i have alot of bloating but not sure if its liver related...i for one am not doing treatment because i'm afraid of possible post tx damage..and i can't now i think untill i'm cancer free for a year..the cancer was unrelated...plus i just keep feeling like a new less invasive tx is right around the corner...but only you can decide what is best for you...do stay up on your blood work what ever you decide so you'll know whats going on with your liver...everyones different...i am thinking of having an altrsound done and then decide if i want to get a biopsy...maybe you should get another dr appt. just to see whats going on with your health...wish i could be of more help but this is such a personal decision for each of us...some go thru tx well and clear..only you can decide..good luck and you'll be in my prayers

btw...my boyfriend had the ultra sound...painless and a good idea i think

My liver enzymes were 198 and 170 when I was Dx. They went down to 89 and 69 when I was doing nutritional IV's. I couldn't afford them after 4 months. My enzymes went up slightly, but not as high as they were.

I get some bloating and gas. Also some liver pain. Funny though, some acupressure generally takes care of it. So I wonder how much of it is just causes by my own worries. When it hurts, I just rub it and take some deep breaths and it stops hurting.

I chose not to do Tx because I was too sick when I was Dx. Now that I feel better, I really don't want to feel worse doing Tx! I do blood tests 2-3 times a year. Things are moving in the right direction, so I'm happy. I'm 55, and my viral load was 6.3 million in January, so both of those things run against successful treatment with Interferon.

My goal is to get my liver enzymes and viral load down and then we'll consider our options again.

If you have insurance, by all means, get the ultrasound! Peace of mind! The truth is wonderful to have. Ignorance is not bliss.

I used to have lots of bloating and gas. I had the "football under the ribcage" thing too. My doc said the bloating had nothing to do with the liver-----and I was thinking it was due to my age. Since I have started TX I do seem to bloat less, or is it that I eat less? Anyway the bloating is definitely beter. Pain is better too, but I still get it sometimes.....Let us know what you find out.

Hi Lisa, I'm sorry you're afraid. I know that feeling very well. My entire abdomen was painful and bloating out recently. For me, this seems to come and go depending on what I eat and how active I am. Medications can contribute to this as well. I am getting great results by altering my diet. That's not advice, just my personal experience and maybe a hopeful alternative to more serious issues.
I care about what you're going through.

Thanks everyone for responding. My stomach is still bothering me. The fact that I've been so constipated is probably not helping. The good things is the pain is moving to the other side as well. I really think it's my intestines. I need to clean up my diet a bit. I've been drinking 3 cups of coffee a day with Cremora which I know is not good for me. Other than that I'm pretty good with eating clean food. I do eat a lot of almonds, that are part of a trail mix. I'm going to lay off of that for a while and see if that makes a difference. Yes I agree that being active does help. I did water aerobics on Monday and noticed my stomach didn't bother me the whole time I was working out. Thanks again for listening, I was really in a funk. I'm nervous of having the ultra sound not of the procedure of hearing bad news. I should be o.k. my blood work was nearly perfect in December. I can't imagine in a fews months things could change so drastically. We'll see I'm going in 2 weeks, I originally was suppose to go today, I chickened out.

Lisa, how much water are you drinking? I think for every cup of coffee a cup of water, plus the recommended 1/2 oz of water for each pound of body weight should help with the constipation.

You can also do colonics. Those are really helpful to remove any hard blockages in the large intestine. When they are combined with a good abdominal massage, it can work wonders.

I drink a lot of water. I've been taking percocet for the last 5 days for a flair up I'm having with my back. I think that is causing the constipation. I wish I would have gone for the ultra sound on Friday like I was suppose to. Today I'm hurting more than ever. It's all over though, it's not just on my right side. I really feel like my intestines are inflamed. It's a mixture of cramping, burning and indigestion. Absolutely crazy. Oh well.

Percocet contains acetaminophen, which probably caused much of my liver damage back when I was abusing Vicodin years ago. http://www.hepatitis-central.com/mt/archives/2009/02/acetaminophen_c.html
Not crazy at all Lisa. I thought I had plantars fascia in my feet and sciatica in my back two years ago. Recently, I thought I might have some gout symptoms in the second toe of my left foot. I haven't totally given up coffee by any means, but I do have days where I skip it, and only use green tea and green tea extracts. I've cut way down on beef and red meat and that has helped my so called sciatica and plantars fascia more than all the stretching I ever did. I sure hope you feel better soon Lisa. Maybe ask the doc for Percodan instead (?) as it uses aspirin instead of acetaminophen, although that won't help the other problem. Constipation in us Hep C victims causes our blood ammonia levels to soar and then the liver "stresses out" that much more. Tom

Percocets make me feel rotten. Lortabs don't. What are they made with?

