Welcome to ihelpc
This Blog is dedicated to helping those who have Hepatitis C or Cirrhosis. I'm not a doctor, but I'll be your Best Friend.
What are Normal Liver Lab Values?
What are Normal Liver Lab Values? So many times, you get your lab values delivered in your hospital portal and have no idea how to
Fight, Flight or Freeze Response to Addiction Triggers
Fight, flight or freeze response to addition triggers is our basic response to stress. We will all go toward one of those when we get
Liver Biopsy or Fibrosure and Fibroscan
The Fibrosure and Firbroscan can detect liver damage. i had the needle biopsy and many doctors still consider it the gold standard. Read more to see the pros and cons of all and go to your doctor with an idea of what your choices are.
What Happens to Your Liver When: Find out here
Your liver is one of the most important organs in your body. When mine got sick, I made some changes . It is the largest organ and can weigh over 3 pounds in adults. After my diagnosis with Hepatitis C, I was surprised to find out how much it was responsible for. This may sound silly, but I didn’t even know what all it did to keep me alive. I promise, when your liver fails, it is hurry up and learn time. It’s no joke how
What are 4 Warning Signs of a Dying Liver
I heard the nurse outside the door. She was telling the physicians assistant that I looked pregnant. They ended up shipping me off to the hospital for an MRI. I was still lying on the MRI table when they handed me a phone. My doctor was on the other end. It was bad news. She wanted to get me a bed for more tests. If I had known the 4 warning signs of a dying liver, I could have gotten help months or years before. Instead,
What a MELD Score Means for Liver Transplant
I wasn’t sure about the details of what a MELD score for liver transplant meant until my doctor gave me one. It was right after my first draining of the yellow fluid called paracentesis. A lot of new words were being hurled at me left and right. I had a surprise diagnosis of hepatitis at the same time that I was hospitalized for liver failure. Whattamess! If you are there, here are some details to help you understand the MELD score. With a MELD Score of
Born with Hepatitis C
This is a guest blog by a fellow Hepatitis C patient. She’s a miracle, and I knew that her story of being born with Hepatitis C would give you encouragement. I wanted to share my story of having a liver transplant. It was not something that I ever dreamed that I would live through. The reason that I needed one is because I was dying from decompensated cirrhosis. I was born with Hepatitis C, but didn’t know it and had gone on living my life.
You Can be Cured of Hepatitis C
It takes a leap of faith to go through Hepatitis C treatment. With the new fast acting medications, you can be cured of Hepatitis C. It still takes a lot of courage to start and take the drugs. You can Treat to Cure Hepatitis C with a short treatment that only lasts a few weeks or months. I was on the first wave of the protease inhibitors and took 2 medications and an injection for almost a year. It is exciting to know that many of
The Hepatitis C Community Mourns the Loss of Randy Madera
I’m going to blindly type these words in an attempt to dry my tears. The Hepatitis C Community mourns the loss of Randy Madera, who was a much loved patient advocate. So many long time Hep C advocates from coast to coast knew Randy personally. Each of them could add a different piece in the timeline of her work with fellow HCV patients. Since I learned of her passing yesterday through Robin Lord Smith who is with National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR), I’ve been unable to
I Don’t Want a Liver Transplant
Sleep is kind of like a thought eraser that swipes the day clean. But I frequently wake up in the middle of the night and remember the tumor. One night last August I awoke with the image of big clamps all around my chest cavity. Eyes wide open now, I saw myself lying on a table surrounded by doctors and nurses, my face as white as the fish I had seen floating belly up on the pond last year. I could see my head arching back with a tube tunneling down my throat that clicked and whished while forcing air into my lungs.
Blinking hard, I stared at my chest as my breasts moved up and down. I wondered what it would be like to wake up in ICU with that machine on and my hands tied down. Shaking my head with an audible moan, I flung back the covers
Ascites Cause Symptoms and Treatment
Ascites Cause Symptoms and Treatment The first time I heard the word ascites after my diagnosis, I had to google it. A lot of new
Aging All Alone with Liver Disease
No one should be aging all alone with liver disease. Learn to open yourself up to meaningful connections. You will live longer and stronger. You are worthy of acceptance and belonging at all stages of liver disease, and life.
When You Don’t Look Sick with Hepatitis C: how to
When You Don’t Look Sick with Hepatitis C: how to Some people actually have the words “I told you I was sick” engraved on
