Hepatitis 'C '.

IKE

IKE

Well-known Member
Location
Oklahoma....U.S.A.
For the past several months I've been seeing a lot of commercials on tv depicting seniors unknowingly living with Hepatitis C for years and the damage it can do to a persons liver and it got me to thinking.

Most here know that after my military stint in Vietnam I returned for a few years as a civilian and it was then that I came down with Hepatitis and was treated in country by a local Vietnamese doctor.

I actually had no idea of which type I had but with me living and eating (sometimes questionable hygiene wise) food off the local economy I had always assumed it was Type A which I understand is pretty much food related.

Last Friday I had a routine checkup which always involves blood and urine samples and after telling my doctor about my Hepatitis in VN I had him tell the lab to go ahead and do the test for Hepatitis C for my piece of mind.

The lab results came in and my doctor called me late yesterday afternoon and told he me that the test results definitely show that I do not have Hepatitis C.

Like most folks I've got enough going on medically as it is so hearing the negative results for Hepatitis C was good news.
 

That's good news Ike, you do have enough to deal with medically already, happy you tested negative. :cool2:
 
I read somewhere (CRS victim) that the elderly are the biggest undiagnosed carriers of Hep C. We all should be tested.
 

IKE said:
For the past several months I've been seeing a lot of commercials on tv depicting seniors unknowingly living with Hepatitis C for years and the damage it can do to a persons liver and it got me to thinking.

Most here know that after my military stint in Vietnam I returned for a few years as a civilian and it was then that I came down with Hepatitis and was treated in country by a local Vietnamese doctor.

I actually had no idea of which type I had but with me living and eating (sometimes questionable hygiene wise) food off the local economy I had always assumed it was Type A which I understand is pretty much food related.

Last Friday I had a routine checkup which always involves blood and urine samples and after telling my doctor about my Hepatitis in VN I had him tell the lab to go ahead and do the test for Hepatitis C for my piece of mind.

The lab results came in and my doctor called me late yesterday afternoon and told he me that the test results definitely show that I do not have Hepatitis C.

Like most folks I've got enough going on medically as it is so hearing the negative results for Hepatitis C was good news.
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I'm glad to hear that you are negative for HCV. I too am a VN vet, but I likely contracted Hep C during my years working in jails, where about 40% of the inmates carry HCV.

In 2012 I treated for Hep C using the Interferon injections+Ribavirin+Victrelis triple treatment. It was like having the flu for six months, and a bunch of mild autoimmune disorders.

Today, the 'go to' treatment is usually the Harvoni tx, a one pill a day for about 6 weeks. Some side effects, but not as brutal as the Ifn + Riba regimen.
 
I brought that up on my last medical visit, but was quick to add that I had been vaccinated for Hepatitis years ago because my work requited it. The doctor said I was probably vaccinated for Type A and offered to test me for Type C. I declined saying I'd wait until my yearly bloodwork was due in November. No use "sticking" me for an extra test.
 
Currently there is no vaccine for Hepatitis C, D, or E. I heard at one time that the person that developed the test to detect Hep C was working on a vaccine, which would be available in 5 years. But, that was in 2012, which was 5 years ago.
 

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