MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
I know I'm a couple of days late, but hey, Merry Christmas anyway! I hope you all had a good one - mine was pretty good, although not as full of people as I'd have liked it to be.
Well, let's see.... what news have I got to tell you since my last post??? Oh yeh, my first appointment with the hepatologist - now there's a bit of news eh? Only I didn't see the consultant, I saw the specialist nurse. Here's the story.....
I had my first hospital appointment Thursday 14th December & am still wondering if it was worth my time! Rather than seeing a doctor, I only saw the specialist nurse, who was very nice & all that, but didn’t really give me anything in the way of information or anything else that I hadn’t had prior to my appointment. I had spoken to Sandra (the specialist nurse) twice on the phone prior to my appointment, so she was aware of my case. She had told me over the phone that treatment for my hepatitis is unlikely as it would aggravate my rheumatoid arthritis & that I would need a liver biopsy to identify how much damage has already been done to my liver before any decisions can be made as to how I can be medically managed. And that, was literally all I got out of her during my appointment. Not that it was her fault. She’s never come across anyone with both hepatitis C & rheumatoid arthritis before & said that she will need to seek advice from the hepatologist in Birmingham with regards to my treatment. In the meantime, she has put in a request for me to have my liver biopsy & I have a further appointment to see her in 6 weeks time, on 25th January, when she (hopefully) will be able to give me a better indication as to how they will or won’t treat me. So I was left feeling a little despondent & deflated & scared too, that they won’t be able to offer me any treatment & will just regularly monitor the condition of my liver.
However, on Friday 22nd December, I saw my rheumatologist. He said that it is possible for me to have the interferon despite the fact that it may aggravate my arthritis. He said that it is important to get rid of my liver problem as most of the rheumatic drugs affect your liver function, so with a liver problem like Hep C, I'm very limited as to what treatment I can take for my arthritis. However, he reckons that over 50% of people with Hep C clear the virus on their own, without treatment - I've never heard that before & intend to check it out with Sandra Taylor before getting my hopes up at all.
So now, I'm still left waiting for my next appointment with Sandra & for my liver biopsy. No-one is prepared to commit themselves to anything until the results of my biopsy are in - but how long will that take I wonder???
In the meantime, life goes on though & I’ve caught up with quite a few people over the past couple of weeks, whom I haven’t seen in ages. I've been out to the pub a few times (drank only diet coke, like a good girl!) & had a sing-song on the karaoke & a good old chat with old friends from a few years ago – it was such a lovely night!
We had our works Christmas dinner last week - very posh place, lovely 3 course dinner with free wine (which I didn't get to taste!!) & a sing-a-long Abba-mania entertainment - oh, & guess who got to dress up as a dirty old man & chase the slapper around the room?? Yeh, you've guessed right - me!! Oh, we did have a good old laugh & it helps me so much at the moment to be able to have a really good heart-felt laugh.
Well, I doubt I’ll get back to this blog before the New Year now, so I wish everyone, whoever you are, the happiest & healthiest of New Years!
Take good care. Till next time………….
Well, let's see.... what news have I got to tell you since my last post??? Oh yeh, my first appointment with the hepatologist - now there's a bit of news eh? Only I didn't see the consultant, I saw the specialist nurse. Here's the story.....
I had my first hospital appointment Thursday 14th December & am still wondering if it was worth my time! Rather than seeing a doctor, I only saw the specialist nurse, who was very nice & all that, but didn’t really give me anything in the way of information or anything else that I hadn’t had prior to my appointment. I had spoken to Sandra (the specialist nurse) twice on the phone prior to my appointment, so she was aware of my case. She had told me over the phone that treatment for my hepatitis is unlikely as it would aggravate my rheumatoid arthritis & that I would need a liver biopsy to identify how much damage has already been done to my liver before any decisions can be made as to how I can be medically managed. And that, was literally all I got out of her during my appointment. Not that it was her fault. She’s never come across anyone with both hepatitis C & rheumatoid arthritis before & said that she will need to seek advice from the hepatologist in Birmingham with regards to my treatment. In the meantime, she has put in a request for me to have my liver biopsy & I have a further appointment to see her in 6 weeks time, on 25th January, when she (hopefully) will be able to give me a better indication as to how they will or won’t treat me. So I was left feeling a little despondent & deflated & scared too, that they won’t be able to offer me any treatment & will just regularly monitor the condition of my liver.
However, on Friday 22nd December, I saw my rheumatologist. He said that it is possible for me to have the interferon despite the fact that it may aggravate my arthritis. He said that it is important to get rid of my liver problem as most of the rheumatic drugs affect your liver function, so with a liver problem like Hep C, I'm very limited as to what treatment I can take for my arthritis. However, he reckons that over 50% of people with Hep C clear the virus on their own, without treatment - I've never heard that before & intend to check it out with Sandra Taylor before getting my hopes up at all.
So now, I'm still left waiting for my next appointment with Sandra & for my liver biopsy. No-one is prepared to commit themselves to anything until the results of my biopsy are in - but how long will that take I wonder???
In the meantime, life goes on though & I’ve caught up with quite a few people over the past couple of weeks, whom I haven’t seen in ages. I've been out to the pub a few times (drank only diet coke, like a good girl!) & had a sing-song on the karaoke & a good old chat with old friends from a few years ago – it was such a lovely night!
We had our works Christmas dinner last week - very posh place, lovely 3 course dinner with free wine (which I didn't get to taste!!) & a sing-a-long Abba-mania entertainment - oh, & guess who got to dress up as a dirty old man & chase the slapper around the room?? Yeh, you've guessed right - me!! Oh, we did have a good old laugh & it helps me so much at the moment to be able to have a really good heart-felt laugh.
Well, I doubt I’ll get back to this blog before the New Year now, so I wish everyone, whoever you are, the happiest & healthiest of New Years!
Take good care. Till next time………….
posted by Maria | 7:47 AM
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