Woman tries unusual drug for hepatitis
By keri brenner
Mary Findley might be one of the few people in the country to cure herself of hepatitis C, a virus-caused inflammatory liver condition, using a drug designed to treat Parkinson's disease.
Findley, 56, a Eugene, Ore., natural cleaning products retailer, suspects she contracted the potentially lethal liver disease from a blood transfusion 21 years ago during a hysterectomy. She said that was the only time she had some sort of blood-to-blood contact - the only way to get hepatitis C.
The disease - which Washington officials in May said was one of the top state health concerns - can be contracted by sharing injection drug needles with an infected user. Health practitioners also can contract it from a needle stick during a medical procedure with an infected patient.
Other sources could be sexual contact if there are open sores on both partners, tattoos or from sharing a razor or a toothbrush with an infected person whose gums or skin are bleeding. There is no vaccine, although people at risk are advised to be vaccinated for Hepatitis B.
"Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S. and is the leading cause of liver transplants," said Wendy Dillon, hepatitis C coordinator for the state Department of Health. "There are eight times as many hepatitis C cases as there are cases of HIV/AIDS infection in our state."
The standard drug treatment is a cocktail made from two potent antiviral drugs, interferon and ribavirin. A study reported in May indicates that about half of the patients who try the cocktail could be "cured" of the disease - meaning the virus is eradicated.
But Findley said the down sides of interferon are its side effects and expense.
"Interferon is not an option. It's a death threat," she said. "They stick you with this needle which you are going to pay out your nose for. It will destroy your liver, put your life on total hold for a year, possibly kill you, cause many to commit suicide," she said.
Findley says she was cured by amantadine, an inexpensive, less-harsh antiviral drug used for Parkinson's patients.
Findley said she went to several doctors before she found one willing to prescribe the amantadine for her. She had to threaten to go to Mexico to get the drug before her doctor would write the prescription, she said.
Despite its side effects - which include dry mouth, jitters and irritability - amantadine was worth the effort, she said.
"It was not so bad compared to the horrible side effects of interferon," she said.
Findley also adhered to a natural, chemical-free unprocessed foods diet, an exercise regimen to promote liver detoxification, and other protocols such as sweating out toxins in a hot bath.
Thomas Griffith, an Olympia naturopathic physician, said he has never heard of using amantadine for hepatitis C.
"It's very much an off-label use," Griffith said.
However, he agreed with Findley that interferon therapy, while appropriate in some cases, can be "fraught with side effects, is very expensive, can damage the immune system, and is like having a flu all the time."
Griffith said the best therapy for hepatitis C "really depends on how progressive a person's disease is and the lab parameters," he said. "Not everybody who has hepatitis C is a candidate (for interferon)."
Griffith said he consults with a liver disease specialist to determine whether interferon would be the best treatment option - and will have the specialist administer the drug if appropriate.
For his part, Griffith offers herbal and supplement therapies that can complement - but don't interfere with - the prescription drug regimen.
That could include milk thistle, a liver-protective herb, or phosphatidylcholine, a form of unrefined lecithin. Phosphatidylcholine is a main constituent of cell membranes and useful in inflammatory conditions such as hepatitis, Griffth said.
"You should contact your practitioner for dosages," Griffith said. "And be careful of the supplements you buy - some of the ones with raw materials from India or China could have contaminated products in them."
Findley was symptom-free for most of the last two decades until January 2002. That was when she saw a doctor because of a yellowish tint in her eyeballs - a sign of jaundice.
"I was getting tired at that time, and losing memory, but I attributed it to aging," said Findley, who owns and operates Mary Moppins Co.
A blood test, however, showed Findley had 1.2 million copies of the hepatitis C virus in one milileter of blood - a heavy viral load.
Now, five years later, in February of this year, a blood test found no detectable signs of the virus. Findley feels great, she said.
"Had I not done the research, stuck to my guns and insisted on the amantadine, my stomach would be bloated, my kidneys and liver failing, and I would be bed-ridden," she said. "There are times I'm glad I was born in Missouri and as stubborn as their mules."
