To Treat
   or Not To Treat ...

            ... ah, that is the question - isn't it?

Deciding whether or not to try treatment for your hep C is one of the most life-changing decisions you’ll ever make.  The straight up is, it’s your decision – not ...

•   your doctor’s,
•   your friend’s,
•   your mechanic’s,
•   your family’s,
•   the mailman’s

                          – it’s yours. 

So, you'll need some

Before ever considering treatment, you need to:

1. get a liver biopsy, to find out your stage & grade - in other words, how badly your liver's been damaged.
2. find out your genotype.  This is important for you to decide on your chances of clearing hep C.

Ideally, you should be able to talk this over with your doc.  If for whatever reason your doc's either talking in circles, or reluctant to share YOUR information with ya, then it's probably a good a time as any to find a new one.  There's plenty of 'em in the yellow pages, under Gastroenterology. 

Well ... there's good news and bad news.

The good news

is we have a couple of options these days; with even more coming down the road.

The bad news? 

It's not easy, and it may not work.  In fact, it may very well be one of the most f-ing hard-to-endure things you'll ever go through.  This is from personal experience, and agreed with by a friend of mine who's been through prison and other unmentionable events in life - not a wuss, to say the least. 

Take your time ...

There is a lot to think about when making this potentially life-changing decision.  Among the considerations that can, understandably, be a bit overwhelming:

•  will it work?
•  which treatment?
•  side effects: will I make it all the way through?
•  can I still work?

and most important of all ...

•  can I still ride??????       

  ---

So let's consider these points ...

Will It Work?

It might.  Data out there - sloppily cited here - is that ya have about a 50-50 shot at it (pun intended, as there are injections involved).  But that's with the currently approved treatments.

This is assuming you're a genotype 1, like approximately 75% of people in the U.S.  Genotype 1's have a little less than 50% SVR rate. 

Genotype 3's have a better chance, and genotype 2's have the best (like 85 to 90% rates of SVR).

---

Which Treatment?

There are only 3 FDA approved treatments out there: Pegasys, Peg-Intron & Infergen . The important thing about this (in my humble opinion, which - of course - you're all entitled to), is that if you have health insurance, they have to help you pay for it.

The first two treatments, Pegasys & Peg-Intron, are pretty much considered standard of care, with the third, Infergen, being positioned as something to try if one of the pegs don't work - but the jury's still out on that one. But, see for yourself - via these links.

Side Effects: Will I make it all the way through?

Hard to say  This is one of those situations where everyone's different.  Two people having the same strain of hep C, may have different experiences completely.  The experience of side effects are as unique as fingerprints.

But if you decide to go on treatment, then there are some things you can do to get your ducks in a row, like get your support team in place.  Have people at the ready to help ya - especially on shot night (approximately 8 hours after your shot) - with things like meals, laundry, changing your oil, stuff like that. 

Can I still work?

       (this section still in progress) 

Finally, and very important:

NO TREATMENT AT ALL MAY BE AN OPTION.

Treatment is hard.  Some have mistakenly referred to it as chemo.  It makes you feel sick - damn sick - and some of the side effects never go away (see the reference to the FDA link on the Links Page).

So, if the damage to your liver is minimal (grade 0), and you're not real symptomatic, then not doing the treatment is a perfectly fine option.  But see what one expert has to say on the topic ... here.

On the upside, treatment may help you get rid of your hep C; especially if you're genotype 2. 

The straight up is that this is one of the most life-changing decisions you'll make.  It's your decision - not your doctor's, your friend's, your mechanic's, your family's, the mailman's - it's yours.

That's the Straightup.

Hey baby ... what's your genotype?

This is something real important for you to know.  Genotypes 1 & 4 are the hardest to beat; 3's a little better; and genotype 2's the easiest.

There are genotypes 1 through 4, with approximately 75% of those infected in the U.S. being genotype 1. 

The blood test that confirms your hep C diagnosis will also tell ya your genotype.  So ... ask your doctor.  If they don't tell ya, then it's definitely time to seek a second opinion.

Blue Collar is spoken here!