I need Hep C information!!!

[TaylorParker]

Only i have just got diagnosed with Hep C, and I'm so nervous.
I would love to know what to expect, so if anyone could help i would highly appreciate me:)

[TaylorParker]

Thats great. Ill be fine with the needles and stuff

[ccrider65]

I just started my tx on the 8th not knowing what to expact and well it all happened so fast. Turns out I'm doing pretty good not many side effects....headache, no appitite, and a little irritable and of course waterlogged from drinking sooo much water!! And I'm overcoming my fear of needles. I think your in the right place here good luck and best wishes, everyone here is awesome and very helpful.

CC

[TaylorParker]

Thank you:)

It's been hard

[shellmoe]

I too, am new to this whole thing, but wqanted to tell you when I read your post it sounds exactly like my storey.  Been through the same things, my rhumatologist actually found mine and sent me to GI doc, who has refered me to liver specialist.  I don't see that doc until May 11.  I have all of my meds prescribed, but thet want me to wait before I start treatment.  
I just wanted to wish you luck and keep us posted on your progress.  When you get to the point of the meds, a good starting point is to apply to Chronic Disease Fund for assistant!.  Within 24 hours I had been approved.  Best of luck

[TaylorParker]

Thank you:)

[Trish77]

Welcome to the forum. :)

You get used to the no drink thing.  You get used to substituting and it becomes no big deal. Same glass, different stuff in it, all good.  It's more about the people you're with.  You'll do great.  You're on a roll, it seems. :)

Good luck to you.  

Trish

[TaylorParker]

I dont mind you asking the question

[NinjaPinky]

cool thanks yeah i didnt do that at first cause i thought there was some kinda a limit and i didnt want to mess anything up for someone who had a specific question.
np

[Bill1954]

Hi NinjaPinky,

Why don’t you go to the top of this page and click on the green ‘post a question’ button; this will open a new thread of your own. Then cut and paste your comment here to it; this will work much better for you, I think. Welcome to the discussion group,

Bill

[NinjaPinky]

Hello guys I am new here too i have been looking at the forum for a few weeks but i just now joined. I discovered i had Hep C a couple of weeks ago I went to a specialist for fibromyalgia and when testing he found the hep c. its been a mess though because technically this all started in october when i went to the doctor for side pain. in November they took out my gallbladder and a few weeks later i had pancreatitis and was back in the hospital. My primary care dr. apparently keept testing my liver because it was swollen but never tested for anything else. it wasnt till i was sent to the other specialist that the hep c was found. they say i not only have enlarged liver but also enlarged spleen. I am now waiting to get into the liver specialist its been a few weeks but thankfully i go on monday I cant wait so i can start figuring out what to do next. I dont know much about genotype or anything like that and I am not real sure where i got it. I just know i felt bad because of the gallstones and went downhill from there. I do know my viral load was only something like 58000 when they did the test in early march but the rheumatoid specialist said he coudlnt tell me anything else that was why he was sending me to a liver specialist. Im pretty freak out and i dont really have anyone i can talk to that i think understands because i dont want to tell to many people and also because no one i know has it to talk to me openly about it who has/is going through it. I do know i feel awful though!

[James10500]

Good to hear you are getting away from drugs, so don't be disappointed about your doc telling you not to drink, as alcohol is a drug.

[TaylorParker]

Trust me, i know all about drugs.
For a long time they controlled my life.
I was stealing from my own family just to get enough money to be able to have a shot of heroin, pills, meth, anything to get me high.
I'm just trying to get forget about that time in my life, and move on.

[James10500]

And yes, my doctor did tell me to avoid alcohol, something i was very disappointed about.

Don't be to disappointed kid, drugs aren't all they're cracked up to be.

[TaylorParker]

Thank you:) I'm trying

[Proactive]

No problem, I agree with the others, you're doing great!! good job, pro

[TaylorParker]

You are right it is 400,000:)

[TaylorParker]

Thank you ;)

[TaylorParker]

Thank you guys:) I have been doing alot of research

[Proactive]

Actually I believe 400,000 iu/ml is now more excepted cutoff as being considered "low" Vl.

[Bill1954]

I have this feeling I’ll be asking her questions next week…

[spectda]

You sure are a quick study. Welcome to the forum.
-Dave

[willbb]

To :Tp...somebody has been doing their reading...good stuff!!

[FlGuy]

You go, girl.

[TaylorParker]

If you're being treated for hepatitis C virus infection -- also called HVC -- your doctor is keeping track of your viral load.

Viral load is [the number of] viral particles floating in the blood. These are copies of the genetic material of the virus circulating through the body.

Being "hepatitis C positive" means you have anti-HCV antibodies in your blood. Having HCV antibodies just means you've been exposed to the hepatitis C virus. You can certainly be antibody positive and not have any measurable viral load. One lucky thing this might mean is that you are one of the 15% to 40% of people who naturally clear the virus from their bodies. The other possibility is that the virus, during the time blood is drawn, was only temporarily undetectable. HCV viral load in the blood goes up and down, and the test might have caught it on a downswing. So before we tell someone they are negative, we ask them to have the

Anything over 800,000 IU/mL is high. Anything under that is low viral load … Those with low viral load have a better chance of responding to treatment.

Here is a viral load chart:) http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/hepatitis/loadchart.html

I hoped i helped