So I went to my first official Hep C appointment today and was greeted by Nurse (**) and Dr. Dick Head. I understand first hand what it is like to work in the medical field, not always the most upbeat job in the world but it is not a requirement for you to be rude just because you can!!

So nurse practicioner (**) lady walks into the examining room and begins asking me millions of questions, in one breath she would ask 3 questions and not give me any time to respond...finally after about 15 minutes of interagation I began to feel that sad and hopeless feeling and remember why I havent been treated for this illness to begin with, so I almost start to cry, but then I stop myself, no way is this ***** going to get me down!!! After her next 3 part question I began to answer slowly, thinking carefully of each, she stops me, which stops my train of thought which really pisses me off,,I stop her and say look hun, "If you ask me a question, you need to let me complete my thought process and give me time to answer it!" By this time I was insane and had several thought of bitting her ear off like that boxing guy. Since I cant take time off my busy schedule for a nice vacation at the county jail , I just gave her this look,,, my crazy look.[8)] I guess she could see I was about shut down, after all her abrasive medical questions she began asking me psyc. questions, Are you depressed have you ever attempted suicide, so i tell her yes I do get depressed and was attempting to voice my concerns about the treatment and issues with depression and the ***** cutt me off again, At this point I am ready to freak on her! She said with an attitude "I have to ask you all these questions"....and I said in a slow stern voice "the quetions are fine its the abrassive manner in which they are being asked" [%]so she toned it down a bit. And FYI, I do suffer from depression and I tried to kill myself when I was 14. I did not want to expose myself in this way to Nurse (**).Do you know what she did?? She made me fill out a depression scale, I felt like letting her know that I was more homicidle then suicidle and she should hide all shape objects! I am willing at this point to take anti-depressants if needed, during treatment.

So in walks Dr. Dick Head, who spends all of 4 minutes with me. He asked why I waited so long to seek help with this, so I explained to him that I worked as a paramedic in a small town and i did not want it out there in the medical world that i had hep c. I also explained to him that my husband was one of the pharmacutical engineers who worked on the development of the original treatment and I decided at that time (1997) that i would never go on tx.
Now here’s a red flag for ya!!! I gave him text book symptoms of hep c related complications, itchy skin, jaundice, lethargy, thyroid bottomed out, brittle nails, dry mouth, brain fog, nausea, urq, red palms....this guy had the nerve to tell me that Hep C had no symptoms other than fatigue! When I did a search for Dr. in my area his credentials stated that he was also a heptolagist but he is just a Gasto specialist, so I really dont know what to do at this point. Would you go back to a Dr. that refuses to recognize documented fact abut you illness? This doesnt feel right! I am going to post another thread asking if anyone has been told by their Dr. that Hep C causes no symptoms, I really dont think most people will read all so i will post a brief thread.
Now can you understand why I waited to get treated for this!!!!!

I am going to experince some good retail therapy, thanks for listening! Sorry if I offended you with my language, I am ready to say the hell with it and go back to living in denile.[

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss

I'm sorry you had to deal with that Stacey!! That's awful. What a day. I'm glad you stayed, though. You need to get treated and not let Dr. (**) get in the way of your health.

thank you, some times its easier to just pretend i dont have it but i know you are right!
how is your 4th step going? talking to you the other day motivated me to get out my original 4th. To funny.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss

i feel that way about a lot of things!! but you've gone through enough and dealt with enough already to realize what is best for you.

my fourth step..is coming. slowly but surely. it's hard work!!

I went to see my shrink last monday and she helped me
for one she said that at this time in my life i do not need any meds
this was a relief
she also helped me find another Dr.
I was very over-whelmed, so i am gratefull she was there

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss

Hey Stacey, glad your shrink helped you find another Dr. It seems to me my hepatologist only does my blood testing for virus levels, biopsies and treatment stuff. He has never dealt with any of my other symptoms. That is why I am looking for a Dr. who is an infectious diesease specialist. I live in the DC area and every year we have an issue of Washingtonian magazine that comes out with all the top specialists in the area. I picked up the issue last month and saw infectious disease specialist, so I figured maybe I should go to one of them. I am going to give it a try, can't hurt.

I find it kind of odd how everyone has different symptoms. I have had it now for 30yrs. and I have never had a problem with my throid, not that I know of. Then again I do have porphyria which is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. Thankfully I don't have any problems with it unless I drink alcohol which I obviously don't do.

