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Dr. says, My Hep C is Active
I was diagnosed with hep c in 1999 and recently was told that my hep c is active .... and have to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist .... I am so very scared. I am 45, a mom with little ones as well as teens and grown children ... I am so afraid of what he will tell me ... I know that I have been feeling sick for a while now and I am afraid he will tell me that I am dying ... I can't die I have a little girl 4yrs old that was diagnosed with a wilms tumor (kidney cancer) in march of 2007, she went through surgery, radiation and chemo and is coming up on her one year off treatment in october ... after that she will continue to have scans every 3 months for the next two years and twice a year for 2 more years after that ... Plus I have other little ones who need me. I am a bawling mess and just feel sick in every sense of the word.
Ask the doctor for a print out of your bloodwork,particularly your liver function tests.
Post all the numbers here and there are many knowledgable people who can explain them to you and spend more helping you than the doctor can in a short appointment.
People like yourself who are very stressed tend to not absorb info whilst at the clinic.
We can take you through it all at your own pace.
Post all the numbers here and there are many knowledgable people who can explain them to you and spend more helping you than the doctor can in a short appointment.
People like yourself who are very stressed tend to not absorb info whilst at the clinic.
We can take you through it all at your own pace.
I know how you feel. I just found out in Jan 08 that I had this disease. I went directly home to find my life insurance policies. :-) I was a wreck! This place has really helped me. You can learn so much here. It will help you know what to ask your dr when you see him/her. You will find others dealing successfully with the same things you are dealing with and that will give you courage and empower you to do what you need to do to. Spend some time reading and you will be surprised how much better you feel with a little knowledge under your hat.
Good Luck to you!
Good Luck to you!
Thank you for your words .. they help me very much
HCA .. I am a panicker and suffer from severe anxiety :(
H20, I don't have any information to share except I've never had a biopsy .. pretty much have not had my hep c monitored for years and years and then some. When I was first diagnosed I stopped drinking immediately and then a few years ago I started going to bars and drinking 3 nights a week ... but have been sober for 17 months now.
Anyhow how I found out that my hep was active was. I went to an internal medicine doc May 27th for other reasons and my liver was functioning as normal ... and then for some reason asked them if they test confirmed that I had hep c .. and they told me they didn't look for it so they retested me, confirmed my hep c and they told me that my alt ast? was high .... so they suggested another blood test to see if my hep was active and called me yesterday to tell me it was ... I am being refered to a gastro ... which I will call today and schedule my appt.
So until then I am taking milk thistle hoping to ease some of the symptoms of hep .. have some major liver pains, nausea, and lots of aches and pains, shaky hands, tired and just no energy :( and now add panick and fear to the mix (sigh)
I don't know my viral load or any other info .. the doc always has her assistance call and every question I ask is answered with I don't really know that info ,, very frustrating.
Sher
HCA .. I am a panicker and suffer from severe anxiety :(
H20, I don't have any information to share except I've never had a biopsy .. pretty much have not had my hep c monitored for years and years and then some. When I was first diagnosed I stopped drinking immediately and then a few years ago I started going to bars and drinking 3 nights a week ... but have been sober for 17 months now.
Anyhow how I found out that my hep was active was. I went to an internal medicine doc May 27th for other reasons and my liver was functioning as normal ... and then for some reason asked them if they test confirmed that I had hep c .. and they told me they didn't look for it so they retested me, confirmed my hep c and they told me that my alt ast? was high .... so they suggested another blood test to see if my hep was active and called me yesterday to tell me it was ... I am being refered to a gastro ... which I will call today and schedule my appt.
So until then I am taking milk thistle hoping to ease some of the symptoms of hep .. have some major liver pains, nausea, and lots of aches and pains, shaky hands, tired and just no energy :( and now add panick and fear to the mix (sigh)
I don't know my viral load or any other info .. the doc always has her assistance call and every question I ask is answered with I don't really know that info ,, very frustrating.
Sher
It is the not knowing that is the killer.
Ditto! I know it doesn't seem so right now but it was a fantastically lucky day that you discovered that you had this disease and a great thing that you have kept on top of it! tons of us have had it, treated it and cleared it and have gone on to live perfectly healthy productive lives. I'm a single mom too and understand worrying about being there for your children but you have NO reason to think you won't. More than likely something else would kill you way before this disease will.......it's a slowly progressing disease and there IS a cure for it for a good portion of the population.
Take one day at a time, do the things your doctor tells you to and realize if you had to get a disease this one really isn't that bad to have. Having a cure and being a slow mover give you excellent chances of defeating it once and for all.
Good luck.
Ditto! I know it doesn't seem so right now but it was a fantastically lucky day that you discovered that you had this disease and a great thing that you have kept on top of it! tons of us have had it, treated it and cleared it and have gone on to live perfectly healthy productive lives. I'm a single mom too and understand worrying about being there for your children but you have NO reason to think you won't. More than likely something else would kill you way before this disease will.......it's a slowly progressing disease and there IS a cure for it for a good portion of the population.
Take one day at a time, do the things your doctor tells you to and realize if you had to get a disease this one really isn't that bad to have. Having a cure and being a slow mover give you excellent chances of defeating it once and for all.
Good luck.
You have come to the right place. Knowledge and support overflows here.
Post what you do know about yourself (genotype, biopsy, viral load) etc. so those here can better help you. You can do this on your profile if you wish.
Take a deep breath and try to be strong. It is the not knowing that is the killer. Once you know what you are dealing with you will be better equipped to deal with it.
Welcome,
Pam
Post what you do know about yourself (genotype, biopsy, viral load) etc. so those here can better help you. You can do this on your profile if you wish.
Take a deep breath and try to be strong. It is the not knowing that is the killer. Once you know what you are dealing with you will be better equipped to deal with it.
Welcome,
Pam
First stop panicing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is not going to tell you you are dying.
He will make an assessment of the condition of your liver using modern diagnostic methods.
Chances are you will have some degree of liver fibrosis like most (all) of us have.
He will then possibly put you on treatment with a view to curing you.
Only a small proportion of people with Hepatitis C ever die from it.
Pull yourself together- I am sure you will be fine,
Let us know how your appointment went.
He is not going to tell you you are dying.
He will make an assessment of the condition of your liver using modern diagnostic methods.
Chances are you will have some degree of liver fibrosis like most (all) of us have.
He will then possibly put you on treatment with a view to curing you.
Only a small proportion of people with Hepatitis C ever die from it.
Pull yourself together- I am sure you will be fine,
Let us know how your appointment went.
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