Hello everyone,

I’ve been on quite the journey for the past 7 years. It all started with digestive issues, mostly reflux. PPIs and H2 blockers did little to help, and it turned out the cause of my symptoms was bile reflux. Managed the symptoms for all those years with diet. Then, about 2 years ago, I got violently sick and my white blood cells dropped very low but bounced back a month later. I have residue fatigue, muscle and joint pains, and brain fog that all come and go. Further, I get lightheaded and feel like my blood sugar dips, but all tests show my glucose control is very tight and normal.

I’ve been to numerous doctors and I saw my second rheumatologist last week, who took an hour with me. She looked up after everything and asked if I was ever tested for hep C? I’m getting the test done tomorrow, but was curious if symptoms like this have ever been encountered with patients with C? I’ve never used injectables (or drugs besides marijuana) and don’t recall ever being stuck. I’ve worked in the healthcare field for over 6 years now, while being in PA school 2 years ago (and having to drop out due to the symptoms).

I know the best answer is to just wait and get the test, but curiosity has gotten the best of me. The only test that ever comes back significant is a fluctuating ANA level, which will bounce from 1:1280 to undetectable. The literature I’ve skimmed has stated that viral infections can cause ANA levels to spike, and hep C has a tendency to activate autoimmune responses. I’ve already had a very large autoimmune panel run in the past, all coming back inconclusive.

My liver enzymes have always come back normal, besides one time a year ago with an elevated ALP of 123, which isn’t very high and also normalized later…

So anyway, just curiosity and an evaluation of a hope that this could be my answer based on relevant accounts. Thanks for your time.