a great way to say 'calm down' via a signal instead of starting an
argument.  And when one daughter came in with an entire quart of ice
cream, I asked her if I was being that bad.  She solemnly nodded and I
just burst out laughing.  You can't be cranky and laugh!!!!!

All the best with your next try,
Janet in too-dry dallas
janet dot crenshaw at gmail dot com