Hep C and Loss of Voice/Hoarseness?

[msgreeneyes]

I'm new here, my fiance was diagnosed with hep c & unfortunately is incarcerated. The medical care is awful there so I'm trying to learn as much as possible to make sure he is being well cared for. He was diagnosed in Dec & they haven't even started any treatments yet even tho he's been quite ill-liver swollen & painful, bruising, short of breath, bloodwork indicating liver problems, coughing, loss of voice, & last night was coughing up blood. I've been attempting to keep up with his symptoms while learning as I go about what they might mean. One symptom has been hoarseness for about 6 weeks & now today he can barely whisper. I have found little on this as a symptom of hep c. Has anyone else experienced this?

[Lynn K]

I would be more worried about the coughing up blood that could be a symptom of enlarged blood vessels in the throat called esophageal varicies. Not saying they are but if he can get that checked it would be a good idea to talk to his doctor about that.

Has the condition of his liver been evaluated? Do you know if he has cirrhosis?

Good luck to you both

[msgreeneyes]

It is very hard for me to get info because of the jail. It's Maricopa in Az & they r literally famous for the awful healthcare & are in numerous lawsuits for people dying over simple oversights such as being denied insulin or prescribed the wrong meds. I'm not trying to bash them but I simply can't trust them with his healthcare. It took medical 90mins. to come get him when he was coughing up blood into the toilet! I googled the bleeding varices & that sounds like it might b what happened. Thank u for the info. I'm trying to get a power of atty so I can get his records. They won't even talk to family without it. What I know is in early Dec he had a swollen & painful liver that went on for 2mths, had blood tests that showed liver enzymes?, they say he has blood clots in his lungs for over a month now & they're giving antibiotics for that(2nd round), he can barely talk for over a month now & short of breath. He says that he sees someone different almost every time & they just keep taking more blood & no answers. The er did a catscan with dye looking for the bleeding do u think they would of found the varices if that's causing the bleeding? I hope that's not it cause he would probably die before getting help if it happens again.

[Lynn K]

I am just a hep c patient with cirrhosis.  The clots in his lungs I don't know about maybe that could also be a cause I don't know.

I think you definately get his records and get them reviewed by a doctor you know his situation does sound complicated.

The varicies are diagnosed with an upper endoscopy they give the person a sedative and they don't remember the procedure. The run a small fiberoptic camera down his esophagus to see what is going on this procedure would also be used if he is bleeding so they can with to stop a bleed from varicies but right now we don't know what is the cause.

Yes a liver being inured for any reason could have above normal liver enzyme levels the numbers would be helpful. Get his heatlh records if you can.

[msgreeneyes]

Thank u for the advice. They we're supposed to start his hep c treatment yesterday but put it off until Monday now. He doesn't even know which meds he will b on but they have been sending him to the psychologist to make sure he's mentally prepared to go thru it. He doesn't have any mental issues so I'm assuming it's going to b very hard on him. He just turned 28 in Feb so he's young & in great shape. I know they didn't put anything down his throat so I hope they didn't miss varicies if they r there.

[atomic dog]

I think the hoarseness is the least of his worries--could be caused by coughing up blood. Maricopa is notorious for sure. How long is his lockup? You could ask someone at the Office of the Public Advocate for advice. There's also the ACLU in Arizona http://acluaz.org/issues/prisoner-rights. In Tempe, there's an organization that includes a judge called Middle Ground for Prison Reform. They might be able to offer advice. http://www.middlegroundprisonreform.org

[msgreeneyes]

That's some great info, thank u. He finally saw a dr that seems to really care & took the time to explain what's going on. He's had blood clots in his lungs for well over a month & is on his 2nd round of antibiotics to try & clear that up. Suddenly his voice & breathing are much better so I think it's working. Maybe that's where the blood came from? Dr said he's prone to get blood clots easily & they're not sure why.

He started treatment 2 days ago for the hep c. He's on Olysio, peginterferon, & ribavirin for 12 weeks. He's waiting to go to court & we don't have the $ to get him out on bond but he's only looking at 2yrs.

