Comments on: Week 9 - Tuesday - Implications of Week 12 http://www.ronmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/01/11/week_9_tuesday/ Ron Metcalfe's Weblog Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:47:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Martin Bolton http://www.ronmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/01/11/week_9_tuesday/#comment-30 Martin Bolton Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.ronmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/01/11/week_9_tuesday/#comment-30 Hi Ron,<br /> Just for info, when they say 'Log 2 drop' what this means is a drop by a factor of 100. Log 3 is 1000, Log 4 is 10000, and so on. Its the medical types trying to sound clever!<br /> Regards<br /> Martin<br /> <br /> <strong>Ron writes:</strong> You may be right, Martin, about the medical types trying to sound clever - and it may be my version of 'clever' to not bother!! I can see what you are saying about the level of drop and thank you for that! Talk again soon, Ron Hi Ron,
Just for info, when they say ‘Log 2 drop’ what this means is a drop by a factor of 100. Log 3 is 1000, Log 4 is 10000, and so on. Its the medical types trying to sound clever!
Regards
Martin

Ron writes: You may be right, Martin, about the medical types trying to sound clever - and it may be my version of ‘clever’ to not bother!! I can see what you are saying about the level of drop and thank you for that! Talk again soon, Ron

]]> By: Jonathan Colam http://www.ronmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/01/11/week_9_tuesday/#comment-31 Jonathan Colam Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0000 http://www.ronmetcalfe.com/blog/index.php/2005/01/11/week_9_tuesday/#comment-31 Hi there Ron, <br /> <br /> The thing about numbers and statistics is that they are just that and it is perhaps more important how you feel. The expection to this is the viral load measurements as that it the one number that you have to drive down, for me the viral load is the most important of the blood work numbers. At the end of the treatment all your other bllod numbers should normalise, however once you have killed the virus your viral load will stay undetectable. <br /> <br /> Don't forget that you increase your chances of a 2 log drop by sticking with the full dose of your treatment. I regularly drop in and read your blog and I don't think you have missed shot nor a pill so just by sticking with it you stand a better chance of success. <br /> <br /> Well done on the normal level ALT's, mine dropped massively before treatment but have slowed to a crwal over the last two weeks. The normal ALTs show that the treatment is working for you. <br /> <br /> How you feeling at the moment, has the Bells Palsy cleared up yet? <br /> <br /> Injection night for me - number 3, still got the bruises from 1&2. <br /> <br /> Cheers<br /> Jonathan <br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Ron writes:</strong> I too decided that my viral load was going to be <em>THE</em> important blood test - I wanted to establish a 'baseline' viral load some time ago and start tracking it - until I discovered that the hospital I attend seem to have to justify doing them - and couldn't before I started treatment. Now I realise they will avoid carrying viral load tests out, if they can, by testing my PCR first - if that's 'no sign of the virus' they won't do the viral load blood tests! (Purely my opinion, but it may be that this approach saves a significant amount of money over a year!) So I suppose their lack of emphasis on viral load testing has influenced my view on this - it isn't as if they are testing my viral load frequently to track it - like my LFT's - then I would delve into understanding it more clearly. Hi there Ron,

The thing about numbers and statistics is that they are just that and it is perhaps more important how you feel. The expection to this is the viral load measurements as that it the one number that you have to drive down, for me the viral load is the most important of the blood work numbers. At the end of the treatment all your other bllod numbers should normalise, however once you have killed the virus your viral load will stay undetectable.

Don’t forget that you increase your chances of a 2 log drop by sticking with the full dose of your treatment. I regularly drop in and read your blog and I don’t think you have missed shot nor a pill so just by sticking with it you stand a better chance of success.

Well done on the normal level ALT’s, mine dropped massively before treatment but have slowed to a crwal over the last two weeks. The normal ALTs show that the treatment is working for you.

How you feeling at the moment, has the Bells Palsy cleared up yet?

Injection night for me - number 3, still got the bruises from 1&2.

Cheers
Jonathan

Ron writes: I too decided that my viral load was going to be THE important blood test - I wanted to establish a ‘baseline’ viral load some time ago and start tracking it - until I discovered that the hospital I attend seem to have to justify doing them - and couldn’t before I started treatment. Now I realise they will avoid carrying viral load tests out, if they can, by testing my PCR first - if that’s ‘no sign of the virus’ they won’t do the viral load blood tests! (Purely my opinion, but it may be that this approach saves a significant amount of money over a year!) So I suppose their lack of emphasis on viral load testing has influenced my view on this - it isn’t as if they are testing my viral load frequently to track it - like my LFT’s - then I would delve into understanding it more clearly.

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