The Gastroenterologist

The initial visit was about what I had expected. He seemed like a nice guy and appeared more interested in my health than I was. He ordered some typical liver blood tests to be done. My next visit was a review of the results, followed by a suggestion to have a liver biopsy performed as soon as it could be scheduled. He said a biopsy could indicate just how much damage the liver had been subject to from both the virus and excessive drinking. What the heck, the procedure sounded pretty simple so I agreed to have it done. It went rather smoothly, although he later joked it was difficult getting the biopsy needle to penetrate my skin. He said I had really tough skin and he hoped he'd never get in a knife fight with me. I assured him that was something he didn't need to be concerned about...after all, pulling the trigger on a gun requires so much less effort. The biopsy results suggested borderline cirrhosis. So, what I knew now was that I was genotype 1, stage 3/4. Which means the severity of the damage was 'severe'. I had known people who had died of cirrhosis and/or liver cancer and it wasn't something I wanted happening to me. From the day I got the results, I went cold turkey on the drinking. Sure seems like there was little time left of life had I had continued with the excessive drinking. At least there were several treatments available to stop the hep C virus. My thoughts were..stop drinking, stop the virus, and live a few more years as if I was given a second chance. That's why I had thought hep C may just have saved my life... or at least prolonged it a bit. Funny, I guess I had never really noticed how much my skin color had changed. My face had become darker, almost grey. My arms were the same way. It looked like a tan in a sense, yet in reality, I suppose it was a sign of just how sick I had become. Oddly enough, I never experienced an jaundice. The treatments available for fighting hep C are few, and frankly none sounded like they would be easy to deal with. MAYBE the treatment will stop this crazy itching.

The Beginning.

What would motivate me to write a blog? I suppose it's because I have some first hand knowledge on a subject that most people have little knowledge about. I'll try to be informative with some medical facts, but most of the blog will be a view of my life as I've tried to deal with having hepatitis C.
First of all, if you have been diagnosed with having hep C, you are not alone! Over 4 million others in the United States have it...and 180 million are infected worldwide. You certainly can feel all alone when you're told you have it. I found out when the Blood bank refused my donation. They notify you if antibodies indicate that you have been exposed to the hep C virus. That wasn't a good day for me. It scared the daylights out of me. From what I had heard, it was a death sentence.
I had no idea what I should do, if anything at all. I felt fine except for the times that I partied too hard. Nothing unusual about that. Only problem I thought I had, was that even at 49 I still drank for the buzz. Had a hard time stopping once I got started. And I drank my mixed drinks WAY TO FAST! A way of life that started almost thirty years ago. Perhaps hep C saved my life.
Strange thing to say isn't it?
Anyway, I decided not to do anything about the virus...even joked that the alcohol would probably kill it. What a fool. Some time passed and I developed some small 'bumps' on my left arm that itched like crazy. Some blistered but never hurt. I figured it was due to hanging my arm out the window while driving...something I always did. I drove for a living and had a great tan on my left arm. Not much later, my other arm developed these little itchy bumps too. No medication helped and it was starting to be a major inconvienence. Kinda like having poison ivy 24/7. I was losing sleep because I couldn't get comfortable. Next stop...a dermatologist. They should have something for it. They did a biopsy on one of the 'bumps' and it came back with some odd results. It said I had Porphyria cutanea tarda, usually triggered by hep C. Great, now I have another problem. Of course, there was no medications that stopped the itching for me. I was advised to see a liver specialist. Good thing I had insurance at work!