So now, there is pretty much a cure out there for Hep C - and others on the horizon that probably work even better! However, as of now, no one can afford it. Medicare and Medicaid, as well as private insurers, were not quite prepared for a 90-95% success rate Hepatitis C drug to hit the market. And the tens of thousands of folks wanting to do one of the newer treatments - ones that actually work, have much less side effects, and a much shorter treatment time, are all lining up.
Meanwhile, there is LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone -
Since my integrative doctor no longer takes Medicare, I have been unable to have the regular Hepatitis C labs and viral load tests done as regularly as I had since early 2009 when I began taking 3 mg of Low Dose Naltrexone. However, my rheumatologist over at LSU ran basic labs, a liver panel and a viral load test back in February 2014. As I had posted last, everything was pretty much the same as they have been - normal liver enzymes and still low viral load - thankfully.
I plan on going back to my CAM doc but I need a few hundred bucks to do so. But I am seeing a new gastro next month and am hopeful that she will be as supportive as my integrative doctor is/was. Or at least more supportive than my last gastro who refused to run any viral load tests as "LDN is not used to treat Hepatitis C and will not affect viral load", he said. And he was less than supportive when I showed him the results of my first labs done after being on LDN for 3 months. Viral load dropped from 1,600,000 to 48,000. And has remained below that in the five years since. Usually 11,000-36,000 range.
At any rate, until next month and new labs, here is:
Treating Hepatitis C With Low Dose Naltrexone
Updated it slightly and removed any reference of increasing LDN dosage past 3 mg.
In the rescue cat side, Cayenne, my 16 year old white Siamese mix, went into liver failure last December. His ALT was something like 1375 and all of his other numbers were astounding. I put him on Denosyl (SAMe) and Marin (Milk Thistle) and he improved and put weight back on. Then, a few months ago, he was not doing well. The vet said that he was dehydrated and had an enlarged kidney. I was sent home with a bag of fluids "to keep him comfortable" as none of us believed he would live much longer. And he was so dehydrated that he needed sub-q fluids two times a day! At any rate, surprisingly, Cayenne is now getting fluids every other day. He has gained weight again, is grooming himself and begs to go out for a supervised walk every day. The vet thinks that as his liver heals, his kidney function has also improved. I am thrilled - I have had him since he was 6 weeks old and been through everything with him.
