Tig56 wrote:

---

The results of your fibroscan are great! It's good to know that you won't be trying to push the cure through a piece of uncooperative shoe leather! That bit of good news must be a big relief.

I used to live in Oakland back in the 70's. I was stationed at the Naval Hospital there. It was a crazy time in the Bay area then, probably still is! Disco, remember that? Doesn't seem like it could've been 40 years ago. The new bridge looks nice, a big difference from the old Bay Bridge. I remember the earthquake and the damage to all the bridges and especially the collapse of 880 in West Oakland. I had traveled that road many times. Haven't been back since then. I have to ask, isn't splitting lanes on a bike, especially there, a bit of a death wish? I have seen some discussion of legalizing that. My concern has always been someone (intentionally or not) opening a door... Ouch!

Breakfast sounds good!

---

 I see, I spent a few weeks at Oak Knoll myself...MotherGreen sent me "home" from Clarke AFB n(was on my way to VN but was hospilatized)  with mononucleosis, to recover and resume my assignment. Lucky me, they decided to re-assign me to embassy duty in Italy. We had some good fun while I was there (at OKnoll) with nitrous-oxide tanks one of the orderlies was "borrowing" from some research project. We'd fill an air mattress and find a private place to zone out.

Was at OakKnoll (mostly) from middle Dec '70 to April '71. 

-- Edited by LamontCranston on Sunday 23rd of April 2017 04:50:26 PM

The results of your fibroscan are great! It's good to know that you won't be trying to push the cure through a piece of uncooperative shoe leather! That bit of good news must be a big relief.

I used to live in Oakland back in the 70's. I was stationed at the Naval Hospital there. It was a crazy time in the Bay area then, probably still is! Disco, remember that? Doesn't seem like it could've been 40 years ago. The new bridge looks nice, a big difference from the old Bay Bridge. I remember the earthquake and the damage to all the bridges and especially the collapse of 880 in West Oakland. I had traveled that road many times. Haven't been back since then. I have to ask, isn't splitting lanes on a bike, especially there, a bit of a death wish? I have seen some discussion of legalizing that. My concern has always been someone (intentionally or not) opening a door... Ouch!

Breakfast sounds good!

Excellent news!

Fibroscan was this AM, other than the 6 hours without coffee/food etc. and the wind on Bay Bridge ( I rode a motorcycle to Oakland from San Francisco so I could filter lanes in commute traffic) , the test itself, as you all know is a piece of cake.

After the 15 minute test, I treated myself to a big breakfast and several cups of strong coffee at my favorite breakfast diner, then took a backroads romp up in the hills before heading home. Going home on the bridge was a breeze, thanks to our local transit system having a major outage. Traffic was at a total standstill, facilitating a smooth and uninterrupted ride between lanes all the way home.

As soon as I walked in the door, my "case manager/pharmacist" texted me with the results of the scan "little to No Scarring, showing  F0 to F1 " on liver. Whew. Very happy to know that.

Time to hop over to the "general" and other topic areas...:)

Welcome Lamont,

I can relate about suffering through coffee withdrawal for a test...when booking my first after treatment  CT scan (due to an elevated blood test)... I booked it for 3pm. That was before they informed me of the no coffee requirement...for all subsequent scans I wisely booked as early as possible

It sounds like you are in great hands with your gastro and your journey to healing will go smoothly. Yay

Alison

Canuck wrote:

---

Good news (according to me)!!

Yay, it is no longer, 2b or not 2 b, you have settled the question.

A good GT to have (IMHO). But you won't have it long.

Wonderful you are getting prompt attention and getting the best of the best, sofa/vel!!

Yay on the fibroscan too. Bonus!

Have a nice brunch, pet that kitty for me.

You'll soon be on your way to getting rid of this virus and seeing if it will improve other things for you as well.

Nice your ALT/AST are good and low.  C.

---

 I suppose it's a good thing  2b with my current healthcare provider. They are focused, know the drill and affordable. Since I am the member who skews all the Actuarials, but they just smile, and cover it.

So far the only negative is that I cant's have any coffee before the fibroscan....but after....there will be coffee.

A bit late to the party but finally here.

Welcome and those LFT's look great. They are better than mine and I am cured. It's great you are going to get everything you need to be rid of this.

A great time for people with this virus.  Congrats on that and please do keep us posted.

SF

Good news (according to me)!!

Yay, it is no longer, 2b or not 2 b, you have settled the question.

