The Worse Thing About Having Hepatitis C AND Cirrhosis
The worst thing so far is that to a poor speller like me its like a double penalty. Not only do I have what is considered a very serious disease caused by a nasty virus, on top of that I get reminded everyday of being completely unable to spell either of them!
hapatitis heathites hepatisis hepatitas hepatitus hepetitis hepititis hepotitis hepstitas hepitias hepatitas cirocis chrocis cirosis cirhosis cirhoses cirrhoses ….see?
Sometimes fate is a very cruel thing 
October 8th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
Hep C Boy, I can see that you are suffering here…. look at it this way, it *could* be worse. You *could* have mesothelioma
October 23rd, 2005 at 9:13 am
There is a better chance of getting cured from this nasty desiese now.
You need to see a Doctor that does not repeat DOES NOT USE ANY SURGERY OR MAN MADE DRUGS. There are herbal Doctors that have a better percentage rate of curing Hep.C by using herbal medicines… that dont hurt you.. they help and they are way way cheaper… go to a hebal vitanian store and ask for them to recamend you one in your area..this is not a joke..Im being cured as we speak, with no side affects….
October 28th, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Hepcboy
God could and would if he where sought. Don’t look down; Look up into the glorious eyes of our father who loves he’s children and calls us by name.
God Bless You Brother,
Tabitha
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:24 pm
Welcome people!
Now don’t take offense at this you two but one of the advantages of being on treatment is that you can speak your mind, after all who is going to be nasty back to a sick boy?
B Rendino, I’m not a big fan of the herbal treatments out there. I’m afraid from what I have seen its nothing more than a con job. Don’t get me wrong I want to believe, I really do, but the herbal people need to put some facts on the table. The worst thing is that from what I have seen herbs are more likely to do damage than help with hep c, people really need to be careful out there!
tabitha, thank you for the nice thoughts. I’m not big on the whole God thing I’m afraid but I’m aware that it helps some people on tx, I’m just not one of them.
Bless you too Sister.
November 11th, 2005 at 12:41 am
My husband was diagnosed with hepetitis C 6 months ago. He began to experience severe symptoms about 5 months ago. His feet began to painfully swell, he retained water, he had horrible digestion problems, and he lost all his energy. The doctors put him on all types of drugs and painkillers. None of these pills worked . Two months ago my friend introduced me to a juice called Xango. She told me it helped her with her back problems and gave her more energy. So I bought a bottle. After taking the juice for only a couple of days, I felt better than I have in years. I finally got my husband to drink Xango about 6 weeks ago. He does not go a day without it. His feet do not swell anymore, his stomach problems have subsided, he now has more energy than I do, and his enzyme levels have gone down! I don’t know, I know all of this sounds nuts but I have seen the incredible results for myself. If you want more info my email is walsh_yanni@msn.com
January 20th, 2006 at 8:44 am
I WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH HEPETITIS C YESTERDAY AND I AM VERY SAD AND HURTING…..I AM ALSO GOING THROUGH GETTING OFF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL…I AM ON DAY 70….ITS BEEN VERY HARD AND NOW THIS NEW SLAP IN THE FACE IS MAKING IT EVEN HARDER…I HAVE A CHILD AND A HUSBAND THAT NEED TO BE TESTED…I FEEL LIKE A BIG DESEASE… I HOPE THAT IT DOSNT HURT ME OR MY FAMILY IF THEY HAVE IT AND I PRAY TO GOD THEY DONT
January 20th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Hey Kandace, welcome to the club although I wish you didn’t have to join!
>DAY 70
Well looks like you are attacking all your problems at once, not a bad plan, have a good old clear out. I’m on about day 6000 + since quitting, life is so much better, so very much better. I hope that you get there, takes time but its well worth it trust me.
Its very unlikely that you have infected your family, it is very rare. You are doing the right thing getting them tested to be on the safe side.
Now deep breath, put your game face on, grit your teeth….you got virus to kill. And yes I know your brain is going a million miles an hour thinking about a billion things but it will pass. After a while things start to get very simple, decisions get simplified and the path ahead becomes clear.
Keep the faith and please keep in touch.
February 25th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
Just came across your comments. I suffer drug addiction, mainly speed, pills etc. and have been diagnosed with hep c. I’m trying hard to quit drugs,when I do ,life feels so empty at the same time life sucks being a slave to it. How did you stop and what was your poison? Please let us know. desperate
February 27th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
first off to desperate mine was heroin.one day i woke up and just stopped because i guess i was just tired of being tired .as for the hep c ,at first youfeel like oh boy whats next.then you go through the treatment and say this really hell. but i looked at it this way,when i was on drugs i used to go through withdrawls and still kept using . so why should i cry about somthing that is a possible help?i guess no one likes to be told they are sick to possible death,but we all know eventually we all do.youve got to put on your fight face and face your adversary. “as you think in your mind and or heart so are you”.at this point in our lives not much is known as to how to fight this ugly disease.but res assured that even as we speak research is going on and its only a matter of time before a cure is found.just because you cant see the light at the end of the tunnel doesnt mean it isnt there.if we allow our lives to be controled by something we cant control we begin to deteriorate not only physically but mentally. you cant allow yourself to quit fighting it. Kandace,i know exactly how you feel and what you are going through.it hurts real bad when our bad choices might possibly affect those we love and hold so dearly.but dont beat your self into submitting to that defeatist attitude.whether or not you have the support of those around you has and should not have a bearing on how you deal with this problemhopefully you do have their support but if you dont now you will when they realize what you are going through.dont give up. fight on .and to you hep boy i felt the same way about your comments on whats good and whats not,you cant go on heresay when dealing with peoples lives. i would not want it on my concience.yove got realize that there are different levels of advancement of tis disease.some of the people i know have had good results, as well as those who havent.we are not all the same.my advanced state is not the same as yours,as mine is not the same as his or hers.there is no cure at this time so we all fight using different weapons.but the key is to fight and not give up!!!!!!!!! ksnewdaddy@yahoo.com write to me with any comments have a nice day
February 28th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I too have just been diagnosed and am going through recovery from drug addiction…although I am on methadone for my addiction, I am coming off of that as well because I am at the point where I just want to be “clean”…but unfortunately, although many days I awoke and just wanted to stop, I couldn’t…tried many times…cold turkey…3 day detox… tried every way to stop and could not…and to Kandace, be thankful that you did not lose your family due to your addiction because I did…if I had stopped the first time I detoxed, I would not have lost them, but the drug had me and they got tired…I have lost my husband forever it seems, but my daughter, who is 17 has begun to forgive me although I’m afraid her pain will be forever…my parents are supportive…most of my friends are gone…now back to today…I’m on methadone going down 5mg every 5 days from 125 to 65 today…I have only been on it since sept and everyone there says to stay on longer, but I just don’t want to…now that I have been diagnosed with this, although my anxiety went through the roof, I am still determined to go on and try to be clean…but like hep boy said, its like a slap in the face in the face of an already insurmountable challenge but what are the choices…to use again will only make it worse… have to keep fighting…we are all fighting for our lives…and I personally feel that I’ve wasted enough time…
March 11th, 2006 at 5:46 am
I was diagnosed with Cirosos (liver) this week. I did not repeat NOT use illegal drugs. My acholol consumstion is almost a 1/5 a year. Mine came from prescided by an M.D. drugs for cholestrol, blood pressure and heart desease. I am sad, depressed and mad.
God Bless all of you. ( I kant spel ether)
March 15th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
My husband has Hep C and is going on 10 years with it. He is starting to get headaches and I am growing concerned. He has never taken anything for his Hep C. It would be great if any one could e-mail use any inexpensive medicine he could take. I do not have the desease but it feels like I do worring about my husband.
March 15th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Leroy I’m so glad you stopped by, its rare I come across somebody whose spelling is worse than mine
>I am sad, depressed and mad.
It will pass. Looking on the bright side the key with liver damage is to stop it getting worse, I assume/hope that steps have been taken to deal with that? If you are stable and look after yourself the future isn’t bleak, far from it. There is a chance that the Cirosos may regress somewhat, the liver really is an amazing organ. Remember anything less than Cirosos should have no major impact on your lifespan, you only need to go done the scale one point to be good. Keep an eye on a series of new anti-fibrotic drugs being developed also, the aim is to come up with something that will help reverse the Cirosos, fingers crossed.
March 15th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
Dana he needs to see a Doctor, take that first step and at least see what the lie of the land is. There are no inexpensive medicines that will get rid of the virus however there are ways and means to get the expensive ones for little cost. Please get him to see a Doctor and take it from there.
March 28th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
well, just had a friend to tell me that her guy-friend has hepititis,he has drank most of his life,mostly whiskey and beer, and is still drinking when he can get away with it. he is 41 years old, will not stop drinking or eatting bad foods, for he has heart problems too, heart-attack already.his is due to alcohol but is it contagesis???he looks swelled all the time. and what is the life span for a ferson with this type hep.-(with him still drinking)would apprecheate any in put for her, she is desperate for info., and so am i!!thanks HepCBoy!! GOD BLESS!!AND HE DOESNT WANT ANY ONE TO KNOW, because he thinks they will not want to be around him.advice needed—thanks again
March 29th, 2006 at 9:59 am
Well msy I’m just a boy with hep c and thats really a question that a Doctor would struggle to answer. I’ll say this though. lets forget all about the hep c just look at the drinking. bad food and heart problems and that on its own doesn’t sound good does it.
If you want me to pull a number out my ass based on his current situation I’d wildly guess at 3-5 years. Stop drinking, get the diet sorted, get in shape, get rid of the hep c and I think you could add another 20 or so years on top of that. Remember hep c never kills anybody, its liver damage that kills you and alcohol and to an extent poor diet will only hasten the damage.
Hope this helps but I’m just guessing.
March 29th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
See if was a Doctor I’d have read what you wrote:
If he has alcoholic hepatits the good news is that up to a point stopping the alcohol will stop and reverse the damage. Its like a get out of jail free card, as lomg as you play it early enough. The bad news is that if the drinking continues and the liver starts to fail then a transplant may be needed. Drinkers go to the back of the transplant queue, they need to prove they have been drink free for at least 6 months and sometimes 12, some will die in that time.
April 5th, 2006 at 11:37 am
I too was recently diagnosed with hep c. I am completley oblivious to what is happening to me, I always thought bad things happend to bad people. and am now left wondering what did I do….I do need a better understanding of what its all about and have made an appointment with a doctor. I wish you all the best and thanks for your thoughts it does help. Keep up the good work.
