Pre-Treatment

I was treated at the hospital for a bacteria infection when doctors took loads of tests and gave me the HCV diagnosis. I was in total shock, scared and lost. Left the hospital with the infection cleared but went home with a new chronic infection which changed my life completely.
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I decided to be treated for this darn virus. I want my liver and most of all ... my LIFE. Despite the high costs involved, I did all I could .. applied for subsidy assistance, charity assistance etc. All that was on my mind was to be "cured" of this ugly and deadly virus which could lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer that require a transplant.

I did a biopsy being the gold standard to find out how my liver was doing. The good news was it was only at stage one Fibrosis/inflammation which meant there's plenty of time before it gets progressive to advanced liver disease. I do not want to wait for the new drugs which takes at least a few more years to be approved by the FDA. Nobody knows what will happen next, my liver may be further damaged by the viral replication and ... I am not getting younger to be able to withstand the rough effects of treatment. My Hep doctors didn't encourage me to treat but even gave me the option to wait for the newer non-Interferon drugs. He even told me to go back when I had gotten the $30+K ready to pay for this treatment. He stalled for time and made me comply to the six months remission period.

During my hospital stay for the procedure, it was the beginning of unrelenting pain and fatigue. I get tired easily, short of breath and the worse stiffness in the mornings. I dread mornings with the crippling fatigue and stiffness I thought the 100 years old lady possessed my body. So I'd just attributed it to Hepatitis C (HCV) causing the pains. Neither did it crossed my mind that there could be another chronic condition which came into my life soon after.

The aches and pains went on for six months. I saw a Rheumatologist at SGH who suspected auto-immune disorders and ran loads of tests and broke a hole in my pocket! What she came back was negative and no diagnosis. All she said was just muscle aches and sent me home with a big bag of muscle relaxants which I developed an allergy for all of them. I knew she was negligent or even ignorant and unprofessional. I needed help, at least a diagnosis in order to get treated. I found another Rheumatologist who examined me thoroughly and gave me the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.

While waiting for the hospital to approve my applications to start Hepatitis C therapy, my company has started our relocation plans. It was a stressful period having to plan, organize and pack stuffs. Not only my own stuffs but also everything visible that do not have a owner. As I started out with some packing, my wrist tendinitis flared. It was such a bad timing for my hand to get crippled by pain. Went to the company panel, ER then finally the Orthopaedic doctor fixed it with Hydrocortisone.