Aa
anxiety
Next week I will be turning 40. I was given my results last week on Wed. So I'm hepc positive Ans that's all I know at this point. Having my first labs on Wednesday to find out what type and what type of treatment. What did any of you take for anxiety because my Dr won't give me anything and all this is over whelming news I'm a wreck, can't sleep, just sick! Is it ok for me to take Melatonin for sleep?
Best Answer
no drinking alcohol
no pot smoking
go to the gym get some exercise, that helps depression
we all freak out at first, it's also a hell of a stigma
It's the one's that don't quit the bad substances and don't get
any exercise that go downhill fast
you are not alone
no pot smoking
go to the gym get some exercise, that helps depression
we all freak out at first, it's also a hell of a stigma
It's the one's that don't quit the bad substances and don't get
any exercise that go downhill fast
you are not alone
It's quite alright, we all have our days! Thanks for the information I'll take a look at them. Merry Christmas!
Sorry to hear of your results...you will find out soon the geno-type and other info that will help you make decisions in the coming weeks, months...there are many people just starting out in treatment, just finding out their diagnosis and have the same feelings and anxieties and questions as yourself. Don't be afraid to ask...there are always people who have experience and advice who are willing to share and address those concerns, or discover them alongside you. It is a journey we all react to differently, respond to differently and deal with differently. I do not have Hep C, but my husband does, as well as other issues alongside the Hep C, all of which we have found out recently, so we, too are dealing with the very real and very overwhelming feelings one initially, and understandably, comes to terms with. I am still learning about it (Hep C, and to compound that, he also has hemochromatosis), and no matter what stage or type or time in treatment a person is in, we all need to know as much as possible, learn and become informed, and be as positive with ourselves and each other to minimize the stress and anxiety.
Please take care and keep in touch, C
Please take care and keep in touch, C
Thank you for your advice. I'll have my labs drawn on Wednesday and I work in the lab so hopefully I can get the results within 24-48 hours. I'll have them before the Dr does. Enjoying the holidays seems impossible but I'll do my best! Merry Christmas and thank you :)
I can relate to your anxiety. Waiting for a result can be very anxiety producing. In fact, to be honest, most of us get pretty nervous even now every time we have our viral loads drawn. I am even a little anxious about my 24 week post end of treatment viral load even though I have 99.7% chance of cure. So yes, it is anxiety producing.
I don't know what type of symptoms you are having. Many symptoms of Hep C are vague ..... fatigue, aches, pains, itching, no motivation, depression, malaise, dry eyes, etc. They often get blamed on something else and no one can find out what, or one is told one is just getting old. Other symptoms are more specific and are from Hep C but half the time (or more) the docs don't even think about Hep C so they don't test for it.
If the symptoms you are talking about are from Hep C and not from something else, then, yes, the Hep C would have to be chronic Hep C to produce the symptoms. But you don't know yet if you have chronic Hep C. If you do not have chronic Hep C then those symptoms are from something else.
This sounds trite,m but wait until you get your results back. See if they can speed them along a bit. I get mine back in 2 days but some have to wait a lot longer. Waiting produces anxiety.
Even if there are symptoms, it does not mean you have a lot of liver damage. I have had Hep C probably since 1975 when I got a Gamma Glob. injection. I have had various symptoms for years, since about 1980. I have systemic vasculitis in 1993-94. It has been the last 7-8 years that I have really noticed a lot of quality of life issues like fatigue. Yes, my liver fibrosis stage was 2 (there are 5 stages ..... 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 with stage 4 being cirrhosis).
So try to wait until you get the results and try to not get too stressed out, although I know how difficult that can be. In the meantime, enjoy the holidays, and try to learn as much as possible. Look for new articles and information. I made the mistake of looking at outdated information. Look at data and articles from 2011 and 2012. Data before that may be of some help but may also be way out of date in terms of treatment types and treatment success rates.
Best of luck.
I don't know what type of symptoms you are having. Many symptoms of Hep C are vague ..... fatigue, aches, pains, itching, no motivation, depression, malaise, dry eyes, etc. They often get blamed on something else and no one can find out what, or one is told one is just getting old. Other symptoms are more specific and are from Hep C but half the time (or more) the docs don't even think about Hep C so they don't test for it.
If the symptoms you are talking about are from Hep C and not from something else, then, yes, the Hep C would have to be chronic Hep C to produce the symptoms. But you don't know yet if you have chronic Hep C. If you do not have chronic Hep C then those symptoms are from something else.
This sounds trite,m but wait until you get your results back. See if they can speed them along a bit. I get mine back in 2 days but some have to wait a lot longer. Waiting produces anxiety.
Even if there are symptoms, it does not mean you have a lot of liver damage. I have had Hep C probably since 1975 when I got a Gamma Glob. injection. I have had various symptoms for years, since about 1980. I have systemic vasculitis in 1993-94. It has been the last 7-8 years that I have really noticed a lot of quality of life issues like fatigue. Yes, my liver fibrosis stage was 2 (there are 5 stages ..... 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 with stage 4 being cirrhosis).
So try to wait until you get the results and try to not get too stressed out, although I know how difficult that can be. In the meantime, enjoy the holidays, and try to learn as much as possible. Look for new articles and information. I made the mistake of looking at outdated information. Look at data and articles from 2011 and 2012. Data before that may be of some help but may also be way out of date in terms of treatment types and treatment success rates.
Best of luck.
Thank you!!! Yes my HepC antibody was positive. That's all for now, I do my PCR on Wednesday to see if it's active or not. Just finding out the news in itself is nerve racking. I've had the symptoms though for two years and didn't know they were symptoms until now and going back as far as two years maybe three. That's why I'm freaking out, because if there are symptoms chances are it's probably active. Correct? ? Or no?