 I'm wondering if you guys can give me any info on what their choice of meds might mean in relation to his hep c? Does it imply a certian genotype or condition his liver might b in? I was worried they would choose the cheapest treatment possible but he says the pills cost $1000 each! Also what about the side effects for someone locked up alone in a cell for 23hrs per day? Everyone here seems to b on harvoni.

[Mike]

Olysio, peginterferon, & ribavirin in combination has shown great success in treating genotype 1 patients.

Interferon and Ribavirin can be rough, with side effects such as fatigue, depression and flu-like symptoms.

Olysio is well tolerated, though it causes light sensitivity, and individuals on this medication can sustain severe sunburn with only a few minutes of sun exposure.

This treatment combination is very expensive, and could not be termed "skimpy" or substandard by any measure. 

The only downside is that it contains INTF and RIBA, which can cause significant side effects. Because INTF can cause depression, a screen by a mental health professional may be warranted (this is probably why they had him evaluated by a psychologist).

A 12 week course will go by quickly, and your fiance has a great chance of a cure!

Regarding the coughing up of blood and what you have explained about his treatment, it sounds a lot like pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), which is a bacterial infection of the lungs. Treatment is usually a course of antibiotics, which, if effective, will clear the bacterial infection within 6 months.

Best wishes, Mike

[jiff]

The most likely cause of voice hoarseness for me is overuse/abuse of my voice ie;talking a lot,singing,yelling,and being dehydrated does not help the matter,either.ive never seen it before as a symptom related to HCV. ...as for the issue of healthcare in the department of corrections,it's virtually nonexistent unless the inmate is critically ill AND/OR sentenced.prisons are extremely overpopulated with sentenced & unsentenced inmates & dangerously understaffed by medical professionals making it nearly impossible to receive medical treatment,I wouldn't use the word "proper"to describe the medical attention I recieved while serving time in the state of Connecticut.i am unaware of the inner workings of other states d.o.c.medical programs,however,for us it was like this.if we had a need to be seen by a dr or nurse we had to fill out a "medical request form"& drop it in a box then wait....sometimes it would take months to get called to the medical unit.it was an even longer wait to see the dentist.if jails anywhere in the U.S.start treating the HCV inmate population with any of the new HCV treatment regimens I will be shocked.i did encounter ONE woman who was exhibiting symptoms of dark urine & clay colored stools (HCV positive)on a Saturday & the response she got from the C/O that called medical for her was "well tell her we don't have any livers "...she was eventually treated for the HCV with interferon while incarcerated,however, it was largely due to the stage of her HCV and the amount of time left on her sentence.it is not (or was not rather)regular practice to treat HCV positive inmates any differently than HCV negative inmates.this was 2009-2011.maybe things are being handled differently now or in other states I'm fortunate to have made it through my sentence without any serious problems requiring immediate attention....wishing you all the best..

[msgreeneyes]

Two weeks of treatment and so far so good! He's tolerating it very well although I realize it's still early. As for the medical care, if you google Maricopa county jail or sherrif Joe Arpaio and inmate medical care or deaths of inmates you will get an idea of what goes on in there. It's both shocking and scary. Just last week when my fiance called he asked me to call the jail and insist that they send medical help for an inmate that had been badly beaten by 4 or 5 guards while he was handcuffed & legcuffed with a chain connecting those cuffs to his waist. He had been in his cell all day with his eyes swollen shut, gashes on his face, his head had been rammed into a door & the cuffs had cut deep into his wrists during the beating. Don't get me wrong, I realize there are dangerous inmates in there but if you're going to take the responsibility for locking someone up, you take on the responsibility for their medical care as well. I'm not sure if it's because my fiance is under the care of an outside dr. due to the seriousness of his condition or some other reason but he seems to be getting good care now. Maybe it's due to the millions the county has had to pay out for negligent deaths or the bad publicity it's generating?

Thank you for the support & well wishes.