lisabetter's Journal

Please help me Mood

Thursday, May 15, 2008 | An Anxious story

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.

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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

CSick
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?

lisabetter
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

CSick
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))))

nonilv
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

lisabetter