Does anyone have any first hand info on liver disease and the symptoms?

Question

I have hepatitis c , I'm supposed to take interferon but I just wonder how sick I am.

Answer 1

liver disease sometimes proceeds very slowly and the symptoms might not show up until the end. You will notice, jaundice- yellow skin and eyes.

Stomach pain..

Coughing up blood or severe stomach pain is stage 4 of any liver problem. Make sure to take all your medication and don't skip. You can develop a drug resistant strain.

Answer 2

I also am dealing with Chronic Hepatitis C. Have been diagnosed with it for approximately 20+ yrs. The symptoms of Hep C problems are jaundice, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, dark urine, and loss of appetite but some people don't have any symptoms. Some of the symptoms or problems may come up in later years when the virus has had a lot of time to do more damage to your liver.

If it is possible, get a hepatologist(Dr specializing in Hepatitis) to see you and run any necessary tests to find genotype, viral count, liver tests, and any other pertinent information on the Hep C.

Read all you can find on Hepatitis C and keep a good doctor-patient relationship with your physician. Any questions you may have on hep or problems you meet should be answered by him. If you cannot find a hepatologist close to the city you live in, then search for a gastroenterologist (Dr that specializes in stomach, liver, intestines, gallbladder and gastrointestinal tract) that does treat people with Hep or liver problems.

Try to follow all his instructions for your care and don't give up hope. This virus can be treated with ribavirin, interon, interferon and there are some new things that they are testing as treatment medications.

There are a lot of online websites that have support groups if can't find one near you. There is also a lot information in these websites if you do a search on Hepatitis C.

Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 3

Hepatitis is inflammation of the cells of the liver,
that when it advances can cause the cells of
the liver to die. When the cells die, they form
scar tissue, which is known as cirrhosis.
Many people don't show any symptoms of
the disease, that is why a number of people
walk around never knowing they have this
disease until their liver goes into failure.
Hepatitis can be controlled to prevent further
damage to the liver cells and stop the progression
of this to cirrhosis and, in some,
cause the disease to reverse by the liver
regenerating and healing. Once it reaches
the cirrhosis stage, through...the liver starts
to slow the down the functions it once did
until it finally end in Liver Failure.
Some of the symptoms can be any of the
following: Tiredness, nausea, fever,
trembling, sleep pattern changes,
yellowing of the skin and eyes, red palm and
soles of feet, little spider like veins on the
chest, swelling in the abdominal area by
fluid and also in the legs and feet. These are
just a few. I am posting these two sites
because they are excellant in covering all
Hep C involves and will give you a wealth of
information in easy to understand form.
http://www.hepcuk.info/data/usercontentroot/home/hepatitis%20c/Introduction.asp
http://www.janis7hepc.com/
I hope this is of some help to you. I have to
say, that depending on your medical history,
only your doctor will have some idea how far
along you are in this disease by the testing he
does and your family background and how
much else you have wrong with you. Please
check with him. If you have Hep C or
any liver disease, you should discuss with him
any medication you are on, this includes
herb remedies and over the counter drugs.
The doctor knows what drugs can harm your
liver more, since most all drugs are processed
by your liver.

Answer 4

To answer your first question, I was diagnosed in 1978 with post transfusion Non A Non B hepatitis after a transfusion of 6 units of blood post a motor vehicle accident in 1977. I have experienced no symptoms initially, but have symptoms at present. Are you going to take interferon alone or are you going to take a combo of interferon and ribavirin? I feel like your chances of irradicating the virus and minimizing liver damage are best if treatment is started early.
In response to "just how sick I am" you would need a liver biopsy to determine prescense of cirrhosis and what stage. Viral loads and liver enzymes are good indicators of the speed damage may occur, but to determine what is the current state of my liver at this time you would need the following: serum bilirubin level, serum albumin level, PT/ INR.I have much first hand info on liver disease and it's symptoms. Right now I have bilateral lower extremity edema and abdominal ascites. I have occaisional sharp stabbing pains, and also dull persistant pain. I have nausea on occaision, especially while on Rebetron therapy. I have soreness in all of my joints all of the time. I'm a little more forgetful than before. I'm free of jaundice thus far, thank God. My ammonia level has increased a little with no signs of encephalopathy. I was at 8 million copies prior to treatment, 6 months after treatment I was at 11 million copies. I tried colloidial siver (mesosilver) 10ppm on the advice of my naturopath . After 3 months my viral load decreased to 150,000!!! So, if I could do it all over again when I was stage I I would have tried to irradicate the virus with colloidial silver first. No side effects!!! If that did not work then I would have tried interferon and ribavirin. Many notable side effects!!! The pharmacuetical industry claiming 40+ % success. Everyone I have talked to has cleared the virus ( including me ) while on Interferon, Rebetron, Pegasys, whatever, and for a few months after treatment, then it comes back with a vengeance! If you have portal hypertension you need to monitor and record your BP. You want to keep the BP low to avoid rupture of esophageal varices. I have had 6 ruptures. Now on a beta blocker 3 times a day.
Anyway if your Dr. feels like you should start treatment, do so, it may avoid the need for a future liver transplant.
Take Care, .........dan

Answer 5

I'm surprised they didn't tell you those things when you were diagnosed. Well, I hope you know that you can't touch any alcohol for at least a year after the infection is gone and possibly never depending on how bad it was. I imagine that liver disease would have similar symptoms as the hep C did so if you are concerned about it, I would go back to the doctors. There are some liver detox herbs like milk thistle, but I wouldn't even take those until speaking to your doctor first.

Answer 6

Hi i also have HepC. i've had it for 27 yrs now and it has progressed to cirrhosis.

Some of the symptoms i experience are extreme fatigue, my platelets are critical, so i have bleeding problems, eg nosebleeds, spider veins where blood vessels burst under the skin, pain in the area of the liver and spleen, frequent infections, constipation and depression.

i'm probably forgetting some, lolol.

The treatment can be rough for some and some breeze right thru it. They will monitor you to make sure your platelets are at a safe level.

As far as how sick you are, they usually take your blood and do testing for your viral load. This shows how much of the virus in in your blood. Normal is 0. My count is 3,500,000. Yes that's 3 million!

http://groups.msn.com/Hepatitisccomunity

Here is the addy for a great site that has tons of info and message boards where you can hear some other people's experiences and advice!

Hope this helps! Good luck :)

Answer 7

medicine net , book mark it

http://www.medicinenet.com/hepatitis_c/article.htm

our prayers are with you
good luck