newbie questions

[Guest guest]

I´ve been lurking for a month or so. I was dxed with Hep C about 5

years ago. I am 55 years old and was a hippie druggie when I was

young I shared needles with others. I stopped doing that when I was

about 24 years old. I imagine that I was infected during that time. I

have many other health issues. I am diabetic, I have Atherosclerosis

(my right carotid artery is 100% blocked I have MS, I suffer from

depression I have cardiac insufficiency. I had a stroke that left me

about 80% use of my left side. I have chronic daily headache and

migraines. I have High blood pressure.

I am from Kansas but I live in Mexico. I am married to a Mexican

citizen Through her I have Mexican Social Security. They provide all

my medical expenses. All my meds are free. They gave me the option

for the treatment with interferon although they advised against it

because of my history of depression. I talked to several doctors and

decided since I have lived so long with this disease without any

symptoms that maybe I should leave my chips on the table and let them

ride.

Now for my questions. I have been feeling weak for several years. I

thought it was my MS, or my cardiac insufficiecy. Now I am wondering

if maybe it is my Hep c. MY Dr. has ordered liver panels and blood

chemisrty tests every month for a long time They did an eco doppler

on my liver and all the tests come back that my liver is healthy. Is

it common for symptoms to start before the labwork shows anything?

They may not have the testing ability that is normal in The USA. Rich

people here have insurance and go to better hospitals. This hospital

was treating me with Plavix but they had to stop buying it for all

patients because it is too expensive. I was in the hospital and some

drs. came in and asked me if I were gay. They were looking for a

reason to deny me treatment for Hep C. They explained they wanted to

save their treatment for Mexicans.

Question 2 Brain fog. What is this like? I get confusion I am

bilingual and sometimes I can't remember a word in the other language

Usually it is an English word I get stuck on, I can remeber the word

in Spanish but not in English. One time I was really confused and my

wife had to dress me. We got to the party and I got a migraine and

was lying down. I had to go pee but I couldn't get my pants open. I

went to the front room where everyone was and was showing her that I

couldn't open my pants she was really embarrased. It turned out that

she had put my belt on me like a woman does which is backward for a

man. Sometimes it isn't just brain fog but wackyness.