Join Now
Well, today I went to work and had to act like everything was okay. I do not have an appointment until may 27th and I so want everything to be okay, although I know it is not. You know like a nightmare that you wake up from. My husband/boyfriend, we are not actually married, common law, no he is my husband in all ways except that marriage certificate. He is wonderful to me. Anyway, he was tested for hep C on friday, will get his results tomorrow and my children, 2 sons, ages 10 and 17 were tested today. Their pediatrician asked my husband what kind of test did I have, he said there are two kinds, ELISA and RIBA. He said that the ELISA test shows a false positive like 30% of the time and if I had that test that I need to have the RIBA test, but folks, my enzymes are 221 and 281, do you think they are wrong? I pray and pray and PRAY that they are, but I must say, I am coming out of denial and believe that yes, I somehow have the hepatitis C virus, now I pray that I just have the antibody and not the actual sickness. I was sick in 1984 with hepatitis, got it from eating crabs, and had all the symptoms and remember laying in bed and honestly not even being able to pick my head up off the pillow and remembering that if I had had a gun in my hand I would have shot myself in the head, I was in so much pain. So folks, that is what I am afraid of, going through all that pain again, or worse yet, please Lord, DO NOT LET MY CHILDREN HAVE THIS. I don't know how long I have had it, that is why they were tested. So please everyone, pray for my children tonight and my husband I believe in the power of prayer and they do not deserve this disease. None of us do, I did not mean it that way, but they are so young. Thank everyone of you for all your prayers and just being there and writing me, it means more to me than you will ever know. Thanks again, Lisa
Comments
hey everyone, I am brand new to this site as I just found out that I have Hepatits C today. I am scared half to death, i can't stop crying, I don't know how I got it or how long I have had it. Can somebody please tell me what is going to happen next? Am I going to die from this. I was sick with bronchitis and told my doctor I wanted a complete physical. She drew like 3 tubes of blood. My liver enzymes came back really high and she sent it off and it came back that I have Hep. C. What are normal enzyme levels supposed to be? Please someone write back to me, I am so scared, like I said, i cannot stop crying, I have a young son and I am afraid I am not going to be able to work. Someone please help me out. thanks you guys.
Comments
-
Lisa-It's always shocking and quite scary to find out you have this disease. You need to know right away that Hep C is not a death sentance. Most people die with Hep C and not of it. It's a slow moving disease usually, but it's important now that you learn as much as you can about it, live a healthy lifestyle and coordinate your care with your physican. There is a treatment for Hep C which involves weekly self injections of interferon and daily ribaviran pills. The treatment is for 24-48 weeks depending on your genotype. Your doctor will probably be ordering a number of tests for you including possibly a liver biopsy (my biopsy did not hurt). Not everyone is a candidate for treatment (we refer to it as simply "tx"), nor does everyone want to do treatment. Some are unable to do tx because of other health issues or for concerns about the treatment itself..others have tried tx but failed to respond. The people who failed are still living their lives..and perhaps waiting for better treatments to become available. I was diagnosed in Jan of this year during a physical, never knew I had it...but realized I must of got it from a blood transfusion over 20 years ago. There are numerous ways to get Hep C...and many people have no idea how they got it. Depending on your genotype which your doctor will do tests for, there is a 50-85% cure rate with the treatment. I am on shot #2 of 48 and am having very minimal sides so far, some people have a rough time on the treatment, but many like myself are not...everyone is different. There are many people doing tx here who also work...it's hard for many of those working folks at times, but most manage if they have to. On liver enzymes, they should be undectable to be normal. My liver enzymes were 1,300,000 when I found out, which I thought sounded horrendous at the time.. but one of my dear friends here on this site, was 245,000,000 and she is not even half way into her tx and is already undectable. So you have come to the right site, we were all scared at first..but this is great site to learn more about the disease, make friends and voice your concerns. We even manage to laugh a lot. I only have about 2 cents worth of knowledge on the subject of Hep C compared to the many seasoned experts who have lived and treated the disease here. Relax you are among friends who understand..because were all living and dealing with Hep C too. Once the shock wears off, you are gonna be fine. Now take a deep breath..this is only another chapter in your life. Welcome to DS. Feel free to send me a message any time sweetie. Hugs Jeannie
-
My doctor just told me that my AST WAS 281 AND MY ALT WAS 221, IS THAT THE LIVER ENZYMES THAT YOU HAD THAT WERE 1,300,000? Am I right about this?
-
Lisa..That's right 1,300,000 was my beginning liver enzyme #. Was retested on Tuesday after 1st wk of tx...but do not have those numbers yet. Are you feeling a little less scared ? The whole thing is just so overwhelming at 1st...but it will get easier-Jeannie
-
Hi Lisa my name is Joni, I've known that I have had hepC for 7 years now. It's been a roller coaster ride and I have learned over the years to deal with it. You can read my profile to get a little knowledge about me. Here are some facts for you. The normal range of values for AST (SGOT) is from 5 to 40 units per liter of serum (the liquid part of the blood). The normal range of values for ALT (SGPT) is from 7 to 56 units per liter of serum. My liver enzymes were about like yours in the 200 plus range when I first started having abnormal test results. I think Lisa has her numbers mixed up. Maybe her viral load was 1,300.000. I know that your really scared right now but believe me it's going to be all right. My husband, daughter and I are all infected with HepC. If you ever need help with anything just ask and someone here at DS will be right there to help. It's a wonderful site for support honey. Maybe you can go into your profile and put a little personal facts up, only what you're comfortable with, so we can get to know you a little better. I'm here if you ever need anything.. Welcome to DS...Joni aka Nonilv....((((HUGS))))
-
Thanks Joni and Lisa, I am just trying to figure this site out and how to get around it, but i do want to say thank you so much to all of you who have written me, you have helped me tremendously since Thursday and it is now Sunday, tears only come once in a while now, and I am trying to be postive. I had hepatitis in 1984, they said I got it from eating crab meat and I was sooooooooo sick, but back then, they had Hep A and Hep B, none of this C and others. So, they told me back then that they could not figure out what kind I had because all my tests were showing up negative for Hepatitis, but I had all the symptoms, very strange huh? So, I am thinking I might have contracted it then, who knows? I am going to a Gastro doctor, is that the right kind of specialist to go to? Thanks again everyone for your kind words and support. Lisa
Sweetie, I too felt like I was in a nightmare. I am glad you children are fine, and pray you just have antibodies. Even if you do have the virus, it's not the end of the world (though it feels like it as first.) I'm on week 29 of treatment with geno-type 1b (one of the hardest to treat) and have been undectable since week 3. There is still hope! I always say, getting diagnosed is like a greiving process. There are steps you go through. I just posted a resource on the forums that talk about the emotions. I am here for you any way I can be!
1concernedparent
thanks for your condern and yes since that post, my husband has tested positive for the antibodies, should get his RIBA test back today, but my children are both NEGATIVE, ONE OF THE BEST WORDS I EVER HEARD WHEN IT CAME TO THEM. I CRIED I WAS SO HAPPY. I LOVE THEM AND WANT THEM TO HAVE A GOOD FUTURE AND DON'T WANT THEM TO BE SICK AND THE GOOD LORD MADE IT HAPPEN. THANK YOU JESUS FOR SAVING MY CHILDREN FROM THIS DISEASE. Anything can happen. I also went to my specialist todau and he said I was gonna cry myself to death and I needed to stop, he said I could have had this for 20 years and I haven't been crying for 20 years so STOP. i really like him, he made me laugh and he sent me to have like 8 tubes of blood drawn, he is testing me for everything. but I like a doc who is very thorough. THANKS AGAIN.
lisabetter