Reality Just Hit!!!!!

15-2, welcome to the forum. My suggestion to you would be to find out about starting treatment for your hep C right away. It's a serious virus, but you can fight it. The biopsy will determine how much damage has been done to your liver and what genotype of hep C you have. Most people in American have 1a or 1b, both of which are difficult to treat. There is a new, 3-drug treatment now available that is showing high rates of clearance (70-90%.) The endoscopy will show whether or not you have varices of the esophagus or stomach. If found, they can be banded right then and there to prevent a bleed. You said you hadn't had any symptoms until those which put you in the hospital. How about fatigue? That is normally the first symptom one has. I was feeling fatigued for 2 yrs. before finally being diagnosed with hep C.

Are you seeing a hepatologist? If not, you should get a referral to one. Often, time is lost by letting a primary care doc or GI doc try to manage a diseased liver. They are just not educated enough about liver disease.

You are absolutely right in learning as much as you can about hep C. There is a Hepatitis Resources folder stickied near the top of the threads, which has a ton of info on liver disease.

You need to abstain from drinking alcohol at all. Also NO sodium or very low sodium in your diet. If you read labels, you will see that it's in everything. So if you are using canned beans, rinse them well under cold, running water in a colander. Your recent episode could have been caused by a high sodium content in your blood. You also need to abstain from eating red meat, but increase fresh or frozen fruits and veggies. These measures alone should have you feeling better.

Hugs,
Connie

I had responded . In fact I was the only one who had voted on survey.  I had just finished a lenghty post. Some how I lost it. It is hard for me to post to many lucid posts. Because of my twin Encepalepathey. Talk to you later. Lavendar

Hey Connnie, They did my 1st hip on Nov 3rd and my 2nd one on Dec 20th. They are freaking great. I went from wheelchair now going to the gym. On the drinking It was quite easy. My wife stopped also. I quit on my own. However when they did a CT scan on my hips in Oct and  my liver showed up on scan. Thats when they noticed Cirohsis. They also had found the hep in my blood work ups. So my insurance company insisted I go in for a alcohol assesment. The counsuler did not send me to rehab. He sent me to two four hr classes and weekly drug test for 90 days. I then saw a psyciatrist and went in for another assesment. He said they felt my chance for relapse was very low and closed the book. They sent letters to my ins and doctors, Plus my my disability case worker.I personally was amazed I thought for sure I would be a in patient. I drank about pint of Crowm Royal a day in shots and at least a 6 pack of beer. Hopefully that will work for them. When I asked them why no rehab? they replied the test for 90 days were clean. They also made there decision based on the fact I had not quit and not relapsed several times. I told them I never had any thought of quiting so I had not struggled with it. Plus I have no DUIs. Anyway I have bigger fish to fry now. Of all this I hope I live long enough to see grandbabys.  

15-2, it usually takes a year to fully recover from hip replacement. While you may look great and walk fine, the inner healing takes awhile. PT is the key. I went to an inpatient rehab for 10 days and 2 wks., respectively, with my last 2 revisions. Then I continued the exercises at home for 6 mos. It made all the difference.

Hopefully, whatever transplant center you end up at will accept what you've done to treat your alcohol addiction. Every center is different and has different requirements. Hopefully, you will never have to require a transplant.

A CT scan does not really show cirrhosis. A biopsy will do that.

Hugs,
Connie

congratulations on your sobriety Sandia

15-2, you developed osteonecrosis, also known as avascular necrosis. The femoral head dies and disintegrates, imploding inwards. Steroids are the biggest risk factor for this. I was diagnosed with it also in 2002...and thus began my 10-year odyssey of medical problems. In my case, I had only taken 2 capsules of prednisone decades earlier, so I don't think that was the trigger. The ortho docs said it was alcoholism, but at the time the osteonecrosis was diagnosed I had 16 yrs. of continuous sobriety. So I don't really buy that, either.

After transplant, I was on prednisone again...for 4 mos. The entire time, I was concerned about ON showing up in another major joint--knees, shoulders, ankles. But so far, all seems okay. I have now been diagnosed with osteoporosis, which I believe was caused by the pred. as I didn't have it previous to transplant. I also just found out that I have a stress fracture of L-3. The hep doc is putting me on Fosamax or Boniva.

I've had 10 major surgeries within the past 10 yrs. I really don't think I can go through another. I've had problems after every single surgery. I don't even know what it feels like to be healthy. I still have the hep C to deal with, if I can ever recover from an open wound in my rt. shin. I'm not one to give up. I'm stubborn that way. But the health problems and surgeries have really worn me down.

That's fantastic that the tumor turned out to be a cyst. I'm very sorry that you lost your eye as a result, but it's better than losing your life.

Hugs,
Connie

15-2, you might well be able to stop further damage to your liver by continuing to refrain from drinking alcohol and keeping a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Yes, a biopsy will tell all. And yes, steroids cause bone problems, not hep C.

The new 3-drug treatment is specifically aimed at genotypes 1a and 1b, with clearance rates of 70-90%. So ask about that. You need to get on treatment ASAP before more damage is done.

You are on the right track now, so hang in there.

Hugs,
Connie