Wednesday, January 4, 2012

A breakthrough in my disease

I just realized how long it's been since my last post. The holidays are so busy and crazy with 4 grown kids! I managed to have a nice holiday season and I hope your holidays were enjoyable.

I experienced a huge breakthrough in my HCV - it may have taken 6 years, but it's huge. I became ill right after Thanksgiving and for the first time, I could tell that I had a virus - intestinal flu to be exact - and it was not a flare-up of my HCV. I have never been able to tell the difference before but I've really worked on listening to my body and I finally got it. You might be thinking well, duh Sue. That's no big deal." But when I get sick, I also get fearful that I am having a flare up and I may not get better. This time...by practicing the skill of listening to my body...I knew with 100% certainty that it was another virus and that I would get better. And I did after about 10 days! That's HUGE!

I also saw the liver specialist (I see him yearly) and my CT scan showed minimal changes from one year ago. He was astounded that my disease has not progressed much. He felt it was due to my meticulous attention to diet, exercise and overall help (which includes listening to my body).

I've also been working on getting off medications. Before HCV, I didn't take any medications whatsoever. Now I am on about 5 that I take regularly. I'm proud to say I have gotten of 2 of my meds completely. The most difficult one is coming up in late January, but I am resolved to do it. I am in favor of taking medications rather than suffering, yet I hate to take something I really don't need.

Happy New Year to all! I wish you peace....Sue