Amy
April 10th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
i too have hep. c .but i dont know how, the doc,s say it was from blood transfusion i had back in 76 i was stabbed in a street fight ,i no weapons but they did , while i was in the hospital getting plas,the same guys robbed a party store and they kiddnaped the cle,rk and killed her , she had a 3yrold daughter .i thought it was my fault if i could have stoped these guys , it may have stopped them from that girls fate i tell you i was one mean s.o.b.for a long time after that .i dont know how many fights i would get into or try to stop them i was a bouncer at a local drinking hole and did some things i hate to remember , but i was always trying to make good come out of violice the hep c hit me hard in 95 ,i was eletrocuted trying to save my brotheri in law witch i did save his life,i was hurt bad but to proud to let it show it blew a hole out of my right foot i had plastic surgury for that but after that had noticed i didnt have the stamana i once had, i think thats when the hep c started to hit me hard ,but i didnt know i had it untill late 95 ,to make a long story short i am on a transpate list my mel score was at an8 for a long time then out of nowhere it jumed 5 points higher in the last few months ,???????? but the worst part of this has been mental capacity has well i have a hard time thiinking i went form a good job with a lot of resposablty to being on ssi now ,that also hurts i have a hard time spelling too ,going to doc as soon as my blood sceen comes back ill be somekind of pain meds opiods. ill keep fighting like hell but i know im going to lose ,but i have a secrect weopen , hope , iknow ill go to a much better place you see through all ive been through i never lost my faith in god and christ ,iam saved i suggjust that any one thats not give your soul to . god now! ,tomarrow is not a place where you might not have if that makes any sense ,most of what ive read on this site i have experinced to good luck to all and god bless ,ps my wife and three kisd have been tested and there not infected, its the blood to blood contact thats the most danger.
April 17th, 2006 at 5:47 am
>but i know im going to lose
Keep talking like that and you will be in another street fight, with me this time
I know its hard at the stage you are at but its far from the end, transplants are very sucessful nowdays. I would strongly suggest you hang out for a while at http://forums.delphiforums.com/liverfailure/messages/?start=Start+Reading+%3E%3E a great commuinity of people just like you with some great information.
Keep the faith!
April 25th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
I just wanted to give you all with Hep-C some hope. My husband had hep-c for at least 18 years. After being in remissions for years it came back…dabbeling with drug use, his liver was swollen, he had geno-type 1 (the hardest to cure) fibroccis possible cirrosis, stage 3/4 it was just a matter of time before he ould need a transplant. We moved to 4 states in 3 years trying to get treatment. Finally a Gastroenterologist said 40% chance of beating this is better then no chance. My husbands liver levels were off the charts high, hot sweat’s, nausia, insomnia, headaches, liver pain. He started Pegalated-interferon injection’s weekly..within 2 months their was no sign of the virus in his blood test! Praise GOD…A MIRACLE!
One thing I do say to everyone out there, scared, not knowing what to do and afraid to find out…MILK THISTLE is a must! If it can prevent someone from dyeing if they eat death cap mushrooms, it can protect your liver from harm from drugs, alcahol use, pestasides, food addativesand hep-c. Read everything you can get your hands on, take your vitamins, reduce your fat intake, eat fruit and salids. Avoid red meat…try turkey burger with beef boullon for flavor, avoid stress. And know that we’ve been married for 7 years, its rare that your partner will get it. Just dont share tooth brushes, razers, NEVER touch their blood.
Your welcome to e-mail me if you have questions…God Bless.
Vickie
April 30th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
I get so embarressed about the disease, I am not having any treatment, I had a biopsy & it hurt so much I couldn’t handle having another, I get sooo tired, my feet hurt too, is that really part of it with the feet?
Can I get rid of it?
May 1st, 2006 at 7:48 am
Hey Anj no need to be embarressed about any illness [maybe with the exception of syphilis of the throat :)] and you may not need another biopsy to treat, in fact a bad reaction to one is excepted as a good reason to skip another and just treat regardless.
The feet thing is a new one on me.
May 12th, 2006 at 4:11 am
you soundvery down and out. How long has thr monster been biting you?
May 22nd, 2006 at 8:24 am
Hi, I was diagnosed eight years ago after a needle stick injury whilst working in the operating theatre. I was tested seven days after the incident and was told I must have had hep c prior the needle stick injury. Their explanation, because hep c does not show up until three months after, and I believed them. Recently I found that to be untrue. Hep c can be diagnosed one week after being infected. I am really pissed off now, because now my life is shit. I was on treatment for hep c two years ago and going through hell to no avail, not only that, being told, I have been infected by the most aggressive strain of hep c, just my bloody luck, how shitty is that! Yes and my feet look disgusting and stomach feels like shit.
I don’t take drugs, hang on I lied. Now I smoke cigarettes and marijuana once or twice a week just to chill out. I have been smoking for five years now. Sorry I am really pissed off. I hope you all have a better day, good luck and hope to hear from some one out there, I am from Australia North Queensland and really pissed off.
May 22nd, 2006 at 5:04 pm
Sorry for the bad attitude yesterday, I am very fortunate to have a supportive wife, I should not have used bad language to portray the way I am feeling, so my sincere apologies to every one that reads my depressive attitude about hep c. Please every one have a nice day. Kind regards Jim.
June 4th, 2006 at 8:17 am
life is quiet nice for me …take your advance and go to nature as before as we do in youth times….ım readed the opinions except the drugy ones people right… let the professionals helps you as a fantastic art editor ım finding this diseaster as the joker carackter in the 1 st batman movie which whom creats the batman from that child….
if you can follow please believe there is non such a object create the crimes nor you.. my best
June 6th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Hello had the Cronic Hep C for more than likely 30 yrs,went through all the interfron crap 3 times with no success.am having problem with my feet ,swollen and red spots and burning toes,maybe someone else has the same symptoms and can help
Also quit the booze a year ago, never had more than 3 or 4 but couldn’t just have one,peer pressure is tough but just tell it like it is to your bud’s , no thanks i feel much better without the booze they will understand if there true friends .
,
My count has been the same since i was diagnosed.
10 years ago.
but lately have lot’s of muscle pain and itching.also the
painfull feet top & bottom
Take care and keep a good attitude
Gene
July 9th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Good day to All of you! This is sorebones, and this is the first time I’ve read these stories. I am 52 years old, and have been involved with and into my bodybuilding, and I’ve retired from the USMC. Over the years I’ve been involved with 3 motorcycle accidents, 2 truck accidents, and been through an assult. I lived through both sholders surgically repaired and had rib s broken. I also have had re-construction on both ankles, do to my mc accidents. I thought my life coundn’t any more chalenging but it did. I went to mour family doctor in early June, and he ran some blo09d tests and some of the levels were higher thean normal, especially she series for the liver. That came back positive for hepitatis C. I was horrified when he told me it was blood transmitted. I said I had been with my wife (and only her) for 21 years. He also stated that since I had several tatoos, that is a good chance that’s where I received it. I am now scheduled to see a GI doctor in mid July for get the straight poop on things. When I broke down and told my wife what’s going on, she said tha doctor called home thinking I was there and ended up telling her my test results. She’s in the doctorite program, sna is very good at her medical skills. She said “If she doesn’t worry, I shouldn’t worry either. I eat well, exercise 5 or 6 days a week, and don’t do drugs. With the exception of having vine at night at home with my wife. So hopefully this might slow down the hepC to a crawl, at least until some good meds ger on board. I will try and let every one know the progress as it unfolds. To the person (or people looking for something relatively in-expensive, I’ve read where there’s something called mesosilver, and it’s workde miracles for those who have taken it.
My best to all, who have disease (s) for a speedy recovery and long life.
July 9th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
I am an excellent speller, but poor on the use of the computer’s spell checker. So even I had several errors. So my new and future friends, “YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS HORRIBLE SITUATION”!!!!!!!!!!! It could be alot worse than it is. Besides it’s one more day above ground to improve upon things
July 9th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
I did submit comments. I am sorebones, and left the last two notes. apparently without correctly saving or sending them. Please forgive me and submit both of them according to your guidelines. Thanks for reading these and eerything else.
July 13th, 2006 at 8:53 am
To the Pretender;
Very glad to hear you have faith, but you seem a little low on hope. Let me give you some. My husband was diagnosed with Hep C and cirrhosis in 2000 was immediately put on the transplant list. He was the sickest person I’ve ever seen, no energy, constant ascites (fluid in abdomen) sometimes as much as 13 liters had to be drained, no muscle tone, thin everywhere except the abdomen, unable to do most anthing. He got the transplant in 2002, and that last week I thought he would die everyday before the liver came through. I won’t lie to you he had a rough time before, during and after the transplant everyone thought he would never make it. He did and this September will be the 4 year anniversary of his transplant. Today he planted and tends his garden mows our large lawn does all sorts of chores and errands, take his ownself and my mother to her doctor appointments. 2 years ago his brothers 2 teenage boys came to live with us thier father had Hep C & cirrhosis didn’t get treatment and died. Everything happens for a reason. Only God knows when your time is up and how it will be. You are in a transplant program on the list, my advice is read everything you can on the subject, do what your doctors tell you, don’t take over the counter anything without approval from your doctor. Don’t drink or do drugs, you must save what liver you have left until transplant time. Transplant is a very scary thing, but as our doctor told us a liver is like a woman it’s very forgiving but when it’s gone it’s gone. Transplants do work I’ve seen it, don’t worry so much about how bad you look before the transplant or how bad you feel, everyone looks and feels this way, matter of fact you have to be very bad off to move up the list. You can count on about a year after the transplant for recovery and you may have some setbacks, don’t get discouraged. My husband looks great, good color the whites of his eyes are brighter than mine. He still has problems, his Hep C has returned but it’s in the early stages, just monitoring it for now. Point is no he’s not as strong as he once was he still has problems, every day is not a good one, but when a problem comes up we and the doctor’s deal with it. He’s alive and functioning near normal and he would most certainly have died without the transplant. You don’t know your going to lose only God does. DON’T GIVE UP!!!
best wishes and God Bless.
Hep C wife
August 1st, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Hi everybody.
Well, I started using drugs at age 12 in 1975. At 17 I had moved on to IV drugs and at 18 I got real sick and turned yellow. I knew it was hepatitus but I felt better soon and pretty much forgot about it. Five years later, I quit drugs and booze with the help of AA and Narcotics Anonymouse. I haven’t drank or used drugs since, exept on rare ocasions when something was prescribed by a doctor for a legitimate reason.
Fifteen years after my infection, I got a complete STD screening and was found out I had hepatitus C, which I had never previously heard of. I didn’t know what that meant, but my health was good, I exericed a lot and so forth. so as far as I was concerned, the main difference this news made was that I felt a moral obligation to tell women I might become involved with, so this negativly affected and complicated my sex life.
