Zero virus!

thank you all for your patient support. i'm so happy i don't know what to do with myself. now i can settle into the realization i found last week - which was that nothing is worth getting too upset over (that one needs work but when i realized how bad things could be, i realized that i couldn't let it destroy me either). i still think something's funky in my digestive system, with the itching from everything and the stomach pain when i eat too many vegetables etc.

so the doctor said it was either a false positive or i cleared it on my own. he said no further testing needs to be done. but shouldn't i assess for liver damage (fibrosis or cirrhosis)?

and yes, i am pretty sure that my weird weekend symptoms were from stress! it occurred to me yesterday when i got out of the house and felt better, especially after running into friends and familiar faces. and then i slept really well, for some reason. meditating yesterday probably helped too. actually i fell asleep for an hour while meditating in the afternoon. so stress is a killer and i'm gonna work on that more.

i also want to say that this group is one of the most health-informed group of people i've ever come across on the internet. you know a lot! it's been an honor to know you all for this short scary time. i've really enjoyed reading on here and will probably stick around now and then reading more. i hope it's ok to interject about supplements and herbs from time to time since i have a special interest in side effects of those things. however, i doubt there's much i could add to the knowledge already here.

i wish the best for all of you and as much peace as you can find during treatment and healing.

[nygirl7]

I'ts one of the best times in the world to say TOLD YOU SO for all the people hoping and praying for you in here that they can ever have!

Congrats Dharma now make sure you stay that way for good LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

[dharmaqueen]

gimme all the "told you so"'s you want. :P

thanks.

[dharmaqueen]

wow i replied so quick i remembered again you said people hoped and prayed for me. i'm really touched and thanks again to everyone who did that. it means so much. my aunt said she was praying too.

now i'm gonna cry over my Toaster Strudel, which i can safely eat and have little choice since the health food started to hurt my stomach. :)

[Marcia2202]

Congrats. am really happy for you!!!

Marcia

[dharmaqueen]

i should still get my son tested just in case, right?

[FlGuy]

No and No
"but shouldn't i assess for liver damage (fibrosis or cirrhosis)? "
"i should still get my son tested just in case, right?"

[dharmaqueen]

how do i know if i'm a carrier though?

and thanks FlGuy, and Marcia. :)

[FlGuy]

You can only give what you have.  So, if you have the antibodies but no viral loal - you have nothing to 'share'.  Apparently, your immune system fought the virus off, which is why you have the anitbodies.  Like people who have treated hcv successfully (many in this forum and more every day) you have no detectable virus.  The good thing is that your immune system did what others need interferon and ribavirin for.  

[dharmaqueen]

ah, i thought so. thanks. it was some really old article that i'd read that made me worry, but back then they didn't even think they had treatment for this. i still put in a call to the nurse to make sure i have antibodies to Hep C and not "non-A, non-B". unless all tests are specific enough nowadays?

[dharmaqueen]

also, when i called just now to get my records, the lab told me that different things can cause false positives, including influenza injection. it sounds like it's somewhat common... and apparently they really do test for Hepatitis C itself, so my results should be what they seem to be.

[FlGuy]

Hep C was referred to as Non A Non B before someone figured out that there was more to the alphabet than the first two letters. They are the same.  So, when you hear the term 'Non A - Non B' just equate it to 'C'. The formal name was given to Hep C back in the early 90's.  One of the early researchers was watching Sesame Street and had a Eureka moment.

[dharmaqueen]

haha @ Sesame Street. :P

well, the reason i was so wondering about which type was... i wanted to make sure i didn't have D, E, or G. apparently D goes along with B so that's out. and E my nurse told me would make me very very ill. and i'm assuming i don't have G because my liver function tests are normal, and i probably didn't have any symptoms that worried the doctors (though that part means little, seeing as they miss huge things with me all the time).

so just wanted to make sure i don't have any of them. but i think i can feel assured now.

[CockSparrow]

Hepatitis G doesnt exit. It is GBV-C.
Hep-E is like HepA and yeh i gues i would make you really sick.
Cant remember if it can be Chronic or not.
CS

[GoofyDad]

Hep C was referred to as Non A Non B before someone figured out that there was more to the alphabet than the first two letters.

I think Michael Jackson did the groundbreaking research on this one....

[Bill1954]

Ha!

And MJ would explain the connection with Sesame Street :o)…

[HectorSF]

So it was Sesame Street and the Eureka episode? Then why not Hep "S" or Hep "Eka"?
Could it be called Hep C because it was isolated by "Chiron"? Now Novartis.
(Glad they weren't Novartis then. Hep N? Happening?! Doesn't have the same ring to it).

...but one thing still bothers me (as Colombo would say) I missed the Sesame connection with MJ, LBJ and the JFK assassination...I know it's something with the letter "J"...can someone clarify please? Was it JLo or Juicy Fruit?

Hector

[dharmaqueen]

you guys are so silly. :P

and thank you Marcia too.

ok not to drag up this thread again, but i think i may have found one of my problems. i just got test results back and my thyroid peroxidase antibody test came out at almost 200 (where under 5 is normal). i'm going in today to see what's going on. nobody told me this; maybe the positive Hep C eclipsed it all! plus a lot of the symptoms seemed like autoimmune, so i assumed they were autoimmune hepatitis.

this autoimmune thyroid thing would explains my trouble sleeping and my rapid pulse even when i'm relatively calm (not to mention lots of other symptoms like swollen throat and cold intolerance). so i don't think i was solely stressed out over the Hep C question - i had a feeling i was being hard on myself blaming stress, though it *always* helps to relax more as i found. anyhow, i guess the lesson is to keep asking questions and looking at my records, especially if something seems not quite right, until i figure out what's wrong.

take care everyone.

[meNtoby]

Wow!  What a cool thread here!  And congrats!  I'm doing the waiting thing, and
thinking POSITIVE, oh wait, maybe NEGATIVE thinking is best here. Gee,
bet that ones old now.  Congrats, and prayers for continued good luck!