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After undergoing 48 weeks
of treatment with chemo and anti-viral drugs for Hepatitis C, my body had wasted from a size 10-12 to size 0-2, losing over
30 pounds. While I was happy to lose the extra weight and saw it as one of the only perks of the treatment, much of the loss
was muscle. During treatment, I was only able to eat raw foods...and only selective ones the last few months. After
treatment, I made a conscious decision to continue eating mainly raw foods, while ensuring I obtain proper nutrition.
I feel convicted
to share my story with the hope that it might help someone else in a similar situation. I tried to condense a description
of my experience during treatment below to give others some idea of what I went through without boring everyone with all the
details. That said, if you are contemplating or going through treatment, or even supporting someone else, I would be
glad to share more specifics of my experience in more detail. Please contact me at debrwelsh@gmail.com.
May
thru October of Treatment - The anxiety of giving myself my first shot of Interferon turned out to be unnecessary
and in time I realized the daily anti-viral pills made me feel much worse than the Interferon shots. I was able to work
4 days per week, allowing me 3 days in a row of rest time, but it really wasn't enough. My first blood
test after 4 weeks of treatment showed no detectable viral load so instead of a 50ish% chance of cure, it now went up to about
90%. By October, the treatment had really started taking its toll on me, both physically and psychologically. I
had withdrawn emotionally from everyone, basically becoming a hermit and shutting myself off from everyone I knew, even at
work. With hindsight, that was a big mistake. Not having a strong support system with me every day made getting
through the treatment that much more difficult. I am pretty hard-headed, however, and went into pure survival mode to
make it through. By the end of October, eating was becoming a challenge and I started losing weight, but not dramatically. Up
to this point, I was able to eat most foods, but did have intestinal issues on a regular basis. It was becoming increasingly
more difficult to continue working a full day with a 3 hour commute so found it necessary to take off more and more time.
October
thru January of Treatment - It was really hard to describe how I was feeling and even harder to determine which
symptoms were worse...the physical or psychological ones. Full-blown anorexia had now taken over and I was only able
to eat certain foods...and definitely no processed foods. My body rejected almost everything except fresh veggies, fruits
cheese and some broth soups. All meat tasted, literally, like feces, and any chemical additives in foods made me physically
ill...dairy products were also not tolerable. Thankfully, I could eat "spicy" prepared seafood and blackened
tuna bites became a staple for protein. There were many very dark days and keeping up with life, in general, was completely
overwhelming. February
thru April of Treatment - Thankfully, I was laid off of my job of almost 20 years in January, allowing me to
take care of myself during the most difficult time of my treatment without the added stress of working. I am at a loss
for words to describe this period, feeling like the drugs were killing me a little more each day. I existed primarily
on raw carrots, cheese, bananas, apples and blueberries. I became an official cheese connoisseur, pairing it with fruits
and vegetables. I was only able to eat a couple of bites of food at a time, so tried to eat several times per day. I
could feel my body wasting more and more, losing muscle along with fat. It wasn't regular weight loss...I was actually
wasting away. I lost 10 lbs prior to starting treatment to minimize the amount of drug I would need to take so started
treatment at 137 lbs. I was under 120 lbs by March, but was losing more than just fat...I had little to no muscle left
anywhere. I started in a size 10-12 and ended up in size 0-2 and 110 lbs, with no muscle and, basically, no shape at all...just
skin on bones. I knew I was slowly starving to death, but since the treatment was actually curing me, it wouldn't have
made sense to not finish it at this point. What kept me going was the fact that two subsequent blood tests still showed
no detectable viral load.
April thru July
Post-Treatment - There wasn't much of a change in how I felt for 3 months post-treatment. I still could
barely eat, had little to no energy and finding daily existence difficult, especially psychologically, but saw incremental
improvement each week. By mid July, I was really starting to enjoy food, even though I still ate mostly salads and raw
foods. I was at least able to add more variety to my meals with some cooked foods as long as they were fresh and undercooked.
I was diagnosed with severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both wrists in June after living with several months of excruciating
pain at night and decided to try alternative therapies, including massage and homeopathic remedies. Thankfully, they worked
and the pain was alleviated so I was able to sleep without braces by August. I obviously had an underlying problem with
CTS, but was made much worse with the treatment. I was told that any underlying problems can come to the surface with
Hep C treatment and this was obviously one of them.
August
thru September Post-Treatment - I started feeling much more normal, exercising regularly with lots of walking
and bike riding. I've regained most of my muscle, while not gaining the fat back. It is amazing to have such a
young body again at almost 60 years old. The downside is that another underlying problem reared its ugly head with a
vengeance...neuromas in both feet...a very painful nerve condition that makes walking unbearable. Unfortunately, the
3 cortisone shots in each foot left me completely crippled instead of cured, necessitating surgery just 5 months after Hep
C treatment. Everyone I have talked to who have undergone Hep C treatment, had post-treatment residual health
issues, unfortunately. While mine are incredibly painful, they are curable and aren't as bad as some of the issues others
have had, depending on whatever underlying condition they may have had prior to treatment.
 I continue to eat 5 or
6 small meals throughout the day and found the "Whole Food Farmacy" (WFF) raw foods to be the perfect solution.
I eat the WFF whole foods and/or farinas several times a day, and then supplement with small regular meals, including
some cooked foods, seafood and occasionally meat and desserts. Thankfully, I have been able to maintain a perfect weight for my 4'10 height with this eating regime and am getting
stronger every day, adding muscle, while keeping my weight stable by keeping my metabolism high. The best part is that
the raw food snacks taste good and since they don't require refrigeration, I can put small amounts in little baggies and carry
them in my purse when I am on-the-go. The products have been so beneficial to my post-treatment wellness, that I decided
to become an Affiliate with Whole Food Farmacy. I don't mean for this to sound like a sales pitch because I truly believe
in these products and see first-hand how well it is working for me. So pardon my enthusiasm to share my experience if
it comes across as such...I just want to provide you with information to help you on your way to better health and the Whole
Food Farmacy options may work for you too!
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