A good GT to have (IMHO). But you won't have it long.

Wonderful you are getting prompt attention and getting the best of the best, sofa/vel!!

Yay on the fibroscan too. Bonus!

Have a nice brunch, pet that kitty for me.

You'll soon be on your way to getting rid of this virus and seeing if it will improve other things for you as well.

Nice your ALT/AST are good and low.  C.

Ok, just back from the "Disinfectors" Office
I had a nice chat with my gastro when I got there. We had a laugh about our common issues, hemmies and herniated disks.... So much fun! Then he sat down and we discussed the Lab results, which were:

HCV load PCR 5,639,929 IU/mL
Lof10 RNA 6.75
Hep C Genotype 2, 2b

ALT 16
AST 17

They have a team of 3 Pharmacists that work with the gastros on Hep C patients, and it turns out, they had already an appt for me to see one of them, right after seeing the Gastro-Doc.
Kaiser has this whole thing VERY well organized, really organized.

The Pharm said I would need to have a Fibroscan, to check for the stuff that fibroscans test for....so that happens monday AM, over in Oakland. That's nice, since I lived there most of my life, and my favorite breakfast places are over there.

They prescribed EPCLUSA (Velpatsivir 100mg/ Sofosbuvir 400mg) a 12 week 28days X 3 treatment.

The really good news, my coverage pays for all of it, minus a 10 dollar copay for each 28 day supply. I was prepared for a shock, but from any good news kind of shock. I'll take it!

Since the refill dates are written in granite, and the pharmacy is not flexible on some aspects of the refill process, we are delaying treatment until July 1. We have a few things planned, travel-wise so the dispensing / lab test etc. would have been incompatible with our plans.
It's all really good news, as it turns out. If it weren't raining grand pianos, I'd get on the bike and go scare some tourists out on the coast, so I'm celebrating at home by petting the cat and drinking coffee.

Let me just thank you all, too, for the nice welcome here. Any wisdom on the Genotype? The doc says it's somewhat rare that they see 2, 2b infections, most are 1a.

Oh Lamont,

Hee hee, silly me!! - I did not have a clue what you meant when you wrote "exGF" for the first time earileir today, no idea what it stood for, thought maybe you had just made a "typo" at first, that maybe you were actually referring to your GP (as we had previously been hashing over so many "G" terms earlier that I AM familiar with, like GP, GE, GI, GT)!

But I had no idea what "GF" stood for, nor who "exGF" was !! I was trying to guess! ... reading between the "short lines" ... I figured you found out from your "GP" today (who you possibly fired today! - OMG! - thus why you were referring to your GP as your "ex"!!!)  - and that it was YOUR OWN PCR results that was relayed to you today with a "showing to the good"! And, that with finding this out, after all the worry your had been put through, you fired your GP today!!!

Quite the imagination I have eh?, trying to fill in the blanks this way! I guess GF is slang I don't know. 

Stupid me, not knowing what "GF" stands for, or that i could not figure it out (makes perfect sense, NOW)!! Tig one day also "got me" on some similar terminology, he was speaking of his "buddy" (his "BFF"), again I didn't have a clue and had to ask him to decipher the full-out explanation to learn that BFF was "best friends forever"!!!

I suppose everyone in the world knows these things, 'cept me.

Man, I must have led a very sheltered life! (I only learned OMG, BTW, IMHO, LOL a couple years ago!)

But I'm very glad I've got GF figured out now. Whew!. Nice your old GF is OK, (or maybe it would be nicer to refer to her as your "FGF" (former girl friend)!   C.

Tig56 wrote:

---

She had the HCV antibody screen. If it's negative there has never been exposure to the virus. Once exposed, even if cured, you will forever be positive for the antibody.

---

 So I have read. I find it interesting that there are people who show a POZ result but have never been sick with HCV. My wife apparently is like that. She got a pos result for antibodies, but had no other indications in the followup blood tests. I would probably never have been tested, if not for that.

I was a little surprised that she (My GP)  had never ordered a Hep C screen, considering the gallons of blood they have taken from me over the years. My doctor loves to order blood tests, it's her favorite thing. 

FERRITIN

Just a small sampling of recent tests, there are at least another 20! Sheesh.

-- Edited by LamontCranston on Wednesday 22nd of March 2017 11:34:23 PM

-- Edited by LamontCranston on Wednesday 22nd of March 2017 11:36:17 PM

She had the HCV antibody screen. If it's negative there has never been exposure to the virus. Once exposed, even if cured, you will forever be positive for the antibody.

