Brief History - Part 1 - Hep C

Ancient History --- I contracted Hepatitis C in November of 1991 via a blood transfusion on the day I had my twins. Since that time, my health (physical AND emotional) slowly deteriorated to the point that it became increasingly difficult to parent my children, hold a job, or even just function from day to day.

I won't bore you with the details, but my health got to the point that I was afraid I was going to die if I didn't do something... I had been following the research and treatment options as it grew and developed since I first learned that I had this virus.

I didn't want to be a guinee pig and be a research subject for treatments that hadn't been perfected yet... we've all heard those horror stories... and I had children to take care of... couldn't risk THAT... so I waited until they came to the point that they said, "Yes, we CAN pronounce you cured after this, this, this, and this happens."

I had kept a running tally of my viral load, lived healthy, took vitamins and liver supporting supplements, and avoided things like alcohol and drugs metabolized in the liver. Last year, my viral load doubled in the space of about 12 months, give or take a month.

When that test result came back, I knew I had finally reached that critical point where I had to take action or have my health plummet straight down as the viral levels shot up. I made the decision to go on the treatment.

More Recent History -- So I have been on treatment for Hepatitis C for about 30 weeks now. It has been a bit of a struggle as there are good days and bad days... but I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Treatment time varies, but for the strain I have, the treatment is 48 weeks long. It involves an injection once a week of interferon... fun stuff, too. On top of that, it involves taking 6 ribavirin/ribasphere tablets per day... that's fun stuff, as well...

On the positive side, I am responding well... I am tolerating the medications better than I did at the beginning of my treatment, AND the virus completely cleared my system by the end of my 7th week of treatment. The earlier this happens, the likelier it is that the treatment will be successful.

SO! Please feel free to join me for the rest of my journey! I plan to document the rest of my treatment, share my methods for coping with the issues that arise, praise my wonderful support network of friends and family, and share my general/random thoughts on ... well, probably everything!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog thus far