The treatment I did last year was not all that different than the one I did 10yrs. ago. The only difference was the added Ribavirin comination. I think the type of interferon they use now is a bit different as well but it is still interferon, ya know. Still requires a shot. Still is expensive as all hell. I was closer to doing well on the combination treatment than I was on the interferon alone. The treatments are getting better as far as eradication of virus goes I think. Whenever you do it, I hope you are one of the lucky ones. Stay in touch.

thanks, i am reading Dr. Palmers guide to liver disease
anyone who has this illness should order it
this book explains exactly what is going on in my body, how ignorant of a Dr. to say a disease that kills so many, has no symptoms
i needed to know the reasons i was feeling this way, this book has so many answers!!

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss

Did you just pick that up at the bookstore?

http://www.hepb.org/expforum/media-p...2062%20Minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNtfn_fm950

http://books.google.com/books?id=Pf5...with-thumbnail


“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss

Thanks Stacey.

Stacey,
I'm sorry to hear about your "inquisition". That's terrible! When I hear a tale like yours, the veins on my forehead start to bulge and I get this strong urge to inflict damage on the guilty parties. (I guess I should work on that.) []

On a practical note, it has been suggested to me that taking along a supportive third party is a good way to minimize petty, arrogant behaviours like those you describe. If the doctor has a problem with that, then he's the one with the problem.

jb



The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers

-M. Scott Peck

Update,, Dr. Zanders nurse called me and said my test came back negative!!
I said what do you mean,,, she said my hep c test came back negative!
I hung up the phone and was getting ready to call my mom and tell her, then I thought about this,, ok so I have been tested every year since I came up possitve, my oldest son tested possitive, thank God that infants can have false possitive

So I called her back and asked how this could be,, she pulled up my chart and said "dear I am sorry, I ment to say your hep is inactive" so sorry.

So I asked her about the bleeding in my GI track and some other things to grose to mention....she said I would have to came into see the Dr. about all that.

What I could get from this airhead was this, apparently I am under 10, whatever the blank that means!!! Dr. Zander will not be putting me on inerfuron at this time.

Thats all the info I was given, this was so not worth $630.

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss

HI!!!!!

I read your post. WOW thats so disheartening to hear of such ignoramous people in the medical field. Can you get a new dr.?

Do you have varices? if so you have to see a the doctor to get them fixed(generally thru endoscopy mild sedation) or banded as they say. Untreated varices are very very dangerous. Remember as you most likely know being a paramedic to race to er if ever you start bleeding out. My husband has his varices checked every 6months- 1 year depending on what happened in his previous appt.

Are your liver enzymes ok? Have you had a biopsy? have they given you an ultrasound to determine the size of your liver and to check for ascites n liver cancer? If you r jaundiced whats your bilirubin blood numbers? Also make sure you eat very very very little red meat. try to get your protein thru nuts n fish rather than the red meat which is so hard on the liver. You'll be amazed how much better you will feel with no red meat in you. Its so dang hard for the liver to deal with. My husband is waiting for a new liver. He got his hep c from iv drug use as well as endocarditis, pulmonary embolisms, and going on his 3rd trcuspid valve transplant. Hope you are felling better and just cause there is one dr. whos a dhead doesn't make em all that way. My husbands docs at UCLA are amazing. I wish you could be treated there. he has never been on interferon and they told him it was too far advanced to even try and to be perfectly honest he said he didn't wanna do it as he has seen the effects they have on old friends from back in the day. Hes been clean 13 years this month.Good luck steff

"“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. “
George Washington Carver

Oh well forgot to mention as a result of hep c my husband has had many complications.
spleen removal, incarcerated, strangulated hernia repairs, encephelopathic coma, bleeding varices, edema, ascites, day n night sleep confusion, fatigue, cryoglobulanemia, thyroid dysfunction, and the list goes on n on. So the doctor really told you fatigue is the only symptom of hep c. sheesh..... tell him to call us lol... steff

"“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. “
George Washington Carver

thank you steff, i have been deeling with the worse kind of stomach problems, not to metion the hep c treatment turned me into a basket case
chemo is not for me
thank you for all the emails you guys sent over the last few weeks, for a while i didnt know if i was comeing or going
and for those of you who dug your claws in and ripped out my heart when i was ready to stab myself
(**) you, for making me have to do another 4th step

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
Dr. Seuss