Hepatitis C: Living with the Disease

It was announced across the country today that singer and daughter of the late Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole had been diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Her drug use is suspected for causing the disease. Ms. Cole told reporters that even though she had conquered her past, she was still going to the effects of bad choices years ago. She has started a regime of treatment that has been prescribed by her physician.

It has been called a 'silent killer' because you can go for years with no symptoms. It is also a silent killer because it has not being diagnosed and dealt with in an effective way. Nine out of ten of us who have hep C simply didn't know we had it.

I had Hepatitis C for 20 years before I knew it. Through a blood test to give blood, I was diagnosed. The initial reaction to getting Hepatitis C is total shock. How could you have something like this and not know it. Because the symptoms for years are very mild and can mask themselves as exhaustion and stomach issues, you don't feel something is wrong with you.

I got Hepatitis C from the birth of my oldest daughter. This happened back in 1980. Back then, so little was known about the different strains of Hep C, the doctors were not able to diagnose it as such. I got the initial jaundice, vomiting and fever. The doctors told me it was Hepatitis, but it was Hepatitis A. No big deal they said.

I lay on the bed with a newborn baby for 6 weeks with neighbors and my husband nursing me back to health from both delivery of a child and the Hepatitis. As I got better, my doctor never checked me for it again. Because Hepatitis A is not a long term health issue, I never thought about it again. That is not until I started having episodes of extreme tiredness, always fighting pain on my right side. Feeling swollen, vomiting and more.

I went to the doctor and through blood tests I was diagnosed with a much more aggressive Hepatitis C. After taking the news for its worst and feeling like I had been issued a death sentence, I pulled myself back together and got lots of information.