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I was a hippie in 1968 and 1969. I'm not ashamed of it. It's a part of my

life's experiences; a part of who I am. I've not been a hippie or taken any

drugs since then. It's how I got hepatitis C, but I'm still not ashamed of it,

nor will I ever be. It was a learning experience.

I've had hepatitis C for 35 years. I've had two biopsies, four years apart.

Both showed stage 1, grade 1. No progression. Dr. from

Minneapolis said there are two things that account for that: the fact that I

have never been a drinker, and my genes.

My genotype is 1b. He recommends that I don't try treatment, and from my

research, I agree with him. They look at your age, how long you've had it, your

genotype, whether you also have fatty liver, and a few other considerations. I

certainly have time to wait for a better treatment to come along. Doc says I

will die with Hep C, not of it. I'm inclined to agree with him. Not that I'm

afraid to die. Far from it. I've made my peace with death a long time ago and

find that there are far worse things in life than death.

I live in MInnesota and have 4 kids, ages 33, 31, 25 and 15. All of them have

been tested for hepatitis C and none of them have it. My ex-husband had it (the

father of the first two kids), but he cleared. We didn't get it from each

other; we had different genotypes.

I used to go to a Hep C support group here in the Twin Cities called LiverHope,

but I don't go anymore. I had also attended the annual Minnesota HepFest for

three years in a row, but will not ever go again because of a particular man who

attends them who is a pedophile and was grooming my son, when he was 12, for

seduction. LiverHope would not tell him he couldn't come anymore, so it's me

who doesn't go, instead, as both I and my son feel very uncomfortable when he

shows up. I think that the safety of kids should come before feeling sorry for

this man simply because he, too, has hepatitis C.

My symptoms are getting worse. The severity of hepatitis C symptoms has little

to do with the severity of the liver disease. The enzyme level also has little

to do with the severity of the disease. I've know people with high ALT's and

AST's with very little liver damange, and I've seen people in stage 4 with low

enzyme levels. Everyone is different.

The symptoms I present include lots of muscle and joint pain, fatigue, itchy

skin and brain fog. The rheumatologist says I also have fibromyalgia, most

likely brought on by the hep C virus. Some doctors are now saying that everyone

who presents with fibromyalgia ought to be test for hep C. I think it's a good

idea.

I'm trying to continue working until I either retire (8 years), or at least

until my last child at home is 18 and graduated from high school. He's 15 now.

I can't afford to go on disability while I still have a child at home to

support.

I used to run an online support group, but I dropped it in order to spend more

time in my other groups and on educating people on how to keep their kids safe

from unscrupulous people. I like to keep my mind on other things besides this

virus. I refuse to allow it to control my life. I'm sure if I were in stage 3

or 4 liver disease, I would give it a much higher priority. I've done a lot of

research on it until I grew tired of it. Still, it's nice to talk to others now

and then who also have it.

TigerHawk

Ric wrote:

on second thought, I don't think those are bad names!. You can laugh now

Bernice. Laugh with us, please.

Birth and Death are the two noblest expressions of bravery. -

---Kahlil Gibran

For what is it to die, But to stand in the sun and melt into the wind? And when

the Earth has claimed our limbs, Then we shall truly dance.

--Kahlil Gibran