Itching Like Fury: My Hep C Story
A year ago, in April, I began to itch all over my body incessantly and it never stopped. After some initial tests it was confirmed I had hep C and so after seeing my consultant, it was confirmed that I’d had hep C for about forty years! My mind rushed back to my teens when I experimented with intravenous drugs and this seemed to be the only likely cause of the virus getting into my blood stream. I felt like fate had finally caught up with me for my sins. I was depressed to realize that heroin had had the last laugh. I thought I’d got away lightly, but this was like a slap from the past. This has been a source of shame and I realize how stigmatized the label of Hep C is. When people hear about it, they often make assumptions about you too.
MRI results showed cirrhotic liver disease and diagnosed as decompensated liver disease. Along with this I was in a mental fog, weak, dizzy and generally felt awful. I feared I may die as I felt so weak and as it was during lockdown in the UK. I saw virtually no one from day to day and it was an extremely lonely and depressing solo journey.
After treatment with AntiVirals for three months I began to feel SO much better! Many of the symptoms declined and eventually it was confirmed that I had NO Hep C virus in my blood any longer!
With the help of a dietician and other professionals, I am now tacking the challenge of living with a decompensated liver. I fear complications frequently and would like to know of others who can survive with this damage to the liver.
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