As I learned about treatments, first interpehron and then interpheron with ribovirin, they sounded horrible and I was still feeling pretty good, so why I didn’t take them.
Now, I have had it for twenty five years. I do experiance some fatigue and minor health problems, but I still exercise a fair amount, travel, camp and generaly have an active and usualy happy life.
Nevertheless, recent tests revealed that I do in fact have cirosis of the liver.
After consulting with a bunch of doctors, I have agreed to try the treatment soon, but I am really scared of it. I’ve heard so many horro stories. I’ve also been put on the transplant list.
So, I wonder if anybody who has gone through the treatmentt and found it to be not all that bad?
Also, if my cirrosis isn’t that advanced and I clear the virus, will I still need a transplant?
Thanks much.
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:09 pm
G’day everyone, and greetings to you Hepc boy. I have been diagnosed with hep c now for two years, a relative newby by the standards that I have read. My doctor assumes that I contracted the desease from a blood transfussion during a cesarian section, in 1988, prior to all mandatory testing of blood products in NSW in 1992. I am angry but not with any person or myself but with this desease. I cant blame anyone as there os no proof, I feel a need to vent but who or what do I direct that anger at? I dont drink, (just dont like the taste) and dont take drugs. I just wanted to say Thanks for you site, I have looked every where for info or a support network, why is this problem so shunned? I told a few people and they either never called again or called me horrible names and accused me of things that I just dont do. Thankyou for letting me join in on your forum, I would love to know more about diet changes if anyone has any suggestions, I could always do to loose a few kilos!!!! Thanx again. PP
August 7th, 2006 at 6:46 am
Hi edsnail, here is my view, usual disclaimers apply.
On the face of it its a complex process making a decision on treatment but I like to dumb things down so here is my simplified hep c treatment decision maker!!
Do I need to treat?
Forget about side effects, forget about what treatment entails, imagine you don’t even know what the treatment is, just ask yourself that simple question. If you have cirrosis you *need* to treat, it really is that simple.
>have agreed to try the treatment soon, but I am really scared of it. I’ve heard so many horro stories
I can give you some horror stories about liver failure if you like, I 100% promise you that in comparison treatment is like taking a vacation on a carribian island, all expenses paid. Most people cope with treatment just fine, about 20% really struggle the rest are just fine.
>So, I wonder if anybody who has gone through the treatmentt and found it to be not all that bad?
I’m at week 47, its still not in my top 50 things that I would have prefered not to have happened in my life.
>Also, if my cirrosis isn’t that advanced and I clear the virus, will I still need a transplant?
Thats the million dollar question. If you kill the virus you stop the liver damage, if you stop the liver damage it is unlikely that you will progress to needimng a transplant in the short to medium term. Or to look at it another way something else will prolly kill you first
The holy grail is to kill the virus and for treatment to reduce the liver damage, there is evidence that up to 25% of people with cirrosis reduce their level of damage to non-cirrosis after sucessful treatment.
Go for it!
August 7th, 2006 at 6:52 am
>I would love to know more about diet changes if anyone has any suggestions, I could always do to loose a few kilos!!
Hi purple picklz!
You are in luck but you have to keep it a secret. I have a 100% guranteed method of losing weight….eat less calories than you expend
You can either be more active and therefore expend more calories or eat less and consume less calories, a combination of both works best.
On a practical level here is my golden tip, don’t eat anything out of a packet.
Good luck with the hep!
August 16th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
hi all I was recently diagnosed with hep c. People are so ignorant to this disease. I am about to lose my job because no one wants to work with me anymore, this sucks. i was a iv drug user for about 1 year . I have quit doing drugs and drinking and I am still so tired. I’m wondering if this feeling is ever going to go away. I just started my career, and I think im not going to be able to work this hard for very long the way I feel daily. I am doing all the homeopathic stuff, and Im seeing no result. although I am new to this virus its kicking my ass. I constantly have muscle pains. however it has opened my eyes to how people felt in the 1980’s when aids first started popping up. I have been diagnosed for about 3 months. I am 30 years old and have 3 young boys. How can i MAKE this tired feeling go away??? i feel like i am 20 years older than i am. Please tell me there is hope help
August 16th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I was just diagnosed with Hep C Geno 1 type and I am symtomatic. Biopsey is in a few days…..what is the “Best” food plan for me? Love your website!!
Ryan in Albany NY
August 19th, 2006 at 1:59 am
I think you all are courageous and commend all of you for even finding this forum to support one another. I simply wish you all the best and commend you for offering advice or support to others. Remember….there is no guilt in a disease. None of you asked for the problems in your lives that may have led to behavior that helped this happen or even didn’t. You are simply struggling people like all of us on this planet who now have a challenge that can be coped with and help others through your insight. Good luck and God bless all of you.
August 28th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Hi v!
>I am 30 years old and have 3 young boys. How can i MAKE this tired feeling go away???
Wait for the boys to grow up and leave home
Seriously you really need to look after yourself, just the basic stuff that anybody is supposed to do. I’d bin the homopathic stuff, eat very healthly and make sure you get the recommended amount of excercise. I know it doesn’t sound exciting but it really is the best way to feel well.
Are you treating yet?
August 28th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Hi Ryan!
>best food plan
Good news and bad news.
The bad is that there is no magic bullet, no superfood or supplement that will transform your health.
The good news is that if you eat a regular healthy diet, good quality fresh fruit and veg, red meat as a once a week treat, no fast food [hardly ever] and stay away from ready made foods in packets and tins then thats all you can do.
I know you might not feel like it but if you excercise regulary you will quickly feel the benifits.
Good luck!
August 28th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Hi thatartisttwin, thanks for the kind thoughts.
September 4th, 2006 at 9:09 am
In highschool I got real bad sick a coulpe of times. My ankels and legs swelled up so huge it would sound like a huge lie if I said. But I kepted being active and playing sports, though I was fatigued all the time. It finnally went away. My junior year I lost a ton of weight (6′1/135) ended up admitted to the hospital sick cramping and in agony. Then I just got better never knew why. By my senior year I had regained all my weight and felt great. Right after gradution (2000) I joined the Marine Corps. Made it through boot camp fine. I was in the infantry very very physical. That was fine..for awhile. About a year into it my stomach swelled up and my musles shrank, I was in 29 Palms in the desert in Cali and couldnt drink enough water to get my pee from being really dark. Got sick I tried not to go to sickcall but got sent anyways. After alot of BS I found out why I was getting sicker and weaker. My liver bx looked like my Hep-C had been progessing about 20yrs (my age at the time). I also found out I had graves disease too. I did the year of intreferon (which did’nt work) all the while supposed to have been on light duty I refused and snunked my way back on full duty. It sucked but later I felt strong again but then I had to fight a Med-Sep board just to stay in. When it came time to ready to deploy for the build up to the war I had to fight just to go. I managed to win my case and got to go. Went over and did that for seven months. Came back for six months then I extended and went back over for eight more months. (Still as a Grunt oohraa0311s) This time when we came home I got out almost as soon as we got back. Whenever we trained and when we fought everybody hurt…Everybody got tired I just some times I secretly hurt alittle more. And some times I felt like needed a few more breaths but I always managed to keep up and often surpass the rest. Now that I have been out for a almost two years and quit going and going, its has been really hard for me to get going at all and I am only 25. Looking back I realized before I never took time to stop or acknowledge what I had. But now I have stopped pushing myself and I havent been eating heathly as I did durning that demanding part of my life. I have been feeling dead tired because I quit making myself go.(But not any longer)
For me and probably many others out there diet and shear stubborn pride along with the anger over no more booze can be all the difference in the world. Even if some day I can only do alittle bit at a time, then I will keep doing alittle bit at a time over and over. Just gotta keep going
September 12th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
my d-in law mother has h-cand has been sick for almost 2years she was giving her shots now she says that she is cured i didnt know that they had a cure and i never seen her swolleni did see that she had lrg.cyst on her neck and wieght loss and she does have s- of -the-liverand shes only 47yrs…..my consern is that her sister is very sick and she wants to take care of her theres neddles invouled again she says shes cured ….thank you and be stronge..p.s. i dont spell well neither….
September 26th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
To Everyone
I contracted Hep C in January/1984 through a blood transfusion. In 1995, I was officially diagnose with Hep C. In 1998, I was alpha inferon for 3 wks. and it brought my liver enzemes down from 395 to 158, and I maintain that for 6 years. Although, I do have cirhoses —everyone says how healthy I look. WHAT BROUGHT ME BACK TO MY LIVER DOCTOR was my vasculitis on the bottow of feet (with swollen legs and red spots on my legs–it would come and go. Also I had a low platelette count of 76 (normal is 100-200). Since 1981–because of low blood sugar, I am eaten a diet of no white sugar, no white rice and white bread and no caffeine (and since 1995 (when I was officially dianoses with Hep C—no red meat) Although
September 26th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Hi Everyone My heart goes out to you all. I contracted my Hep C through a blood transfusion in 1984. But no matter how you got it; it is very challenging illness on many levels to live with. I have had success in a short time that I have been taking alpha enterferon and ribavirin—-I won’t say there isn’t any side effects. Some are serious but I am taking meds for it. How ironic –taking more meds to fight side effects of other meds—the cure can be worse than the illness. Go figure. Good News though, there is hope. (And I do know that everyone responds differently.) After 5 months my liver count is normal and the virus is in remission although , I still have to continue taking the treatment for another 7mos. Keep your fingers crossed. Also, I do not eat any white sugar, white rice or white bread and no caffeine and no red meat—no alcohol or cigarettes. Boring, eh :>) It has helped me. People are always saying how healthy I look even though I also have cirrhoses( moderate to severe–but my bile ducts are not blocked so I am not turning yellow). If anyone is interested I will go into more detail of my experiences with the treatment. Trust me I was apprehensive,too–that is saying it mildly. I will check back here in a couple of days to see if anyone wants more information. Also, I am blessed as a Canadian– my treatment is paid for as I am on disability. Unfortunately, it cost $1865 per month. I feel so sad knowing that American’s, even if they are on disabiliy your meds are not paid for. Although, I believe in the nature way— that what keeps me from looking like I don’t have the illness—but because I had develped cirrhoses; I needed to do something. God Bless PS. Did your government give the ones who got their Hep C through a blood transfusion any compensation? That perhaps would help some of you pay for your treatment if you choose to use alpha eninterferon. Take Care.