I guess Lortabs are just a brand name of hydrocodone w/acetaminophen like Vicodin. My body seems to prefer the oxycodone w/ aspirin (Percodan). I had a large upper molar pulled a couple months ago and I told the dentist I didn't want any acetaminophen whatsoever. That's why he gave me a small script (14) of Percodan which substitutes aspirin for the Tylenol. I still have half of them left since they scare the hell out of me. All the body pain disappears and I get a totally different night's sleep. But that's what led me into the heroin and crack cocaine /lemon juice speed balls down in Texas in the early 90's. I used to take as many as 20 Vicodin ES's at a time and I'm surprised I survived. The heroin got me away from those and the HCV has gotten me away from the heroin for the last 10 years. Now Jesus and this better living are getting me away from the HCV I believe.

Hi Lisa, in your situation you really have nothing urgent to worry about. If you've had a biopsy of your liver and your stage 1 gr 1. You are extremley far away from any serious problems. Check the statistics on hep C and the end result. Your doc is not worried and you should'nt be either. You're at the right place with this support group. MAK1AH has excellent information. You've got 20 years before stage 1 gr 1 will evolve into anything serious (if it evolves at all). Continu your yoga religiously (this is sooo good for the liver), eat right (as MAK1A and so many others here are saying), listen to your body, do research on the net and understand whats going on and don't worry, be happy. Stress is really bad and even worse for hep C.
As for your cramps, the reason your doc is asking for an ultra sound is to check for gall stones. If they find them, they'll want to take your gall bladder. Personally, I wouldn't let them take mine. But you must get rid of the stones. The gall bladder helps the liver. There are different ways of evacuating the stones (I have mine). Be your own doctor, watch what you eat and see how what you eat affects your fatigue. I know for a personal fact there is a relationship between fatty foods and fatigue (in my case).
Enjoy life, Love and be loved, laugh and don't worry.

I'm not sure what they are made with. That really scares me that this medication can cause more liver damage. Your damned if you do and your damned if you don't. I cut out the coffee the last few days and have switched over to green tea. I also started juicing again yesterday and pretty much staying on a liquid diet. I did Yoga tonight and boy did that make me feel like a million bucks. The pain in my side sort of diminished. And yes I'm going to really pay attention to the red meat. It's funny when I first found out last May about the Hep C I went on the strict diet/lifestyle change then when I got my liver bx results stating that I was stage 1 grade 1 I started becoming complacent. I need to never forget that I have this virus in my body and I need to always do my best to take care of myself. I do worry a lot when I don't feel good that it's Hep C related like this pain. I immediately think that I have liver cancer or something. I have to chill out because I could be making it worse. Like right now as I typed liver cancer I got this terrible shooting pain in my side. I think I better get off this computer before I double over in pain! O.K. I'm really nuts!! LOL!!!

Be assured you do not have liver cancer. Liver cancer is the end result of hep C and happens in what? 10 to 15% of hep C cases (someone correct me if I don't have exactly the right %). Your liver biopsy would be stage 4 gr 4 before the docs would call it cancer.
If you're having so much pain and it's on the right side just under the top of the center ribs the pain could be gall stones. If it acts up 2 hours after eating (especially fatty meals) thats when the gall blabber will try to spit out it's high concenrated bile. When there are stones in the gall bladder they will block the passage of the bile and cause pain. I passed stones for 6 months off and on. Since I've learned to evacuate them (naturally) I've had no problems. It's been 2 years since the last time I passed a stone. Until I learned what was going on it scared me something terrible. Just not Knowing is the worst part.

There is a simple way to know how many people will get sick
from hepatitis C:
â?¦ About 80 out of 100 people who get hepatitis C will
develop chronic (long term) infection.
â?¦ About 20 people out of the 80 people who have chronic
hepatitis C will become very ill or sick. It usually takes
many years to make the liver really sick..
â?¦ About 2-3 people out of the 80 people who have chronic
hepatitis C will get liver cancer.

From hcvadvocate.org, Easy C - A Guide to Hepatitis C