Hepatitis C Support Group
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.
Hi Everybody!
On the 8th, I'll be 7 months post Sovaldi & Riba treatment, and am cured. I still have the ongoing problem with severely chapped lips (to give an idea how bad it is, I have to reapply about every 20 minutes and even when I wake up at night). Also still a bit sunlight (photo)-sensitive to my eyes, not sure yet how my skin will react, but I had a bad breakout of odd bumps on my chest in December, but got an Rx cream that worked well for that this time.
Right now, I'm recuperating from having my left big toe's main joint surgically fused (inside a cage now with 6 or 7 screws in there - ick), along with the extraction of a neuroma between the 2nd&3rd toes on same foot. Those first 2 weeks were rough, due to having to take Oxycodone again for 1st time in over 7 years. Am barely taking any of it anymore, only when absolutely needed. I just wish I'd quit letting my cane fall right over top of that foot whenever I'm in the kitchen, 2-3 times, at least, nearly every trip in there - I'm almost afraid to go in there anymore ;) hahaha
Anyway, in good spirits and I definitely have my energy back. I'm off most all medications now, and will soon be able to say I only take hormones, even though I still get clammy through the night real bad, at least I'm not changing clothes 2-3 times & changing sides of the bed due to completely soaked sheets ... yes, there's always a brighter side ;)
P.S. If any of you also experience a lot of problems with joints in your hands, feet and spine, I would strongly urge you to ask your GI/Hepatologist or Rheumatologist to run a special blood test for Cryoglobulin. Little is known about this outside of the larger city-centers' docs, especially in California. You might meet with opposition to get the test run, but clearly one quarter of Hep C patients develop this. I don't know if it is central to one Genotype or not (I doubt that it is). Google "Hep C and Cryoglobulinemia" to learn more.
There is no information yet on whether it magically goes away once the HepC is cured. One thing is certain, however. Whatever arthritis develops while this is in your blood, Cryoglobulin advances it especially faster in hands & feet because of the way it "pools" there - notice if your hands/feet get extremely cold for no apparent reason? That's a symptom of this, if you do not already have other known circulation problems. It does activate or somehow pool more when the temperatures outside and barometric pressure drops, too, so they do know it is linked in with either kind of arthritis. I am Rheumatoid Factor Positive in my blood, as well, but have not developed any of the autoimmune diseases, such as RA or Lupus, etc.
The other thing is that whatever arthritis has developed will not disappear, but hopefully, IF the cryoglobulin disappears after treatment, the arthritis will not continue to advance at such a fast pace.
On the 8th, I'll be 7 months post Sovaldi & Riba treatment, and am cured. I still have the ongoing problem with severely chapped lips (to give an idea how bad it is, I have to reapply about every 20 minutes and even when I wake up at night). Also still a bit sunlight (photo)-sensitive to my eyes, not sure yet how my skin will react, but I had a bad breakout of odd bumps on my chest in December, but got an Rx cream that worked well for that this time.
Right now, I'm recuperating from having my left big toe's main joint surgically fused (inside a cage now with 6 or 7 screws in there - ick), along with the extraction of a neuroma between the 2nd&3rd toes on same foot. Those first 2 weeks were rough, due to having to take Oxycodone again for 1st time in over 7 years. Am barely taking any of it anymore, only when absolutely needed. I just wish I'd quit letting my cane fall right over top of that foot whenever I'm in the kitchen, 2-3 times, at least, nearly every trip in there - I'm almost afraid to go in there anymore ;) hahaha
Anyway, in good spirits and I definitely have my energy back. I'm off most all medications now, and will soon be able to say I only take hormones, even though I still get clammy through the night real bad, at least I'm not changing clothes 2-3 times & changing sides of the bed due to completely soaked sheets ... yes, there's always a brighter side ;)
P.S. If any of you also experience a lot of problems with joints in your hands, feet and spine, I would strongly urge you to ask your GI/Hepatologist or Rheumatologist to run a special blood test for Cryoglobulin. Little is known about this outside of the larger city-centers' docs, especially in California. You might meet with opposition to get the test run, but clearly one quarter of Hep C patients develop this. I don't know if it is central to one Genotype or not (I doubt that it is). Google "Hep C and Cryoglobulinemia" to learn more.
There is no information yet on whether it magically goes away once the HepC is cured. One thing is certain, however. Whatever arthritis develops while this is in your blood, Cryoglobulin advances it especially faster in hands & feet because of the way it "pools" there - notice if your hands/feet get extremely cold for no apparent reason? That's a symptom of this, if you do not already have other known circulation problems. It does activate or somehow pool more when the temperatures outside and barometric pressure drops, too, so they do know it is linked in with either kind of arthritis. I am Rheumatoid Factor Positive in my blood, as well, but have not developed any of the autoimmune diseases, such as RA or Lupus, etc.
The other thing is that whatever arthritis has developed will not disappear, but hopefully, IF the cryoglobulin disappears after treatment, the arthritis will not continue to advance at such a fast pace.
I thought the HepC was only causing muscular pain for so long until I read up on how it hides in our joints so as to avoid replication (on the old C Everett Koop website, one of the first, as he was the former Surg.Gen'l in 1997 when I was first finding out).