Do you happen to know the scale your lab used? High monocytes indicate infection, but slight elevations are not terribly unusual.
Unless he specializes in hep he may not know upcoming drugs. You also have to understand there have been a zillion upcoming drugs, docs tend to be educated by pharmaceutical reps and as the drug is not yet prescribed most doctors would have no clue. Plus there are really very few docs that specialize in hep, most are just GI's or Infectious Disease docs, they look it up, treatment is this, that's what they do.
Even in terms of waiting or not, still a lot of factors and honestly most are outside the doctors hands. And certainly insurance is a factor. Lot of people losing jobs these days, or have already done so, with the result they have lost insurance, or will soon. Be a shame to have insurance today, not treat, lose job, new drugs come out and you can't get them because you don't have insurance. Heck divorce can be a factor as well. Job or school may be factors. Doc's don't know your personal business so it does put them in a awkward position sometimes.
As a hepper I might suggest at a 1/1 I'd wait unless insurance, job, husband, or something might be a factor. But a doctor wouldn't think the same way, nor should they. What would happen if you test 1/1 now, for some reason you become immune compromised and you ended up stage 4 in six months (not likely but is possible), started to decompensate and couldn't do treatment.
Finally as a precautionary note....
I know you read and hear new drugs are coming and will be released by this summer and with two drugs currently in the forefront that we know of this may indeed happen. BUT it may not. It is not at all uncommon for applications for approval to be denied, sent back for additional study, mothballed for months/years and so on. There is no real assurance there will be new drugs. Until you pull up to the pharmacy with your prescription in hand all should remember there may or may not be new drugs coming.
Had friend recently treated for her third time, same dang drugs. I did my best to talk her out of it (she and I treated roughly same times on our first two rounds) and she really treated as a maintenance routine until new drugs. Doc's concept, start out full strength until UND, reduce to half strength and try and maintain for year or so. But routine lab check 4 weeks in revealed undetectable viral load, so plan changed, doc said let's go for it. Now months later, but 90 days post she remains UND. So don't forget these drugs can and do work all by themselves.
Oh I guess I should add that if I was 1/1 no way I'm treating, I'm waiting. But that's just me....
Doug
