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.