I went in for my 27 month check up this month. My labs look ok, even though my ALT is over 100 again. I know this doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot so I don't worry about it though. I was floating along pretty happy with my biopsy until I went in to see Dr. Lindsay. She sort of popped my bubble on that score.

While my fibrosis has not progressed, the fatty content of my liver has gotten much worse. This means that it will move progression faster. I have to diet. And exercise. I hate to do both, but I am also not real happy being as overweight as I am at this point either. I've tried Weight Watchers and counting points and such drove me nuts. I also found myself thinking about food all day long. That didn't help the "diet mode" one bit. I was walking 2 miles a day for awhile there too.

I asked Dr. Lindsay about the new protease inhibitors that are being studied. She popped my bubble on that too. She informed me that they are still 3 - 5 yrs away and that they will be used in conjunction with Interferon. When I said that it would not help me, hoping she would say oh yes they will, she proceeded to tell me that this is why it is so important for me to lose some weight. I took this to mean that the protease inhibitors with interferon would not do me much good.

After sitting around depressed for about a week, I finally started looking into some kind of diet I could actually live with. I am now trying the Atkins Diet. It is a low carb diet, which teaches the body to burn fat instead of carbs. I am also trying to get myself out and walking that 2 miles a day again. My mom gave me a stair stepper and I am using it as well. My problem is that I do not WANT to diet. I have no desire to do it. I know I need to, but the motivation, which should be there, is not there.

Sometimes I would just like to sit back and pretend I don't even have this stupid disease. I'd like to just forget all about it and live my life until it's over. Of course, reality slips back in and I know I can't just ignore all of this. I still do not think I would go the transplant route if it became necessary, but knowing the next round of new treatments won't do me any good just make me feel like, what the hell?

I've been having the poor me's now since I went to see the Dr on the 15th. I hate those and am trying to keep myself occupied instead. I actually finally updated my webpage, adding in the new biopsy report and the latest ultrasound. I even updated this Journal!

I'm going to start working to help Vets more, and to help Vets in Prison with Hepatitis C. I think that is a good route for me to take. I hate what this country does to our Vets and how they are treated. Maybe I can do some good in that area while making myself feel better too. I know that working with others and helping others makes me feel like I am contributing something, so that is the path I am going to take this year. I'd also like to start working with the California Dept of Veterans Affairs to help educate them on HCV as well. My local office doesn't even have hand outs for Vets with HepC! I really missed not going to DC again this year with HFI but hopefully they will put on the Conference next year so we can go to Congress and tell them how much we need their funding and assistance in the Awareness arena.