Hepatitis C :(((

Dear Sandy,

Welcome to the Healing Well Hepatitis Forum

We are patients and loved ones of those with liver disease, which comes in many forms.

There are some good websites to check out at the top of this forum, in the resources section.

And there are so many OLD posts with families facing the same as you are now...look back through them, or go to the SEARCH section on the blue bar above the posts...and put in any key word or topic of interest and you will find many intesting posts.

I am a Co-Moderator and, like you, am the loved one of a Hep C patient. Mike has genotype 1a, the most difficult to treat. He was infected as a young man when his life was quite different than now..in the 1960s! So here he is! He has had Hep C most of his 62 years! He has been very ill, has had a liver transplant, but here he is at Christmas AGAIN.

He had a failed Hep C treatment in 2003 so the new liver is infected with Hep C and at a viral load MUCH higher than your finance. He will take a new treatment this year and hopefully clear the virus.

The genotype 3 responds better to treatment than 1a and I think that will be the next step for your fiance. It sounds like you have found a doctor who takes all the right diagnostic steps and he/she may say the diagnosis is cirrhosis. Even with cirrhosis, it is not a death sentence for the short term. When Mike was diagnosed with cirrhosis it was 2003 and he was told it would be another 15+ years before he became very ill IF he had NO alcohol and ate a healthy diet...even with the Hep C. Unfortunately, Mike continued to drink alcohol until 2010 and got very very sick. He stopped drinking and qualified for transplant at U Miami/Jackson in Florida, USA.

You say "sorry for my english". Where are you posting from? If English is your second language, you do very well. We have others from all over the world. Do they have a good transplant program in your country. It sounds like you have an excellent doctor, so maybe this is available to your fiance if he gets really sick.

Right now, it is early. There are steps to take to have the most normal life possible. There is time. I have been Mike's partner since 1980 and here we are, still 32 years together...with some ups and downs, but HERE and TOGETHER.

There are some precautions you might take. Hep C is a blood disease that infects the liver. YOu sould not come in contact with your fiance's blood. No sharing tooth brushes, shaving razors, any personal items where there is blood. Some say there is a danger with sex, but unless there are open sores with bleeding, most of our members don't report a problem. I wear gloves if I am bandaging an open cut or sore, and in general I am careful. We have been together a long time and have been tested every few years and do not have Hep C.

I wish you well, and enourage you to ask your questions, just post a reply to this post and we can keep your whole story in one thread.

Hugs,

Mama Lama from Florida/USA

Mama Lama is right, genotype 3 is far easier to control. I have a friend that had it and interferon/ribavirin took care of it in 6 months. If possible, get to a hepatologist, not just any doctor for treatment. With Hep C, you need a doctor that specializes in liver disease.

Sandy MK, welcome to the forum. I have cleaned up your posts a little bit for clearer understanding. I agree that he should have NO alcohol. It is like pouring poison onto a damaged liver. I've had a liver transplant and don't drink because I had a problem with it in the distant past (quit drinking 26 1/2 yrs. ago.) Despite the transplant, I still have hep C. It's in the blood stream and is ruining my new liver. I expect to start treatment within the next 2 mos. I have genotype 1a, the most difficult to treat. You are lucky in that respect, as ML mentioned. Genotype 3 is much easier to treat.

I agree with what ML and David posted.

Hugs,
Connie

I've been to Macedonia also

I spent a month in Yugoslavia in 1972. Mostly on the coast between Split and Dubrovnik. But next we took some days slowly driving to Thesalonika. I followed the news carefully in the war time because I visited these places and was so sad. I hope now that each country is settled and that there are better times.

It sounds like your state hospital is taking the right actions.

Best

Carol - Mama Lama

I'm sorry for not talking to you about the country and everything, at this moment i am preoccupied with this new situation for me...:///:'(

A lot of this depends on where you live. My doctors don't have a problem with it and in this state possession is the equivalent of a parking ticket, $100 fine. As of New Year's it will be available for medical use.

MK, the doctor may not even mention marijuana. It is up to you or your husband to mention it to the doctor, just as you did here. No doctor will tell you to abstain from red meat, but as patients we know that it makes us feel ill. It's the most difficult protein for the liver to break down. Vegetable sources of protein (especially beans and soy products) are much better for someone with hepatitis. Chicken and fish are good.

Hugs,
Connie

The TP team told my husband (tested positive for THC from smoking pot 6 months after he quit smoking) that smoking of any kind is toxic to the liver. He almost was not listed due to the positive reading, but he quit for good, and has not missed that or his beer since he quit. He smoked mostly to help him sleep at night, but with his liver processing so slowly, it took 6 months of no smoking to get his blood clean.

Keep that in mind . . most people can pass a drug test after 30 days of not smoking.

good luck

Debbie

One thing to add to my previous question....He had good results from Ultrsound and the size of the liver was normal.

Post Edited By Moderator (hep93) : 12/28/2012 3:14:44 PM (GMT-7)

I wish all of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and Merry Christmas....Lot's of HEALTH, love and happines in this new ..i hope beautiful year...

Greetings to all of you ***



P.S. Still not finished biopsy results, does that have anything with the complication of the disease..or the hollydays are making that :)???

Ok, thanks for the answer

Sandy, thanks for the update. You will have to just wait and see how he does on treatment. If the side effects are too rough, you may need to wait until AFTER treatment to get married. He is going to need a lot of blood work while on treatment.

Hugs,
Connie