Lee, eewwww, ouch is all I could think of when I read your post. I am glad you warned her ! And Thanks.
Psy, I did ask that you not kill me ! Remember ? HELP.
Demo see the kind of trouble you got me into ! 
I think it’s so cool of you to be educating people like this, Ayesha.
I never knew a thing about Hep C until I started working where I do. We have to take a class on HIV/AIDS and HCV. When I found out what HCV was and how you got it, and what it does to your body, I was shocked! In high school, they never taught us about it. I had heard of Hepatitis, but I had no idea that there were different kinds, or what any of them did to someone’s body.
Take good care of yourself. {{{{{Ayesha}}}}}
Jeannie,
I don’t think it’s cool of me to share, I look at it as a duty really. And as I’ve said before (I think) , I can’t bitch about those who don’t speak out if I don’t do it myself. Now I can complain about them till the cows come home if I want.
There aren’t enough people willing to speak out. Until that changes, we will be kept on the back burner much the same way aids victims were for many years, and sadly still are.
Few people know much about it, I had no idea there was such a thing, until I found out I had it. For a time after it was detected, it was just called Non A- Non-B Hepatitis.
There are several different types of Hep. and Hep C has several different geno-types.
One of the saddest things about this disease is the number of people who have it and don’t know it. Here is a link to the CDC’s Hep C page. The numbers are frightening.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/resource/chronic.htm
I had a liver/spleen scan done friday. I will learn the results of that and of the blood work I had done three weeks ago this week. Then I will know my viral load and the geno-type I have.
I’m done babbeling now.
What Hep does to your body is nasty. It doesn’t matter if it is A, B or C, they all suck to have. And yes, people should know more about all the strains of Hep. Don’t swim in the creek, I don’t care if the pool costs money, its cleaner by far than that little puddle in the middle of the creek. All it takes is one kid who doesn’t even know he has it yet (Hep can be infectious before any symptoms appear.) and you are looking at at least a month of getting to know the bedpans quite well, and I’m talking face to pan here, and that is if you are lucky.
{{{{{{{{Ayesha}}}}}}}} I think you’d look great, even if your head DID get bigger!! Maybe you and Byzie could have a ‘head off’ and we could sell tickets!
You are really very self deprecating about your bravery and willingness to share something that many have a difficult enough time coping with their own families. I admire your courage SO much!
If you have posted this elsewhere, please forgive me for missing it, but did you get the mess straightened out with the hard hearted insurance people??-----Judy
Narile,
You are right of course, no Hep is a joke. It is all nasty, I concentrate on Hep C because it is what I have, it is a deadly form of the disease, and is fast becoming one of the leading causes of liver transplants in this country. Hepatitis Central, the site in my sig line has info on all forms of Hep.
I did the the shots for Hep A and B this year, I am glad they are avilable.
Anti Pro,
Ah the insurance Company, well I won’t know for sure how loudly they are going to scream until all the tests are in and a plan of treatment is made and we try to follow through. I’ll keep you posted on that. I couldn’t keep my old insurance, and I really wanted to.
Thank you for I’m brave, but I have to tell you something, it’s a secret so don’t tell any other Dopers.
I’m not brave, I’m scared spitless. Oh Ayesha is brave enough, heck that gal is tough, but Deb, well Deb is a different story. And it’s Deb ,the real me I want to be when I post tonight. Not Deb with the added umph of Aye to help her out.
My willingness to share comes from the fact that I will not hide this. I refuse to do that, this is a part of who I am now, just like everything else I’ve shared on the board. How can you know me if I hide parts of me ? It’s like being fat, which I am, people can accept all of me or not, as they wish, but they have to take me as I am. Warts and all,
well I don’t have any ** real ** warts, but y’all know what I mean.
I’m afraid and I cry when no one can see me. Even the LIONsob isn’t even allowed to see much of it, because I hate for people to worry about me, I like to be the strong one. And most of the time I make it. But please guys, don’t think I’m this great brave person, because I’m not.
I’m sorry, I just felt like I needed to be real about that. Y’all are my friends, I need to be able to be honest with you. (No feeling sorry for me either, I hate that.)
Now since no one has asked a question, I will give you more information you didn’t want. That will teach you guys ! 
When I found out the first thing I did was insist that LIONsob and son get tested. They are both clear. Thank God.
The second thing I tried to do was get Lion to use condoms, he wouldn’t hear of it. (Butthead) I talked to my doctor about this and he said that they doubt there is much chance of spreading this disease sexually, it’s not impossible but it is improbable. Unless a personn has many partners or is into really kinky painful bloody sex , with injuries to both people (blood to blood) the chances of getting it that way are very slight.
I still worry about it, I don’t think I could handle it if I gave this to him.
Dearest Deb, it’s painful to hear of you crying alone, and yet, isn’t that the truth of life at times, having to walk certain paths by ourselves?
It’s easy to see why Lion loves you so, and while you’re beautiful to him as either ‘Ayesha the strong and courageous’ or as ‘Deb his wife’ BOTH of those people exist. I hope you are letting him walk the path as closely as he can, and while it’s natural to want to cry and be alone sometimes, as I’m sure HE does, don’t hide that from him, or let him hide it from you. You both are teaching your kids some important lessons in LIVING. And they are tough lessons and not easily shared with outsiders. As much as any of us would like to be closer, the door closes, and it’s your family that sees every nuance and tucks it away in their own memories.
We pray for you every night, and that you’ll be given the strength you need for the next day. Please let us know if there are addresses that we can hassle the insurance companies too. We have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and it’s always up for renewal once a year, if by ANY chance you have them, it would be a neat thing to tell them ‘hey, show us what kind of heart you have here.’ My fingers are ever readies as far as e mailing them ‘helpful hints’ for their customers!------ Judy
There is no way I can say this right, but here goes:
If there must be people infected by such a devestating disease, I’m glad some of them are people like you. That is, because your voice guarantees that it won’t stay on the backburner. Your spirit means that people around you won’t remain ignorant of what it means to be Hep positive. Your stick-to-itiveness means that fewer people will be infected, because you’re doing everything in your power not to pass it on.
I only wish you didn’t have to pay the price the virus exacts. I wouldn’t wish Hepatitis in any of its versions on my worst enemy. It grieves me that such a strong and vibrant and good woman as yourself must cope with it. However, because you are, that means that Hep positive people in the future will have better tools, more knowledge, and greater support.
I wish I could have met you in person while I was still in Texas. Had I not had a test the weekend of the April Houston Dopefest, I’d have been there, hell or highwater. Then I could have told you in person just how much I admire you.
Anti Pro,
Don’t worry, the down times do come, but I am usually able to shake them off before the hit full blown depression.
As for the LIONsob, yes he is pretty good about this stuff. He is learning as am I, so he doesn’t give me a lot of flack on the days I sleep for 16 hours (off and on), or when I just don’t feel like doing anything. Not everyone can say that about their spouse. I am thankful for him. (Don’t tell him tho, you gotta keep these men on their toes, )
And I do hope son learns from this. One thing I want him to learn is to face his problems head on, and I hope that watching his father and I will teach him what commitment really means.
The insurance is call PHCS ( private health care systems).
If they give me grief you know y’all will hear about it.
Thank you for praying for me, I can’t tell you how much that means to me.
Phouka,
Thank you, I understand what you are saying. I hope what I am doing and the things I intend to do will help. If just one person gets tested who otherwise would not have, or if one person who is positive is treated less like a leper because people learned about this disease because of something I have posted or said IRL, then to me I will have accomplished something.
Maybe you will be able to come back to Texas one day and we can meet then, I plan on being around for a good while yet.