Vietnam Era Veterans and Hepatitus C

[Sunni Man]

I was taking my annual physical at the VA clinic when the doctor asked if I wanted to be checked for Hepatitus C along with some other blood work.

My first response was No,....... but then I said, what the heck let's check for it.

About a week later the doctor called me and asked if I knew that I had Hep C?

I was in total shock to say the least. Because I never had any symptoms.

Come to find out a lot of Vietnam era veterans have Hep C and don't know it until their eye balls turn yellow and they have liver damage.

As luck would have it. There is a brand new Hep C treatment which consists of taking a pill once a day for 12 weeks and has a 97% cure rate. I am on week #2 and doing great.

(before this the treatment was draconian with a year of shots, pills, and debilitating sickness, with varying rates of success)

So if your a Veteran do yourself a favor and have the blood work done to check for Hep C. ........

 

[Valerie]

sorry to hear your diagnosis... sounds like the doc didn't exactly break it to you gently...




"the doctor asked if I wanted to be checked for Hepatitus C along with some other blood work.

My first response was No,....... but then I said, what the heck let's check for it.

About a week later the doctor called me and asked if I knew that I had Hep C?"

 

[Sunni Man]

Lol.......the doctor is a female......so you'd think she would have a gentle bed side manner. .......

 

[Roadrunner]

I was taking my annual physical at the VA clinic when the doctor asked if I wanted to be checked for Hepatitus C along with some other blood work.

My first response was No,....... but then I said, what the heck let's check for it.

About a week later the doctor called me and asked if I knew that I had Hep C?

I was in total shock to say the least. Because I never had any symptoms.

Come to find out a lot of Vietnam era veterans have Hep C and don't know it until their eye balls turn yellow and they have liver damage.

As luck would have it. There is a brand new Hep C treatment which consists of taking a pill once a day for 12 weeks and has a 97% cure rate. I am on week #2 and doing great.

(before this the treatment was draconian with a year of shots, pills, and debilitating sickness, with varying rates of success)

So if your a Veteran do yourself a favor and have the blood work done to check for Hep C. ........

Wouldn't that only apply to vets that fucked whores?

 

[Sunni Man]

It's my understanding that Hepatitus C is only contracted thru contact with contaminated blood.

Such as transfusions, dirty needles, blood splatter from combat wounds, etc.

 

[Roadrunner]

It's my understanding that Hepatitus C is only contracted thru contact with contaminated blood.

Such as transfusions, dirty needles, blood splatter from combat wounds, etc.

Ah!

I met a guy that had it once; he claimed they did not even have a test for it during the war.

I must have been thinking about the Vietnamese Black Clap, and Kerry's Purple Hearts.

 

[Sunni Man]

I'm on week #3 of my Hep C treatments.

By the end of the second week I had become severely anemic and could barely walk to my car. So they cut my daily medicine dose almost in half. They said it fairly common to become anemic but mine was on the extreme side.

It's gonna be a long 12 weeks. ......

 

[Sunni Man]

End of week 6 ......I'm half way thru my treatments but am still really fatigued. I have to lay down about ten times per day just to get my strength back.

Last week they gave me a shot to help with the anemia. It has started to head back to the normal range but is still on the low side.

According to my blood work the Hep C virus has been reduced to zero count. But they still make you complete the 12 weeks of medications just to be sure it's totally eradicated from the liver.

I don't know how people were able cope in the past when the treatments lasted a whole year. .......

 

[Sunni Man]

I have talked to a couple of people who went thru the old Hep C treatment which was hell.

It was a year long ordeal of Interferon shots, debilitating physical sickness, and mental depression.

This new treatment of 1 pill per day for 12 weeks is a breeze in comparison. ......

MeBelle60

 

[MeBelle]

I have talked to a couple of people who went thru the old Hep C treatment which was hell.

It was a year long ordeal of Interferon shots, debilitating physical sickness, and mental depression.

This new treatment of 1 pill per day for 12 weeks is a breeze in comparison. ......

MeBelle60

Wow Sunni Man
Had no idea you were going through this.

My brother did go through hell with Interferon treatment, but he's one tough ornery bastard!

He's also one of the few people in the State of Maine that has a Federal license to legally grow and
smoke marijuana. I believe that smoking pot got him through his treatments.

 

[Sunni Man]

Sometimes the medicine makes me dizzy and weak for the first couple of hours after taking it in the morning. So I usually just lay down for awhile and everything is good.

But last week I stayed up after taking the meds and was posting on the internet and watching videos.

Started feeling really tired and walked to the bedroom to lay down.

Halfway there I blacked out and fell face first on the floor. Broke my nose and have two black eyes. I look like someone beat the crap out of me. ..

 

[Sunni Man]

Just finished my post 6 months blood work and zero traces of Hep C was found.

The doctor told me that I was considered totally cured of the disease. .....

 

[Valerie]

wow that's good news