An estimated 3.9 million (1.8%) Americans have been infected with hep C, of whom 2.7 million are chronically infected. There are about 30,000 new infections each year.
Ten or fifteen years ago, I became one of the statistics.
How Do You Catch It
Hepatitus C is a virus that lives in the blood and can be spread in a number of ways:
*When blood or body fluids from an infected person enters the body
of a person who is not infected.
*Blood transfusions prior to 1992
*Blood products before 1987
*Sexual contact with an infected partner (very rare)
*Sharing toothbrushes or razors
*Tattoos or body piercing
*Through sharing needles during drug use, or through needle sticks or
sharps exposures on the job.
*From an infected mother to her baby during birth. About 5 out of every
100 infants born to hep C infected women become infected.
*10-20% of people with Hepatitis C do not have identifiable risk factors.
I am one of the 10-20%.
80% of people have no symptoms of hepatitis C. By the time symptoms show up, it may be too late for adequate treatment
How Do You Find Out If You�re Infected
Don�t wait. It has been suggested by the CDC center and NIH taskforces that every person asks their doctor to add a Hep C antigen test to their next blood test. I have been infected for more than 10 years with no symptoms and perfectly normal blood tests. Only an antigen test would have showed that the antibody existed. I could have started treatment earlier when the viral load was low, and before my liver suffered damage.
I wouldn�t have exposed friends, family, and the men I've loved.
Health Consequences Without Treatment
*75-85% of infected persons develop a chronic liver infection, which
means that your body does not effectively fight off or get rid of the
virus.
*Chronic liver disease causes death in about 3% of people.
*Chronic hepatitis C infection is the leading reason for a liver
transplant.
*Chronic hepatitis can lead to cirrhosis of the liver (in about 15% of
those infected with hep C).
*Chronic hepatitis can lead to liver cancer and death.
There is no vaccine. There is no cure. There is only remission via chemo-therapy.
Conventional Treatment for Hepatitis C
*At the present time, optimal treatment regimen is considered to be a
24- or 48-week course of the combination of weekly injections of
pegylated alpha interferon and daily oral injestion of ribavirin.
*Patients with genotype 1 have a 40-45% rate of response (viral RNA
reduced to undetectable amounts for 6 or more months after treatment)
to combination therapy, and often need a 48-week course to attain a
better response rate.
*The combination therapy is extremely expensive. Side effects include
hemolytic anemia, nausea, diarrhea, headaches, muscle and joint pain,
hair loss, constant fatigue, suicidal ideation, and severe depression.
I wrote these words a year ago, just before the start of forty eight self-injections, 1700 anti-viral pills, 35 blood tests, dozens of medical tests and procedures, two hospitalizations, and a plethora of drugs to treat the brutal and often debilitating side effects. The last injection was taken today. The last pills will be taken next week. The final blood test a week after that. It's over.
welcome. if you are new, you may want to go right to the cast page to catch up on who's who. then author - which tells you something of me - and chapter one which begins the story. enjoy the experience.
city parks, libraries, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the color orange, dragons, faeries, Asimov mysteries, sailboats, swing dancing, the ocean, and a summer night so warm you can stand naked on a hilltop reaching for the stars
pans
politicians, lawyers, rap music, drunks, litterbugs, bad drivers, inconsiderate people, laziness, dishonesty, dirt, and store clerks who put the coins on top of the bills
