Hepatitis C

[Wagamama]

I need info on this disease. Not medical book info, but info on how it affects someones life, is it curable, is it a terminal illness, that sort of thing. thanks...

 

[Dan Murphy]

I skimmed 3 pages of a google search and this site seems pretty good. Give it a looksee.

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/hep/hepc/hepc.htm

 

[Wagamama]

thank you Dan!!!

 

[mrsapalm]

www.hepatitismag.com

-MrsAPalm

 

[ahutton]

I can only tell you what I know of a friend...

He was diagnosed with HepC at the same time he had pancreatitis and became an insulin dependant diabetic. After the infection in his pancreas was treated and his sugar controlled he started taking regular medication and made significant diet changes. It has been 8 or 9 years, and he is doing great. He is still very active, plays softball, and is a great dad to his 2 daughters. The did meet with a registered dietician and set up what a proper diet for him would be, and his wife just adjusted how the family already ate to follow what he needed.

 

[Ahnalira]

<font face="tempus sans itc" color=purple size=3>I contracted hepatitus C almost 30 years ago when I was a teenager. By the time I was in my late 30's my liver showed severe scarring, my skin was an appetizing orange/yellow, and I was experiencing hepatic comas (brief liver failure episodes)....

I also have Type 1 diabetes and there weren't many medical options so I went an alternative route. I stopped eating nutrasweet (hard on the liver), stopped eating sucrose (high blood sugars and rapid bloodsugar changes hard on liver), and started taking Milk Thistle (a herb that nourishes the liver) and curcumin (a plant extract used in aids research for neutralizing system viral infections.. that's what hep C is)

After a few years, my liver functions checked normal and the scarred tissue had regenerated. I believe the curcumin was the operative measure - though everything else I did supported a choice to live and be healthy... See how that is?

I also had a plantars wart that had grown on foot for 13 years despite every possible medical and alternative treatment I could find totally heal while I was ingesting the curcumin.
Ahnalira

 

[goofygirl]

I work in clinical trials dealing with Hep C.

There's a lot of promise for Hep C. The treatment for it is interferon. There's a kind of improved interferon called Pegylated Interferon. Some people have tested negative for the virus as soon as 12 weeks after treatment with the drug. I'd look into getting into a clinical trial , you can check out the Hepatitis Resource Network www.h-r-n.org. Hep C is not terminal. Unless you have severe liver damage, your life is not in danger. Hep C patients generally live normal lives. If you decide to do a clinical trial, keep in mind that you will have to deal with injections for about a year, as well as some side effects.

 

[Wagamama]

thanks everyone. He's already started treatment although i don't know what kind. I really appreciate all your help.

 

[SideshowBob]

Very interesting stuff....


Also, had never heard of "milk thistle" ... interesting link below about it....

http://www.ahcpr.gov/clinic/epcsums/milktsum.htm