Some people talk about 72 weeks. Personally I can't imagine it.

 Genotype 1 treatment also has a lower chance of

I thought it was more like 35-40% but if you achieve SVR then it really
doesn't matter.

 So I would like to see how many of

I have been through tx twice. I am geno 1a. The first was 48 weeks.
That was in the pre-peg days, the regimen was Interferon every 48 hours
and 800 mg Riba. The seconded round of tx (daily Infergen & 1200 mg
Riba) ended in December 2005 after 30 weeks. I was scheduled for 48 but
after an initial response, I experienced what was called a viral
breakthrough. Just as well, all the nasty drugs made me crazy. I  am
just now starting to feel OK (with the help of a good psychiatrist).

I can't imagine doing it again.

May geno 1 folks do achieve SVR, so hang in there.

I was g1b, started with a VL over 7 Million, did the standard 48 weeks on
weekly PegIntron 1.5ug/kg, and 1400mg of Ribavirin daily. Had a fantastic if
undocumented early response - tx really kicked both the virus and my a.s in
the first five weeks, by the end of week 5 my ALT had dropped from 166 down to
29. At week 12 I was undetectable (below 10 copies/ml), at end of therapy I
was still undetectable, and remained undetectable a year later. I'll have my
last VL check in March.

I was 100% compliant with the meds, always took the Ribavirin with high-fat
foods, always did the shot the same day, same time, same place. Getting
solidly into a routine is key, I think, especially when you're out around week
36 and the end still seems to be somewhere over the horizon...

Hang in there. Therapy may get rough, it could test your resolve, but you just
need to turn your inner Hercules loose and kick those sides squarely in the
nuts :-)

Cheers

/greyhackles

I'm genotype 1A and in week 29 of treatment. I started with a viral
load of 2.25 million, after 4 weeks it went down to around 600,000 (I
don't remember the exact number at this point). After 12 weeks it was
below 600 and I finally got undetectable at week 20. Since it took so
long to become undetectable I am doing a full 72 weeks. The latest
recommendation is that you do an additional 48 weeks once you become
undetectable, better the chance to reach SVR. Even though it took so
long for me, I am happy with how my treatment is going because I
finally DID reach undetecable and I know that some never do. I also
heard that the chances for type 1s are 50-60%.

Good luck and keep your chin up! :)

Ally

I'm genotype 1, and my "chance of success" was closer to 12-14%
because I had 'failed' two previous interferon treatments.

But any chance was better than none (and a second liver biopsy showed
that the damage to my liver was progressing far faster than my doctor
or I had expected).  So I went on Rebetron.

I didn't expect it to work.  But it did.  Slowly.  It took a lot time
for my viral load to go down to 'undetectable'. It took even longer
for my AST/ALT figures to go down to normal.  BUT... after 48 weeks, I
was clear.  AND, that was in 2000.  I've been clear now for 6 years.

Don't get hung up on statistics.  And good luck.

Janet in sunny Dallas, TX