If indeed Katie is a geno 3a, that'd be very good news for the reasons
you mentioned.  Like you though, I'd probably want to confirm the test
with one more.  Can't hurt anything.
LFT's are 8 million.  ahahahahahahaha!!!  Sorry, Mom.  I couldn't help
but laugh.  I think you're confusing LFT's with viral load (pcr).  If
her LFT's were that high, she'd be a scientific marvel of some sort.
They'd wonder how she was still walking and talking.  
With a viral load of 8 million, that's on the high side of mid-range.
But if she's a geno 3a, probably not a big deal.  Viral load fluctuates
and maybe they caught it on the high end of the cycle.  There's a good
chance that her previous test wasn't able to accurately measure viral
load that high.....newer and different tests can more accurately
determine viral load on the upper end of the scale.      
It looks to me like Katie is bound and determined to get this battle
over with now as opposed to later.  A shorter tx duration (3a) is alot
more doable.  I'm curious to see what her biopsy results are. In any
case, I'm on the support bandwagon for Katie.  Give her a hug for me.
elmo
////////////////
Hello all. Back for more input. Katie has been having a battery of tests
run to see if she is a candidate for treatment. I have got to give this
doctor one thing for sure.......he is very thorough which makes me feel
better. He wasn't going to recommend treatment unless he thought she was
ready for it. I think he would have preferred like so many of you
thought to wait for something better. She has had doctor appointments
every week now for over a month from bloodwork to eye exams to an
ultrasound and more.
Today the blood results came back and totally shocking to both Katie and
myself they came back as her having genotype 3A! She was originally
diagnosed with 1A as many of you will remember. If my memory is correct
3A is a shorter treatment and has a higher cure rate? Should she have a
third test to confirm genotype?
When she was first diagnosed her LTF's? were a little over 2 million.
They are now over 8 million. The doctor has decided she is a good
candidate for treatment. The next step is scheduling a biopsy. The
closer this gets the more anxious I get but that is neither here nor
there as it is not me going to go through it. I will be there for her
that is for sure.
Any words of wisdom? Thomas? Elmo? Paul? WS? Anyone? Come out, come out
wherever you are.
Mom
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That's very surprising - yes, I'd absolutely request a third test, since
genotype determines treatment duration, and you don't want just 24 weeks
when her genotype is 1 instead of 3. I'm not sure if it's even possible,
but could she be infected with two genotypes at once? Grey?

The 8 million is probably her viral load, and that can fluctuate quite a
lot. It's not necessarily a sign that things are worse. The real measure
is the biopsy. I'd doubt that she has major damage after such a short
time, but you never know.

If it turns out she really is genotype 3, then I'd recommend she do the
treatment even if she has no damage. 24 weeks are usually doable (no
walk in the park, but doable) and the success rate for geno 3 is around
80-90%. But the genotype matter has to be absolutely clear first.

Thomas
P.S.: Yes, it was your attachment that caused your posts to disappear.
Most servers will reject posts with attachments in non-binary groups.

Smiling Wickedly,  Mom answered:

Hi Mom,

I was a 3a also.  Usually the treatment is shorter. 24 vs 48 weeks.
However, that being said, if she is a slow responder, don't let the
doctor have her quit. My doctor had the balls to have me do the whole 48
weeks, because at the 24 week mark I had only only started responding.

I got my SVR, and i'm working on 1 1/2 years now.

On Sat, 20 Jan 2007 06:21:46 -0500, "Mom" <mom@nospamplease.net>, in
message ID <iJmdnRnMzsHMZizYnZ2dnUVZ_h2pnZ2d@adelphia.com>, in the
newsgroup alt.support.hepatitis-c wrote:

Looks like it's all been said really Mom.  Definitely re-test to
confirm genotype though.
If geno 3, maybe could get away with biopsy if treating in the near
future due to the much higher chance of success.  However, if tx
doesn't work, you would be left with no baseline to assess the speed
at which the liver damage is progressing (although this can vary
anyway so may not be critical).
I hope it's a geno 3.
I have heard things about geno 3 being a bit harder to treat than geno
2 and there were rumblings in the UK at one point of making geno 3 a
36 weeker.  I don't know what was decided but I haven't heard of it
happening yet.  Maybe it was deemed unnecessary.