Lloyd,

Hello, my name is Leah and I am 26 years old. My father was diagnosed with Hep C at the end of summer ’05. He is in Stage Four and has 15 more weeks to go with the 48 week Interferon Treatment. I am his health care proxy and trying to do my best to take care of him and understand what he is going through.

The side effects of the treatment are devastating to watch and I couldn’t imagine how it feels. My dad and I are very close yet he is hesitant when it comes to telling me how he really feels. He has lost 60 lbs. since he started the treatment, his hair is straight and he is losing it, his complexion is grey, and he is constantly in pain.

Each week the side effects get worse. Two weeks ago, his girlfriend had to call 911 because he turned grey and white and passed out cold to the floor for five minutes. Water and fluids were coming out of his mouth and he wasn’t breathing. Finally, he did one big gasp and woke up only to refuse 911 checking him out.

Of all the side effects I’ve read about (which most of those he has, temp. loss of vision, depression, stomach pain, etc.) I have not seen anything about people blacking out and stopping breathing and vomiting fluids will being unconscious. Is this a side effect the doctors aren’t telling us about?

The last time I went to the doctors with him for his monthly check-in the doctor did not seem to be too concerned with the severity of the side effects. I don’t know if he is going to make it through the rest of the treatment. I wonder if he should stop it.

I am so sorry to bother you and ramble on like this, but I need some sound advice from someone who knows Hep C and knows Interferon Treatment. Do you think he should continue for the next 15 weeks and have you heard of anyone passing out like he did?

Thank you,
Leah

Hi Leah:

I urge you to get your father to stop!

Interferon does not work. Interferon rarely cures anyone. It is all a very big and sad money game.

I know that is hard to believe but it is true.

Over 90% of HCV in the US are geno type 1, 1A, 1B. Interferons do not work on this geno type.
Read it here:
http://www.interferon.ws/Peg-Intron-Interferon.htm

This is the biggest study done to date and even though it is a few years old we are dealing with the same virus and the same drug. This study says less than 7% success rate. In this study they measure a success if someone had a non detected viral response anytime in the treatment period weather they relapsed or not so the actual number is even less.

They had a 15% success rate at the end of treatment but more than 1/2 relapsed at 6 months post treatment.
Is this something that you want your father to suffer thru for nothing?

If you find interferon being pushed for money with total disregard for ones health hard to believe please read this:
http://www.hepatitiscfree.com/messages/2004/June27info-2004.htm

This article is from the front page of the Sunday New York Times. Yes, they do give doctors $ 10.000.00 for new prescriptions for interferon for the treatment of hepatitis c. The only reason a sane doctor would prescribe it.

Doctors who think, know that interferon is a bad joke being pushed by Big Pharma! Interferon has failed to cure anything it has ever been prescribed for. It was originally created for a type of throat cancer back in 1962, it did not work then, it does not work now. It kills people.

There are no long term studies on this drug for one established reason, people who use it are either dead or still sick.
Yes, there has been some, very few success stories, very few, not enough to warrant its use.

The side effects from interferon are often life long and can be life threatening.
Read these testimonials:
http://www.lloydwright.org/hepatitis_messages/Interferon_testimonials.htm

If your father is one of those guys who says, I am not a quitter, I am going to do it until the end, it may well be the end.
Melody Beattie's ex husband died on his 3rd shot of interferon from a known side effect, Respiratory Failure.

Interferon is just like Russian Roulette.

I urge you to do everything you can to stop him from using interferon. He will never be the same.

Hard to believe this happens in what is suppose to be the Greatest Country in the world.

In good health
Lloyd