Welcome to the forum.
Just a question ..... are you antibody positive only and waiting to be tested to see if you have chronic Hep C or have you actually had a HCV PCR that confirmed that you are have chronic Hep C?
If you are just antibody positive, there is a 20% chance (+/-) that your own immune system fought it off and you do not have chronic Hep C.
However, I do understand your anxiety. In July 2011 my doctor told me I had Hep C. Period. Nothing else. Then he sent me the 14,400,000 viral load result in the mail. I was a complete wreck. I did not sleep for close to 3 weeks. I was one big jumble of anxiety. I figured I would be dead in a year. I gave away tons of things, even all of my camping equipment and many, many other items. I was making arrangements for my cats. I bought a grave stone for my grave plot. So, I understand your anxiety. I was a wreck.
I do not know about Melatonin. You could try looking it up on Drugs.com and see what they say about it. It would be best to run it passed your doc but he/she does not sound very helpful. I took nothing for anxiety but I am not saying a person should not. I did not. Actually, once I read and learned more about Hep C, I was not as anxious. I started treatment in Sept. 2011 and completed treatment Aug. 25th of this year. I was undetectable at 12 weeks post end of treatment and will have a 24 week post EOT viral load in Feb.
My point here, is that the more you learn and understand the less anxious you will be. It is a serious disease but it is curable with appropriate treatment. If you have chronic Hep C then my suggestion would be to get a hepatologist who is very experienced and knowledgeable about Hep C and its treatment. That way you will get the best of care and you will avoid some of the fiascos that some of us encountered with less less competent treating physicians.
This forum is a great place for information and support.
Just a question ..... are you antibody positive only and waiting to be tested to see if you have chronic Hep C or have you actually had a HCV PCR that confirmed that you are have chronic Hep C?
If you are just antibody positive, there is a 20% chance (+/-) that your own immune system fought it off and you do not have chronic Hep C.
However, I do understand your anxiety. In July 2011 my doctor told me I had Hep C. Period. Nothing else. Then he sent me the 14,400,000 viral load result in the mail. I was a complete wreck. I did not sleep for close to 3 weeks. I was one big jumble of anxiety. I figured I would be dead in a year. I gave away tons of things, even all of my camping equipment and many, many other items. I was making arrangements for my cats. I bought a grave stone for my grave plot. So, I understand your anxiety. I was a wreck.
I do not know about Melatonin. You could try looking it up on Drugs.com and see what they say about it. It would be best to run it passed your doc but he/she does not sound very helpful. I took nothing for anxiety but I am not saying a person should not. I did not. Actually, once I read and learned more about Hep C, I was not as anxious. I started treatment in Sept. 2011 and completed treatment Aug. 25th of this year. I was undetectable at 12 weeks post end of treatment and will have a 24 week post EOT viral load in Feb.
My point here, is that the more you learn and understand the less anxious you will be. It is a serious disease but it is curable with appropriate treatment. If you have chronic Hep C then my suggestion would be to get a hepatologist who is very experienced and knowledgeable about Hep C and its treatment. That way you will get the best of care and you will avoid some of the fiascos that some of us encountered with less less competent treating physicians.
This forum is a great place for information and support.
I'm not trying to medicate to run from my thoughts. U just haven't slept in a few nights and need rest that's all. This is all new to me, im going to hit it head on as soon as I get my first set of labs back. Do what ever is necessary to fight it! I will try some meditation as well and I have heard of mindfulness it's been 12 years since I've done meditation or read any meditation books. I have a 12 year old and im a single parent. Have had little time. I will make the time now because I don't want to be one of the depressed ones I've read about with Hepc.
I've never heard of any problems with melatonin and liver damage.
Personally, I use medicinal cannabis when I have trouble sleeping.
Why must we medicate ourselves to avoid our thoughts ?
So you don't know ? It's not going to change anything if you know now or in a few days.Get a grip.
This isn't orientated towards you in particular but I hear so many people say the exact same thing, that they are too anxious and are obsessing about something or other.
Have you ever heard of mindfulness ? There is even a kind of therapy based upon it. You can learn it from meditation. It helps people learn to control their mind.
You might do better on the anxiety forum. I have no experience with that other than knowing that meditation and deep breathing have helped me the few times I've felt that way.
Personally, I use medicinal cannabis when I have trouble sleeping.
Why must we medicate ourselves to avoid our thoughts ?
So you don't know ? It's not going to change anything if you know now or in a few days.Get a grip.
This isn't orientated towards you in particular but I hear so many people say the exact same thing, that they are too anxious and are obsessing about something or other.
Have you ever heard of mindfulness ? There is even a kind of therapy based upon it. You can learn it from meditation. It helps people learn to control their mind.
You might do better on the anxiety forum. I have no experience with that other than knowing that meditation and deep breathing have helped me the few times I've felt that way.
Thanks, I have the education part Im a labtech. But my mind is driving me insane. I'm having anxiety because I'm not sure what type it is and if there's liver damage yet. I had symptoms for two years it seems. I didn't know at the time they were symptoms :( just getting the news and trying to figure out how to cope is the problem. Is melatonin safe to take for sleep? Having trouble with that too! Im just stressed to the Max!
Try exercise, yoga or deep breathing exercises and meditation.
Education might help.
Hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver and it is not a death sentence.
Eat well, exercise and don't drink alcohol.
Education might help.
Hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver and it is not a death sentence.
Eat well, exercise and don't drink alcohol.
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