What kind of hepatitis does pamela have

If you're never been tested, especially if you have risk factors like previous intravenous drug use, it can't hurt to talk to your doctor about it. Both hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus HIV are blood-borne viruses that can be transmitted through injection drug use.

Because of this, a high proportion of adults at risk of HIV may be at risk of infection for both diseases. The hep C infection also tends to progress more quickly into liver damage in HIV-positive individuals. Yes, it's now possible, but there are barriers. The FDA approved a pill that can cure hep C in December , which has been considered a major medical breakthrough in recent years. However, the pill cocktail comes at an extremely high price, which has sparked a lot of controversy.

Anderson didn't disclose the exact drug treatment that she took to clear the virus, but she did raise an important point about how few people have access to the new treatments.

Will the drugs become more accessible in the future, as Anderson suggests? The answer is unclear, although drug companies and insurance providers appear to be working tirelessly to lower prices. The New York Times explained in a September op-ed that government-run programs, like Medicaid, have placed certain restrictions on the drugs in an effort to control costs.

For instance, some restrictions require that patients already have advanced liver disease before they can get the medication, or that the treatments can only be prescribed by specialists, like infectious disease experts.

Department of Health and Human Services requesting to do away with restrictions that are denying people earlier treatment. Prescription-assistance programs do exist; experts generally recommend that patients speak to their doctors about financial support and medication co-pay options. By Jacqueline Andriakos Updated November 12, He had a different kind of treatment because he did it a year earlier than me.

And he was always pushing me, you got to do this. Blond bombshell Pamela - who has sons Brandon and Dylan from her relationship with Tommy - admits her diagnosis with the condition and the potential to get seriously sick because of it has affected every aspect of her life and now that she's Hepatitis C free she plans on going a little bit ''crazy.

She said: ''About 10 years in they said that you could live your whole life with this disease and you may not die from it. In , he began receiving weekly injections of interferon, and that treatment was considered successful. He continues acting to this day in good health.

Kennedy Lawford struggled with drug and alcohol dependency and had spent more than 24 years in recovery. Diagnosed with hepatitis C in , he was successfully treated and became virus-free. Kennedy Lawford campaigned worldwide to raise awareness about addiction and hepatitis C. Telling any part of your story to the public is another.

The campaign helped people stop and assess their own risk factors for the disease, as well as get tested and speak with a doctor before the disease progresses. Businesswoman and founder of The Body Shop chain of cosmetic stores, Anita Roddick was diagnosed with hepatitis C in after a routine blood test. She was infected during a blood transfusion in and died in She was very outspoken about the need for the government to allocate more resources to finding a cure.

Roddick kept a blog until her death. On it she wrote candidly about how her experience of living with the disease made her life more vivid and immediate. I want to blow the whistle on the fact that hep C must be taken seriously as a public health challenge and must get the attention and resources that it needs. Johnson was diagnosed with hepatitis C in As is often the case with the virus, symptoms were slow to appear.

After months of speculation about his ailing health in Washington, he revealed his diagnosis in Johnson attributed his rapid weight loss, loss of mental ability, and mood changes to the virus.

Having shed 30 pounds in a year and finding it hard to concentrate at work, the congressman sought treatment. In February , after a year of experimental treatment, Johnson reported improved cognitive ability and acuity, weight gain, and more energy.

In , The Judds singer Naomi Judd learned that she had contracted hepatitis C from a needlestick injury during her time as a nurse. In , she announced that her condition was in remission. Judd has continued to raise awareness and money for hepatitis C research. She also encourages others through speaking about the importance of hope in the face of serious health conditions.

Use my story as an example. Let me give you hope. David Crosby, of the popular folk-rock group Crosby, Stills, and Nash, learned that he had hepatitis C in While Crosby had been sober at the time of his diagnosis, it was possible that his early years of IV drug use led to his contracting the disease.

Retired WWE pro wrestler Billy Graham discovered he had hepatitis C while undergoing preparation for hip surgery in the s. Weingarten recalled a weekend of casual heroin use as a teen, which could have led to his being infected with the disease. The Velvet Underground lead singer Lou Reed died in October at the age of 71 from complications due to hepatitis C and liver disease.

Reed was an intravenous drug user earlier in his life. Sober since the s, his death came a few months after receiving a liver transplant due to end stage liver disease. The late Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole only learned she had hepatitis C after decades of unknowingly living with the disease in her system. She had likely contracted hepatitis C during her years of heroin use in her youth.

By coincidence, a woman watching that program who wished she could help Cole ended up becoming a percent matching kidney donor for Cole after the woman died in childbirth.

The way that it ended up was just kind of extraordinary. The life of a stranger basically saved my life. At the same time, that stranger lost their life. Then it all happened at the time when my sister had lost her life as well. You have to question it to some degree. You know, everything happens for a reason.