justed learned that my husband has hep c... i could use any info & help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hep c: justed learned that my husband... - HepCBC Hepatitis ...
hep c
Written by
christianliggett
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
11 Replies
•
There are new meds ! One of which is 99% cure ,kills it! Do you have a geno type? And a good Dr. What part of the country are you in!
i have found a couple of doctors in my area, so hopefully they will be able to help him....... I live in Cincinnati ohio....we just found out while he has been in a rehab center, so when I make the apt I guess we'll found out what type of geno he is.... the only other problem we are facing is that he has had 2 shoulder surgeries and needs some kind of meds that will help him deal with his level of pain.
My personal experiences stay away from the harsh medications! Homeopathic remedies do work look up! God bless hope this helps!
I'm a friend of Bill W.
thanks I will do that...............
So sorry to hear you are going through all this. Well these days for most people there are some excellent drugs available which are very successful in treating Hepatitis C depending on what geno type he has. The one that most people are being put on in the UK is called Harvoni and sometimes the patient only needs to take one or two tablets each day for 12 weeks and they are all sorted! It does depend on how long he has had Hepatitis C and whether he has any damage to his liver.
They should do all the necessary tests which should establish whether he has any Fibrosis of the Liver. If there is some damage to the Liver they often prescribe Harvoni with another drug called Ribavarin and sometimes the treatment is then extended to 24 weeks. However, people generally find the time speeds by very quickly and before they know it they are off to be checked to make sure it has completely cleared.
I have Hepatitis C. I got this from a 6 pint blood transfusion when I was 18 years old and I am now 59 years old. Of course, having had it now for 41 years without having any treatment is a problem as it has had plenty of time to attack my liver. In my case the situation is extremely complex as I was born with the connective tissue disorder of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and this causes me to be severely Dyspraxic and to also be extremely fragile. I therefore was not able to be considered for the previous treatments which many people used to have which usually included Interferon.
I also now have Non-Specific Interstitial Lung Disease so all of these things are still holding up treatment decisions.
This is my advice at this stage:
1. Make sure he is referred to a hospital which has a proper "Specialized Liver Centre"
2. Make sure you ask what genotype he is. This will be Type 1a or Type 1b or Type 2, etc. so ensure you get the type followed by the letter. (I think the types a & b are only used for Type 1 genotype but I am not sure.)
3. Ask the Liver Consultant what medications he could use for the pain in his shoulder which would cause the least damage to the liver - just in case you find the homeopathic medicines are not working.
4. Remember all pain medications are processed by the liver so almost everything will cause some overload to the liver. You need to have the liver fit to fight the Hep C rather than coping with medications. However, I would not want to live a life of continuous pain so I would take the advice of the previous messenger to look into the Homeopathic treatment as well for help with the shoulder.
You did not say what type of pain your husband has in his shoulder. Did he suffer an injury or something? Is it his left shoulder or his right shoulder. This is extremely important as sometimes the Hep C can damage the Liver and cause pain in the right shoulder so make sure your Liver Consultant knows about the shoulder pain. (EDITED: Sorry I see he has had Shoulder surgeries and is in a rehab centre. Memory problems and forgot the post stated this so just ignore this section. I won't remove it as it may help someone else who has Hep C to know that problems with the liver can cause pain in the right shoulder.)
Things which will help:
1. Do not drink any alcohol
2. Do not smoke
3. Avoid medications as much as possible even over the counter medications
4. Drink plenty of water or water with fresh lemon
5. Cut out as much sugar as possible
6. Get plenty of rest
7. Exercise regularly but build up slowly
8. If overweight try to get your weight under control
9. Contact local support groups so you both have other people to talk to who are going through the same problems as you are
10. Don't rush to tell family or friends until you talk with others about this.
Please ensure you come back here for further advice so that people can help you after we know what geno type you are and what the situation is regarding weight/diet/exercise/smoking/drinking, etc. Don't be afraid to let us have the full picture so we can provide specific help for each problem. For instance - if he drinks he may need help to give up drinking, etc.
