Aa
Sell your cleverness, buy bewilderment
Nice welcomes & good wishes! Heres my deal. Without the whining I hope. In 1970, I had acute serum Hep(thats what it was called back than) choices were infectious or serum. I was in a iolated room in the hospital for 2 wks. Seems strange now! Spent years avoiding things to hurt my liver. birth control, asprin, tylenol, drank only some times. Too many diet pills though. Always thought I was cured. In 1999,from blood test found Hep C 1B. Had biopsy (didn't think to get #) must have been SLIGHT,because, big city, top of field Hepatologist told me to "go live my life, I'd probably die of something else." Great!!!Although my Gasto Dr. here at home nagged me to tx with him. In 2003, with tiredness and joint pain. And wanting the best care, went to another top Hepatologist. Again, very indifferent Dr. told me if I wanted to "try" to rid myself, heres the perscriptions, see you in 6 mos. He was so nonchalent,not wanting to help me through tx. Now I'm figuring,my Gastro must just want the funding; and needed a guinea pig!!! Why else weren't the Hep Drs concerned???
So presently , With jumping viral loads & a Gastro guy who only gave me a 10 year window, 8 years ago! This is my continued confusion.
I'm also wondering, how I can work;when tx. I'm a waitress in a casino, its very hard work for a healthy girl. I'm working the least amount of hour available as is. And my co workers will just love if I lose my hair, or get sick! They will love to jump into my seniority spot!! So much to factor in. God help me. Cathi
So presently , With jumping viral loads & a Gastro guy who only gave me a 10 year window, 8 years ago! This is my continued confusion.
I'm also wondering, how I can work;when tx. I'm a waitress in a casino, its very hard work for a healthy girl. I'm working the least amount of hour available as is. And my co workers will just love if I lose my hair, or get sick! They will love to jump into my seniority spot!! So much to factor in. God help me. Cathi
If necessary, while on tx you can go on temporary state disability if you cannot do your job. When your health improves you can go back to your regular job. With the protesase inhibitors doing so well in clinical trials and without all these terrible side effects I hope you can wait for them. They will be available in 3-4 years. The treatment will be much shorter also.
Hi,
When I was dx. i was working 50 hrs. week over 7 days (some not full 8 hr), and in master program, near done.
adult children some at home, some married, several grandchildren.
worked long as i could, 4 weeks into tx had to take disabilitiy. knew in advance approximately how much i would get. of course its not enough. fortunate to be in school i can take student loans, makes me committed to finish. just a few short weeks to done. this is about the same time tx will be over. i feel that in 3 mths. i will be approaching a crossroad of either a career breakthrough or financial hardship. its scary place to be. certainly i have known others to go through more challenging hardships and make it through.
just have to have faith that it will all be okay in the end. families are important.
take care
When I was dx. i was working 50 hrs. week over 7 days (some not full 8 hr), and in master program, near done.
adult children some at home, some married, several grandchildren.
worked long as i could, 4 weeks into tx had to take disabilitiy. knew in advance approximately how much i would get. of course its not enough. fortunate to be in school i can take student loans, makes me committed to finish. just a few short weeks to done. this is about the same time tx will be over. i feel that in 3 mths. i will be approaching a crossroad of either a career breakthrough or financial hardship. its scary place to be. certainly i have known others to go through more challenging hardships and make it through.
just have to have faith that it will all be okay in the end. families are important.
take care
Been reading your posts tonight. Welcome to the club where no one chooses to be a member. I am lucky to be geno 2 but like most people, I worried about everything prior to tx. But after starting I was lucky to have gained better vision to see what was most important in my life. I waited 6 months after first posting here, I was afraid to start something that is so life changing. I'm glad now though that I decided to treat, but it's a very personal decision. I have 4 kids and a grandbaby that I want to grow old with. Not to say the tx is a cure, but for me so far so good.
Good luck with your decision! Continue to get all the info you can.
Bug
Good luck with your decision! Continue to get all the info you can.
Bug
Hello jim and rosebud,
I knew I would sound like a sissy, sorry really, I hate that.
Jim, my genotype is 1B. Only biopsy was in 99, mild damage. Don't know my enzymes. Nice to know viral load isn't what is the deciding factor of liver damage.----That a viral load off my mind! Ha!
How are you doing now? Have you been tx long?
Rosebud, In the relm of things; I could care less about my job, its just a means. And our hair for that matter--in the end its a small thing, vanity.
My concerns are really just as yours I'm sure, family, my husband,my girls, my 4 sweet grand babies. What I'm about to put them through.
Perhaps I could hear about yours?
Work is our only benifits, but if need be we could buy our own . It would be ideal if there is leave of absence to do this thing, to avoid being the talk of the locker room. Again, small stuff.
I'll spare you any more of this til I have seen a third Hepatologist---
It's very nice talking to you. Thanks for your time and effort. It's good to know you here.
Best of every blessing to you both.
Sounds like you have it all together.
Cathi
I knew I would sound like a sissy, sorry really, I hate that.
Jim, my genotype is 1B. Only biopsy was in 99, mild damage. Don't know my enzymes. Nice to know viral load isn't what is the deciding factor of liver damage.----That a viral load off my mind! Ha!
How are you doing now? Have you been tx long?