October 3rd, 2006 at 8:13 am
you make me laugh i’ve got hep c too, right bastad cause found out when i was about 6 months clean still, wasn’t a big shock n could have bin worse I’d just had enough this last time too, stiil reducing on meth and have the nightmares etc but I just can’t be arsed with it all anymore, like you I gues just so fuckin tierd of fighting. Anyway hope you’re still bein gud, take care nice to hear of someone else clean whose not with the god squad as quite frankly I’d rather be dead than live my life “the NA way”, no offence to anyone.
luvnhugz
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:32 am
hi everyone my husband got hep c when he was in the army back in the early 80’s it know has advanced to cirrhois he’s diet has changed which is really good he has been a smoker for many years i know he is having a hard time letting go of cigarrets i told any ideas anyone.
October 4th, 2006 at 11:46 am
>Did your government give the ones who got their Hep C through a blood transfusion any compensation?
In the UK sort of yes. We have the Skipton Fund which makes ex-gratia payments to people with Hep C who have had transfusions before [I think] September 1992. As I understand it you just need to prove that you have hep c, have had a transfusion or blood products and get a Doctor to say that it is probable that you got the hep c from the blood products [i.e. you have no other risk factors].
Skipton Fund details are at http://www.skiptonfund.org/
October 4th, 2006 at 11:51 am
>hard time letting go of cigarrets i told any ideas anyone.
Its very difficult to give up, especially so while on treatment. Many people find the nicotine patches help alot, I have heard many speak highly of the Alan Carr books http://www.allencarrseasyway.com/ and I also know a few people that hypnosis has helped. I suppose that is just a long winded way of saying he *needs* to stop whatever it takes. For someone healthy its a silly thing to do, for us with liver damage it borders on the insane.
Good luck!
October 7th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
I was diagnosed with Hep C in 1999 at that time I went through 9 months of gruelling treatmentl. It went into remission and I haven’t heard from it since. About 4 years ago I was put on cholestrol medication and everything seemed to be going well. For the first 4 years I just popped the pill - the cholestrol dropped, but not until I started a healthy diet and exercise program. My cholestrol reading in May after 4 months of a healthydiet /exercise program dropped to 151 great! My doctor took me off the medication. My idea! Anyway, after being off the medication for 6 weeks my cholestrol jumped to 327. Yikes! I’m just starting to see links between Hep C and cholestrol. One specifically on this website. I’m seeing the doctor in 2 days and although I don’t want to panic, the Hep C treatment is not something I’d look forward to again. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of these two things being linked? Thanks for listen/reading.
October 8th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
thank-you for all your comments , i been diagnosed with hep-c 4weeks ago. my viralload is 4million doctor said it was highest he has ever seen. myalt,ast are 60 little high he schdule for a biospy weeks in two weeks, ihere alot of negative stuff on interferon whats the problem.
October 9th, 2006 at 10:51 am
jUST TO ENCOURAGE YOU LOT OUT THERE. Was diagnosed in 1998 and yes was the worst time of my life. I just couldnt get my head arround it. In December 2003 was put on combination therapy for 6 months. The treatment wasnt nice I have to be honest but oh so worth it. I read further up the page about the person who swore by herbal reamadies and yes each to their own but I dont think that this is something you can mess with,at the end of the day theres a life to live with or without hep but surely its worth going on the treatment its just 6 months out of your life may be longer for some but its not forever and it worth the try. I finished my treatment in july 2004 and have a clean bill of health see SO WORTH IT !!!!!! I can now enjoy watching my Grandaughter grow up in peace.
October 17th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
I was diagnosed 2 years ago. I am mad, sad, angry and everything else you can think of. I had surgery in 1984 and received a blood product to help me stop bleeding. That is where my Hep came from. I tried the Interferon/Ribavarin treatment but my doctor took me off because my blood count kept dropping to critically low levels. When I stopped treatment my viral count was 700,000. 6 months later my viral count went to 1.2 million and now 1 year after treatment it is up to 6.6 million. This is NOT a common occurance. I would still recommend that anyone with Hep C should try the treatment. People are being cured with this treatment. Famous people such as Naomi Judd, Pamela Anderson and Steve Tyler (from Aerosmith) have been through the treatment and have now gone into remission. If you can’t afford the treatment call the manufacturer. In many cases they will pay in full.
My gastroenterologist is sending me to a Hepatology clinic known as one of the top in the country and if they recommend I try the treatment again, I will.
I have decided I am going to manage my disease, not let it manage me. If I can’t be cured then so be it, but until then I am going to fight for my life!
October 18th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
To: MikeSays
The reason people hate Interferon therapy is because it can be truly miserable. This is not always the case. I personally was very ill while on the treatment. 1 shot a week plus 6 pills (ribavarin). The dosage had to be adjusted (for me) because of the side effects. If you have type 2,3, or 4 your chance of success greatly increases. I have type 1 and only about 40% of type 1′rs will be cured. I am not one of the lucky ones. But, I would do it again in a heart beat. Please listen to your doctors advise and dont drink alcohol. Not even a sip! Do not take any medication with acetamenophen (tylenol) it is very very bad for the liver. In fact without the ok from you Gastroenterologist or Hepatologist do not take Rx or over the counter medications for anything. Good luck and listen to your doctor, it may be scary but your not alone! Check out different forums on the WEB and you will see others feel your pain and are willing to listen and share their stories.
December 6th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
I just wanted to say thank you for all the info.
May God bless all of you !!!
December 21st, 2006 at 2:07 am
Hello,
After years of drinking on and off I have finally
stopped but my docter tells me my enzyme tests
have doubled and i probably have alcohol related hepatitis.
I am frightened. I will never drink again.
But I am so worried about the future.
I want to live for my children
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:32 am
>i probably have alcohol related hepatitis.
I know that doesn’t sound the best news but its not bad. Almost always it will go away once you stop drinking, just give your liver a few weeks to settle down, hopefully you will see you enzymes go normal.
January 1st, 2007 at 7:50 pm
my husband has hep-c, he is on medication, but now his stomach is swollen as are his legs and feet, could u please tell me what can be done to get his feet and stomach back to normal. Thank You
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Hi Everyone..it’s Ryan from Albany. I commented on 8/16/06 at 10:39pm that I was just diagnosed and having my biopsey in a few days…WELL; the Biopsey “sucked” big time for me “I just felt very sick/odd physically and was very depressed with this free floating dread like anxiety feeling. THIS WAS JUST MY EXPERIENCE. Well I have later stage 2/2 Geno 1 and I am just waiting for my interferion/Ribavian to come FedX in the mail….God my heart goes in my stomach everytime I see a FedX Truck. Question? I got infected last Christmas and overdosed and died, Got hep C Geno 1 from a friend who used his needle and shot me with straight cocaine..he was hep C, the other friend was doing CPR..I have no memory of this, saw no white light (But I know God could and would if he/she is sought) and due to this lost of oxigen my memoery is horrific.
Finally the question…sorry about my rambleing. Am I getting good treatment? Should my Doctor have had me on treatment BY NOW????? I was in recovery from alcohol and many other drugs (NEVER IV) from 1986 to 10/96 “almost 10 years, worked in the field of CD and mental health. SO, I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY THAT I CHOSE TO DRINK FOR 10 YEARS AND ONE NIGHT WHEN I WAS VERY DRUNK, I HAD SOMEONE SHOOT ME UP..I LOCED IT DID IT FOR A WEEK UNTIL CHRISTMAS WHEN I OVERDOSED….Now I am in recovery and it’s hard as hell, I go to AA and do not feel safe in NA meetings. My symtoms are the following: Nausea, vomiting every morning, extreme fatigue, my joints and muscles ach in the morning ALOT, my vision is blurry and i have chronic prostrate infections IS THAT COOMAN???
I APPRETIATE THIS SITE AND ALL OF YOU..KEEP SOME KIND OF FAITH AND I PROMISE I WILL AND ULTAMITELY BE A MIRICLE!!
****Boy I am such a narasist who can not SPELL
January 4th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Edie, I had edema (constant swelling) in my legs and feet also while on Interferon & Riboviron the first time. Doc said to keep my legs up as much as possible (hard to do when you’re a trainer). Nothing really worked except to wear socks made for diabetics. These include the long tight ones used for circulation (hospitals use the white ones on patients; I found some in black) and also the really loose ankle socks that don’t have elastic at the top. The loose ones are mde of cotton. You can find them at wal-mart in the sock area. I also drank lots of water which eventually helped. Hope this helps! Don’t know about the swelling in the stomach–best talk to a doctor….
January 18th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
I have read a lot of things here and would like to say that I believe/know, it DOES get better. I am a recovering alcoholic, pill taker and cocaine addict. I was clean and sober 9 years and fell off the wagon. I am now clean and sober 8 years-again and life is so much easier sober- no lies to cover up or hide from . Since this last time I have been diagnosed with lung cancer and Hep. C. The Dr.s want me to start Interferon for the Hep.C., but I have been reading about Mesosilver and although it is all natural, it has had some amazing results for people.Go to celloidsforlife.com for more info. It could help with alot of things- addiction being one of them. It has a money back guarantee- so why not try it? I am definitely going to try it before putting any type of poison into my system, again.
January 18th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
To Ryan- I can relate to a lot of what you are feeling. I have been in 2 comas and one of them was due to an overdose of drugs and alcohol. I have almost no memory of even getting to the hospital, let alone being there for over 7 weeks. When I woke up , I could not walk,could not write nor spell nor add and subtract. I couldn’t really do much of anything. Went through intense physical therapy for a year and memory exercises. With the help of therapists, friends and family- I am almost completely back to normal- and NO drugs or alcohol since then. God gave me a 2nd chance so I have to run with it and do my best! My hep.c came from a blood transfusion back in the 90’s- but the alcohol didn’t help. The A.A. and N.A. meetings are a must for at least the 1st 3 months. I did that and got so into recovery, that I haven’t felt the need to return to one[ a meeting] since then. But, do talk openly about your addictions to your friends and it helps immensely. And, do remember your Higher Power- He kept you here for a reason. Good Luck to you and do go to the wesite that I mentioned in above letter. Try the Mesosilver before the Interferon- it’s free.
January 19th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I am wondering why the guy/gal that designed your web page could not put the most recent posts 1st, rather than last. It is just kind of annoying to have to scroll past all the things you’ve already read to get to the new ones. I want to read new ones and not have to go past everything timt and time ,again.
Just sort of a suggestion- no harm intended!!! It’s just good to have a site like this.
January 25th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I have geno type one, fibrosis rating of 3.5. Have not drank in 7 years and recently taken to having about 50mls of cough linctus with opium tincture, as it helps to chill me. I am going to have 2nd biopsy. if the fibrosis is stable then will decide to leave out interferon for a few years till something less debilitating hopefully occurs. will the cough linctus harm the over and damage even more? megan
January 25th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
to Megan,
What is cough linctus and what type of Dr. prescribes this and for what. After 3 car accidents and a bike accident, I have trouble getting comfortable at all- let alone sleep. Of course, the other things don’t help, but it’s like pulling teeth to get pain meds. Have you heard of a silver colloid called Mesosilver- or has anyone? I am considering trying that before I go with the Interferon. Have you taken that? How did it make you feel?
