53 year old male, diagnosed initially in 1969 with Hep C. Two years ago rediagnosed with HCV,Genotype 1A
Viral load 5 million and change.

I have either had C all along or B&C all these years.
Fell into the category non A non B, until
better testing came out.
in my situation, in 1969 I actually had an acute case,I did infact get sick for two months and upon feeling better, was under the impression the disease had subsided and if took care of my liver and general health (limit alchohol) I would never notice a difference. (prevailing wisdom of the time)So after 30 years of this not being in fore front of daily conscious, I have now found myself everyday spending some level of time and mental energy devoted to this issue.
Upon being "rediagnosed" I had my biobsy in september 03.
Results were grade 2 inflammation grade 2 fibrosis.
Up to being re-advised on June 03(BTW standard life insurance exam revealed), I had an active virus all of my previous
Liver Panels (had them done annualy) had always been within normal ranges. In the past two years
ALTs and AST's have hovered between between two and three ties normal ranges all other funtions
have remained normal. Viral load has remained constant.
When i reflect back over the 30 plus years, there were always an occasional health issue that was
rather esoteric, I have had oral thrush on occasion & other unrelated auto immune disorders, just frequently enough to make my doctors scratch there head, but not enough to be alarmed. I now believe that housing this virus all these years has contributed all those random symptoms, I also
and have suffered for years with muscular pain
that just appears for no reason.
My health had been good with the exception of these two issues. I do believe that the supplemental therapy is helping with the overall inflammation my body seems to posess. To early to tell about reduction of the liver enzyme inflammtion. Will be checking on that within the next few months.
I have chosen not to pursue current offered therapys at this time and have taken a course of trying to reduce the liver inflammation thru improved nutrition and supplements.
Milk Thistle and Shizandra Berry are the cornerstone of my herb consumption. I take numerous antioxidants & inflammatory supplements including Vitamin C & E, Selenium, Coenzyme Q10,
Fish Oils, a diet heavy in Omega 3's and flavenoids, I also dring 4 to 6 cups of green tea a day and also have recently starting juicing w/a
a variety of recipes for liver support.
There are just to many issue's surrounding current therapies for me at this time.
I do however, remain open to possibilities and to discuss this with my physcian each quartely visit.
He continues to advocate for therapy, but is respectful of my choice, not to.

I find some solace in researching and hearing the storys of others.
The one unknown that I think would make me more at ease is a true barometer of fibrosis progression, that for me is the great unknown.
If it has taken my body over 30 years to attain
a grade 2 status, I will venture that I will out live this disease. On the other hand if this
Virus has been dormant and somehow become active in the last few years, then progession is indeed an issue and I may have to rethink participation in current available treatments.
On a family level I have found my family to be very supportive,although emotional draining at times, sometimes I just get tired of dealing with this and a part of me just wishes I had never found out again. But I have made some changes in my life because of this disease that make me I think a better person. I have no issue with discussing this with anyone who wishes to discuss
I did participate in a local support group for a while, good to interact with folks I also found it frustrating with how little people have chosen to inform themselves about this disease. There is a level of denial that comed with HCV, I find it in my close friends as well, people just don't want to deal with it.
While I find the sharing of stories to be informative, & at times uplifting they can also be depressing.
I just try and remind myself it is a very personal disease and each case I belive is very unique.