I have had HCV for about 16 or so years and enjoy drinking

I have had HCV Genotype 1a for around 16years, I have always drank wine (around 3-4 glasses per night) but now I drink burbon (2-3 per night)
I have been offered treatment, but i have refused as I dont want to. I would like to know if the HCV affects your judgements in luife as I have been married for 11 years, we have 2 young children, but for the last 2 years i have been having an affair and it doesnot comprehend to me that that is a 'big deal'.
can i blame the HCV for my actions?
I also have recently been diagnosed with PCOS and Endometriousis
*some nights i drink more than other nights, im not a drunk though.

[jill71s]

what is my general life expenctancy, i dont think i have any symptoms

[Trish77]

Your life expectancy before or after your wife finds out?

[jessiejames1973]

i think her husband , not wife, (Endometriousis )

we are not here to judge

[Trish77]

Hep C doesn't generally present obvious symptoms until the liver damage is quite advanced so that is absolutely no indicator whatsoever.  You're speeding up your appointment with death, you'll be a greater drain on the healthcare system and last but not least, you won't be of much use to your children in a state of deteriorating health.  Not like you seem to care much about being around for your children, just saying.

You need to get a biopsy to determine what stage of liver damage you're at, at the very least.  Symptoms won't tell you that, a biopsy will.  I would imagine your doctor has already done CBC's - blood tests that tell a picture but not the whole picture without the biopsy.  Do this for your kids, if nothing else.  

And no, you can't blame your lack of conscience on Hep C.  That's not one of the known side effects.  Dig a little deeper on that one and not at the physical either.

[copyman]

HCV is not impairing your judgement it is the alcohol. Stop drinking and you will start to face reality. Then your life will start to get better.

On the other hand you can continue your present lifestyle and most likely die of liver failure or liver cancer. Drinking with HCV is like throwing gas on a fire.

FYI, dying of liver failure is perhaps one of the most painful and horrible ways to die. Many times the person just starts vomiting blood and then chokes on it. Picture your kids witnessing that !!!

[22hamilton]

Perhaps you should keep reading around this forum and be mindful of the nature of Hep c, things can become very difficult when the disease progresses. I think you would do yourself an enormous favour if you put away all the denial and faced reality as it is and made some important life decisions based on wisdom rather than a little bit of what you fancy.
Good luck and Godbless
Hammond

[nygirl7]

Wow how sad for the children.  Obviously you know how much you are helping to advance your degree of liver damage by upping your alcoholic intake even further than it already was and just don't care.  My bet is that once you hit end stage liver disease you sure will.

Life expectancy?  Honestly can't say but wouldn't think considerably long in the scheme of life - and if you think you don't have a drinking problem but are drinking with hepC then you are completely and totally wrong.  You know that you shouldn't be but you are anyway...that says alot.

Can't comment on the affair or anything because that is your business but just about any bozo can tell you that drinking with hep c is going to most likely put you into the quick grave, something you seem to know but don't care.  I wouldn't worry about the endometriosis stuff - not when advanced liver damage looms on the horizon (if you don't have it already and are on the way to end stage liver disease).

Like I said, Poor Children the reason most of us do treat is just for that reason.

[nygirl7]

By the way I had no symptoms and when I had my biopsy done I was already stage 3............no symptoms means nothing because you usually don't get them until it's past the point of no return.

Do something about your disease.

[jdwithhcv]

No, you cannot blame any of this on HCV.

[jessiejames1973]

i dont want to judge or condone anyone, but i ve had hep c for 13 years and in that time have drunk moderatly, with occasional binges i dont know what state my liver is in but i am shitting it because its likely to be very bad and maybe beyond the point of no return, denial is a very powerful thing its not a conscious thing i cant explain! i dont drink now and i hope to find out the damage very soon , but its all too late for me i suspect, ( but live in hope) and  thats a hard thing to deal with ,    Jill 71s think of your kids , you may be lucky and have only moderate damage it may not be too late for you, this is your oppurtunity to get your life back.

[nygirl7]

Jessie,
I drank for many many years and did a hefty amount of drugs as well.  More than 13 years for sure. I was not past the point of no return and my liver enzymes were well into the mid200s......you could be fine, really since you are treating now and sober you can even undo some of the damage that was done.

But for someone actively being an alcoholic with hepC the outcome is not a good one.  There is a HUGE difference.

You didn't have a biopsy?

