Living Without HepC

Only recently I have been thinking about having an annual blood test to check the virus has not returned. I have no reason to suspect it has but of course testing is the only way to know for sure. I have been ambivalent about doing an annual check as it has now been three years last October since I completed treatment. And how long do I go on checking when the results are ‘no virus’?

But I have decided to have an LFT (Liver Function Test) as I have been observing the effects of a modest consumption of wine. Carol and I went to Italy for five days and shared a bottle of white wine with our dinner, several evenings in a row. And for several weekends we have shared a bottle of wine over two nights. I describe this in detail to say that this is not great consumption for most people. And to say I do enjoy a glass of wine particularly with good food. However I began to notice a kind of distended feeling in my stomach and feeling bloated. It seems like my liver is not really metabolising the drink and my system is struggling to cope. So I decided to stop the drinking completely and soon noticed these effects disappearing. Regretfully I am learning I really can’t cope with much wine – although I cannot see me giving up the very occasional glass – I do enjoy it at the time.

So booking in for a LFT blood tests I decided to add the PCR DNR as it seems a bit irresponsible not to check on the HepC virus too. I will have the tests on my next return to London (I’m working away from London at the moment) and then await the results.