Stephan - A Brief Case History:

Disclaimer
The following case studies are from people whose lives have been touched by HCV. These people generously allow us to use their words because they believe that sharing their experiences might help others who are HCV infected. These stories may or may not be representative of the total HCV population and they do not necessarily represent the opinion of Tibotec. We hope that you find the case studies informative. Names have been changed to ensure privacy.

I worked as a musician for over 30yrs.  I excelled for both employers and was happy at work, until I suddenly started feeling a great drain of energy and a build up of pressure. At first I put this down to my studying for qualifications and to changes in our work practises. Things I would have taken as challenging were now causing problems. After several visits to the GP I was finally diagnosed as having hepatitis C genotype 1a.  The most likely route of infection happened 30 yrs before I started my career.

After having a biopsy I was told that I had some slight hardening of tissue in the liver, the early stages of fibrosis. I was offered a course of pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin for 48 weeks which I gladly accepted.  Unfortunately this was postponed for 12 months due to staff shortages.

I finally started treatment with a young nurse new to the hep C team.  During treatment the nurse convinced me to stop smoking.  I then developed a thyroid condition which was not spotted for another 12 weeks, by which time I had suffered from poor sleep and depression.  I really felt at this time that the treatment was not going to work but at the end of it my virus load was undetectable.

I was advised that, having had such a hard time on treatment, it was fine for me to have a drink or two, which I unduly did.  I have since learned from a support group at The Hepatitis C Trust that I should have avoided the drink until at least a SVR was attained, meaning that no virus was detectable in my blood 6 months after treatment ended.  Unfortunately, my last blood test showed that the virus had indeed returned.

I did not want to go back to teaching as I was not confident about my student clients’ safety.  I realise now that I was being a little paranoid because I know that hep C is not passed on through casual contact and to be honest teaching music is not an occupation full of opportunities for blood-letting.

I did receive some counselling after treatment as I was angry about some of the advice given to me, especially about the alcohol.  I have now put things into perspective and feel that given a second shot at treatment I would manage it differently and better.