SPECIAL PROBLEMS WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF HEPATITIS C

Dealing with a diagnosis of any chronic illness is difficult, but patients with hepctitis C have special issues:

FEELING LOW: You may be experiencing fatigue, low evergy, loss of ability to concentrate, and a sense of inadequacy in doing daily tasks. These symptoms may make you more emotionally vulnerable and susceptivle to periods of depression. Be sure to tell your doctor if you feel seriously depressed.

FEELING CONTAMINATED: Although the virus is transmitted only by blood-to-blood contact, you may have questions and fears about who will avoid you. How will your friends or boss react? What do you tell your dentist?

Testimony

I can't believe this guy at work. I left a can of pop on the table for a minute, and he drank it by mistake. He freaked out when he found out if was mine. Now he won't even talk to meif he can help it. When he passes my desk, he won't even look me in the eye!

Bonnie

HOW YOU GOT INFECTED. When you try to figure out how this happened to you, your answer may affect how you deal with your diagnosis:(1) If you can point to a blood transfusion, you don't feel responsible for your illness;(2) if you've injected drugs, whether it was a nimor episode or you're still involved, you have to process the painful idea that you did this to yourself; (3)people who don't know how they got infected may never figure it out, and that unceratinty creates it's own dilemmas.

LOOKING GOOD: Strange as it sounds, people of ten have trouble offering comfort to someone who doesn't have a visible wound. In the early and middle stages fo infection, you may suffer silent symptoms, such as fatigue and joint pains. Unfortunately, many people (including yourself) may have a hard time believing you're ill. Unless you explain the nature of hepatitis C, you may not get the support you need.

Testimony

For years before I was diagnosed, I dealt with an evergy level that seemed to be going downhill. I stopped playing tennis because I couldn't run fast enough to get to the ball. I had to give up biking when my knees ached so bad.
Now I just learned I have hepatitis C, but my wife doesn't listen. "You look fine," she says. "You're just getting older."

George

FLUCTUATING NATURE OF HEPATITIS C. Who knows why Jill's PCR assay shows a low viral load onemonth but a sky-high count the next. The fluctuating course of hepatits C sometimes gives the patient the feeling of walking on shifting sand, never knowing what each day will bring.

LACK OF INFORMATION: Uncertainty due to lack of information is a huge stressor. You have no way to answer the questions, "What am I dealing with, and how will it affect my life?" What facts your doctor offers you about your stage of illness, therefore, have a big influence on how you deal with the diagnosis.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP YOURSELF?: "Be patient with yourself." "Accept that this is a difficult time, and try not to beat yourself up for being normal, human."

Testimony:

The results of my second biopsy sent me into a tailspin. My liver was worse! It was like going back to the first day I was told I had hepatisis C. For days and weeks I struggled to control panic attacks andcrying jags. I couldn't get on top of it.
Finally, a friend with hepatits C told me not to stuff the pain and sadness. :The only thing that works for me,"she said, "is to feel it all the way."
When I gave myself time to feel whatever it was ---no matter how painful---I was able to move on with the rest of my day. I didn't get stuck.

Lanie

"Remember to be kind to yourself. Patience, patience, and more patience. That's the key."
"Expect to feel emotional cycles, ups and downs, each time the activity ofyour disease changes or you experience a new symptom."

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IMPACT (ATTITUDES AND EXPECTATIONS)