I'm 54, live in Massachusetts with my Hubby Jim aka Kessy1 and our daughter Amy, and two old cats, Murphy and Kacy.

I was diagnosed in September '97 with Hep C, and went thru lots of blood tests, I was pretty "green" about all this shocking news, and didn't know anything about Genotypes or Liver Biopsies, or Hepatitis C or Alts and ASTs and had to rely on my Doctors for advice. They took a lot of blood tests and sent me to some specialists. They told me my ALT was 999 or something ridiculous like that, and they monitored it and a year later when it only dropped to the 400's, they decided I should try the Rebetron aka Combo.

So, in January l999, I began injecting myself with "the poison". The most frightening part of it all began with my first shot, learning to inject myself. I didn't even like getting a shot from the Doctor. After 3 months, I responded to the treatment. So I continued on. I was feeling miserable, cut my work week back to 4 days, and generally lost most of my energy and what little patience I had.

I suffered with all of the typical sides, but wasn't totally disabled. My Husband and Daughter were always there to keep me on track and it was with their tender loving care and patience that I was able to get thru 39 weeks of combo.

They finally took me off the treatment in September 99, because I'd become very anemic. I felt and looked pretty lousy. "But you look good"…"Have you turned yellow yet?" One of the hardest things about dealing with this disease is that you generally don't look nearly as sick as you are, and most people expect you to act and feel normal.

At 6 months, I was still non-detectible and after a few more months my energy and self-esteem returned. I felt better than I had before treatment and realized then how sick I'd been.

I've been off treatment for over a year now and feel wonderful, I notice some lingering side effects, still lose my balance and can never find anything, especially my glasses; the Brain Fog drives me crazy. I have put myself on a healthful lifestyle by controlling the fat that I eat and avoiding stress when I can. It appears Combo worked for me, I hope so. I still worry about what the future holds for me. I wish with all my heart that it worked for everyone, but there are new treatments on the horizon, so keep the faith!  

When I first learned that I had this Hepatitis thing, I was scared to death and started planning the "rest of my life" which at that point didn't think was a very long time. I scoured the internet for information, and found the old SHN site, signed my name on the dotted line, and found myself a whole lot of other people in the same boat as me who helped me get thru this mess. Then…I somehow hit the lottery and found Sam and Lyrics place, they made a little Heppo for me in my favorite colors, and the rest is history. Heppolandia is a magical wondrous place where there is much love, support and kindness. I decided I needed an adventure, and much to the dismay of my "normal friends, I journeyed from my little home in Massachusetts to my first Hepfest in Port Orchard Washington. (Those people on the Internet are a bunch of ax murderers) Let me tell you, it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life, meeting these friends with funny little names and no faces that I'd cried, and laughed with in the Chat Room! Then a few months later I dragged my Husband along to another one in Pennsylvania - and met more of these wonderful folks. Jim has learned a lot about this disease and the wonderful folks he used to call "My Imaginary Friends" are now his friends too.

I've learned to question my doctors advice, and the first place to come is right here to the bulletin boards, there aren't real doctors here, but everyone here has either had the same problem as you are experiencing or can offer you some good advice. You are not alone here ever! And if you are just feeling down, you are sure to find a happy face to cheer you. So, know that getting HepC isn't the worst thing in the world that can happen to you, especially since you've found this place, you too will find the "Silver Lining" so many of us have.

My advice to you would be to learn everything about Hepatitis C that you can, everything. Ask your doctor for a copy of your lab results and keep track of them and find yourself a great support group such as this one but above all, keep your sense of humor, it's important when dealing with a life threatening illness such as this, you need to have a strong positive attitude that you are going to whip that Dragon. Good luck to you and welcome to our club.

Love and Hugs… Kessie

My e-mail is Kessie2@earthlink.net, I'd love to hear hear from you if I can help in any way.

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