Hepatitis C- hubby

Hi all!

I'm usually over in the UC and Ostomies forum and know tons about that disease (I'm minus a colon, yay!) but I know nothing about liver disorders. My husband has been having a rough time lately and the liver specialist he went to is checking him for Hepatitis C and some other things. (No test results back yet so I am probably making myself nuts for nothing). I am just really worried about this for him. Is it treatable or does it depend? He is not a drinker....never has been. Never did drugs, needles ect. He did have a blood transfusion once when he was in his 20's (he's 49 now).

Again, I may be worrying for nothing but something is definitely up with his liver....we just don't know what yet. Any replies would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi, Marianne, and welcome to the Hepatitis Forum. Until your hubby gets his blood test results back, all we can do is guess and speculate. Hep C is treatable. Most people with HCV in the USA have genotype 1a. That is the hardest one to treat. Genotypes B and C are easier. They may not have been screening blood for hep C in the 80s, if that is when he got his transfusion. So he could have contracted hep C.

There are other types of liver diseases that are not viral. Some of these are fatty liver disease (treatable with diet and exercise) and autoimmune hepatitis which is treated with medication. Regardless of the type of liver disease, all of them require total abstention from alcohol! Nothing is worse for a damaged liver than alcohol consumption.

If his lab results show no viral hep, he may require further testing, such as a CT scan or MRI, or even a biopsy.

When he has a firm diagnosis, please come back with specific questions and someone is always here to try and answer. Also, you can find a lot of info in the folder at the top of the page entitled Hepatitis Resources ("hepatitis" meaning inflammation of the liver.)

Very best of luck to both of you.

Hugs,
Connie

I know nothing about Hep C, but a few things my doctor told me. High blood pressure goes away as the liver becomes more damaged. If it is sudden onset, he could have some type of obstruction. Does he have any jaundice? Has he had liver labs done in physicals in the past, if so were they high then or normal.

As much info as you can give will allow people to pass on information they might have experience with.

BBUC,

He IS seeing a Hepatologist.

What are his liver functions? There are lots of liver diseases. Has he been evaluated for Autoimmune Hepatitis...where the body itself attacks the liver? There are medical regimens for this!

Let us hear how this hunt for a diagnosis and treatment plan are going!

Hugs,
Mama Lama

Post Edited By Moderator (hep93) : 8/7/2013 5:40:22 PM (GMT-6)

There are many other types of liver disease too. Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and NASH are caused by poor diet (sugar/carbs) and can occur even in people who are not obese. I am sure once they get the labs they will do some further investigation, ultrasound, CT or MRI.

Connie, I thought they didn't start screening for HCV in blood until 1993. Might have been earlier but I don't think it was as early as the 80s.

The hep doc will get to the bottom of it and hopefully it is early enough to treat.

doni

Whew...got the results back and nothing is showing up in the blood work to cause any alarm so for now all is ok. We still need to get to the bottom of his symptoms though. He also got back some results from his GI doc about his gall bladder and while it's not "bad" it's functioning in reverse. (not sure what that means!) He said this could be causing some of the problems. It was recommended he have his gall bladder removed and at the same time he could have his liver biopsied to rule anything out with the liver for sure. Thanks for all the input!

Yeah, about Hepatitus C, am I nissing something, yeah, I'm allways over at UC area, also. But, why would State of Michigan make Hep.C a warranted condition to be eligible for Medical Marijuana. I mean it's cool I applying for it. But, am I going to through go some NASTY crap?

Post Edited (Bozine) : 8/21/2013 4:57:53 PM (GMT-6)

Marianne, I am thrilled at your news! At least he won't have to deal with viral hepatitis. They may find other issues, but it sounds like you have a really good hepatologist. Do come back and let us know the outcome of his surgery, further testing, etc., and how he is doing.

High BP can be related to stress and also to diet (too much salt!) So have him work on that...deep breathing when stressed, taking little breaks, and gradually eliminating salt (it's an acquired taste) will go a long way to making him healthier overall. With his gall bladder, he also needs to watch greasy or fried food.

Hugs,
Connie