I have Hep C and will be starting treatment in Jan.?

Question

I am looking to talk to a lot of people who have gone through the treatment. Please give me advise and maybe a place to go to talk to people. I have looked into support groups in the area and they are all at times i cant make it. How do I tell people that are close to me? friends? family? I am afriad of the way they will act. Is this a normal fear? also who has had to take antidepressents with the treatment? can i make it with out? i am not a depressed person but my husband worries that if the treament doesnt work i might become depressed. shoud i still take antidepressents before i start treatment? I took them for a couple of days and i was really sick on them. i am more scared of the antidepressents than the treatment. is that a normal feeling? i could use a lot of people to talk to. wil people look at me differently if i tell them i have hcv? only respond if you have a serious answer please.

Answer 1

Amanda, did you ever thought of natural treatment? I don't want to give you a falls hope, but its worth to try.
My nephew was diagnosed with hepatitis B, and of course he was very worried. I asked him to do whatever i ask him to do, and if the treatment will not work, he can go ahead to do whatever the doctor said. The doctor did not give him a hope of total healing.
Taking the natural treatment, after 6 months he went to the doctor again, and after all the test , it came back negative.No more hepatitis B.
Its up to you. First, you have to do a liver cleanse. I did this few times, its very safe, and beneficial.
http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/liver_cleanse.htm
After the cleansing, drink a lot of aloe Vera juice (pure )
http://www.newstarget.com/021858.html
Another natural pill is Liv-52. I use it too.
http://www.liversupport.com/Liv52.htm?k=Liv.52&gclid=CMK67PbV7I4CFRa_WAodVSORoA
As I said, I don't want to give you falls hope, but it is worth to try. I dont care about 2 points that I make answering you, I just want to tel people, there is a alternative!!!
Try it with confidence.

Answer 2

First I want to address what the first answerer said. Most people who become exposed to hepatitis B clear it through their own immune system. Thats about 85% of people who become infected clear it on their own. Hep C is the opposite: about 85% who become infected with Hep C (HCV) go on to have chronic, lifelong infection unless they treat it with the standard of care; pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The treatment gives a 50-80+% chance of you clearing the virus, depending on which genotype you have.
I think finding a local, in person support group (a good one, with an educated & knowledgable facilitator) would really help you learn about this disease & the treatment. I have found over the years I've been facilitating a HCV support group, that the more mentally prepared and physically prepared people are before they start treatment, the better they do adhering to the treatment. And when you adhere to the treatment as prescribed, you increase your chance of the medicine being able to do it's work. So, if it is possible to rearrange your schedule or take personal time maybe once a month, it may be well worth it to you.
As for the antidepressants; it is recommended that if you have a history of depression that you start on an antidepressant prior to starting treatment. One of the side effects of interferon is depression; not everyone becomes depressed. Your doctor should monitor this as well as your physical symptoms/ side effects.
You asked how to tell people that are close to you.... I suggest you arm yourself with knowledge and facts to answer their questions and quell any fears that they might catch it from you. Most people have limited knowledge of HCV, and there are MANY MYTHS floating around. The more factual information you know, you can dispel any myths they might have heard. You can also get (or even download) some pamphlets from HCVadvocate.org to give to them so they may see you didn't make this information up.
You have a lot of questions; good questions. It is hard to answer everything at once, just as it is a lot to absorb all at once. I hope you are able to find information and support to help you. You may want to read some of my other answers, as I try to answer a lot of HCV questions.
Best wishes.

Answer 3

I was diagnosed about 6 yrs ago with Hep-C and have undergone two treatment runs. The first with regular interferon&ribavirin, the second with pleglated interferon &rivavirin, then did a two yr maintainence dose in a study because it didn't clear.
You can e-mail me also.
I have the worst genotype for clearing the virus and have advanced chirrosis of the liver and diabetes.
I had no side effects from the treatment.

Answer 4

Hon, please email me and I will gladly talk with you and help you through this. I have been on the treatment twice now. And my mom was on the treatment and cleared her HCV 8 years ago. It would take too long to write about it on here, but if you would like to talk or need questions answered, please feel free to email me. Good luck!

Answer 5

Please do no longer supply up, get adequate drugs out of your wellbeing care professional now to final a month or so and that would desire to offer you time to locate a sparkling wellbeing care professional. do no longer forget to take your clinical information, and all your lab effects with you. My son comprehensive therapy in Feb. this year and all signs and indicators are reliable. he's feeling greater perfect than he has in an prolonged time. reliable success and take reliable care of your self.