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Has anyone maintained long term health w/Hep C

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Posted 4/19/2006 10:01 PM (GMT -7)
Dr told me two years ago I had 5 years left. Going in for a bio in a few months. Ive been taking milk thistle and other things.Im 52 and contracted around 15...IS THIS A DEATH SENTENCE????
Posted 4/20/2006 7:09 AM (GMT -7)
Hi Jeff, Welcome to HW forum. You will find a lot of caring supportive people here & a lot of good info. Why do the Drs. feel you only have 5 years? Did the Hep C turn to cirrhosis & if so what stage are you in? Do you have liver cancer from the hep C? You haven't given much info for this statement for us to try guide you a little.Are there other complications such as auto immune, alcohol or drugs etc? If it's JUST Hep C with no complications then the answer is no. If there are other complications or facters then no cannot be so easily said. However they are only Drs. they are not God, so no-one can say when. I have severe advanced cirrhosis from prescription drugs & was told after my first comma that I had 2 weeks to live. I had 3 more commas & stablelized for 6 years after that. I have started going downhill since Sept. but still holding my own more or less. So it's been 10 years since I was given 2 weeks.So they cannot be so specific. Do you have a good hepatologist & nutritionalist if he has recommended on? Please feel free to go thru the other posts here & join in the conversations & share experiences here with others. Take care & God bless. My thoughts & prayers are with you.later....

Hep C in itself is not a death sentance but complications from it can be.So take good care of yourself & get a hepatologist early as possible.
Posted 4/20/2006 2:08 PM (GMT -7)
Jeff, welcome to the forum! I was diagnosed with chronic active hep C (CAHC) in March of '93 per biopsy. My only symptom was constant fatigue (still is.) Did you have any treatment at all? I did go on Interferon, which was the only thing available at the time, but my white count plummeted and I was taken off. I didn't follow up with newer treatments. In May of '05, nearly a year ago, I was diagnosed with hepatacellular carcinoma, as a direct result of the hep C. I have a huge malignant tumor taking up most of the right lobe, and it is inoperable as it has metastasized to the inferior vena cava. I just had chemoembolization on April 7th, to try to reduce the tumor's size and halt blood flow to the tumor and also stop some shunting of blood from the liver to the lungs and diaphragm.

The biopsy will tell them if you have cirrhosis. If so, you would not be accepted for treatment, as far as I know, but you could possibly have a transplant.

Please come back and give us more information, and also the results of your upcoming biopsy.

Hugs,
Connie
Posted 4/20/2006 2:28 PM (GMT -7)
Jeff

I was diagnosed with Hep C when I was 18 years old. I am now 52 and my levels are normal. I just had an ultrasound to see if it is enlarged and it is not. My doctor told me of new treatments for hep C but I don't know what they are called.

Over the years I married and had 2 kids and never transferred it. I did have a real bad cold once and it raised my levels, but then they returned to normal.

Ron
Posted 4/20/2006 2:33 PM (GMT -7)
Hi mainship. Welcome to HW forum. You will find a lot of supportive, caring people here & tons of info. I'm very happy to hear that you were one of the lucky ones that had no complications. I hope this continues for you. Take Care & God bless. later....
Posted 4/20/2006 3:33 PM (GMT -7)
Hubby has hep b,with cirrhosis,and hes in the middle of treatment with interferon. Every case is different though. Not sure how they can put a time frame on death,especially before staging the cirrhosis,:shrugs:
trish
Posted 4/20/2006 3:43 PM (GMT -7)
Sorry. I can't give you an answer about Hep C. (I have cirrhosis caused by autoimmune hepatitis) but treatment of my AIH has led to my cirrhosis not becoming any worse in the past 18 months. Bloodwork has been OK, (with occasional flare-ups) and I have had none of the cirrhotic symptoms I had in May 05 when I was in liver failure. I'm leading a normal life, except for the meds, blood tests and doctors visits. May it stay that way for a long time to come.
I hope you also are able to be treated and continue to lead a good life.
Take care. Welcome to the Forum.
Marg
Posted 4/20/2006 5:55 PM (GMT -7)
Hi Jeff and Ron,
Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will receive all the support and information you need here and will also be helpful to us.
I'm caregiver for my husband with cirrhosis and EC. So I don't have information on Hep B or C.
Barb
Posted 4/21/2006 6:24 AM (GMT -7)
Mainship, welcome to the forum! Were you diagnosed as non-A, non-B? I ask this because a specific test for hep C was not available until 1991. Also, you may have been diagnosed with hepatitis C, but it is not active. That is known as chronic hepatitis C. In that case, you would have been exposed to it at some point in your life, but your immune system knocked it out. However, you may always test positive for C, if you have the antibodies. This was true of me with hepatitis B.

If hepatitis C is chronic active, and a person receives no treatment, they would not go for decades without developing cirrhosis, liver cancer, or some other liver problem. That is because the term "active" means it is still attacking the liver.

The newer treatments for hep C involve a combination of at least 2 drugs.

Connie
Posted 4/22/2006 10:53 AM (GMT -7)
Thanks to all for such a warm welcome. I was only told that I had Hep C. I was a stupid kid when I was young. I got Hep from a needle. I don't usually admit that as I am ashamed of how I got it 34 years ago.

Ron
Posted 4/22/2006 11:37 AM (GMT -7)
Hi Ron, did you have any treatment? Don't beat yourself up, we all made mistakes in life when we were young in various ways. That's part of life making mistakes. the important thing is we learn from them. Take care & God Bless. Keep posting.Feel free to go thru the other threads here to & join in the great conversations. We all need the support here. You are not alone. My thoughts & prayers are with you. later....
Posted 4/22/2006 12:35 PM (GMT -7)
Ron, I got hep C the same way, nearly 40 years ago. (It really doesn't matter how we contracted it...the fact is we have it.) I didn't know I had hep C and had no symptoms until '91 when fatigue seemed to come out of nowhere and stayed, regardless of how much sleep I got. If you have recently been offered treatment, then the doctor may feel you are "active," but the only way to really tell is through a liver biopsy. Have you ever had one? If not, it would be a good idea to find out where you stand. If you are chronic active, it would be in your best interest to get treatment.

There are known cases of mother to child transmission in the womb.


Connie

Post Edited (hep93) : 4/22/2006 5:10:47 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/22/2006 6:37 PM (GMT -7)
When I was first diagnosed with it, the doctor did a liver biopsy then and put me on steroids for a month. That was it, nothing else until now. My doctor said she didn't know if it was active but she said there are treatments for it now. I am going in for my 3rd spinal fusion in August and I am supposed to see a specialist after that. I get my levels checked all the time, but now I understand that doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I just had an ultrasound done on my liver and the tech that did it said she didn't see any inflamation so I'll find out more after I recover from the surgery. I'm told that's 3 - 6 months.

Thanks for being so kind. I'm usually just a reader of posts in the background getting all sorts of info from everyone.

Ron
Posted 4/22/2006 6:45 PM (GMT -7)
Hi Ron, Just wanted to say good luck with the surgery. Glad to hear you're getting treatment now. Let us know how it all goes for you. My thoughts & prayers are with you. later?
Posted 4/22/2006 8:33 PM (GMT -7)
Ron, I'm glad the ultrasound was okay. I was having blood work every 6 months and an ultrasound every year. Nothing was detected in April '04, but in April '05 a very large liver tumor was seen. That's how fast a tumor can grow.

The new treatments get much better results than the interferon only. Good luck with your spinal surgery!

Connie
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