Sorry for the delay in responding. Was at the hospital all day yesterday for my lungs so am completely shattered.
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible with some updates about some of the things mentioned above.
Stay strong. Support each other and stay calm. Don't forget STRESS is the biggest killer in the World so make sure you keep stress to a minimum. Try to do things which make you both laugh......watch a funny movie or funny You Tube videos, etc. If you cannot lower the levels of stress then please try to avoid those things or people in your life who cause you stress - this is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to live a long healthy life!
The drugs these days are very successful and have few side effects. I note that you are in USA. Does he have insurance? Please let me know as there is a scheme to help people who don't have insurance in USA and in some other countries. In UK the help should be available from the NHS unless your name is Twinkling Star!! lol
Loads of love and hugs to you both.
Keep Smiling or in my case Keep Twinkling.
Love from
Twinkling Star
thank you so much for all the info.... he dose smoke so that maybe a hard one for him to give cuz he has been smoking since he was a teenager about 14 or 15...and we do have health insurance through his works... which is going to be a stressful place when he comes back home from rehab..... the type of people he works with are very immature and they all depend on him to get everything done...... so stress from everybody at his work including his boss is going to be very trying for awhile until hopefully maybe they chill out and let him be........
Twinkling Star, I've just come across this site ( I'm normally using the British Lung Foundation - BLF site , as I suffer from an illness called COPD ) and I read your post with interest. I hadn't given it another thought, until now, but almost 10 years ago,after being discharged from hospital, I recall being told I had Hep C. I live in the UK and wonder if I should've had any medication etc. Obviously, one the Doctor's is open on Monday I'll phone them but I was curious to post it here. Any replies are very welcome. Thank you.
Hi Twinkling Star, I know this post is old but I was wondering if you still ever visited this forum?
Yes I still receive messages but I don't visit the forum regularly. I will private message you. Thanks. I hope you are ok.
Hello Squirrels
So Sorry to hear that you may have Hepatitis C. The first thing to do is find out for sure. A certain percentage of people have had Hepatitis C but the virus has cleared itself. These people are referred to as "Self Clearers". Their body has developed the antigen which shows that you have been in contact with the virus at some stage.
Now the next thing will need to be an individual choice. As I don't trust Doctors my choice would be to go to a walk in Sexually Transmitted Disease Centre. Stress to them that you want to be tested for everything but not because of lifestyle (unless this is the case for you) but that you felt this was the quickest way of getting a reliable result. Stress to them that you want to a copy of the result to take away with you. (Just say it's because you have a memory problem or something like that and whether it is positive or negative it won't sink in properly unless you have it in writing.)
So at your first opportunity get tested!! DON'T LET THEM FOB you off with things like "No you were obviously a self-clearer and only have the antigen." This is why I suggested going to the STSD clinic instead of GP. One it is MUCH FASTER, two I trust them more to be honest and three you should have the results ultra quick with sensible advice, support and a clear way to move forward.
It would be helpful if you would please let me know how old you are, whether you are with a partner, and if you are willing to share how you think you may have contracted Hepatitis and what age you were at the time you think you were infected. This would be useful to have this information BEFORE you go for the test but if that is not possible don't worry.
Do NOT drink any alcohol at all!! Limit junk foods especially sugar but artificial sweeteners are even worse!! In the meantime read my above post again. Stay calm. Be strong. Take one step at a time. Remember STRESS is the biggest killer so try to NOT go down that route!!
Keep Smiling or in my case Keep Twinkling
Love and Hugs from
Twinkling Star Xxxx
Squirrels
Remember we are in open chat here and this post is NOT LOCKED so anyone can read it. I would suggest you PRIVATE MESSAGE ME ONLY. You may also want to delete your post or copy it and start a new post yourself so you can lock it.