I have got my life back! After more than 15 years of hell, all it took was two pills a day for three months.

I’d resigned myself to having a disease for life that would only get worse, but now I’m active and healthy and couldn’t ask for more.

I was a classic case of how hepatitis C can remain undetected. I found out I had it by sheer accident when I tried to donate blood to the Red Cross in the 1990s.

Although I had no obvious physical symptoms, I was assessed as qualifying for interferon treatment. A program similar to cancer chemotherapy, it had devastating side-effects. The first lot I tried was in 2003 and it consisted of injecting myself in the stomach with interferon each day and taking two tablets twice a day. It failed completely and gave me great grief but I just got on with things in my working life.

I then tried another treatment, with similar side-effects. I lost weight, was chronically tired and emotionally it was a huge strain on me. It became a pervasive illness.

In 2016, now aged in my 60s, I was prescribed the new direct-acting antiviral medication. Within three months I was cured. I now have yearly tests that show my liver has regenerated and is getting healthier and healthier.

I encourage everyone, especially people in my age group, to come forward and get tested for hepatitis C if they have any concerns.

My liver will see me out!

Update from Howard, 26 December 2025

Well, it's 9 years later, and at 77 I am still active and enjoying a quality of life. My liver count is good, checked annually.  I credit this to my giving up the grog 27 years ago, prior to diagnosis.

So look after your liver; drink in moderation, eat less fatty stuff, be kind to your liver, and keep on keeping on.