Canuck asked:...

Sorry, ya lost me there ... "ex-GF" and "good news today - no trace".

Do you mean you have no viral load?? (I hope, I hope!) C.

....

The EX-GF had a test that showed "no trace" of exposure or infection. Not something you like to have to notify people of, but no sense taking any chances.

Yes, we were a thing over 20 years ago, but it's a good thing, just to know she's OK.

Wow! That was fast action regarding your ex BFF. Neither of you wasted any time getting that testing completed. Glad that turned out well, for both of you. I hope the others are equally easy and without concern. Good luck.

Hi Lamont,

Huh??

Sorry, ya lost me there ... "ex-GF" and "good news today - no trace".

Do you mean you have no viral load?? (I hope, I hope!) C. 

LamontCranston wrote:

---

".....

Today was one of the few pretty good days, so I threw a leg over and went up the coast on my motorcycle. I want there to be mostly days like that.

---

 So what ya riding?

JimmyK

Canuck wrote:

---

Hi Lamont,

So let me get the timeline right ...

- '91 bad case of hep A for 3 months +.  Yes. it was a Bummer!

- '99 MS diagnosed - so, injectable copaxone use not started until after then, and injectable copaxone has been in use pretty well ever since then?? Also, fairly continuous use of oral methadone since '99?  yes, dx'd in '99, Copax started, methadone for pain

- About 1 1/2 years ago you had an upsurge in various abdominal symptoms/torso discomforts and feeling unwell (generally throughout torso/urinary/bowel/back) - with these various abdominal discomforts, unwellness and symptoms over 3+months, followed by another 3 months of symptoms and investigations, and overall in this 6 month period you had lost 40 lbs?  Yes, I went from a somewhat porky (for my 5' 8'frame) 195lbs  to almost 140

- Are you underweight? Not Now, I have gained most of the weight lost last year back, I am at about 180 now.

 

- So during this 6 month period (and within this last 1 1/2 years), you had investigations including labs, antibiotics, imaging showing renal blips, but with renal function deemed OK, you had your umb. hernia repaired, imaging showing your L1L2, and were deemed gluten intolerant?

Yes, to all those, but no Gluten Issues, and no tests to determine that either.

With MS, sometimes bowel and UTI type things do surface and rear their heads from time to time as troublesome, not so much in your case i would guess, as you say the involvment is more noted in the upper body/cervical area as opposed to lower body. But still, with longstanding MS, you have to always consider that condition an influencing culprit. All of what you and your docs explored could also have been "likely" contributing factors to explain your symptoms, or some of them, such as standard UTI/renal problems, gluten intolerance, your hx of MS is an ongoing burden on the body and systems, as may be the  the long term use of MS drug treatment, your previous hx of a bad bout of hepA cannot be ignored either, the hernia and repair was a good ruling out, as is L1L2 as an influencing factor. Have you had any colonoscopies? These are a multitude of factors that may never be "teased" apart to glean what caused what. Regardless of all, with HCV, you HAVE to get rid of it, and hope this will help overall!

True, I have had UTI previously, but was not the case when I had the recent difficulty peeing. My dipstick tests were negative for UTI and other tests for prostate infection negative as well. The "nodes" are fairly common, and over the course of a year, showed no change in a followup CatScan review. I have learned though that letting my doctor(s) assume that everything is MS related is not acceptable. Sort of the old adage, "When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." Not to say that MS doesn't cause a lot of stuff, including some/all the things I have been experiencing. The CNS and brain are capable of just about anything, that I can verify.

I did have an Endoscopy and Colonoscopy in May '16. 2 polyps removed, 1 hemmie ignored, but noted in doctor's consult post scoping. Stomach etc all looked good. Cat scans have also noted clear small intestine, pancreas, other stuff. Let me say, I don't look forward to the next one's prep, even if the pre-procedure  anesthesia was delightful, Propofol/Demoral IV.

When first dx'd with MS, I was the "attack of the week" guy. It felt like I was disintegrating one nerve branch at a time. The permanent damage so far has only affected my left foot, 2 fingers on left hand, right-eye lost about 30% light sensitivity, and of course a lot of migraine type headaches, and chronic spinal headaches. Not too bad, really. I am used to all that, so I don't notice it. Just the first few steps when I get out of bed, my left foot is 100% numb.

