 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Hepatitis / September 2007Cleared...
So... At week 12 I found out, through my Primary Care Doc at the VA, that my load was down from 1.5 MIl to about 600. At week 16 I saw one of my IC team and they clarified: At 12 weeks, my load was listed as <625. This, he explained, is the way they write "cleared" since, even if it was 0, they'd still write <625... He also said my red count was back to normal so I could cut the Epogen down to every other week. Thing is, since I decided to forgo the Epogen shot last week, each day has seen a strong increase in fatigue... Just shot the Interferon and the Epogen so, we shall see...... ~ Alex >So... > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >~ Alex Well that *is* much better, isn't it? :-) From what I've read here over the years it is not unusual for labs to essentially parrot the sensitivity of the test instead of an actual count if the sample doesn't cause a positive test result. I really wish they'd smarten up on that - how hard is it to write "below threshold"? My lab, otoh, listed the test sensitivity (>5 IU/ml) and added "not detected" - together, very easy to understand. What that also tells you, btw, is they're not using one of the more sensitive tests, for whatever reason, and they're not doing you any favors with that... As for the fatigue, are you *really* drinking enough water? Cheers - and hang in there - you have extra motivation now :-) /greyhackles > What that also tells you, btw, is they're not using one of the more sensitive > tests, for whatever reason, and they're not doing you any favors with that... Should I demand a more accurate test? He claimed the <625 meant I was "negative"... >> What that also tells you, btw, is they're not using one of the more sensitive >> tests, for whatever reason, and they're not doing you any favors with that... > >Should I demand a more accurate test? He claimed the <625 meant I was >"negative"... Clearly, if the test sensitivity threshold is 625 IU/ml, and there is no observed reaction, the test result is called "negative", aka "undetectable". And that's good, certainly. Don't mistake my point here. I'm simply relating the fact that there are modern viral load tests that are two orders of magnitude more sensitive (eg: 5IU/ml) and you have to wonder why one isn't being used. The difference is cost, of course, but that may not be the reason why your doc is still using that particular test. He may simply not be aware that there are more sensitive tests available. Who knows? You might ask him when you get ready for your end-of-treatment test to use the more sensitive test and see what response you get... Cheers /greyhackles >You might ask him when you get > ready for your end-of-treatment test to use the more sensitive test and see > what response you get... Well, I ask about it in two weeks and we'll see what happens. Thanks. ~ Alex > As for the fatigue, are you *really* drinking enough water? That was probably the main thing I never got right... but when I started feeling that wipe-out feeling, at least I knew to down a full bottle of water, and I'd be feeling better again in 5 minutes. >when I started > feeling that wipe-out feeling, at least I knew to down a full bottle of > water, and I'd be feeling better again in 5 minutes. Yet even more water... Yet, my water intake hasn't changed these past months but the Epogen shot did... Should I ignore that fact? |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.