Hep C Discussion Forum

Hey all. It's been a long 11 months since I've posted here... (that doesn't mean I haven't been watching **wink**)

My doctor called me at the end of November, over the moon about Sofosbuvir + Ribavirin and so I've got myself an appointment 1/30 to discuss. I have never treated before (+ since birth in 1983), labs have always been good; but I know I've only been playing chicken with the inevitable. I am open to treatment however I've got SOOO many questions, I hope this doc booked me for a double! LOL In the grand scheme of things, it's 3-4 months of my life, I've done that 90 times over already, I know.

I'm not sure if anyone will understand the weirdest part of all this, to me at least. I've been HepC+ since birth... aware of it since 13 which means aware of it the most recent 17 years of my life. I know that perhaps at like 50 or 60, 17 years is still a long time to be "aware" of it but 17 of 30 is pretty much the majority of my existence on this earth. I mean, who really knows who/what the heck they are prior to 13? It's kind of been part of my identity, who I am. It taught me VERY early in life about stereotypes and stigmas, for example when the dental hygienist refused to clean my teeth. It made me extremly careful of who I made friends with, kids are mean. It impacted who and when I could start dating; lets be real, there aren't many teenage boys out there that are OKAY with dating a girl with a disease that A. he knows nothing about aside from the stereotypes, B. might kill her, and/or C. is a disease drug addicts get (as well ya know, that's what they taught in health class). And it controlled the very direction of my life when I found out my senior year of college that I had been wasting the last four years of my life because HepC was an "automatic disqualifier" for most of the careers I was interested in. It has been a constant and dominant force in my life for as long as I can remember, yet I've never been "sick." I know it doesn't have to be who I am for the next 30 years, and I'm sorry if that sounds like babble but it's quite possibly the weirdest part of this entire upcoming journey. What's life like without it?

Anyway... the point here was to say you all are awesome and I'm ecstatic to know that you'll all be here for the journey whenever it is I decide to begin.  Keep on, keeping on people.