 You have been through a lot! Must be so frustrating for you, not to be able to get to the bottom of anything, and not for lack of trying either, and feeling so unwell along the way. You're some tough cookie I must say, thta is good and a pre-requiste I am afraid.

I have had a few grueling medical tests,  one called a diskogram (back in '99), a test ordered to see if I was a candidate for a cervical fusion. My as yet UnDx'd MS was causing some seriously freaky reflex responses so they thought it was a recently damaged disk (surfing accident) causing the nerve parathesia, drop foot and pain. Turns out a Diskogram is one you DON'T want, ever. If you can do a diskogram, you can do anything.

I hope the appointment Friday goes well. Ask about getting a fibroscan, and despite the prior Cats you've had whether you need a current abd. ultrasound, also, inquire about the immunizations/testings of, i mentioned prior. 

Will add those to my list of questions and concerns. Hoping there is no mention of a Liver Biopsy. Those sound a lot like a Diskogram, only through the ribs. No thanks. 

You sound like you've seen your share of Stainless Steel. I hope you never see have to see another medical instrument again.  

---

JimmyK wrote:

---

Sorry I should have explained.

The initial Anti-Body test has confirmed you have been in contact with Hep C. The HCV RNA will establish if you actually have Hep C. If so you will have a detectable level of the Virus at a factor of greater than 12.

20% to 25% of folks that test positive for the Anti Body do not have Hep C. That number by the way is growing because those of us cured will always be positive and the number of cured is growing. 

Your Enzymes are quite good so inflammation is not a problem. That leads me to hope that maybe you are one of the 20%ers. If not then a treatment plan based on your Geno-Type is in the cards.

JimmyK

---

 Ok, that's interesting, since my wife got a poz test for anti-body, but was "cleared" by a second test. Unfortunately the same doctor pinned the diagnosis of "chronic hepatitis C" on my test result. 

I had more blood work, but those results have not showed up on Kaiser's website, so they may have gone directly to my gastro-doc.

I guess he'll give me the details Friday when I see him. It is interesting that the ALT/AST #'s were so low. As you pointed out I could be a 20%er.  Ironically I almost hope they advise treatment, considering my overall physical well-being has been pretty bad as of late.

I eat a balanced diet, generally take good care of myself, but have had serious gut issues for so long, I want there to be a resolution.

Today was one of the few pretty good days, so I threw a leg over and went up the coast on my motorcycle. I want there to be mostly days like that.

Hi Lamont,

So let me get the timeline right ...

- '91 bad case of hep A for 3 months +.

- '99 MS diagnosed - so, injectable copaxone use not started until after then, and injectable copaxone has been in use pretty well ever since then?? Also, fairly continuous use of oral methadone since '99?

- About 1 1/2 years ago you had an upsurge in various abdominal symptoms/torso discomforts and feeling unwell (generally throughout torso/urinary/bowel/back) - with these various abdominal discomforts, unwellness and symptoms over 3+months, followed by another 3 months of symptoms and investigations, and overall in this 6 month period you had lost 40 lbs?

- Are you underweight?

- So during this 6 month period (and within this last 1 1/2 years), you had investigations including labs, antibiotics, imaging showing renal blips, but with renal function deemed OK, you had your umb. hernia repaired, imaging showing your L1L2, and were deemed gluten intolerant?

With MS, sometimes bowel and UTI type things do surface and rear their heads from time to time as troublesome, not so much in your case i would guess, as you say the involvment is more noted in the upper body/cervical area as opposed to lower body. But still, with longstanding MS, you have to always consider that condition an influencing culprit. All of what you and your docs explored could also have been "likely" contributing factors to explain your symptoms, or some of them, such as standard UTI/renal problems, gluten intolerance, your hx of MS is an ongoing burden on the body and systems, as may be the  the long term use of MS drug treatment, your previous hx of a bad bout of hepA cannot be ignored either, the hernia and repair was a good ruling out, as is L1L2 as an influencing factor. Have you had any colonoscopies? These are a multitude of factors that may never be "teased" apart to glean what caused what. Regardless of all, with HCV, you HAVE to get rid of it, and hope this will help overall!

 You have been through a lot! Must be so frustrating for you, not to be able to get to the bottom of anything, and not for lack of trying either, and feeling so unwell along the way. You're some tough cookie I must say, thta is good and a pre-requiste I am afraid.

