Newly Diagnosed
What happens when you get the news Via Doctor or Red Cross ?
It seems we all have our own coping mechanism's , mine were disbelief, there must have been a mistake ?
Shock Denial, Anger, Grief, Panic, Fear, Guilt, all the shock has turned into a reality, then follow steps 1 through 9 again and again.
How did I catch hep c ?
Am I contagious?
Who should I tell?
What are my options?
Why me?
How long does it take ?
Feelings of uncleanliness
Lowers self esteem
Fear of telling family and friends
As I am typing this I imagine all chronic illness come with this emotional let down.
The next step was to arm myself heavily with all the information I could find. knowledge is power, Reaching out to a support group , is key to the rest of our walk through this hardest thing we have ever known in our lifetime.
Board Certified Hepatologist's that is very important because they are loaded with the latest treatment options for you,
Do not waste time with a family doctor or a Gastroenterologist without a Hepatologist certification.
Timing is very important Some strains of hepatitis can be cured if you treat the illness before too much liver damage has occurred. I was diagnosed in 1992, and there weren't many options then, today is much better, treatmentwise your
Hepatologist can tell from 12 weeks if you will be able to clear the virus, and also quickly move to another kind of medicine if you are not responding.
Side effects can be managed so much better today as well.
Many people have kept working, and functioning during treatment, it is very important that you keep your life busy in order to cope with any illness.
It seems we all have our own coping mechanism's , mine were disbelief, there must have been a mistake ?
Shock Denial, Anger, Grief, Panic, Fear, Guilt, all the shock has turned into a reality, then follow steps 1 through 9 again and again.
How did I catch hep c ?
Am I contagious?
Who should I tell?
What are my options?
Why me?
How long does it take ?
Feelings of uncleanliness
Lowers self esteem
Fear of telling family and friends
As I am typing this I imagine all chronic illness come with this emotional let down.
The next step was to arm myself heavily with all the information I could find. knowledge is power, Reaching out to a support group , is key to the rest of our walk through this hardest thing we have ever known in our lifetime.
Board Certified Hepatologist's that is very important because they are loaded with the latest treatment options for you,
Do not waste time with a family doctor or a Gastroenterologist without a Hepatologist certification.
Timing is very important Some strains of hepatitis can be cured if you treat the illness before too much liver damage has occurred. I was diagnosed in 1992, and there weren't many options then, today is much better, treatmentwise your
Hepatologist can tell from 12 weeks if you will be able to clear the virus, and also quickly move to another kind of medicine if you are not responding.
Side effects can be managed so much better today as well.
Many people have kept working, and functioning during treatment, it is very important that you keep your life busy in order to cope with any illness.