Thanks for any info.
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I have been taking a ginger root supplement to help with my pains. It has many of the same qualities of Tylenol (which we’re not supposed to take) and it does help over time. It’s not instant. I take one every night. I also take a tablespoon of colloidal silver in the morning and evening in water or juice. (There is no aftertaste so it works well in water). It’s not a pain reliever, but is supposed to really help fight hepatitis. I’m also taking interferon shots and riboviron pills (until my blood count gets too low, then I stop for a while). Evidently colloidal silver does have some side-effect, but I have not had any problem with it. If you are interested in more info about colloidal silver or ginger root you can research them on the Web. Good luck.
February 14th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Okay, first of all, many only rely on herbs simply out of fear. Herbs will not cure anyone of HCV. Many herbs are potentially toxic!
HCV does not just infect the liver! Many folks view their disease on the liver alone, but truth is, HCV is found in everything connected to the liver-it is found in the heart, lungs, affects the kidney’s, intestines, skin-and does pass the blood brain barrier. There are many ‘bi directional’ diseases from having HCV.
If one were to view the body as a ball park and you had two teams, the one up to bat is the first HCV batch of virons (infectious blood holds millions of quasispecies). The batch of virons makes a run to second. The second batch of HCV virons is up to bat and makes a home run…you have two sets of genetically changed batch of virons. By the time the third and fourth batch of virons makes it home, a whole new set of virons have hit again…..hence, the never ending chronicity of HCV. The body may of thought it figured out a way to make some outs, but truth is, by the time the body thinks it’s geared up with the correct physically combative infection fighting cells, the new batch has already begun and by now, the game is at a lost. Lot’s of confusion, viron overload…the virons (by now called “quasispecies”) are found in all organs and tissues.
Once the liver is damaged or constantly battling with the idea on how to fight it off, other organs take up the slack, thus, causing the other organs to become overloaded, overworked and this leaves them more succeptable to disease.
For those that are trying this and/or that with herbs, juices, machines, urine therapy, oxygen therapy ect ect ect, they are putting themselves at risk for major health issues and in the last effort,some become seriously ill and some have been known to even die!
For those of you who do not understand that herbs DO NOT CURE HCV, listen up….a virus is much smarter than anything you are doing. The virus is much more capable of herbs or any last ditch effort to cure yourself.
Yes, some things may make one feel better, but by all means, these types of treatments do NOTHING to the virus and given the many bi-directional diseases could even be harmful to any other viable organ working overtime!
On juices: your body will only absorb what is needed. The rest simply goes down the toilet-literally! A person can spend thousands of dollars on any given juice, only to realize that virons are STILL doing damage!
On the “zapper”. This electro-magnetic pulse machine is no more than a ‘tens’ unit, used by chiropractors for joint and bone pain or injury. It is thought of to work at different frequences for certain area’s of the vascular regions, however, don’t you think that if it were a cure for HCV, it would be a cure for EVERYTHING? It’s totally false and just another way for those to make a buck off of someone desperate out of fear of trying antiviral chemotherapy. A person might as well just stick their finger in a light socket, cuz all your doing is wasting energy, wasting money and wasting away….HCV does NOT respond to this contraption! (If this were the case, one good zap on the electric fence years ago, would of cured my hcv!)
On to others: Flushes. Cleanses. Urine therapy and the like, first of all flushing or cleansing is dangerous. It is known to make one feel like shit, by getting rid of shit….thats all it is! Liver stones? NO SUCH THING. Stones reside in the bilary tract, NOT the liver. This happens when the liver is either diseased, or by bad diet, however, if you have HCV and do not know it, even the “GOOD” things in a well balanced meal can cause duct stones, which end up in the gallbladder, which cause a person to have surgery…but the issue is STILL there and STILL going on and STILL damaging the liver and everything else attached to it.
As for urine therapy? OMG! You’ve GOT to be kidding me….first of all, HCV corpuscles found in bodily fluids such as semen, saliva, mucus, tears and urine are NOT transmittable. When you drink your own urine, all your doing is drinking URINE. It will not make you become immune to your own disease which active virons are only found in blood! You might as well inject the urine! At least you will know for sure if it’s working or not! (if you can get out of the bathroom long enough!) for Christ’s sake! Drink WATER!
For mesosilver users? NOT. You more than likely have liver damage and although not toxic under the correct dose, you are setting yourself up to “Color your world” in shades of irreversable GRAYNESS! Yes, that’s right, even healthy subjects who have ingested mesosilver over a long period of time have turned a funky shade of gray! It does not wash off, nor does your normal skin tone ever return to normal.
For those who take Milk Thistle? Again-not a cure. It might bring your ALT and AST levels down-and that is a good thing. It also has anti-inflammatory properties that will aid the liver by helping it filter out the bad stuff. It is also been known to keep cancer cells from developing, but IT Does NOT, repeat NOT cure you, nor affect the ever changing virons from replicating or harming the liver as well as other organs!
What’s left? Mushrooms? Licorice? Many other herbs might be benefitial to those with HCV or any other liver disease, but truth be knownst….it is not a cure and can be dangerous if you do not know how well your blood clotting factor is! These THIN the blood and can actually CAUSE internal bleeding!
Now, with all I’ve discussed with you, HCV Is SERIOUS. It is not something to play around with because, the more you play around with it, the more HCV plays around with you!
Please! Do the right thing! Seek the advice of your liver doctor. Get on treatment-the sooner the better-as with HCV, the sooner you treat, the better chance of a sustained viral response-which is now considered a CURE if you remain as such beyond a years post treatment!
I cannot stress this enough: There are side effects to EVERYTHING, but the outcome far exceeds which ever type of treatment you decide apon!
Antiviral Chemotherapy? 88% combined genotypes are CURED
Herbs/other treatments? 0%
Margine of error: 15%-given the fact that some acutally have the correct body chemestry to fight off HCV with the natural aspects of their lucky soul! (these types who can fight it off, some think herbs/other means cured them, but truth be known is their bodies did it, whether or not they tried herbs or any money making “cure all”.
Sincerely!
Stephanie Schultz age 40
HCV-undetected 5 years
Genotype 2b
Years of Infection: about 27
Treatments tried and failed? anything herbal
Treatment tried successfully-alpha interferon 2b, ribavirin and amantadine.
RISS-Hepatitis C-Objectives
p.s. it took me a long long time to get someone to listen that there was something wrong. i tried many things besides all the antidepressants and one was milk thistle, others were megavitamins and a couple of others- i feared many things, but once diagnosed, i hopped on the chemo wagon….hcv no more!
for anyone who says that herbs cured them, how come no one ever shows proof? ( i dont want to hear about alt and ast levels either…that is not the viron activity level!)
p.s. hcv boy…great blog!!! how are you and have tried treatment…? sorry if you’ve stated as such, i still have irreversable brain fog from 26 years worth of chemo….or wait, is that 27 years? see! me too! HUGS!
February 14th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
p.s.! i goofed! i meant to say at the end, about 27 years of hcv-NOT chemo!
damned brain fog! lol
February 21st, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH HEP C ABOUT 8 YEARS AGO. DUE TO MY PROLONGED FIGHT AGAINST SEVERE DRUG ADDICTION, I HAVE LEFT MY HEP C UNTREATED, AND REALLY UNDIAGNOSED. I DON’T KNOW ANY OF MY COUNTS, ALTHOUGH I DO KNOW THAT WHEN I HAVE HAD BLOOD TESTS FOR DIFFERENT DETOX REHABS AND THINGS, I WAS TOLD MY COUNT WAS HIGH, AND EACH TIME I WAS TOLD IT HAD RISEN FROM THE PREVIOUS TIME. I WANT TO HAVE THE PROPER TESTS DONE, AND BEGIN TREATMENT, BUT I HAVE NO INSURANCE, AND DON’T EVEN BEGIN TO KNOW WERE TO SEEK HELP. I AM ALWAYS TIRED. I NEVER KNEW IF IT WAS ALL OF THE PAST DRUGS I TOOK–ACID, E-PILLS, KETAMINE, SHROOMS, MESCULINE, PILLS, ALOT OF CRYSTAL METH, ALCOHOL, AND ANYTHING ELSE I COULD GET AHOLD OF AND TAKE IN COMBINATION WITH ONE ANOTHER, OR THE DRUGS I WAS CURRENTLY TAKING– HEROIN, PILLS, COCAIN, ALCOHOL, AND WEED. THEN I FINALLY, AFTER TRYING MANY DIFFERENT THINGS, I GOT ON METHADONE, AND AFTER FIVE YEARS OF STILL USING DRUGS ON TOP OF METHADONE, SOME THINGS CHANGED IN MY LIFE AND I GOT CLEAN. I AM STILL ON METHADONE, AND I SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION. I OVERDOSED MANY TIMES, AND HAVE BEEN IN EVERY HOSPITAL IN THE CITY I USED TO LIVE IN. I AM FINALLY ADDRESSING MY HEALTH PROBLEMS, AND I AM FINDING MANY. I HAVE WEIRD LARGE RED SPLOTCHES ON MY FEET, MY KIDNEYS HURT VERY BAD, ALL THE TIME, I HAVE AROUND 20 GULL STONES, AND MANY OTHER URINARY PROBLEMS. I AM RAMBLING, SO I WILL TRY TO WRAP IT UP. I AM JUST CURIOUS IF ANYONE KNOWS WERE SOMEONE CAN SEARCH FOR REAL HELP, WITHOUT INSURANCE. I HAVE TRIED THE NORMAL OUTLETS AND HAVE ONLY FOUND TRIALS FOR CERTAIN PEOPLE, AND PLACES THAT REQUIRE YOU TO TRAVEL A GREAT DISTANCE, EVERY DAY. PART OF MY RECOVERY HAS BEEN A CAREER, AND COMMITTING EVERY DAY IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME. I ALSO WANTED TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW MUCH OF MY LACK OF ENERGY IS FROM MY HEP C, AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS FROM MY PAST HISTORY OF DRUG ABUSE, AND DEPRESSION. I ALSO WANTED TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE WITH A MULTIPLE DIAGNOSIS LIKE ME—ADDICTION, DEPRESSION, AND HEP C, AND HOW THEY HAVE DEALT WITH THIS, OR ARE CURRENTLY DEALING WITH IT. MY LAST QUESTION IS REGARDING HAVING KIDS. I AM STILL RELATIVELY YOUNG. I GOT STARTED IN DRUGS VERY EARLY, AND LIVED THROUGH SO MANY THINGS IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. SOMEHOW I AM STILL ALIVE AND I HOPE TO HAVE A SOMEWHAT “NORMAL” LIFE. I LOVE KIDS, AND HOPE TO HAVE THEM IN THE HOPEFULLY NEAR FUTURE. I SEEM TO KEEP READING CONFLICTING THINGS ABOUT PASSING HEP C ON TO YOUR KIDS. COULD SOMEONE GIVE ME INFORMATION ON WHAT THE CHANCES OF ME TRANSMITTING HEP C TO MY KID WOULD BE, WHAT THE CHANCE OF TRANSMITTING HEP C TO MY KID IS IF MY GIRLFRIEND AND I ARE POSITIVE FOR HEP C, AND WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF TRANSMITTING HEP C TO MY KID WOULD BE IF MY GIRLFRIEND AND I RECEIVED TREATMENT AND IT WORKED, OR IF IT WORKED FOR ONLY ME OR ONLY FOR HER????
