Again, he was diagnosed in early August with Hepatitis C.
He had symptoms of it but we attributed them to other things. He was exhausted all the time. But we just chalked that up to him working in the oil field for long hours in the heat. He had elevated liver functions and high triglycerides. Which could have been due to drinking alot of beer (which at that time he was) or eating fatty foods. We always just explained everything away.
He was having a check up for his work wellness program because his numbers were off. She asked us about testing for it. We didnt know, but figured why not with his history. Not ever suspecting anything would become of it.
The test came back and the nurse told me that he had Hepatitis C. At that time I didnt know anything about it, so it wasnt really anything that was scary. So I researched everything I could. It was kind of a shock. We do not know how or when he got it. Judging by how progressed it is, we are assuming 15 years or so. But its only a guess. He has had alot of tattoos (some homemade) and when he was younger he got into MANY fist fights, hes been in the military and gone overseas and had his fair share of problems with the law. So really no telling and at this stage it is really a moot point.
For the first couple of weeks, he took it really hard. He really didnt understand it completely (like most people dont) So he made alot of assumptions that were incorrect. He was depressed, wouldnt get out of bed on days off. But now that he has a better understanding about it, he deals with it much better. He talks freely about it with people. I do think he looks at things in life a little differently now for the better.
I have found since he has had this that people respond to it similar to the way they respond to bipolar disorder and other things they are misinformed about. For years I dealt with people and their ignorance about bipolar disorder. People dont understand if they havent been thru it. They would just make an assumption that my son was a "bad kid that just needed a good whoopin"...
The same is wth Hepatitis C. People it and freak out. News flash it is said that about 75% of people that have it DONT know about it. They say its 1 in 4. Yes, it is possible to get it from someone but only if you come into contact with their blood in some way. You will NOT get it by hugging him, shaking his hand, or even if he coughs or sneezes around you.
He wanted me to get tested for it, because unfortunately he gets hurt ALOT and im always the one there tending to the wounds. I did get tested and luckily I have tested negative. We were both thankful.
He had quit smoking around the end of 2009/beginning of 2010. Now he needed to give up the beer. He did...hesitantly. Then we find out that he cant have high fructose corn syrup because the liver can not break it down the same way it can not break down alcohol. Have you seen how many things that we eat or drink contain high fructose corn syrup? Practically everything. So now theres alot of things he cant have to eat or drink.
This is what makes him mad. He has come along way. He has been drug free for 4 1/2 years. He quit smoking a year and a half ago. He was just learning to be happy with "normal" life and felt like this was a punishment of sorts. That it wasnt fair, hes doing everything right and then this happens. But he turned things over to God and found a way to accept it. He did give up the beer and changed alot of the things he eats and drinks. He has had to give up the dipping because of the chemicals that they use to process it, again damging to liver. He has had to give up energy drinks, which he was having to have because he was literally wiped out ALL the time.
We found out that he was genotype 1a which is one of the hardest to treat with a relatively low response rate. They did a biopsy on his liver and that is when we found out that he was in stage 3 (the stage before cirrohsis). Lots of lab work all the time.
He was scheduled for an appt in December of 2010 where we thought he would start his treatments. But first they wanted to test him for a certain gene that people have. It could make treatment more difficult or not responsive at all. His viral count at that time was 900,000. Although that sounds like a high number, for Hepatitis C, that is actually a rather low number.
So unfortunately, he wasnt able to start in December because we had to wait to find out the results.
There are 3 genes. If one has a T/T gene, it has a better respone rate with the meds. The C/T gene doesnt have as good of a response rate and a C/C gene very little or no response. Well it turns out that he has the C/T gene.
So they want him to wait until some new meds came out this year so he would have a better chance at getting a sustained viral response and not developing a resistance to the meds. We were very disappointed as we were very anxious for him to start in December.
We went back in June and found out one of the new meds is out. So now if the insurance approves them, then he can start treatment. The only thing about the meds is that they are very expensive. The problem the insurance companies have with the new med is that it is not on the list.
His viral count is now 3,000,000. It has more than tripled since our last visit. He has had more symptoms on a daily basis such as night sweats, dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion, exhaustion, muscle aches and pains and so on.
Heres where we are on this...the duration of his treatment depends on several things. He will be taking 3 meds. (1 injection, and 2 different types of pills) He will have lots of lab appts and dr appts. All 3 of the meds have nasty side effects. But different people respond differently. They may affect him, they may not. We wont know until he takes them how they will or wont affect him. He could become very anemic with the meds. One med can affect the red blood cells, while another can affect the white blood cells. His immune system will be very susceptible to things.
If he responds and at the first 4 week interval, if his viral count is below 1000 they will continue treatment. If at 3 months he is still responding they will decide whether to treat him for 24 weeks or 48 weeks. If by chance he is responding but slowly they might even increase it to 72 weeks of treatment. However, if at 4 weeks his viral count is NOT below 1000, they will discontinue treatment so he doesnt build up a resistance to the meds.
We got word just Friday that they did approve the meds and they will be here on Wednesday! YAY! He says that he wants to start them on Thursday. I worry about what kind of side effects he will have. But I know hes ready to try and get over this so he can feel better. I hate watching him be miserable all the time.
Will give updates as we have them. Thanks to everyone that has expressed concern and support!!! God bless
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