About me

So, let's see. You know I have hepatitis c and don't know where I got it from. My genotype is 1a which is the most common in the US and also the most difficult one to treat. Difficult in that after my 48 weeks of hell treatment, I have a 52% chance of eradicating the virus. Why bother? I'll tell you:

The virus replicates within us. The longer one has it, the higher the chance for cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. The virus is measured in replications. 8 million replications is really bad. 0 is what we want. I have 140,000 which is better than in the millions. The difficulty in the genotype is not in my favor. My replications is in my favor along with being relatively young (hey, that's my doc speaking, not me) and not overweight although a friend or two would argue that I have a muffin top. Regardless, I'm in a good position to beat it. I have health insurance through my job and I have an awesome doctor. And since my diagnosis I have stopped drinking (seeing as how my liver is under attack, any drinking/drugs are a terrible thing for my body) and I have continued to exercise regularly as this helps when it comes time to treat.

Why would anyone choose not to go for treatment? Here's why. Have you ever had the flu? I'm not talking a bad cold that people get all babyish about. I mean a real flu. Fever, body aches, joint aches, fatigue, chills, etc. If you've had one, take EVERY negative thing about it and add to it: nausea, loss of appetite, some hair loss, jaundice (body and whites of eyes turn yellowish), brain fog, severe irritability, headache, confusion, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, itching in places where the skin is fine, depression, diarrhea, etc. It's not pleasant. So, in deciding to treat it, there are a lot of options to weigh. I live alone which is going to be a problem when I begin treatment. If I need something I can't send someone to get it. If I'm feeling sick, I have to get up myself to get whatever will make me feel better.

To treat or not to treat is a huge decision for those of us with this crazy virus. Some people, like myself, have opted to incorporate eastern medicine (I prefer that over 'alternative medicine') to help ease the side effects. I have been going to acupuncture for one month and will continue to go. I also will be learning reiki to administer self-reiki.

So what is this treatment? I'm waiting for my liver biopsy to come back to confirm the treatment for me, but if it comes back as my doc and I suspect then I am doing the Interferon and Ribavirin combo. Interferon is a shot I will give myself once a week and the Ribavirin is 2-4 pills per day. The day I take the Interferon I will be fine and the side effects usually start the next day. There are a very small number of people who complete treatment with zero side effects and they sure are lucky. I'm hoping to be in that percentage.