Get Educated About HCV (Hepatitis C)

I have mentioned before that I have undergone treatment for Hepatitis C..The treatments were not pleasant and of course with my luck I was one to go through some side effects that were difficult to deal with. Not everyone has side effects, some people have minimal but in lots of cases, mine included the treatment works. My viral load was in the millions when I was FINALLY diagnosed. I was told that from the liver biopsy they could tell that I had been carrying this bug for over 20 years, liver scarring and tissue damage had already started to occur. My viral load is now undetectable, which is a good thing.
If you think you could be infected it merely takes a blood test to find out.

The link is a quick fact and myth page regarding HCV and there is much misinformation and belief about the illness. People who have this virus should also be quickly vaccinated against both the Hep B and Hep A viruses as contracting one or the other while infected with Hep C can be fatal.

First let me start by saying that the Hep C virus has only been discovered in the late '80's..Right about the time I contracted it. It took them 20 years to discover that I had it. Over the years I started to develop symptoms such as, achy, my shoulder would at times hurt when I breathed, The middle of my back too would hurt when I breathed, so bringing these symptoms to my Dr.'s I was diagnosed with pluracy, bursitis, even a gall bladder problem. I was also over the years losing my energy level..I was one that rafted, hiked mtns..etc and now it was getting hard for me to do anything, just seemed to be tired, when taking these symptoms to my Dr.'s I was told I was depressed, and that depression can cause physical pain..I tried to tell him it was the pain that was causing my depression..but what do I know, so I ended up taking depression medication, and no it didn't work...I was still in pain and tired so I ended up being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, so now I had a title, I was a depressed fibromyalgic person..I ran around actually believing that for several more years and my condition silently worsened.
Finally I went to another Dr. when we moved south and that was where I was diagnosed, so see I wasn't nuts after all..It was a strange trip to my final diagnosis and as I have said the treatment is not easy, but so far as of last week, my viral load is still undetectable.

So get checked, even if you think you are far too clean and careful for that cause many of us are indeed walking around with this silent killer within.