And just what might this hep c thing be? A dry, clinical expanation can be found here but I know you're longing for a more concise, pithy explanation from Uncle Al who, by the way, is not currently indictable in most states. And all those pesky statutes of limitations have expired in Europe. Here goes.....

C is a sneaky, nasty little sucker otherwise known as a virus that attacks the liver. It's soooooo.... good at its mission that, literally, millions of unsuspecting folks don't even know that they're INFECTED. Sometimes it goes undetected until you find that you have end stage liver failure or hepatoma. Finding out at this point is known as the " OOOOOHH SHIT Syndrome...." . You instantly feel "unclean" as if you've become a medieval plague carrier. And yes, that's plague not PLAQUE, although I'm sure they had horrible plaque problems back in medieval times too....

A disturbingly high percentage of those infected don't have a clue while their liver goes merrily south. And we ain't talking Caribbean vacation.

I've just decided to go online with this (after learning of other high school & college friends who also have been diagnosed with C) and share some of the websites I've found helpful.

I'd like to say that I, like so many others, have no idea whatsoever of how I ended up with C. Bad escargot in the south of France perhaps? I'd also like to say that I'm a former Noble Peace Prize recipient and one of People magazines "50 Sexiest Men." And that I'm not is something of a sore point but I digress.... Both statements would be slightly inaccurate.

Ok. Fine. Be picky. Both statements would be fabrications. Ok, if you insist lies. And for your own well being, it's really not good to be soooo anal.

Being genotype 3A I suspect that my C is a result of my iv drug use back in Heidelberg '72 - '73. Who would have thought using heroin would have long term consequences?

Go figure If only someone would have WARNED me......

I was diagnosed & confirmed with chronic HCV this past March (2001). I'd gone in for a physical and had "standard" bloodwork done. The results showed "elevated" liver functions.

My doctor asked if I'd ever been told that I had "elevated" liver functions? I answered "yes" (resisting an overwhelming impulse to say " and WHO wants to know?" ) and shut up.

He stared at me. I stared at him.

I suspected he might expect me to be a little more forthcoming at that juncture. So I told him about my "lifestyle" from ''71- '73. Important fact here: this was a looooonnnnng time ago with no symptoms for three decades. His response was very straightforward: "You need to be tested for Hepatitis C." Since I felt fine I had no qualms about further bloodwork. And I hadn't felt my qualms for a lonnng time.........

He called a week later and told me that I had tested positive for hepatitis c and referred me to a gastroenerologist. Whatever that was......

Dr. Gastro took 8 or 9 gallons ( mea culpa, I'm given to hyperbole) of blood and, aided and abetted by the U of W, came up with: chronic HCV, genotype 3A with AST 163, ALT 281 & a viral load of 10,051,000. For those of you who have never had reason to visit a liver specialist, news such as this would be considered " BAD ."

The rational part of me reacted to the news with a " DUHHH...... Gee, what a SURPRISE ". The rest of me responded with denial & depression. As a former psych major I understand the process but find that it's just a tad bit different when you're experiencing the process.

Sooooooo.... Hep C. Aside from knowing of one former classmate that had it, I knew nothing. Unfortunately, now I know more. And know of many former classmates who also have C. Like they gave it out with the diploma at graduation..... I'm still hanging with the bad escargot theory. Really. Can you name one good thing associated with escargot? I rest my case......

My gastroenterologist/hepatologist and I have decided to wait for the FDA to approve Pegasys (pegalated interferon) for chemotherapy since I've only begun to exhibit symptoms.

Why wait ? Especially since 85% of people with C progress to end stage liver failure and/or liver cancer? NOTE: I've been informed that this statistic may not be accurate. At this point I haven't been able to refute the statistic in traditional, homeopathic or traditional chinese medicine (TCM). Believe me, I want to.....Simply because monotherapy with interferon alone only produces 10-15% success rate. And once the chemo stops a hefty percentage of those do not sustain the results. C's tricky like that. It mutates and returns. Which is why it's incurable at this present time. Fun, huh?

Traditional medicine uses terms like "virus free" or "cleared." Rarely, if ever, do you see the simple word " CURED."

There's also combo chemo of interferon (3 shots a week) with ribavirin (daily oral dosage) that has a 15-25% success rate.

The downside of both of the treatments is that chemotherapy ain't, like, on the whole, GOOD for you. It's bad for you on the whole & , paradoxically, bad for the liver to start with. Paradox's suck.

What was that word we used to use? Oh yeah. BUMMER......

I've begun to explore alternative, homeopathic therapies. Mainstream medicine tends to discount such but, hey, mainstream wanted to burn Copernicus at the stake too.....

Cheer up! It's not all doom and gloom here. Go here for the "Lighter Side of Hep C."

Iv'e had a few emails from folks who say "I know someone who.....wasn't one of the Judds cured.....if it's so bad, why haven't I heard of it?.....etc....." Beats me why you aren't aware but Dr. Koop, former Surgeon General, has this to say about C.

Six Month Update

Still haven't gone the biopsy and chemo route but I'm encouraged by the results of my "six month blood test" results. AST went from 163 to 66, ALT 281 to 83 & viral load dropped down to 140,884 from 10,051,000. I'm well aware that levels fluctuate wildly for no logical reason but ya gotta like the trend.

The only thing that I've done is eat healhtier & followed Dr. Berkson's "triple anti-oxidant" therapy combined with milk thistle, cell forte (IP-6 & inositol)& NAC supplements.

This is horrible. Take me back to the less real stuffs.......

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