First of all, relax (I know easy for me to do, I've only had this
disease for 25 years).  You need to know how much, if any, liver damage
has been done.  Your doctor will probably order a biopsy to evaluate
your liver, for most people this isn't a major event.  Even if you do
have it the rest of your life, it may not be the cause of your death.
There are many people here who have beaten the dragon, even with geno
type 1b.  The odds are much better now than they were a few years ago.
Until you find out exactly where your at with this disease, worrying
without more specifics won't help.  If you drink I would suggest
stopping.  BTW, I've know I've had hep-c since before it was known as
hep-c (non A, non B hep) and I've known about my cirrhosis for 13 years
and I'm still here.  I have been through 2 rounds of treatment, neither
successfully.  I never missed work because of the hep-c or the treatment
of it.  The first time wasn't bad, the second was worse but I still
managed with the help of some good people here and a loving wife who put
up with me at my worst.  If you have questions this is the place to
come.  You can even find answers to questions you haven't even thought
of the questions for.  Hang in there.

Dwight

First of all, the people who have already replied to you have given you good
advice.

Information is important. The more you read about HCV, the more you will
calm down, because knowledge is power. In time you will accept it and lose
the emotions you are experiencing now.

There is not a big difference between 1a and 1b, though 1b is considered a
smidge more difficult. I had 1b, finished treatment on July 31, 2003 and am
still undetectable. I was already negative 10 weeks after starting treatment
and my liver enzymes went down right away and have stayed very low.

Don't drink.

Ask for copies of ALL your blood work and your biopsy results and learn how
to interpret them. There are lots of websites that will guide you through
this.

The most important thing now is to have a biopsy.

If you are going to do treatment, then try to get your life in order in case
you have a hard time of it.

Don't tell everyone you know that you are infected, as you may come to
regret it later. There is a lot of misinformation about this disease and
there's no reason why you should pay the consequences of other people's
ignorance.

Lana