How long for you and how much damage?

[Mike1A84]

Heres a queston for everyone.How long have you had hep c for?and what
kind of damage to you have at this point.For me I have had it for almost 20 years and was stage 1 grade 1 in the beginning of 2011.anyway feedback would be nice.

[willbb]

meant to add:

Originally Dx. 2001  St.0

[willbb]

Contracted 38 years ago...  .early St.2 (as of Jan..2013 Dx. by Fibroscan/biopsy)

Will

[klonny55]

58 yo male. Probably got it in the mid-80's while working as an EMT. Diagnosed in March 2013. First biopsy June 5, 2013 showed stage 2-3 grade 3 portal/periportal, grade 2 lobular. No symptoms at the moment, I feel very good actually! Have my follow up with the hep department tomorrow to discuss next steps. I am genotype 2b . They will most likely say to wait until the interferon free treatment for gen2 is available sometime around the first of the year.

[Dee1956]

I think I got it in 1977.  I was tested in 96, came back neg, was false neg.
After 30 years I was in the very beginning.. transitioning to cirrhosis, yes it makes me feel better to say it that way :).
I was not diagnosed until my platelets fell to 65K.  I had cryoglobunlemia for 2 years before that, not one of the 3 docs I showed it to made the connection, they told me it was nothing to worry about.  Now I am SVR and all the spots on my legs are clearing up.  I was told they would never go away as they were iron stains from my blood leaking out.
I feel better than I have in many many years.

[frijole]

I have had 3 biopsies.  The first was in 2005 before I treated the first time and it was G1, S1 - not bad for having Hep C for 35 years or so.

Second biopsy was in 2007 after a failed treatment - still G1-2, S1-2.  Not bad, I thought.

Third biopsy was in 2011 before I treated with triple. - G3-4, S3-4 - cirrhosis!  Total shock.  Age in 2011 was 64.  

Don't be tricked into thinking you have escaped liver damage.  Damage starts excellerating as you age and things can turn quickly.  I had the slides read by 3 different doctors and they all said the same.  It impacted treatment -- had to do 48 weeks, rather than 24 (or 28 in my case with Victrelis) but I am SVR now and glad I treated. (and, by the way, damage in the liver is more or less uniform so core samples do give a good reading of the state of the entire liver).

I hope to have another biopsy in a year or two to see what has happened to my liver.

frijole (bean)

[GrammyA]

My tenure with this horrible disease may be the oddest one so far.  I was exposed to it from multiple blood transfusions when I was 8 months old - in 1953.  I am now 60 and genotype 1b with cirrhosis.  In 2000 I was Stage 1 and failed treatment in 2001 being removed from treatment after 14 weeks.  In January of this year I finished 24 weeks of the triple with Incivek and was undetectable at 4 weeks post but detectable at 12 weeks post.  I was Stage 4 cirrhosis in 2004.  Now I wait until something else comes along that might remove the virus - and pray it will be a treatment that will not kill me in the process.  I could only do 24 weeks this last time instead of going the full 48 due to extreme side effects and indicators that the treatment would cause permanent neurological damage if I continued.  Just had another MRI to see if a tumor in the liver is still under control and oddly enough my AST and ALT are now both absolutely normal and the lowest I have ever seen them... go figure.