My experience with Hepatitis B started completely by chance and was totally unexpected. In March 2005, I went to my local GUM clinic in Dublin for general STI testing. My previous tests had been two years previous and had all came back clear, but I thought it would be sensible to go for another screening as I had just met someone. I went for the tests and didn’t really think much of it afterwards. I had no symptoms, no inclination whatsoever that anything was wrong. I’d never suffered from any major illness or medical condition, other than clinical depression, but physically, I had always been healthy.

I was in work one morning when the clinic phoned me to tell me I had Hep B, and it looked like a recent infection. Talk about a shock to the system! I had no idea what it was, what it does to your body, nothing, so I was extremely upset. The clinic wanted me to come in with my new partner the next day. That was one of the hardest things, having to tell him that he could also be infected. Unfortunately, that was the case. So on top of learning that I had this illness myself, I also held a huge amount of guilt for passing it on to somebody else (even though I now realise HE may have passed it to ME) I still feel guilty and pray every day that he cleared it.

The relationship fell apart after that so I moved to England to my sisters to try and start over. The GUM clinic told me to go to a doctor as soon as I got here and register so they could keep an eye on the disease. To be honest, no-one seemed to be that concerned. I registered with a doctor at my local Sexual Health Clinic and I was told they would keep monitoring my bloods every three months to see if my body would clear it (apparently 95% people do) naturally. I wasn’t so lucky. After over a year of monitoring, my liver function tests were still abnormal and the Hep B was still active. I was told I now had chronic Hep B and would be referred to a consultant in my local hospital. I then had a ultrasound scan. The results were inconclusive so I then had to have a liver biopsy which was horrible. The biopsy showed inflammation on my liver but that’s really all I understood. The results weren’t explained to me thoroughly.

After that, I was transferred to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge where firstly I had to be seen by a consultant and have more blood tests. The consultant told me that by looking at my biopsy results, they felt that peglyated interferon would be the best treatment for me. He told me he would refer me to the hepatology clinic in the hospital and I would get an appointment card in the post.

I got the card about a week later and went to see another doctor in the hepatology clinic. She told me about the treatment, how it worked, the duration of the treatment, the possible side effects etc. It was the first time I felt I was being given all the info I needed. I have been on the interferon for three weeks now and need to go back to the hospital every month for check ups while on treatment. The doctor gave me her telephone number and also a number for the head nurse in case of any problems or concerns while on the treatment.

I was never offered any counselling though (which I thought quite strange considering my history of clinical depression). I was asked if my family and partner had been vaccinated.
I really think this vaccination needs to be on the NHS and awareness seriously needs to be raised about this illness. People need to be educated, I was completely ignorant to it before I contracted it, the public need to know how easy it is to contract, also how easy it is to protect themselves. I wish the Hepatitis B Foundation the best of luck in achieving this. AWARENESS and UNIVERSAL VACCINATION is the key to wiping out this disease.

Im 23 years old and I don’t know whether this treatment is going to work. I feel I have lost some of my youth because it is a constant strain worrying about it. Im glad this foundation has been set up. It gives people who are going through the same thing a chance to talk and share experiences.