I’M SORRY I WROTE SO MUCH, AND ASKED SO MANY QUESTIONS. I’M TRYING TO LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN, HOPEFULLY, SUCCESSFULLY TREAT THIS DISEASE WITH THE BEST TREATMENT OPTION FOR ME, AT THIS TIME IN MY LIFE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND ANY HELP ANYONE CAN PROVIDE.
February 21st, 2007 at 4:54 pm
FOR ANYONE READING MY LAST POST, I APOLOGIZE FOR ALL OF THE RUN ON SENTENCES, GRAMMER MISTAKES, AND MISSPELLING. IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE SEVERAL BAD SPELLERS WHO POST HERE, SO HOPEFULLY MY MISTAKES WILL JUST BE IGNORED. I TEND TO RAMBLE THESE DAYS, AND OCCASIONALLY MY SENTENCES WILL JUST RUN ON AND ON. I NORMALLY PROOF READ, AND CORRECT MY MISTAKES, BUT I HAVE BEEN ON THE COMPUTER FOR FAR TO LONG, AND SIMPLY DIDN’T FELL LIKE IT.
THANKS AGAIN FOR ANYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE A SUGGESTION FOR ME, OR POSSIBLY AN ANSWER TO ONE OF MY MANY QUESTIONS. GOOD LUCK TO ANYONE ELSE WHO IS JUST READING AND IS SUFFERING FROM ANYTHING THAT I WROTE ABOUT—–IF I CAN GET CLEAN OFF DRUGS, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
February 24th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
I have been Hep C positive for 32-34 years and I had a liver biopsy twice: in late 1977, which showed some scarring and some kind of “chronic persisting hepatitis, not A, not B”. My second biopsy in late 2004 which showed stage 3 cirrosis. Much of my life (1978 to 2002) I have found with a healthy diet - not too much simple carbohydrates, not too much fat, and no alcohol or tobacco - then I have sufficient energy most of the time. I had interferon/rebavirin in 2003, which howed ‘undetectable” at the end of treatment but a relapse after a few weeks.
I’ve felt worse, much worse after the treatment and my viral load has gone from low (about 200,000) pre-treatment to high (over 3,000,000) since the treatment. I have also become depressed mentally for the first time in my life. I kept getting worse, then I tried colloidal silver. I felt much better for several months, but when I stopped taking the silver, the symtoms of severe fatigue and headaches got really bad. I have serious pain in my side now, I’m going to see a doctor about it.
Colloidal Silver has been shown in the lab (University of Texas, Pennsylvania State University studies) to coat retro-viruses and prevent them from atttaching to a living cell, and seemed to help my body reduce the viral load. But when I stopped taking it after 10 months, the virus must have multiplied rapidly, and I felt terrible again. People shouldn’t write Colloidal Silver off 100%, neither should they consider it a cure.
March 3rd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
hello room well I am on treatment interferon and rierviron sorry about the spelling my mind is all over the place, well treatment is not nice but you have to do it well I am like a bull anger all the time feel depressed like I want to kill myself 24/7 but tell the doctor they will stop treatment what does a man do any folks all take care and I am praying for you all x
March 5th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Just an update……I had been seeing a gastroenterologist. He started me on Interferon/Riboviron treatment early in 2006. After six months, my viral load was down from 5 million to 55,000. He planned to put me back on treatment for another 3 months, but was unable to do so because my blood levels were very low. Then, his nurse (wife) basically took over the HepC patients and every time I went to see her, she had another thing for me to do: Take iron pills, rub myself with lotion to stop the itching, wear a mask to keep from catching anything, etc. Never got much help from her. She planned to put me back on interferon/riboviron but I could not get in to see her (she was on vacation). The doctor wouldn’t put me back on without her okay. Strange huh? Anyway, I decided to see a specialist in hepatology instead of going back to her. The new specialist looked at my records and straightout told me that my treatment failed. I was not a zero by the end of the first three months nor the end of the second three months. Therefore, I was in the 50% that would not ever get rid the virus with that treatment. He also said it would be probably 2009 before another treatment was approved by the FDA to treat HepC. I am “stable” right now. Blood tests show elevated enzymes, lw albumin, etc. Nothing that was unexpected. As long as I stay “stable” I’ll get retested every two months. I really have no other choices but to continue taking care of myself to stay stable — eat right, exercise, etc. The good news is that the new doctor told me that lots of people in my condition can live to a ripe old age. Being off the interferon/riboviron I feel so much better! My life is beginning to return to “normal”.
March 12th, 2007 at 1:05 am
TO STRANGE
I just wanted to say I had read your post. I was touched by your history and how after all that trouble you had somehow managed to get clean. You must keep at it. After you have stayed off drugs for long enough people can start taking you seriously. All your dreams are still possible. But you can’t solve every problem you’ve got overnight. Stay clean. You will be amazed how over time many other things will take care of themselves. Barney
March 19th, 2007 at 6:09 am
I was diagnosed with Hepatitus c . geno type 1b 6 mths ago …spent 6 months in total denial .It seems that my viral count is 31.10000 ..my doctor is not giving me answers other then I must recieve treatment right away . Is this viral count high ? Haven’t been to a liver specialist but am going shortly . I am scared to death of the side effects of the meds .Who will take care of my children ? I was scared that I passed the virus to my kids .They are negative . I am not feeling god these days .In fact I am depressed . I spent the last 7 yrs going to doctors ,feeling sic .Fatigue ,achy bones ,painful bowel movements and headaches . They said I was arthritic and depressed . I am a single mom to 2 teenage girls and feel my life has come to an end . I have isolated myself from my friends and family .For fear of rejection and fatigue . Its bad some days I can’t get out of bed . The irony is I was married to an alcoholic and haven’t drank much in 16 yrs . I was heavy duty into drugs and stopped doing those in the 80s .I have probably had the virus that long . I won’t bore you with my war stories . We all seem to have them . I am very touched by the fight I have read here .My heart aches for all of us . I want to know how to get through each and everyday . I read all your postings but I feel stuck in a huge black cloud …somedays I just want to give up . When people say I look great ,I want to scream I am sic really sic . I won’t tell anyone . How do u deal with the lack of physical contact …I so want to be touched and loved . Of course this is not an option .I have a virus that can kill you . How do u deny that . How do u tell people that . This is the first time I have actually told anyone that .Thankyou for listening . A.NYC
April 6th, 2007 at 8:18 am
my boyfriends x girlfriend found out she had it and I just found out this morning I have had unprotected sex with my boyfriend and he thinks he might have it.I’m scared but I need to find out but do you think there is a good chance I have it god I hope not.
April 10th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Hello,
Husband has hep c and liver cancer so no treatment is available, he drinks all the time and has given up….I know no one else in our situation and feed back would be greatly appreciated…..He has known about the hep c for 10 years but the cancer was just diagnosed in Nov 2006, he has taken a mixture of vitiams for years and I believe they have helped keep him as healthy as he was for so long…..Lately he has lost alot of weight, sleeps all the time, and isn’t eating….2 weeks ago he started bleedy internally and had to have the blood(4 litres) removed from his stomach, he is home again and back to his bad habits….I fear he has little time left…Any suggestions….Thanks for listening
April 10th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND THE THIS SITE. THERE ARE LOTS OF US WITH THIS VIRUS,AND THEY NEED TO KNOW THAT,THEY ARE NOT ALONE.GOD US ALL.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
i have just read this entire site on hep c. i give everyone credit who has tried one form or another to fight this horrible disease. i am also diagnosed with hep c. no i don’t drink alcohol, nor do i take drugs. a man i was involved with for 3 years kept his secret silent until i ask him on day, why he was so yellow looking? he confessed and told me that he had hep c. yes i was very angry at him but i also am angry with myself for not asking him to get tested for any stds or any other health issues. all i suggest to anyone out there getting invoved with someone, do not hesitate to ask that person to do a complete blood work for stds and anything else. you’re putting yourself at risk and others. God bless all of you and keep the faith.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
SURVIVORS:
MY BOYFRIEND GOT REAL SICK 2 WEEKS AGO AND WE THOUGHT HE HAD THE FLU..AFTER SO MANY DAYS OF FEVER AND SWEATS AND CHILLS I FINALLY MADE HIM GO TO HOSPITAL..WELL SHOCK IS NOT THE WORD WHEN WE FOUND OUT HE HAD ELEVATED LIVER ENZYMES POSSIBLY CANCER AND HEP C…SO WE WENT TO ANOTHER HOSPITAL THEY SAID NO HEP C BUT ELEVATED LIVER ENZYMES NO CANCER..I WENT TO MY DOC AND SHE DID THE FIRST TEST ON ME SHE SAID I HAVE HEP C BUT SHE IS TAKING MORE BLOOD TO SEE IF I HAVE IT I DONT UNDERSTAND..CONFUSED AND LIVING IN A DAZE ..WHAT IS A HEALTHY DIET FOR HEP C ..AND DOES SMOKING WEED MAKE IT WORSE..
April 26th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I have hep c and will start on meds interferon and ribaviron plus some new med that a pharmaceutical company is trying out. I am afraid of the side effects the meds will have on me but, I have no choice so I’m going to give it a try and hope that I don’t get to sick. I have a grandchild and a teenager so I got to keep going and try this treatment out. It has been a shock to find out about this since I probably got it over 30 years ago when I messed around with drugs as a teenager. Boy, was I stupid as a kid thought I knew it all. Anyway, I wish and pray the best for everyone who is ill.
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June 22nd, 2007 at 11:14 am
Did Naomi Judd take interferon, or did she do the homeopathic treatment?