I hope the appointment Friday goes well. Ask about getting a fibroscan, and despite the prior Cats you've had whether you need a current abd. ultrasound, also, inquire about the immunizations/testings of, i mentioned prior. 

If I may, allow me to chime in since I'm here. The <12 Jimmy referenced is the RNA Viral load lower limit of quantification. If your viral test comes back with a score of <12 Undetected, you have cleared the virus. Different labs have different lower limits of quantification, but <12  viral eq/ml is pretty standard. I have seen some as low a 7 eq/ml. Link below with more information.

The 25/75 he mentioned are the odds that a person that tests positive for the Hep C antibody will prove to have cleared the virus on their own. The immune systems of approximately 25% of people exposed are able to defeat it. The other 75%, well, you're meeting one of the majority. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting too many of those 25%ers... They do exist. You haven't had your viral load confirmed, so there is the possibility that you are one of the lucky 25 percentile. 

Your ALT/AST are great. That generally means there isn't much severe activity going on.

Viral Load

Sorry I should have explained.

The initial Anti-Body test has confirmed you have been in contact with Hep C. The HCV RNA will establish if you actually have Hep C. If so you will have a detectable level of the Virus at a factor of greater than 12.

20% to 25% of folks that test positive for the Anti Body do not have Hep C. That number by the way is growing because those of us cured will always be positive and the number of cured is growing. 

Your Enzymes are quite good so inflammation is not a problem. That leads me to hope that maybe you are one of the 20%ers. If not then a treatment plan based on your Geno-Type is in the cards.

JimmyK

JimmyK wrote:

---

Greetings Lamont, welcome to the forum.

Have you considered the what if's should the VL count come back <12?

25/75 are not the greatest odds but what if?

Again Welcome

JimmyK

---

 JimmyK

Not sure what that means....sorry for my ignorance. So far all I have are AST and ALT #s, which are lowish, both at 17, so hope springs eternal. I had Hep A in about '91, it was pretty rough, very high fever for about a week, and shed every spare pound, to 130 lbs. I looked like a yellow Biafran refugee.

Greetings Lamont, welcome to the forum.

Have you considered the what if's should the VL count come back <12?

25/75 are not the greatest odds but what if?

Again Welcome

JimmyK

Hey Lamont,

I figured it out. You mentioned being in Italy on vacation. While there, you felt sluggish in the morning and it wasn't until you drank a quart of water, four cups of French Roast, followed up by taking a "dump". Clearly this is because you drank a quart of water in a metric country, should've tried a liter, it may have worked better. Second thing, you were drinking French coffee in Italy. You insulted the Italian Barista's Association and they probably slipped you something to get even. Don't make those mistakes again!

You're stuck with us now, get ready for more of this.... 

Happy Hump Day 

Welcome Lamont,

Glad you found out and that your appt is so soon and that way you can be on the road to this recovery seeing as you have many others already behind you/in progress. As we know nothing happens by coincidence I will tell you one of my fave saying from in the rooms is "is it odd or is it God?"

You will get much support, ideas, laughs and knowledge here. It was a blessing for me pre TX, during and after. 

Today's treatments are so much better than the old ones and whichever genotyope you have, this should be a walk in the park compared to what you have already been through over the years. 

One day at a time,

wendy

Canuck... I have to admit, the last 1,5 years has been a long, miserable, medical menagerie. I was just hopping along in my first year of retirement, doing well with my med regimen, Copaxone injections for MS and methadone for related MS pain, mostly in my neck and upper spine, where the bulk of my MS activity has shown in MRI work. Anyway, plenty of good years had passed at that point....when

I woke one day feeling weird, had some difficulty peeing, felt muzzy, and kind of generally crummy. I called the doc who suggested a course of a Ciprofloxacin anti-biotic who's name escapes meIn a few days I had developed a strange non-specific back pain, and then a lot of abdominal noise, gas and some wicked constipation and a low grade fever that cam and went. I barely left the house for 3 months.  I have a yoga practice and become more dedicated to that to see what it could do to relieve the pain and gastro issues. (more on that)

I went through the gamut of blood tests my doctor likes, but no hep c test, then was sent to a urologist who pronounced me OK, and told me to get lost...I finished the Cipro but after a 3 week course, I was having uncharacteristic low blood pressure dizziness, and the pain in my lower back settled in to the 2 "dimple" spots along the waistline.

More tests, including cat scans, with and without contrast. They found some little bogies on my right kidney, and so more tests, and blahblahblah...