Rosebud, In the relm of things; I could care less about my job, its just a means. And our hair for that matter--in the end its a small thing, vanity.
My concerns are really just as yours I'm sure, family, my husband,my girls, my 4 sweet grand babies. What I'm about to put them through.
Perhaps I could hear about yours?
Work is our only benifits, but if need be we could buy our own . It would be ideal if there is leave of absence to do this thing, to avoid being the talk of the locker room. Again, small stuff.
I'll spare you any more of this til I have seen a third Hepatologist---
It's very nice talking to you. Thanks for your time and effort. It's good to know you here.
Best of every blessing to you both.
Sounds like you have it all together.
Cathi
"They will love to jump into my seniority spot!!"
"LOL* - But probably true!
I think you're smart to try and figure out as many angles as you can about tx, including potential impact on your health, your job, your finances, your family.
You won't know the answers for sure unless and until you start tx, but IMHO you'll be more prepared to handle whatever happens if you consider the possibilities in advance.
After all, what the heck is the point in even starting TX only to discover, a few months or weeks down the road, that you can't continue because you find yourself in a financial hole because your insurance laspses because you lose your job because you CAN'T work?
IMVHO, unless you're in the enviable position of NOT having to consider those issues, I think it's better to be informed.
Good luck.
"LOL* - But probably true!
I think you're smart to try and figure out as many angles as you can about tx, including potential impact on your health, your job, your finances, your family.
You won't know the answers for sure unless and until you start tx, but IMHO you'll be more prepared to handle whatever happens if you consider the possibilities in advance.
After all, what the heck is the point in even starting TX only to discover, a few months or weeks down the road, that you can't continue because you find yourself in a financial hole because your insurance laspses because you lose your job because you CAN'T work?
IMVHO, unless you're in the enviable position of NOT having to consider those issues, I think it's better to be informed.
Good luck.
Hi, i understand your worries these are the same things i worried about. job & hair
i am a 2 which is shorter tx. so i know you have more at stake.
i guess you have to weigh it out. if you have reasons that you would like to tx. for example hopes of cure or delay of liver damage for family: husband, children, grandchildren, whoever.. or risk losing job which is of greater importance to you? if you were unable to work, how would you survive, who could you turn to to help you if you needed the help? even if you still didn't have an solution it doesn't mean one does not exist..
the fact is we all worry about how we will survive through this, I still worry, but i think somehow we do.manage to survive even with the loss of job. maybe others who have dealt with this on the long term can share.
about the hair thing. that was my big concern too. i am almost done and my hair is thinning, but i had a lot anyway so still looks okay, you probably saw the posts about hair loss today or yesterday. there are ways to deal with hair scarves, wigs, hairpieces & i still color my hair, but i don't know how that would go with longer tx. i know i still have othe options.
i am a 2 which is shorter tx. so i know you have more at stake.
i guess you have to weigh it out. if you have reasons that you would like to tx. for example hopes of cure or delay of liver damage for family: husband, children, grandchildren, whoever.. or risk losing job which is of greater importance to you? if you were unable to work, how would you survive, who could you turn to to help you if you needed the help? even if you still didn't have an solution it doesn't mean one does not exist..
the fact is we all worry about how we will survive through this, I still worry, but i think somehow we do.manage to survive even with the loss of job. maybe others who have dealt with this on the long term can share.
about the hair thing. that was my big concern too. i am almost done and my hair is thinning, but i had a lot anyway so still looks okay, you probably saw the posts about hair loss today or yesterday. there are ways to deal with hair scarves, wigs, hairpieces & i still color my hair, but i don't know how that would go with longer tx. i know i still have othe options.
Hi Cathi,
You're putting the cart a little in front of the horse, or let's say the poker chips in front of the table, in your case.
Before worrying about how treatment might affect your job, you should get a good evaluation of your liver, preferably from a hepatologist (liver specialist) as opposed to a gastro.
Do you know your genotype? What are your liver enzymes> Have you had a biopsy? If so, what stage liver damage do you have?
Not sure what this "ten year window" is all about, but if you haven't had a recent biopsy (within 3 years) then it is difficult to tell how long that window is, if it's a window of when you should start treating that is being referred to.
You should also know that viral loads jump up and down a lot and do not correlate with liver damage in any point in time. Mine were over 30 million at one point and three years later they were 16,000 without treatment. Then a few months later they were 1.5 million. So try not to read too much into viral load.
All the best,
-- Jim
You're putting the cart a little in front of the horse, or let's say the poker chips in front of the table, in your case.
Before worrying about how treatment might affect your job, you should get a good evaluation of your liver, preferably from a hepatologist (liver specialist) as opposed to a gastro.
Do you know your genotype? What are your liver enzymes> Have you had a biopsy? If so, what stage liver damage do you have?
Not sure what this "ten year window" is all about, but if you haven't had a recent biopsy (within 3 years) then it is difficult to tell how long that window is, if it's a window of when you should start treating that is being referred to.
You should also know that viral loads jump up and down a lot and do not correlate with liver damage in any point in time. Mine were over 30 million at one point and three years later they were 16,000 without treatment. Then a few months later they were 1.5 million. So try not to read too much into viral load.
All the best,
-- Jim
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