Hepatitis C ?

A Nurse Practitioner told me that large amounts of vitamin c taken daily,along with certain types of antibiotics can cure this disease over an extended period of time. Is this true,& If so, approx. how long? Thank you!

Sorry, this is not true. If a cure for hep c (HCV) was this simple, don't you think millions of people with HCV would take vitamin c instead of antiviral treatments? And antibiotics do nothing to eradicate HCV. I certainly hope this nurse practitioner isn't practicing in a gastroenterology or hepatology clinic.
Many people will try anything to avoid the standard treatment for two reasons: 1) They are afraid of it because they aren't educated about it, and 2) their HCV isn't presenting with symptoms or the symptoms are so mild they don't want to treat it now. They are afraid the cure is worse than the disease.
What they may not realize or don't want to think about is the longer they wait, the more serious the scarring may be on the liver. When the liver starts showing signs of disease, it is very advanced (cirrhosis or end stage liver disease). Common sense would indicate that early treatment would be easier to eradicate the virus and prevent advanced liver disease like cirrhosis or the need for transplantation.
The longer one waits to treat, the more difficult it may be to respond to the treatment. Higher viral loads are a predictor of less responsive treatment results. So is age- the chances of clearing the virus decrease with advancing age. It doesn't mean it can't happen, it just means that treatment may take longer. There are other factors, too, that influence treatment outcomes. Genotype & race are major factors. African Americans have a much lower response to treatment for unknown reasons. Genotype 1's have only a 50-57% chance of successful treatment compared to genotypes 2's & 3's which have an 80+% chance of clearing the virus.
While traditional treatment has side effects (nausea, fatigue, flu-like symptoms) in most people who try it, these side effects can be managed if you learn about them and what to do. Education & support is important in the successful treatment of HCV. It can be done. I did the treatment 7 years ago and have been clear ever since. It wasn't easy, but my support group friends helped me, and it was worth it. Best wishes to you. I hope this helps you.

A nurse once told me she really loved me.....

I think Ive heard research on something similar to this.

Id speak to your doctor about it. Maybe there is a research program you may be able to join. No way should you attempt it on your own. You have to be careful with any supplement and taking alot of vit c may be harmful for ur liver - which u need to look after when you have hep c.

Oh boy! im sorry to say that hepatitis C (hep C) is incurable. symptoms can be lessened and a person can live a relatively normal life. The use of vit c in the treatment of viral infections is an ongoing debate. some poeple show a drop in viral titres (level of virus in the blood) but not eradication. other things that have been mentioned are raw garlic. a person is more than welcome to try these but they should know that results are varied. Bottom line is though that the person will always have the organism in them. Antibiotics kill bacteria, they have no effect on viruses. Antivirals do not always kill the virus, but they can slow it down giving the immune system time to put up an effective defense. they are used mostly in fulminant cases or in cases with active symptomatology. I hope this helps.

I'm afraid not. You need massive doses of interferon injections, for months. Going to be tough, but it has to be.

I seriously doubt it. To try and rid hepatitis C from ones body Interferon and Ribovarian are the answer..its not fun but its better than the alternative. I just lost another friend to HCV yesterday..complications of Hep C..cancer

2year SVR

vitamin c (or any other mega doses of any type of vitamin) can be dangerous!!! so this nurse is DEAD wrong.

the only chance of a CURE is that of antiviral chemotherapy- ie, interferon, ribavirin or infergen medications.

if vitamin therapy worked, we'd all be cured by now...this goes without saying all those other tried and failed concoctions, units, electro therapy, ozonic therapy ect ect ect ect ect ect ect....

there are over 5 million in the US alone, half dont know they have it, the other half about 15% cleared on their own and the remainder become chronically infected no matter WHAT they have tried outside the standard interferon treatments.

treating early increases your chance of a sustained viral response (cure). ((NO MATTER WHAT GENOTYPE!))

Dont play around dear, just jump on the chemo wagon! Viruses like hcv CAUSE cancer, so knock it out asap!

Hep C is a chronic infection you will never get rid of it. The only approved treatment for hep c is interferon and ribavirin. They give you a 50% chance of it working. Some people see results others never get better only worse. If you choose to do the treatment you will need very good insurance or some way to pay for the meds they are very expensive (around 2,700 a month).