[GSDgirl]

I think Jill has left the building.  Maybe she will check back in at midnight and read some of the wise words of wisdom.

[GrandOak]

We just had a liver patient education meeting last night where one of the leading transplant surgeons at the U of MN spoke, which btw is one of the leading transplant hospitals in the country as well.  He made it very clear what many of us already know that alcohol, even socially, is a big NO to anyone with hepatitius.

As he pointed out, liver disease can occur for a variety of reasons, but if one has hepatitis, A, B, C, whatever, and is drinking, then expect to have your liver severely damaged.  I've always refered to it as being like pouring gas onto a fire.

He also made it clear that anyone who is drinking, even socially, is automatically disqualified from being eligible for transplantation.  One has to demonstrate abstinence for at least 6 months minumim in order to be eligible.

Like yourself, before being diagnosed I began drinking wine socially and then somewhat regularily.  I then shifted to scotch, I guess because if I got drunk I wasn't hung over the next day.  But as time progressed, so did my consumption.  After awhile, it got to the point that I found I needed a drink or two more often just to feel normal.

It wasn't until it got extremely out of control and I sought help to stop that I later learned I had HCV.  As I learned more about Hep C and it's symptoms and then reflecting back I seen that part of my progression into heavier drinking was really in fact often times medicating the symptoms of the disease as it became more active in attacking me.

The net result was to learn the hard way that what I was really doing was swallowing a double edge sword and that by continuing to drink when it was clearly having an adverse effect on me was actually attacking my liver from all sides.

As for your actions, Hep C attacks our liver, not our brains, so I do not believe that you can dodge accountability and responsibility by using the disease as an excuse for behaviour and decisions.  Now if you have reached the point of abnormally high amonia (ammonia) levels, then our thinking and control can be askewed.  However, if one is at that point, there is usually more other serious health issues also occurring which would be a clear indication that all is not well with you.  

So sorry, I would think that HCV. or other medical conditions, can not be the scapegoat to blame for your behavior and decisions.  If you are feeling conviction that they may not be proper, then perhaps it is for good reason and not something you can pass of as not being responsible or accountable.  It may also be a sign that a change is needed, but do not be surprised if you eentually experience the reprecussions down the road.

[jessiejames1973]

Thanks for your comforting words,
i am not in tx yet (the wheels turn slowly) iam hoping to get into tx v.soon though i doubt till the new year, as for biopsy again waiting waiting waiting, i will start making noises soon!!!  i don t drink at all now or even smoke ! i am even eating those funny things that grow in fields ;-)     i just hope for the best at the moment until i have more info, its the waiting that is so hard ,

x
James

[nygirl7]

i am even eating those funny things that grow in fields ;-)    "

hahahaha you are doing WAY Better than me......if it doesn't have a golden arch around it I"m afraid I'm not exactly sure what type of food it is ;)

You will get there. One thing that hep teaches us is PATIENCE - we're always waiting for something (test results, PCR results, biopsy results) we don't really get better at it ever but....at least it's something we know well!    ;)

[FlGuy]

Great post

[newleaf09]

HCV does not affect your judgement but it may affect your feelings of self-worth in a negative way.  It may lead to 'self-medicating' for that reason.

I recently read a presentation that alcohol with HCV greatly increases the speed of fibrosis, scarring of the liver.  I always assumed that I had cleared the hepatitis virus that I had as a teenager, but found out last year that I was wrong.  I now deeply regret all those evenings of wine on the patio and rum on the beach.  It was never enough fun to justify the surprise diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver.

[Trish77]

I apologize if my comments came across as judgmental.  You have kids and they only get one go-round in life and they need you very much.  I hope you get the medical help you need and the emotional help you need to be a good mom to them.  Good luck.

[desrt]

You really think a 38 year old woman with "two young children" comes on here and posts this about herself unless:

a) She's already been told all the above and was just in the mood for a little chastisement.

b) This was actually posted by her ' whupped husband who's desparately seeking a reason for her behaviour.

c) 'Jill' and her frat brothers are yukking it up back at the dorm and have to do a shot every time someone posts to this thread.

[desrt]

If  a) Switch back to wine and keep it down to ONE a day. Even if you're already dying of cirrhosis, my understanding is that amount won't make any difference one way or the other.

If  b) Grow a pair. Take your kids somewhere where they won't have to watch their mother kill herself.

If  c) Have one for me.