July 1st, 2007 at 3:38 am
i was diao with hep c 2002 and now 2007 its gone my doctor
told me 10 to 20% just cure it on thier own.so have faith
July 1st, 2007 at 3:41 am
i was diao with hep c 2002 and now 2007 its gone my doctor
told me 10 to 20% just cure it on thier own.so have faith
thanks
July 1st, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Hi, just found your web site while looking for something else. Read a few letters and thought I’d put my two cents worth in. I have hep c too. The bad kind, ( not that theres a good kind). I was diagnosed about ten years ago but am pretty sure I’ve had it for about 20 yrs. About five years ago I went to see the doctor cause I was feeling pretty bad. They did a biopsy and said my liver was really scarred and that I need to start the treatment they had , you know pills every day and one shot a week. Well I tried it for about 3 or 4 months and I just got so sick they had to take me off cause my viral load only came down to 750.000 after being way up and I mean way up in the millions. But it was destroying my white cells to bad so i couldn’t stay on it, which by that time was OK with me I was soooo sick. So I went back to work, but I knew I was going to have to do something so I did a little research. Now I know you don’t have any faith in the homopathic meds, neither did I ,but what did I have to lose? I am taking milk thistle. liver aid (you can get at any pharm) and on line I found where the were doing trial tests in san diago for this stuff call HO9. Its from Japan and you need a rx there but here you can get it on line, and K52. I’ve been taking this stuff for about a year now and feel great. My viral load is down to 265,000. I don’t own stock in any of this stuff so this is not a con. I just know that its working for me. May be some of you shoud give it a try. If you would like to talk with me about this, I would be happy to help you out. Theres more pills I take to help with what my liver needs help with, but this is alread longer then I intended.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:46 am
PL EASE SOMEONE UNDERSTAND, I HAVE HAD HEP C TWENTY YEARS DRUG USE IN THE SEVENTIES. I CHANGED MY LIFE I HAVE HID ALL OF THESE THINGS FROM EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY THE HEPC. IM MARRIED RECENTLY 5 YEARS, TO A BI-POPLAR MAN. SO THAT SAYS IT ALL. I DONT DO DRUGS FOR ALEAST 15 YEARS. BUT I DO HAVE TO SMOKE BOTH TO MAKE A ANOTHER DAY. I SWEAT ALL THE TIME, I DONT GET OUT ONLY TO WORK. WILL TALK MORE LATER, ANYONE LIKE ME?
July 30th, 2007 at 9:28 am
susan,
i am interested in finding out more about the things you are doing to improve your health. i’ve had hep c for 33 years and finished one tx for geno type one and the virus was dead during tx but came back like wildfire afterwards. i don’t want to do another tx.
thanks,
turns……….
September 22nd, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I went to the doctor yesterday and my AST AND ALT numbers were 139 and 140 the day before I had severe stomach pains that had me unable to stand it lasted about 1 hour and the pain went away. I have never used drug but I took care of my mother who had hep c and I gave her CPR when I found her unreponsive. My question is if I don’t do drugs and it has been 5 years since my mothers death could I have contracted hep c because of the CPR any reply would be appriciated.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:36 pm
what do you do for the pain my bones hurt my skin, head to toe no one has answers for the PAIN I want my life back after being told i had hepitis c my insurance ran out…………..HELP
October 27th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
someone very special to me has hep c geno typ 1 his insurance wont pay for the meds he needs and the hospitals around here won’t help does anyone out there know how i can or where i can go to get him the help he needs to get him the meds he needs
October 29th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I have known that i had hep c for 4 years, at that time I opted not to do the treatment. Another biop on Sept.12 this year, says I have stage 3 cerosis.
October 29th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
now what?
December 2nd, 2007 at 4:02 pm
hi i donated blood to the red cross. a letter was sent to me informing me that hep c was found in my blood this happened in sept 07 I just had biopsy to see how far along it is [ doctor says it is hep c type 2 ] i was glad to read many other people’s yea’s and na’s about herb versus the shot and pills with all the side effects not sure what i will do next but i will reply to this site again to let you know how i am doing ps give blood it may help you more than you think
December 10th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
On Pegalated Interfureon and Ribavirin along with a side order of Procrit and Neupogen and I wash it all down with a daily dose of Paxil. Yummy! The treatment is working but it has so far been an 18 week long execution. This shit really sucks the large dark one. Dont really know how long I can continue…..
December 12th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I was donating plasma when I got the dreaded certified mail from the bio. I went to the Dr. got tested and sure enough I was positive. Luckily I was clean and sober for 5 years, I have no symptoms. The last blood work I had done revealed my blood was even better than before. My Dr. said 15% have acute hep c which can go away on its own as long as we stay healthy. I replaced my old bad habits by working out all the time and eating healthy. I believe mine is disappearing! There is hope! Become health fanatics!
December 16th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
My ex-husband has hepitatis C, when he was fist diagnozed, I did not have hep. C. What is the chances for a person to catch hep. c sexually?
December 16th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
My ex-husband has hepitatis C, when he was fist diagnozed, I did not have hep. C. What is the chances for a person to catch hep. c sexually?
December 17th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Only if there is blood to blood. That includes that special time of the month. Get tested ASAP
January 1st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Is it against the law to tell other people that someone you know has Hep C? The person in queston has been doing alot of cocaine with other people and I am afraid for them. Am I legally allowed to tell other people whom I know he has had contact with about his Hep C? I live in the state of Illinois.
January 27th, 2008 at 6:39 am
after all the bullshit with insurance company they have agreed to pay start my shit on feb 8th i want to thank tshooter for the encouragement for the next six month also to bria tell everybody about this person
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I was diagnosed with hep c a year and a half ago. I am a Viet nam vet and have had several blood transfusions while serving in the Navy due to surgery. I work 80 hours a week at my own biz and really cant tell if my being tired is due to my sick liver or my 80 hours a week. I was offered tx by the VA but said no thanx since the cure seemed worse then the bug. But I am starting to get lots more fatigue and was wondering if maybe it’s time to call it quits and file for miliatry ( service related) disability from the obvious way I contracted it since I did no IV drugs, stopped dringing 12 years ago and live a quite life style. The more red meat I eat the better I feel. The more potatoes and pasta I eat the worse I feel. Other than that I stay on the lookout for yellow eye balls everymorning…bt thats’ about it. I am having way to much fun at the type of work I do ( I get paid for doing what I love to do) I live in constant stress….continious….constant and sometimes numbing stress….but after it’s all said and done…I jusy go about my business and keep on pluging along one day at a time. And..I really love it! I absolutely love life…don’t want to die before I finish my 4th and last book but I can’t help but feel that there is going to be a nasty end to all this..and I can’t quite explane it.
Any advice? I also here that there may be 30% of Viet Nam vet walking around with this dang bug undiagnosed from either blood transfusions or boot camp/ basis traning air gun inoculations.
I have also heard that they have found a cure here is the link…it’s a new protene tx http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226225538.htm
anyone aware of this new tx and when the FDA is going to start human trials?
March 2nd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Opps…almost forgot why I came here…whats all the hype with this clooiodal silver juice…is this just another snake oil or is there some science behind it?
March 11th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Greetings fellow HepC friends. Discovered this site tonight and would like the indulgence of posting my thoughts.
I was given hepc by a genorous (glad we are admitting to poor spelling)friend during a brief wild time as a 18 year old. I am now 52 and have had treatment two years ago which was not successful. In some ways I could have done without the diagnosis - rather be a person getting on with life …etc..etc
However I feel strongly that I am a person who happens to have hepc - I’m not a hepc person. I’ve met people who define themselves firstly by their condition as the main part of their identity and I refuse to do this.
I do however worry now about my energy level - I still drink too much - seem to have poor attention span at times.
Considering having another go at treatment or pursuing some alternative remedies. Most of us won’t die from hepc - but it is a drag and I regulary feel very depressed.
So - thanks for allowing me to make my contribution - take care.
JohnnyC
March 16th, 2008 at 12:28 am
How can Hep C affect a person in their career field? There is a chance that I might have Hep C and I am interested in becoming an RN in the next few years and someone told me I cant if i do have the disease.
The reason i’m not sure if I have it is because I keep having different results in my tests. One comes up negative and one comes up positive and so on.
My ex fiance has it (from a blood transfusion when he was a baby) and he went through the therapy for it and is fine now from what the dr is saying. But I am worried that this will affect my entire future. I am a single mother of two children and I am convinced that the medical career would be the best way for me to provide a stable future for my children. Without this I’m not really sure what to do! I will be working 2 full time jobs and going to school all while taking care of my two young children.
My aunt is a nurse and i’m afraid to ask her. My family is extremely judgmental and if i tell them they will Kick me out of the family. They already judge me because I suffer from “major depression disorder” (as the dr called it) I have never taken drugs (other than what a dr has given me) and I dont really drink alcohol much.
I know i’m not the healthiest person in the world but I try to take care of myself.
I did not think I had any symptoms but after reading some of the comments above I realize that I might…. People keep talking about their feet swelling….Well..I’m not sure if this is related but my back swells up really bad causing horrible pain and the dr cant figure out why. I have lost a very large amount of weight (although i have managed to stay at a steady weight for the last 5 months), I rarely have energy (but that could be from working and taking care of kids 24/7) SEE HOW THIS CAN BE CONFUSING FOR ME????
If i do have it I dont want my kids to be scared. Part of me doesnt want to tell ANYONE. can i go through life and keep this a secret? The only person who knows is my ex fiance (who I am still kinda seeing)
But my major question is about the career stuff….
What career fields can a person with Hep C NOT work in?????????
March 16th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Ok…After a few hours of searching on the internet I found a website that can answer my question…But the new question is…..is the answer the right answer?????
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=276837
March 21st, 2008 at 10:43 am
Treatments did not work for my Hep C. No more treatments unless something new come up that is approved for someone like me — probably won’t happen any time soon. In the mean, since I also have chirrosis that is in its late stages, I went through the evaluation to become a liver transplant recipient. I came through okay and am now on the transplant list. (Seems my body is in great shape except for my liver & blood).
Anyway, now I wait. I can receive a liver from a person (dead of course) who has mild HepC. This is because my Hep C will never go away, even if I get the liver from someone who is not HepC+. Why waste a good liver? People who are not HepC+ will not receive a HepC+ liver.
