Hep C and Aleve...HELP

My wife was diagnosed with Hep C seven years ago and has had no problems since then. Because of the Hep C she refused to take any drugs at all, including any over the counter drugs such as Aleve, Tylonel, asprin or any other OTC drug. She's recently hurt her leg very badly (extremely painful) and we have no insurance to see a doctor or even go to the emergency room. The pain is so bad that for the last 3 weeks she's been taking Aleve daily which scares her to no end. Will Naproxin use excelerate the Hep C, and if so, is there anything someone can suggest that she can take with either no or minimal damage to her liver? Please let me know...I'm at a loss here and can't seem to find anything of substance on the internet...thanks all very much for your suggestions...she needs help to attempt to control the pain without the fear of acelerating her liver function.

Thank you....I'm at a loss about this but very concerned. Thanks to you and all who might give me some info in the future...I definately don't want to lose her by her taking something as simple as a Aleve...thanks again

If she is in that much pain for so long, take her to a doctor.

We have absolutely no $$$  to see a doctor or go to the emergency room, nor will we anytime in the forseeble future.... I myself am disabled due to a neck surgery that was rquired to "fuse " 2 disks in my neck with only one fusing collectly which was the C4-C5....C-5 - C6 did not fuse correctly. I've applied for Medicaid for the first time for my wife so she may see a doctor and myself to help me ofset the medicare premimum ($96 / month), perscritptions (anywhere from $13 - $ 40 / month 36 and co-pays to my doctor (anywhere from 40 / month I'm required to payI must paydeductibles the week before Xmas but have heard nothing back, not an approval nor a denial (we live in Cobb County Georgia). I'm going to be forced to take her to the emergency room VERY SOON but have no way of paying any "charges" incurred for this visit....help

Yes, my wife is the sole caretaker of our Austic granddaughter (5 YO) so it's important for her to be as healthy as she can be. My wife has Hep C, arthritus and other things that comes with age and needs to be seen by somebody to see exactly is going on, especially with her Hep C.  As with me I have Medicare and was under the assumption that I couldn't get Medicaid because of it...didn't know I could. This has gotten off of the subject though....While all of this has been helpful I still need to know if Aleve is safe for her to take without severe consequences..thank a lot

Terri , I believe you missed the message , She needs to be taken to the E.R and let them give her treatment . I can understand your concern for being cash strapped but taking over the counter meds is like pouring a thimble full of water on a house fire . In fact it may make her condition worse . Most anything you take will have some impact on the liver but people have a tendency to take alot of over the counter meds to get the effect that one prescribed pill can accomplish . I used to cut my pain pills in half when I was very sick to reduce cost , I didn't use anything else due to my doctors advice .

I don't think anyone would recommend Aleve but I'm sure folks have used it in this situation , Question is , Can you know that it wont have some adverse effect in her present condition ? Without the foundation of proper medical attention you have no way of knowing , and neither do we . If it was my wife I think I would say to heck with the E.R bill and work out a 5 dollar week payment plan afterwards if it bothers you . You have obligations to your grandchild and wife , Do what you need to do and if it takes going to the E.R just do it , Regretting a bill is easy compared to what you might be regretting .


A. Ziffle

Alot of communities have clinics that are only for diagnosis/treatment of Hepatitis. They participate in treatment clinics for new drug programrs. Google Hep C programs, for your area. For instance, I am from Tampa Bay FL, and there is the Hepatitis foundation of Tampa Bay. There is a clinic associated with the foundation, that diagnosis and helps find treatment for people with the virus.

Good Luck, your wife needs treatment, so keep looking and asking for help. Networking will go a long way!!

Debbie

Please understand that I've wanted her to go to the emergency room from the time her leg started hurting but she's very much against going. The $$$ is not the issue with the emergency room...my credit is shot (nonexistant) already and I don't care about the cost of the ER visit...it's just another negitive thing that's going to show up on my credit report...I don't care!!! I know that Hep C is only going to get worse in time but since she's been diagnoised she's not taken anything at all but now she has no choice...her leg is hurting that bad and she's now been taking Aleve daily to help her. I've applied for Medicaid for her numerous times and she's been denied each time..I've just re-applied with a very detailed letter explaining her situation (in detail) and also advised them of her being the sole caretaker of our granddaughterand and needs Medicaid to be able for her to see a doctor on a regular basis. I haven't received a reply yet and have called numerous times to find out the status of her application but as with most State agencies they can't (won't) tell me anything about the application. Please understand that the $$$ is not an issue...I desprately want her to see a doctor of some kind. Thanks for everyone's input in this....I need good advise and everyone her seems to have it...thanks again...Jim

A. Ziffle...I thank you for anything you can tell me about this...I'm so confused and need some direction. Her taking so much Aleve now, after taking absolutely nothing for many years, worries me a lot...she's been so careful until her leg pain became almost unbareble and she's decided that it will heal on it's own...NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!! Every day I try to get her to the emergency room but she refuses thinking the pain will go away on it's own...been 3 weeks now and no improvement at all. Her taking so many Aleve scares me...our granddaughter (and I) need her around for awhile. Thanks again for your input...Jim

Your wife is doing the two worst things a patient can; self medicating and not seeing a doctor.

Hello Jim and welcome. I googled ( liver friendly painkiller) and this is one of the sites that I found. Copy and paste it to your browser.

http://www.liverdisease.com/painkillers_hepatitis.html

There's other sites also. Good luck.

Jim,
Reason she may not go to ER is, like my hubby, didn't want to hear any bad news. But tell her the best thing he did (HEP C and diabetes) was to go to ER and there were lots of ideas and usuable pain meds and other meds that helped control pain. Also, the Dr. was likeable and he talked with hubby about his fears and denial of the disease. She probably thinks about this contemplating the worst case scenerio and it may be something that can be handled easily with the right knowlege (Docs). Tell her we here in NE know what it is to "be the rugged individualist and stand pain", but it's not the 1800's and many of her tax $$ have gone for medical advances. She deserves to get some help with this.

This is similar to when a lawyer friend of mine told me that people ask would ask her if they could handle their legal problem themselves....well, she used to say, "You could, ....I could probably do brain surgery, too, but the outcome would be pretty disasterous."

I hope you can help her get to the ER. I was not very supportive of my hubby going to the ER at the time, but was the best thing ever for us. Keep us all updated.
Angie1953