I knew something was wrong but I just couldn't put my finger on it. It was nothing specific, a bit of nausea, a lot of fatigue and generally feeling well below par.  I went to see my GP who told me I was depressed and that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I did suffer occasionally from IBS but was surprised to get this diagnosis especially as I didn't think I was depressed.  A few weeks went by, maybe a month or so and, not feeling any better, I went back to the doctor who gave me the same diagnosis. This happened a third time and it left me feeling extremely confused and I started to question my symptoms, myself, and thought maybe I was absolutely fine and nothing was wrong with me. I was now starting to get depressed but that was only because I had now been feeling unwell for quite a while.

A couple of days after the third wrong diagnosis I felt so weak at work that I couldn't even move the computer mouse around my desk. I knew something was definitely wrong.  I called the surgery and spoke to the on-call doctor. I explained my symptoms and that I had been to see another doctor in the same surgery and felt he was missing something. She called me in immediately and spent an hour with me checking me over, doing blood tests and assuring me that she would get to the bottom of it. And she did.  After a second batch of blood tests we finally got a positive Hepatitis B diagnosis. So much for the 3 months of being told I had IBS
and depression, I was furious.

This was August and I was referred to a specialist who couldn't fit me in until the following April. As I am fortunate to have private healthcare I insisted on being referred privately and I was sent to see a consultant in contagious diseases that did more tests and confirmed the Hep B, the type and status of the virus. I was then referred on to a Liver specialist whom I saw immediately.

I was sent for a liver biopsy, which I had been dreading and did everything to avoid.  As with many things though, the thought was worse that the actual procedure. Although it felt very intrusive, it was relatively painless.

The liver biopsy and further blood tests revealed a moderate amount of liver damage and that the Hep B virus had mutated considerably. Having never had a blood transfusion, or taken intravenous drugs, I had been worried as to how I had gotten the virus and started to think about sexual partners. My mind was put a little more at ease when the specialist informed me that the virus had mutated so far that he was convinced that I had had it since well before being sexually active and, most likely since childbirth. Having been born and brought up in Africa this was likely and possible.

At the final diagnosis meeting after the biopsy I took my sister along with a pen and paper and asked loads of questions and had my sister write down everything. I left feeling a little happier but certainly not completely at ease with the situation. It was 3 months before I had to see the specialist again and in that 3 months I did a lot of research of my own. When I saw him next I once again had a big list of questions.

As this was private healthcare I was not offered any counselling, was not told to pursue any complimentary therapies, was not offered anything else that would help me. The specialist simply wrote a letter to my GP surgery asking them to prescribe Lamivudine. I asked my doctor for more advice but was not given very much help. No advice was given to me or my family about the disease, and there were no telephone numbers for any advice or help I may have needed outside of doctor surgery hours. They did, at least, make an appointment for me to see a nutritionist to help with my diet.

My treatment on Lamivudine went very well. Within a few months the virus was undetectable and my liver function tests were normal. I stayed on this drug for just over 2 years and did very well.  After a couple of years I had another liver biopsy that showed much improvement in the damage. The Specialist decided to take me off the drug to see if the virus would stay away.  Unfortunately it didn't, within a few months the virus was back and I was feeling very ill again. I was immediately put back on the Lamivudine. However, it no longer worked effectively, my virus had mutated past the Lamivudine.

The specialist decided to put me on a drug called Adefovir. This was supposedly a fantastic drug but there were a few problems brewing. Firstly, the drug would cost nearly £400 a month and secondly, my GP refused to give it to me saying that the Borough of Brent wouldn't allow it's GPs to prescribe that drug.  Unable to afford £400 a month left me with a problem. Very kindly though, the specialist agreed to transfer me to his NHS practise where the drug was prescribed to me through the NHS hospital. The other fantastic advantage of being moved to this NHS practise is that the hospital has 2 specific hepatitis nurses. These nurses are on the end of a phone anytime during office hours to help with any questions, concerns or advice the patients need. This is definitely what I had been missing for the first few years of having this virus.

I have now been on the new drug for a year and things are much better but not perfect. The viral load is very low but still present. The viral load, despite being low, has risen slightly on the last 2 tests and I hoping that I will not have to change drugs again. Living with this virus can be difficult and at times a real strain. However, maintaining a good positive attitude, keeping to a healthy lifestyle and doing my own research on complimentary therapies and finding things that work for me has been very effective for leading a fairly normal life.

A couple of years ago I met someone else through a mutual friend who had Hep B, who was on the same drug therapy and, they had suffered with the disease for a very long time. It was such a relief to meet someone else who had been through the same stuff but worse and had come out the other side OK. This person has been the only person I have really been able to turn to at bad times and ask if what I'm feeling is normal. This has been crucially important to me and I'm sure that this Hepatitis B Foundation website will be able to do this for many sufferers by putting fellow Hep B sufferers in touch with each other.