Gracie

I believe, although he did not say so directly, that he was very sick during treatment and it took time for that to clear. I did not get the impression that he was as sick as he declared during treatment and the day the treatment ended, he was instantly not sick. I had the impression he had lingering side effects for a while afterwards.

I was more concerned about side effects 5, 10, 15 years after treatment. These drugs are powerful and new. I think if a person does not have any unusual blood or enzyme problems, no lingering sided effects after 5 years, that means the drugs are safe.

He was not at all ashamed of the fact that he had Hep C. Talked about it freely but yes, I was the bashful one as I did not tell him I had Hep C or that I was considering treatment. This is a small town. I did get the name of his Dr. As far as he knew, we do not have Fibroscan anywhere near but he does have MRI every year and blood tests. That is why his doctor hesitates to diagnose any lingering fibrosis/cirrhosis. He said his brother was treated elsewhere as he does not live here.

It was a very fortuitous meeting. It is an odd coincidence that he and his brother both acquired Hep C but that is none of my business. He is a known entity in the barbershop so I have no reason to doubt his word. It is a small town.

It's good news that there are SVR peeps out there that have no symptoms. I'm sure there are many. And the more people I learn about that have improvements, the happier I am.

My hepologist told me that after clearing the virus (which hopefully I have), she would never expect me to go on to decompensated cirrhosis, that she expected my fibro scan would go back to F3 minimum, and possibly F2. Great odds for us all now!

Thanks for the story! I admire people who own their hep c and have no issues talking about it in public. I haven't been brave enough to do that.

I was in the barber shop owned by a man who had cancer. One of the customers was talking about his brother who has liver cancer and Hep C.

Then the man stated he had Hep C but had been cured. His brother had not and had subsequently developed cancer. I asked about the treatment, time frame and this is what the man said.

He had been diagnosed with Hep C during a blood drive in 1998. He started treatment with shots and pills in abt 2001. He was so sick he could not work. He was declared undetected at 6 months but his doctor continued the treatment for another 6 months. His brother underwent the same regimen, was not so sick during treatment and was not undetected. His brother went through another round of shots and pills but he is still Hep C positive and now has cancer.

The man who was cured said he gets checkups every year. He has been undetected since abt 2001. He had child pugh A cirrhosis in abt 2001 at the start of treatment and he is still (possibly) mildly cirrhotic. Although it is difficult for the doctor to say exactly, it seems as if the cirrhosis may not have gotten better but it hasn't gotten any worse. It may be merely fibrosis now. The man is still hopeful of liver regeneration.

The man said he has no signs of long term side effects although I asked him very specifically about "brain fog" "joint aches" any unusual blood or enzyme levels and he was puzzled about all of it. He said, No, no and no. He was cured. His brother was very sick so he knew how all those symptoms presented. He stated he was cured absolutely normal but his brother was end stage and cancerous.

It seems providential to me to meet someone by accident and without telling him my circumstances, to learn so much about the early triumphs of the endless shots and pills that made people so sick.

I didn't get his name. I told him as he was a veteran with no history of drug use (stationed in Northern Canada) and no history of drugs or IV or blood transfusion that some people were suspicious of the vaccinations used by the Armed Forces. I hope that was all right as I have read it here.

Hope this gives you as much hope as it gives me. I needed a bright spot.