Mary Findley might be one of the few people in the country to cure herself of hepatitis C, a virus-caused inflammatory liver condition, using a drug designed to treat Parkinson's disease.
Findley, 56, a Eugene, Ore., natural cleaning products retailer, suspects she contracted the potentially lethal liver disease from a blood transfusion 21 years ago during a hysterectomy. She said that was the only time she had some sort of blood-to-blood contact - the only way to get hepatitis C.
The disease - which Washington officials in May said was one of the top state health concerns - can be contracted by sharing injection drug needles with an infected user. Health practitioners also can contract it from a needle stick during a medical procedure with an infected patient.
Other sources could be sexual contact if there are open sores on both partners, tattoos or from sharing a razor or a toothbrush with an infected person whose gums or skin are bleeding. There is no vaccine, although people at risk are advised to be vaccinated for Hepatitis B.
"Hepatitis C is the most common blood-borne infection in the U.S. and is the leading cause of liver transplants," said Wendy Dillon, hepatitis C coordinator for the state Department of Health. "There are eight times as many hepatitis C cases as there are cases of HIV/AIDS infection in our state."
The standard drug treatment is a cocktail made from two potent antiviral drugs, interferon and ribavirin. A study reported in May indicates that about half of the patients who try the cocktail could be "cured" of the disease - meaning the virus is eradicated.
But Findley said the down sides of interferon are its side effects and expense.
"Interferon is not an option. It's a death threat," she said. "They stick you with this needle which you are going to pay out your nose for. It will destroy your liver, put your life on total hold for a year, possibly kill you, cause many to commit suicide," she said.
Findley says she was cured by amantadine, an inexpensive, less-harsh antiviral drug used for Parkinson's patients.
Findley said she went to several doctors before she found one willing to prescribe the amantadine for her. She had to threaten to go to Mexico to get the drug before her doctor would write the prescription, she said.
Despite its side effects - which include dry mouth, jitters and irritability - amantadine was worth the effort, she said.
"It was not so bad compared to the horrible side effects of interferon," she said.
Findley also adhered to a natural, chemical-free unprocessed foods diet, an exercise regimen to promote liver detoxification, and other protocols such as sweating out toxins in a hot bath.
Thomas Griffith, an Olympia naturopathic physician, said he has never heard of using amantadine for hepatitis C.
"It's very much an off-label use," Griffith said.
However, he agreed with Findley that interferon therapy, while appropriate in some cases, can be "fraught with side effects, is very expensive, can damage the immune system, and is like having a flu all the time."
Griffith said the best therapy for hepatitis C "really depends on how progressive a person's disease is and the lab parameters," he said. "Not everybody who has hepatitis C is a candidate (for interferon)."
Griffith said he consults with a liver disease specialist to determine whether interferon would be the best treatment option - and will have the specialist administer the drug if appropriate.
For his part, Griffith offers herbal and supplement therapies that can complement - but don't interfere with - the prescription drug regimen.
That could include milk thistle, a liver-protective herb, or phosphatidylcholine, a form of unrefined lecithin. Phosphatidylcholine is a main constituent of cell membranes and useful in inflammatory conditions such as hepatitis, Griffth said.
"You should contact your practitioner for dosages," Griffith said. "And be careful of the supplements you buy - some of the ones with raw materials from India or China could have contaminated products in them."
Findley was symptom-free for most of the last two decades until January 2002. That was when she saw a doctor because of a yellowish tint in her eyeballs - a sign of jaundice.
"I was getting tired at that time, and losing memory, but I attributed it to aging," said Findley, who owns and operates Mary Moppins Co.
A blood test, however, showed Findley had 1.2 million copies of the hepatitis C virus in one milileter of blood - a heavy viral load.
Now, five years later, in February of this year, a blood test found no detectable signs of the virus. Findley feels great, she said.
"Had I not done the research, stuck to my guns and insisted on the amantadine, my stomach would be bloated, my kidneys and liver failing, and I would be bed-ridden," she said. "There are times I'm glad I was born in Missouri and as stubborn as their mules."