so many questions

my liver enzymes have been elevated consistantly for the last year or so that they have been checked, consaquently my doc decided to run ant test which was posotive for hep c than  some more  tests to confirm. my viral load is 302000 and is flagged H also what does log 1 mean?thats 5.68 so can anyone make sense of this for me please....I used iv drugs 14 years ago and I had a blood transfusion 8 years ago I also work in heath care, I have had 4 children 1 child after the blood transfusion so I am having the kids tested. how could I not have caught this i dont understand wouldnt it have shown up with all my pregnancies. also what are the chances my husband is infected also? I would appriciate any info You could help me with in understanding whats going on and what comes next? thank you all for listening     7summer7


This discussion is related to hep c test.

[IMstacie]

Hi Summer - welcome to the forum.  Hep C testing is not routine.  That is probably why you were never tested.  My liver enzymes were elevated for a while which is why I was tested.  It's good to have the kids tested but transmission at birth carries a small percentage.  Same with your husband.  Are you seeing a specialist because you should?  A hepatologist is considered better informed.  I'm seeing a GI because I found out after I started treatment but I'm doing ok with him.

Here are a couple of good sites to help you educate yourself:

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/hepC/hcvinformation_2009.html
and
http://janis7hepc.com.

good luck to you    - Stacie

[7summer7]

Thank you for the info i feel better already this forum is a God sent you wonderful people who share you life and stories are very appriciated by some one like me. I have learned more from your posts than in hours of research so thank you...also I feel I have somwere to go for support for a while I just thought I would be going at this alone. to answer stacies question yes I am waiting on insurance approval to see a GI and thank you for the hope not worrying about my husband and children will make acceptance much easier.    
            I am a full time nursing student trying to achieve my RN. also I homeschool my  four children 11, 10, 8,and 2. and I care for my elderly father. my primary doc said I will need treatment for six months to a year. will I lose my hair? and will i be able to maintain my life? how sick will I be? I have to maintain my gpa of 3.92 at school anything less will make it difficult to enter into the actual nursing program. so if I will be to sick to handle all of this i will have to push graduation back a bit. what would you all suggest? thanks all of you for listening I hope eventually i can contribute something besides ?????????????s   summer

[GreatBird]

Before you make any decisions about treating, you should find out what state your liver is in by having a biopsy. If there is minimal damage, you have time to wait and can pick what might be a better time in your life. Even if you have significant fibrosis, you don't have to drop everything and treat this minute.

Finding out your genotype will determine length of treatment and odds of succeeding. There are some very effective drugs in clinical trials now that could shorten treatment (tx) duration and also make it more successful depending on that genotype. It is being predicted that they may be available in 2011.

No one can tell how you will do during treatment. Some people have few if any sides and others are knocked down and lots of people fall in the middle.

[newleaf09]

You will need some family assistance.  One of the drugs, ribivirin, destroys hemoglobin, which is the oxygen carrier for the blood.  Even if you do really well on the treatment, you will be tired.  If family could take up some of the cooking, shopping and running around it would make things easier for you.

Some researchers would consider you to have a low viral load, so you have a good chance of clearing the disease but the fatique is pretty well guaranteed.  You will be okay driving but need to provide for lots of sitting down (I teach from a stool and it's not too bad).  It's different for everyone, could be harder  or easier but I think you are wise to go ahead and get it out of the way while your children are young.  They won't remember the single year when mom sat around a lot.  You will regain your original health and be able to move forward like this had never happened.

[IMstacie]

i agree with Bird.  With everything on your plate you may want to wait if you can.  There are folks that get minimal or no side effects but that is a very small percentage.
Also, like Newleaf stated, you do have a low viral load, if your liver is ok you may be able to go on a health regimin and wait until you are at least done with school.  I personally, would not have been able to handle small children and go to school - no way.  

----------------------will I lose my hair?

you will loose a lot if you are on the peg/riba tx but it comes back.  Good luck to you in whatever you decide.

Stacie

[7summer7]

thanks for all the posts you all have been really imformative.