Hello everyone,

I'm new to this group -- this is my first post.

Boy can I relate to the stories here.  I don't know where my HCV came
from; we think it may have been a tour in the Army during Viet Nam,
but who knows.  I was at stage 4 (entering cirrhosis) when we first
discovered that I had Hep-C 1B.

Following a liver biopsy that hospitalized me, I went through 48 weeks
of pharmaceutical induced hell on earth injecting Peg Interferon
weekly and taking 1600 mg of Ribavirin daily.  I lived through all of
the side-effects I've seen posted here so can I ever empathise.  I
also have to work full time despite the fatigue.

I wound up having to inject another drug (which I can't think of now)
to counter severe anemia caused by a large drop in hemoglobin caused
by the large dosage of ribavirin (sp).

The virus was undetectable from week 12 through 48.  My hepatologist
was certain that I was cured.  I wasn't.  Six week post tx clinical
tests showed that the virus had come back.  I went from cured to a
non-responder overnight.  What a ride!

A year later, my vision is slightly impaired, the fatigue has lessened
but never gone away, my memory can't remember short term stuff, the
body aches, liver swelling and mild depression are permanent roommates
as well.

Now I'm just waiting on the next miracle cure to be handed down to the
medical community to try out on us and trying to decide whether or not
to get on the list for a liver transplant.

Those of you who are contemplating starting treatment, don't
contemplate -- just do it.  The treatment may work for you and the
side-effects will be forgotten once you're cured.

Those of you currently in treatment. bless you and hang in there; it
won't last forever and you CAN do it.

Those of you who succeeded in eliminating the HCV and are truly cured
-- WAY TO GO!

For the rest of us who lived through tx and failed to beat the nasty
little vermin virus, I guess Forrest Gump was right: life IS like a
box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get -- or how you're
gonna get rid of it ;o).

--
Steve