Life goes on. Trying to stay in good spirits and health.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
it’s true hep c is not a death sentence, i got it 20 years ago when i was on drugs had the treatment 3 years ago, a couple of days a week feel like big hangover, but then feel better until next injection, only 24 weeks, soon goes. i did treatment while looking after my three children and completing a access to higher education course at college ( single parent ) it was hard but doable. i am so happy now, do not think about death and leaving my children all the time like i did before, i’m very happy. now go to work, am going on holiday in june, life is good. it can be like that for all of you, just try to be positive, and be lucky
April 8th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
im 23 i was diagnosed with hep c almost one year ago. i had no idea what the disese was. i went to the doctor to get my thyriod check and they found it when they took a blood sample. ive never done drugs or had any transfusion so i really dont know how i got the disese. i have a had multiple sex partners so maybe thats how i got who knows. i was devestated at first but then learned that there are treatable cures for people who catch it in an early stage.ive been on infergin for 8 months now and have been virus free for 4 months so the treaments are workin, im just glad i have insurance bc im costing my insurance company about 5 k a month with my medicine and doc appt, and it only cost me about 250 out of my pocket. there are tremendous side effects that comes with the drugs they put u on, my worst was te body aches my doc would only give me tramadol for the pain which absolutley sucks so he recomoned me a pain doc and now im prescribed to a low dose of hydrocodiene. i can take this bc my liver is perfectly fine and i dont abuse it, it helps me out alot bc im in alot of pain sometimes…. but anyways im going to stop mumbling and close this out…all u people out there dont give up and dont be scared to do treatment, u will die alot faster if u dont, and dont believe in that herbal bullshit it will not work good luck to all u out there……if anyone has ?s feel free to email me Jwarforda@aol.com
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I have been clean off heroin for 11 monthes. About 1 month after me and my boyfriend quit using he got tested for hep c and he was ok. 1 week ago a old using budy told me everyone I used with has hep c. I had assumed since my boyfriend was tested and we always shared the same needles we would be ok. We barly shared needles with anyone else and when we did so we used bleach. However latly I have no energy low grade fevers constantly and daily headaches are these symptoms? I am so scared to get checked.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Hello All:
I came across this site, because I have heard so many pros/cons about taking the drugs for HepC.
I have had the virus since 1984 when I had gotten into a car accident and had two blood transfusions. I found out about having the virus when I went into the doc’s for bloodwork for bad headaches. I have waited since then to go on the drug for this, due to feeling so poorly and knowing that it was time to get on the treatment.
I started ribiviron and interferon around four months ago (five pills a day and one shot a week–I picked Wednesday for shot day. I have good days and bad, but when I drink lots of fluids (mainly lots of water–it flushes the drug out), my side effects subside and I’m okay. I’ve always been very athletic and tried to eat healthy, but like the sweets and some fast foods. The doc told me that I have one of the best genotypes, which probably has helped me with taking the drugs, but always seems like I have a small case of the flu. I’m hanging in there and know that there are better days ahead for me, and know that God is watching over me.
Prior to getting on the drug treatment, I was married and should had used his insurance for the treatment, because I knew that it was very expensive and I wouldn’t have had pay any money out of pocket, due to him being in the military. We were divorced and I had gotten another job with BCBS coverage. I checked into the copay for the drug treatment and it would have been very expensive and wouldn’t be able to afford it being a single parent with mortgage payment and other bills. My friend had been on this treatment before and she went through the drug company on the Patient Assistance Program. I called two drug companies that has these drugs and they both accepted me. I decided to go with Roche, because they have the newer drugs. I have to tell you that even though I have insurance and make a descent living, I don’t have to pay anything and the drug company ships the drug to me overnight free of charge. So all you have to do is call Roche at 866-247-5084 and have them fill out the paperwork to see if you qualify for the drug treatment and more than likely, you will. I did have to have my gastroentrologist call and give Roche the prescription for this treatment. If you can’t afford a doctor, go to your nearest free Health Clinic and have the doctor prescribe the drug for you. Roche is very helpful in letting you know what your steps are. The drug companies are always there for people that can’t afford these drugs. It’s amazing the help that’s out there and people don’t have a clue.
My last doctor’s appointment, which was three month’s on the treatment, the doc said that my virus is undetectable, which was outstanding news, but he wants me to stay on the treatment for another three month’s for good measure. I’ve heard that the virus can come back faster after you go off of the drug and you haven’t killed all of the virus. So another three month’s isn’t so bad, knowing that it’s better than having the virus for the rest of my life and possibley not being able to see my daughter grow up.
So for those of you who feel that there’s no help for this, there is. If you haven’t gone forward with the treatment, please take care of this as soon as you can, because it will eat at you up physically and mentally.
Take care of yourselves!
Lady in Florida
July 30th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I have been on Interferon and Riba for a bit over 3 months (3 months and a week). My doctor told me last week that I am ‘undetectable’, which was great news, however, now my challenge will be continuing with this medication. I am in a 12 step program and have been for 5 years, so thank God I have the tools of that program to deal with this Hep C ’stuff’. I am trying to take this thing “One Day at a Time”. My biggest issue right now is that I keep getting puffy and itchy around the eyes, some type of minor infection I guess. That’s really embarrasing. I’m trying to keep the Hand Sanitizer at my fingertips at all times, but right now, I’m trying to stay away from anyone and everyone who even has the common cold. Also, did anyone else’s white blood cell count decrease (drastically) as mine has? Feel free to email me at allysene@hotmail.com
August 5th, 2008 at 3:19 am
I was diagnosed with hep c in 2006. I am in the armed forces and me and my friends went and got a tattoo in 2003. I did not find out I got hep c from my tattoo let alone know i had it until 2006. I underwent treatment from 06-07. I am overseas now, but I did not stay below the radar, My hep c is now increasing again in viral load, has this ever happend to anyone else and if so do you have to go through treatment again? I dont know what to do and the doctors here have no experience dealing with hep c so they dont know what to do either. Please help me. I am so alone.
Angie
August 27th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
HEY EVERYONE. NEW TO THIS SITE. WAS AWARE I HAVE HEP C SINCE LAST APRIL. DID THE TREATMENT. DID NOT WORK.
NOW MY KIDNEYS ARE KICKING MY BEHIND, MY FEET HURT AND THE HEADAKES ARE BEYOND BELIEF.
DOES ANYONE ELES SUFER FROM ANY OF THIS? MY WORST PAIN IS THE KIDNEYS, SO CAN HEP C BE THE PROBLEM.
September 1st, 2008 at 6:11 pm
finished my treatment july 24th got a clean bill of health. to answer miss m’s question yes my kidney hurt like hell during the treatment my pain is slowly going away but i have had kidney infections all my life
September 6th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
THANKS FOR THE REPLY YAVO. I AM SO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE. I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK I WAS LOSING MY MIND. NOT FEELING GOOD,BEING TIRED,ALL THE OTHER CRAP THAT GOES WITH THIS HEP. BUT I SEE THAT IT IS ALL PART OF HAVING IT. IT IS NICE TO KNOW THAT ONE IS NOT ALONE WITH THIS. AND FOLKS WHO DO NOT HAVE IT JUST DONT QUITE GET WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM.
I WILL BE EITHER TRYOING SOME NEW TREATMENT IN BOSTON AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR OR WILL BE GOING BACK ON INTERFERON AND THE PILLS. O YIPPIE!!!!!! IT WAS BAD THE FIRST TIME BUT I THINK IT MIGHT BE EVEN HARDER THE SECOND TIME BECAUSE I KNOW HOW BADLY IT MAKES YOU FEE. THANKS FOR LISTENING TO MY BANTER. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I have hepetitis c for 28 years blood transfusion, i cannot do treament because im not a good candidate. i have other very serious medical stuff to, I just want to know if im in the accute stage how long i have to live, i say a year or two am i wrong all my other meds hurt the liver as well.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
I have always suffered a wopper from my mistakes, but I do say that this is a really bad one. I too am diagnosed with hep c and cirrosis and my treatments are not getting better. At first i was so depressed because i had just passed a written test that i had put my all in. But i did not pass my medical exam test that would have been my ticket to become a successful person. You see i have allways been a f–k -up. I did a decent job raising my son and I did get married to a wonderful man after my son graduated, I raised him alone with nooo man around and no relationships. My husband and i quit drinking 2 years befor I got married. 2 weeks befor takeing my med. exam i was hospitalized and diagnosed with hep c that I didn’t know that i had for about 15 years and because I drank alot I was also diagnosed with cirrosis. Wow! what a mind-f–k.
Anyway, I didn’t pass the hep c treatment and yes I feel the symptons of pain, itchy hands swelled anckles and legs, yellow eyes and skin and dark urine and being so tired was really hard to handle because I have always been an up person. I was so depressed at first not because i have what i have but because I have always messed up in life no-one to blame but my self. I can feel my death comming already and have accepted this in my life. so I am now preparing all that needs to be done befor I am gone. I am a strong positive humerous woman so this helps me cope with my life as is right now. I believe that God has a reason for all that happens to us and my message to all that reads this is, “Don’t blamed others for your mistakes, Don’t feel sorry for yourself, keep your head up and share your experience of haveing hep c and or cirrosis with others,”. And for those that over come your illness take-care of yourself. And for those that are not going to over come your illness, well then, forgive those you hurt in life, forgive those that hurt you and ask God to forgive you for hurting him and for hurting yourself. Smile laugh and be strong. After all we are going to a wonderful place with God and You will definetly be in good hands.
Take-Care!
Lori-Ann
August 15th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I was diagnosed with hep c and b last year, it has hit me soo hard just to find out , the doctor says i\’ts not active ???????????? but my feet hurt too ??? and i\’m having night swats ???? I\’m so depressed that I don\’t even want to go out of my house any more, I mean at all for a year already . the side of my liver hurts ?? 2 months ago i had to be rushed to the hospital and was was diagnosed with colitis just to add to my life sentence, I think i should be in some caine of treatment right????? I\’m soo afraid and at the same time I cant tell my family , please help ???
Best regards
Christy
August 16th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
well what do you guys think , i was told that in south america people cure there hep with CIMARRON leaves and AZAFRAN and PANELA ,has anyone know about this ?????? several people has told me they were at there death beds and they have being cure with this
please w/b soon
do you guys don\’t check this site anymore ???
a my just wasting my time writing ??? hope not, i need help
thanks
christy
October 13th, 2009 at 6:34 am
i got in a fight with someone with hep c ,could i have caught it from a punch in the face? or a bloody fist.
September 9th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
A HEPBOY I HAD HEP C & SIRROUS SINCE THE LATE 80′S AND JUST NOW FEELING AND SEEING SOME SIDE EFECTS THE SWOLLAN, ANKLES,STOMAC,FATIGUE THROUGH THE CORSE OF DAY AND BODY EAKS. THROUGH THIS TIME TO CURRENT I BATTLED ADDICTION,AND CURRENTLY LIVING SOBER FOR PAST 5 YEARS +.A HEP DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT GET SOME GOOD ADVISE.LIVE LIFE & HAVE FUN ECUSE MY SPELLING. . GOOD LUCK HEP. SONNY
February 4th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
if one is hep c positive can they still become a licenced day care worker?? or at the very least an assistant??? who does one contact to get the laws,etc. on this???? thank-you very,very much