Patient Testimonial

Hepatitis C - A 29 Year Journey

Having lived with Hepatitis C for 29 years, I have received medical care from a number of conventional American medical doctors to help me cure and manage my disease. My results were very inadequate so I turned to Chinesel medicines called Xiao Chai Hu Tan Tablets or Sho-Saiko-To in Japanese and Rhemannia Eight for relief and now I feel like a rock-star again. I'm sharing my experiences in the hope that you benefit from them and don't make the same mistakes.

Antidepressants Are The Answer

The first time I experienced health problems associated with Hep C was 5 years after contacting the disease during a stressful time at work. One day I woke up and found I had no energy with incredible brain fog so I went to my doctor. Blood test results reveled that I had slightly elevated liver enzymes and nothing else. My doctor told me my health was fine and my problems would soon pass. After a month I went back to my doctor as my health had not changed and I was diagnosed with depression and prescribed an antidepressant. I tried it for two weeks but had to quit it due to unbearable side effects. The doctor then prescribed a new antidepressant which had worse side effects than the first one and I quit it too.

I then went to another doctor for a second opinion who looked at my blood tests, asked me what the previous doctor's diagnosis was and he then agreed with the first doctor. His recommendation was to try another antidepressant but I refused because I knew I was not suffering from depression and felt I was being drugged and sent on my way. He then told me there was nothing he could do for me and said good luck. I lived in misery for about a year until my health returned to a level where I could function fairly normally but often with severe energy problems.

Interferon Nightmare

10 years later I gave blood and the lab notified my doctor that I had Hep C. I went to the local Hep C Guru for treatment and had a liver biopsy which showed slight liver damage and asked the doctor for his opinion. I inquired about alternative treatments because I had heard many patients experienced bad side effects from Interferon. I was told there were no worthwhile alternative treatments and was given a list of herbs not to take. I was then prescribed Interferon treatments which I took for 1 year.

The Interferon treatments produced awful side effects which made me an emotional wreck and often exhausted and bed ridden. A monthly blood test revealed that Interferon had caused me to acquire an immune disorder called Graves's disease (hyperthyroidism) and I was sent to an Endocrinologist who couldn't see me for 45 days. In the meantime, I went to a health food store and bought Thyroid Glandular to see if it would relieve my symptoms and in 5 days I felt almost normal again. I then I went to the Endocrinologist and showed him the supplements I was taking and he said they were worthless and to stop taking them. After a blood test he told me I was not hyperthyroid (too much thyroid) but hypothyroid (not enought thyroid) and I needed to start taking Thyroxin which made me feel worse and even more wired. I then went to a new Endocrinologist who told me to stop taking anything and it would resolve. Three months later I went to yet another Endocrinologist who put me on Tapazole and after 120 days my Grave's disease mostly resolved.

I was still taking Interferon and having my viral load and liver enzymes checked monthly. After 12 months my viral load remained detectable and liver enzymes were still elevated so the treatment was deemed a failure. I asked the doctor if he would recommend any alternative treatments and was I told that herbs were dangerous for people like me and not to take them. The side effects from the Interferon took two years to completely resolve until I felt fairly normal again but with periods of great fatigue. I started taking Thymus and Milk Thistle extract, vitamins and Sam E as alternative treatments but my health did not improve much nor did my liver enzymes. I was experiencing a slow-gradual-steady decline in my health.

Another Interferon Nightmare

3 years later Pegasys a new Interferon called Pegasys was approved for Hepatitis C by the FDA and since my health was deteriorating I decided to try it. I experienced even worse side effects with Pegasys than Interferon Alpha so my doctor told me to take an antidepressant to help me endure the treatments. I responded negatively that I didn't wish to take antidepressants and was told not to be a tough guy and that they would help me handle the treatments. I took the antidepressant for 45 days, experienced unbearable side effects and then quit it. During treatment, my Grave's disease reappeared and I needed to take Tapazole again for another year until it resolved again. My second Interferon treatment was deemed a failure after 6 months because I still had a detectable viral load and elevated liver enzymes. The Interferon side effects took almost 4 years to completely subside. During this time I was taking Salvia, Milk Thistle and Baikal Skullcap extract which did improve my health slightly.