After 6 months I had lost 40 lbs! and was as miserable as ever, so I wondered aloud if my minor herniated navel was causing some blockage in my small intestine. They repaired it, but the misery just marched on to the next thing, as gastro doc who ordered a full spinal MRI...and Bada Bing, the L1L2 dick herniation showed up. So off to the PT for Phys Therapy and hey,  the back and constipation eased up. Apparently my yoga had caused the injury, too much deep flexion can aggravate a bad disk...

Ok....so we went to Italy on a trip we had planned, and I lived through it, but barely...still doing my PT and gradually feeling better but still had fatigue, fever, constipation and general ****ty feelings when I lay down to sleep, and in the AMs until I had drank a quart of water, 4 cups of french roast and taken a dump. After all that, I could sort of function, but was exhausted most of the time.

So this whole mess lasted for a good year and a half until the freak accident of getting tested for hep C. So , yes, I am taking it in stride, but only because this might be the key to why my digestive system is a mess. I get bad gas after eating almost anything, and my gut is always making very loud gurgling, whooshing and gurgling sounds. Weird. Really weird. I have never had any of that stuff, ever, then it just crept up one week at a time, sometimes it eases up for a few days, then back with a vengeance.

If my liver is out of whack, then perhaps it can recover with treatment. And I will be one happy guy, that's for sure. I remember, how when i first developed MS, all my docs were scratching their heads, until I sat in front of a neuro , who had me in the MRI tube one day and getting a lumbar tap the next...baboom, diagnosed, but only after a Whole Lotta BS beforehand.

I can't be pissed at doctors, though. They look at me and say, "Doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, married for 20 years guy who takes his meds as directed. I am the teacher's pet kind of patient, even if I do have a few conditions.

Anyway, in a way I am thrilled to have this definite diagnosis. It means I may be liberated and back to my old sort of sick self. MS, fortunately has only eaten part of my CNS, and I can do most anything, except run or ski. too bad, but that's the breaks.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Hi Lamont,

Glad to meet you here, wish it was under other circumstances, but welcome anyway.

I found this a VERY good place to land when I was first diagnosed. (Back then, truly, the thought of joining "some kind of support group", really did not appeal to me at all)!, even though I kept hearing that doing so was highly recommended (by others, who know how stressful these journeys can be). I was extremely stressed, and yet scoffed at the idea. I came here strictly seeking info and got so much more than I expected.

It took me a wee while to get here, to this site, I lurked around in the background (on many dif sites) - just searching up "info", whilst in midst of a panicked learning mode, but it did not take me long tho, before I was soon coming back, again and again to this site - by far the best site, and one of the best things i could have possibly done to help myself through the fears, and through all the many other parts of my journey, I'm still reaping the benefits of this site today (even tho I have been long cured of HCV now)!

I received a LOT of very good help/info/support and friendship here. I hope you will find it so too.

Unlike the weird feardom I entered when diagnosed, you do not sound too shaken? I hope this is true. Fear is the largest enemy, nowadays the virus is so easily killed off.

With your brave attitude, and perseverence under trialing circumstance, you will do well.

Like Tig recounted, one has to make a concerted effort to give the virus to another - do NOT be fearing/ blaming yourself for anyone in your circle who tests postive for the antibody, nor for anyone you discover who also has HCV. There are many ways ANY person could have been exposed to hepc or contracted HCV, and many will NEVER be able to truly know (exactly, "for sure"), how, when, where or why they did.

Thanks for sharing your history, it evokes a few questions for me tho, if you don't mind me asking ... re: your MS, since '99 - how have your remissions/exacerbations and copaxone use gone? I assume the methadone use was to combat MS related issues and not so much the L1/L2 nerve root (or, was it for both)?  Any current or recent copaxone or methadone use? 

Yes, one can well question many symptoms we have been experiencing (when one did not know they had HCV or for how long). It will be interesting to see (with your imminent upcoming cure) what things improve for you, gastrically or otherwise! 

So, was it your family doc (we call them General Practitioners or GP's up here) that tested you for HCV and did your liver function panel blood tests, and was it he who confirmed HCV but did not tell you the genotype (GT), nor the GT "sub-type", nor the viral load (VL) count?? - but he did tell you your ALT/AST was about 17? So, those appear to be within normal limits, as does the "earlier in the year" one of 27, those sound not too bad at all.

