Mel,
 It sounds like you may be having an acute reaction then.  A reaction in
which your body is still fighting the virus and in about 20% of the cases
overall, I think the body does succeed.  Not sure of actual percentage.  Are
you sure it is Hepatitis C and not some other Hepatitis?

cj

My biopsy didn't hurt.  It was 'uncomfortable' but not painful.   Scary,
more than anything.  I was nervous so it was not a comfortable procedure for
me.   But it wasn't really a painful experience -- the needle shoots in and
out so fast you hardly know it happens (except my ribs are very close
together, so there was a 'sound' thing going on that was freaky for me)

It's the hours you have to spend lying on your side afterwards that will get
to you -- you feel 'fine' and you want to be out of there!   I read.....
not the easiest thing to do lying on your side lol

Sara

My biopsy did not hurt at all. In fact, I wasn't even aware of it being
done. Happily, it was done at the same time as a gall bladder removal, so I
was unconscious :-)

Mine was done on earth and was completely pain free.

Hi Don,

When I was younger, I indulged in risky behaviours.
And throughout my life, (not any more) had some issues with alcohol -
over
indulgence (binge drinking), usually leading to unprotected sex.
Hence the regular "Usual Suspects" tests.
I always have had the Hep C test, if I was having the HIV one, may
aswell,
and wasn't sure whether it was an STD or not.

Anyhow, for the last 5 years or so, I have suffered depression....not
always
managed properly - on my part. And last year, got stuck into the grog
a fair bit.
Over Christmas, I went through some very stressful financial issues
(mainly sorting
them out), and had to do the whole - tell the family thing, which was
very upsetting
to me, cause I didn't want to disappoint them.

One night out, intoxicated, I ran into an old "user" friend, and ended
up visiting old
territory. I didn't share the needle, but he did it for me.
He has been a long time user, it had been 15 years since I saw him
last, and
he was on the methadone, and still using aswell.
I knew he would have to have hep c, but I didn't share, so thought I
would be safe.

What happened was unrelated really, a slight indiscretion, and that
was what I
was worried about.

I'm a bit of a hypercondriac and always watch for signs of nasty
diseases.

About 1 week later, I got a throat infection, that lasted about 4
weeks, then it turned into
what I think was pleurisy. I basically had flu like symptoms, for an
extended period of
time, without being able to put a name to it.

I had some regular blood tests about 1 month after that, and they
showed abnormal liver
activity....can't find it at the moment. Straight away, (I was already
worried anyway) I thought
there was something to it.

Keep in mind, I still thought it was possible to get it through sex.

So a week later, I went and got the hep c and hiv test. It basically
showed positive
for hep c antibodies, roughly three months after the incident.

After researching on the net, I found out just how easy it is to get
it during
IV drug use. He could have just had some minute blood on his hands....
Which is the likely case, as he did me after him.

I am ashamed to put this on here, but as you can see, I'm an honest
person, and
an open book. I'll pretty much tell anyone anything they want to know.
But that doesn't mean I'm proud of my actions, or lack of "life lesson
learning" skills.

These things usually catch up with us one day, you can't be lucky
forever.
Especially when you keep doing the wrong things.

I was just blown away though, as I really didn't think it was that
easy to catch.

Well I am glad to say, that I did not contract HIV.

My Genotype is 1 - that's it, i'm sure it's sposed to have a letter
after it.....but that's all that's
on my report.
Also, they didn't do a viral load test, she couldn't tell me why, but
she ordered
one from some left over blood. (Hopeless.....)

I'm sure i was acute when I got the test, because I was extremely
fatigued, couldn't
stay awake to save my life some days, and had trouble regulating my
temperature.

Also, another sure sign is the urine....(nice colour and smell - NOT).
That really scared me.

I know I'm not acute now, as I only get sick (which is usually sleepy)
after I have misbehaved.

So maybe the blood I got her to take a couple of weeks ago will show
better results.

So there's my sorry and long winded tale (apologies for putting you to
sleep:))

Regards,

Mel.....