3 years after my last Interferon treatment I developed Graves's disease again. My endocrinologist told me that the Interferon treatments likely damaged my immune system and the effects could last a long time or even forever. In his opine Interferon was nasty stuff and he would not recommend using it for treatment unless I was almost dead or never. I took Tapazole for another year until my Graves disease resolved and I then immediately became very listless, apathetic and lost all my energy. I had never felt like this in my life and the personality changes I experienced were very stark.

My doctor told me my TSH was border line and I had thyroid antibodies which likely damaged by thyroid gland. He prescribed a low dose of Thyroxin which gave me extreme energy but it felt artificial and drug-like but I did have ample or even too much energy. I took Thyroxin for 6 months and one day woke up with extreme lower back pain, dark urine and diarrhea which are symptoms assoicated with liver failure. When I took Thyroxin my body rebelled so I stopped taking it. After 5 days my memory faded, my hair turned straw-like and my energy disappeared and I was the sickest I had every felt in my life. I went to an endocrinologist, neurologist and my primary care doctor to help me improve my health. They ordered multiple blood tests, an MRI head, and multiple ultrasounds which all revealed nothing. I was then prescribed an antidepressant and told to see a psychiatrist who prescribed a multitude of drugs which helped very little and gave me terrible side effects. At this point my energy was so low that I slept continuously and rarely left my house for 4 months except to get groceries.

Alternative Treatments

As a last hope, I went to an Naturopath for treatment. After an examination he told me that I didn't have a liver that felt like a person with cirrhosis and in fact it was supple. He believed Interferon had damaged my adrenal glands, kidneys, immune system, and thyroid gland and were causing me to have hormone and brain neurotransmitter imbalances which could be balanced with herbs. This was encouraging because my Gastroenterologist told me that I was on the road to cirrhossis. The Naturopath disagreed and prescribed acupuncture treatments, vitamins and the herb formula Ecliptex which produced some improvements in my health but not a huge amount.

I then decied to learn more about herbal medicines and discovered a Chinese formula called Xiao Chai Hu Tan or Sho-Saiko-To which was reported to be very effective for Hepatitis patients. I began taking it in high does and magically after one month I was feeling much better and my whole world changed positively. My energy, digestion and outlook on life improved tremendously and I was now running on all cylinders again. I felt as good as I did 20 years prior and amazingly new lab tests revealed that my liver enzymes had completely normalized. Since my liver enzymes have not been normal since I began checking them 14 years prior, I can only attribute this improvement to herbal medicine.

The formula also balanced my hormone levels because I began sleeping better than I ever had since contracting Hepatitis C and my skin, hair and nails became much more vibrant. The ringing in my ears began subsiding and I began to feel very calm. Before taking herbal medicine I was often hot tempered which I understand is common for people with liver conditions, especially when drinking alcohol.

Lessons Learned

Reflecting back on my journey I learned the following:

• Interferon treatments stressed and damaged my adrenal glands, kidneys, thyroid and caused me to have other immune system disorders which all negatively impacted my health. They did nothing to improve my health nor cure my disease.
  
  
• Interferon cause health problems that I would likely never experienced had I not take it as a treatment. Western medicine could not not treat me because my symptoms and blood tests could not be diagnosed as any know health condition.
  
  
• Conventional medicine diagnosed me as depressed and the prescribed treatments were antidpressants which provided no health benefits, and only bad side effects. The strategy was to mask my symptoms and not treat them.
  
  
• Chinese medicine diagnosed me as having organ deficiencies and the prescribed treatments were herbs that greatly improved my health with no significant side effects. The strategy was to correct organ and hormone imbalances to increase my energy flows which would improve my health.
  
  
• Conventional medicine attempted to treat my disease while Chinese medicine treated my symptoms and whole body.
  
  
• Chinese medicine restored my health after western medicine failed.

I do regret that I didn't learn about herbal medicine before taking Interferon. I encourage people who have chronic health conditions that are considering taking drugs with known bad side effects, or with conditions that are not treated satisfactorily with conventional medicine to try herbal medicine. I now know synthetic drugs are often not the best, nor should they be the line of treatment.

Today I feel like a rock-star and life is good. I continue to take Xiao Chai Hu Tan in lower doses and a Yin Tonic recommended by my naturopath called Rhemannia Eight which invigorates me greatly. Please contact me if you have questions regarding my interferon or hebal medicine experiences.

Sincerely Yours,

29 Years & Still Kickin