I guess with your soon-appointment with the gastroenterologist, your GE doc will have received all the test results drawn thus far from your GP, along with the GP's referral. You will know soon enough from your GE then, what your GT is, what your VL is (PCR test), and other tests like bilirubin, AFP and many more. I would start requesting copies of all your labs (by one way or another) so you can keep track of them yourself at home.

Once you know your GT and sub-type, you and your GE can start talking potential treatment drugs of choice, and if you have not yet had an abdominal ultrasound and a fibroscan, inquire about those. That sounded dreadful, your hepA, but you should still have your hepA/B antibody titres tested, to assure your immunity titres are currently high enough, if not, a series of immunization or re-immunizations may be required prior to HCV treatment. Same for influenza immunization or pneumococcal immunizations - inquire about them with your GE.

Please do keep us posted, and fear not, this is NOT going to be one of those "set of concrete stair" rides!   C. 

Tig56 wrote:

---

....

The risk of exposure to another individual through casual sex is remote, almost unheard of and I've heard a lot. Infection requires blood to blood contact. That's why IV drug use, tattoos, needle sticks, etc remain the primary source of exposure. Rough sex is another story. .....

 

Wow, come to think of it, sex of any kind sounds good to me....:)

I am not going to trip on how I came up with this infection, I could drive myself crazy. But there was that tattoo artist in Saigon in '71. I'll just blame it on that, for now. 

Let me work on that signature...:)

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Hi Lamont,

Nice to make your acquaintance! Sorry you got this news, but if there has ever been a better time to find out, it's now. These new drugs are the bomb and this virus doesn't like them, at all. It hasn't reached 100% yet, but it's mighty close and being here since the new DAA's came around, I can tell you it gets closer all the time!

Thanks for your bio, that's really helpful. If you don't mind, put that into your signature line. Most of us do that and it helps when replying. We can avoid having to look back to find it in your original posts and you can avoid having to repeat it when the inevitable member comes along and wants to talk to you about things! It happens everyday 

You haven't caught a break have you? I've suffered with back and neck injuries my whole life, multiple surgeries along with them. I understand nerve pain and I'm sorry you have to deal with it. The MS is another issue all together. You sound like a Warrior though and that's what it takes to survive sometimes. We have a lot of Warriors here, good people and friends to all. I think you'll enjoy our group and they'll be along shortly to welcome you.

The risk of exposure to another individual through casual sex is remote, almost unheard of and I've heard a lot. Infection requires blood to blood contact. That's why IV drug use, tattoos, needle sticks, etc remain the primary source of exposure. Rough sex is another story. Anywhooo, the first test can be bought in a pharmacy now. It's an antibody screen and takes about 15-20 minutes, a finger stick blood test. If it's negative, no further testing is required. Most GP's will do the test upon demand, it's a very common request along with HIV and HBV. Cheaper than going to a lab on your own. Good luck Brother, I respect a person that isn't afraid to do what's right.

If you have any questions, please ask...

I just got the news. What I know so far is wife tested POS for exposure, but no infection, so I got tested and Bingo, POS for "Chronic Hep C".

My AST, ALT #'s are low, around 17 -ish but have been as high as 27 in previous yearly blood work. I don't know genotype, viral load #s yet, but will see my gastro, a doctor I have seen for chronic constipation/hemmorhoids, that I trust, and like. So I am positive about my appt with him this Friday AM.

My Bio: 65 years old, retired IT guy, 28.5 continuous sobriety in AA, but was DX'd in '99 with MultipleSclerosis, and since with arthereosclerosis (sic), UTI, and the usual stuff. I had Hep A in '91, a 3 month severe case, but recovered pretty well, until of course MS came along to kick me down life's concrete staircase of surprise medical events.

After my MS diagnosis i was able to return to work after getting Copaxone treatment and adequate pain management with methadone. I worked for another 12 years in a new field, finally retiring at age 62. 

For the past year I have been having chronic gut issues that have been severe at times, constipation, bloating, occasional nausea, fatigue, insomnia.  I herniated a disk at L1L2 and assumed the gut issues were related since that nerve root goes through gut and down leg, but maybe not,, eh? 

Hep C apparently can cause some of the above gut issues. I am hopeful that I can put this in my rear view mirror with one of the new HEP C drugs and get on with my life, such as it is.

I am sure there were 12 ways I could have acquired the virus since prior to '88 I wasn't a particularly cautious person. I have already figured out one of the worst things about this diagnosis is telling my former GFs that I will pay for them to get tested.