Community

[Disabilityhearing]

It's Michelle. Just joined last night and haven't stopped reading and posting. Lol. I have a disability hearing coming up after being denies twice. I have advanced stage 4 cirrhosis and hep c. I haven't started treatment yet because you have to have 6 months clean. I'm on my second month of sobriety and I'm gonna keep it this time. What chances do you think I have of winning when my judge will know I haven't quit drink inf long enough to get the treatment???!! I sure hope I didn't ruin it again.

[dizzime]

Hi Michelle. Please keep up the good work and stay off the the booze whatever the outcome of the hearing is. Keep positive. Have you read up on all the affects hep c has on your body. This includes major depression, restless leg syndrome, itchy skin; confusion etc. Please read up on all these. I have hep c which I was not told about until too late, thats another story, but did not realise then that all my problems were due to hep c. I have since had to have a liver transplant and now still have hep c in my new liver for which I am waiting for the new treatment to be given. Apparently I do not fit the criteria for this yet as the hep c has not started to damage my new liver yet !!!!??. Please keep strong and when at the hearing please make sure you let them know how hep c is affecting you life and all its side affects. Read up on all it is amazing how many things are linked to this horrible virus which the Drs don't tell you. Good look. X

[Disabilityhearing in reply to dizzime]

hi dizziness, I just read your reply and it meant a lot to me. You made me feel a lot better about my hearing. Thank you. So you had a liver transplant. Hopefully one day I will too. Thank you for all the information. You sure made me feel better. I can't believe you have hep in your new liver. I will say a prayer for you. I'm glad I read this before going to sleep. I will sleep a lot better. I am so exhausted. I had a long day! Thanks again for all the information. Talk to you soon

[Hidden]

Hi Michelle xxx welcome and keep up the good work

When you go to your hearing please please give them the facts - not your life story (it does not matter how you got hep c or cirhossis) it's not for them to judge you - it is about your illness and how it affects you day to day - when my husband went for his - he was places in 'working' group - we appealed and was immediately put in 'support' group - we were told it is how the 'system' works out your answers !!!!! Do you have a child-Pugh score ??? Look on medscape or Patient.uk and see what it names symptoms as - use those words to describe your symptoms - extreme fatigue/confusion/nausea/reversed sleeping are examples - also are you having any 'encephalopathy' ??? It is very distressing to have to go through all this when you are feeling ill but once it is sorted it will make you feel a bit better not having to worry about it xxxxx Also are you receiving help with your sobriety ??? It may not be for everyone but AA helps - or having a person you can just call when you are feeling down xxx I don't need to tell you that HCV and Cirrhosis are killers - my husband had HCV and cirrhosis (didn't drink alcohol at all) and in the space of 9 months needed a liver transplant to save his life - he got one on 7th call and is now doing well - please keep up the good work and good luck with the hearing xxxxxxxx

[dizzime]

Hi again. Robswife is right in everything. I had encephalopathy and didn't realise it at first although other people did. As the liver stops working it starts to poison your body with toxins, these can have varied affects on your body - encaph being one of them. The toxins poison your brain so you cant think or understand things, everything gets very confusing and weird. I stammered, couldn't remember names, stopped mid setence cos I couldn't remember what I was saying etc. I was in full time work at first but after a lot of sick leave was retired on ill health. I am now on supported ESA as I couldnt work and still can't due to other problems ( yet another story) also on DLA. I dont know why you have to go through a hearing but as Robswife has said make sure you have all the information to back you up, basically sometimes you have to know more than them lol. I had my transplant a year ago this month, it has been up and down since then. It has shown signs of rejection twice now and as the anti rejection stetoids are put up I have now become diabetic on insulin. This is now all under control hopefully and might resolve fingers crossed. The main thing I am soooo much better than I was before and thanks to the team at Leeds I will get so much better. Everyday is a bonus. Think positive thoughts all the time and you will get through it. Good luck.

[ancientadolescent]

Hi my name is mike. I am 69 and received the gift of a donor liver 18 months ago. My liver failure was caused by severe depression which led to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. About 5 years ago my doctor feferred me to a specialist at my local hospital and I attended his clinic for thr best part of a year. By this time I had stopped drinking and this was confirmed by the regular blood tests that had been performed during my attendance. The specialist then referred me to the specialist liver unit at St James hospital in leeds and I attended for the best part of a further year having further tests before being placed on the transplant list. I then waited for a further 18 months before the call came and I went in for a transplant. During all this time I never lost heart and this is what I am saying to you,keep going forward and you will be successful. I could tell you much more and if you wish to hear further please get back to me. I wish you the very best of good fortune on your journey.

[ancientadolescent]

Hi my name is mike. I am 69 and received the gift of a donor liver 18 months ago. My liver failure was caused by severe depression which led to drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. About 5 years ago my doctor feferred me to a specialist at my local hospital and I attended his clinic for thr best part of a year. By this time I had stopped drinking and this was confirmed by the regular blood tests that had been performed during my attendance. The specialist then referred me to the specialist liver unit at St James hospital in leeds and I attended for the best part of a further year having further tests before being placed on the transplant list. I then waited for a further 18 months before the call came and I went in for a transplant. During all this time I never lost heart and this is what I am saying to you,keep going forward and you will be successful. I could tell you much more and if you wish to hear further please get back to me. I wish you the very best of good fortune on your journey.

[angse]

Hi Michelle hope all goes well for you at your hearing, well done to you for stopping alchohol, very hard I know, also staying stopped as you know, sorry I don't know anything about hearings, and just wanted to offer you good luck in getting help you need, I have end stage liver disease, with one massive GI bleed, one small internal bleed last year, and varices in throat and stomach, I have applied for pip payment whether that will happen or not, husband died last year so had to go on ESA a family member told me I should be entitled to pip payment, I am waiting for a medical from atos , but was told by them could wait up to a year to get seen by them, just waited 6 months so far, its when I come face to face with them I dread as I honestly don't look as if there is anything wrong with me, either do you by your profile PIC, so dreading mine, but the advice you have received here from all these great people is brilliant, so good luck. Angse