March 2004

Hello , This might be of interest to anybody with or knows someone who is struggling with, Hepatitis C and the liver problems that go along with this virus. I was diagnosed four years ago with Hepatitis C, during a routine blood exam. In the next few months I  learned  about this virus that I barely knew a thing about before. I put myself firmly in the hands of a well recognized Gastroenterologist and as many before me went about on the series of treatments that the conventional medicine world has to offer us with Hep C.

First I was treated with Interferon with Ribofavin , then with a  newly designed more potent interferon related drug named Pegetron and finally the latest hybrid in the series Pegetrous.  The second two drug compound mixtures that I mentioned before tweak the potency of the interferon and promise between 30 to 50 percent success rates.

All these treatments failed to lower my Hepatitis Viral Load levels enough to justify staying on these potent drugs. I was s!oon to learn and experience, that  these toxic pharmaceuticals with their many side effects would actually lower my immune system causing my system a lot of harm. As well while on the medication I had experienced severe depression.

At no point did anyone( my doctor ,physician assistant or nurse) suggest a change of diet or lifestyle except that they recommended me not to consume alcohol.  After my latest treatment which concluded eleven months ago, I embarked on my own journey deciding to take ownership of my health. I was becoming aware the Pegetrous that was supposed to do away with my Hepatitis was actually affecting my immune system.

I noticed that I had become prone to cold sores for the first time in my life and that small cuts on my hands now would  take weeks to heal instead of days. My Hepatitis Viral Count(HCV) that was hoped to be eradicated during the treatment, had actually zoomed upwards a few months after the treatment. This, I was to learn was also due to my weakened  immune system.  I was feeling let down by the conventional health techniques. 

I began to make new friends in the holistic community, on the internet and in health food stores. Through a friend, I met a woman from Austria who had cured herself holistically from Hep C. She shared and worked with me on my health and my frame of mind. She shared how she had changed her diet from being a lazy vegetarian into becoming a strict vegan with no sugars, no white flours, no coffee and no fried foods. If the food didn?t not have true nutritional value she would stay away from it.

She had entered a clinic in Austria where she underwent an intense massage treatment that focused on her head, her organs and on her feet. This was mixed with visualization techniques that among other things, instructed her to visualize her antibodies defeating her hepatitis virus. She kept a journal and wrote out a year by year biography and she explained that she learned about her repressed anger and developed strategies to !release herself from it.

We hit it off and I was lucky for her to spend  time with me explaining to me her path. >While encouraging me to begin and to learn to fine tune my own path.  She did milk thistle, aloe vera juice and licorice tea. She also talked very positively about her visit to Healthy Acres(Rajah Ayurvedic Hospital rha1@sancharnet.in..  Dr Sreeraj 0091-466-225-6306) in Kerala, a state in southern India.

Due to events in her private life, she informed me she would be away for a while. I decided to go to the Healthy Acres in India. Before leaving I didn't know what Ayurvedic Healthcare was . I saved my money and went to put see and experience what my new friend thought would be a valuable learning experience to construct my own path to get well. And I did learn. First, I shared my situation with my intake doctor...I was put on a regimine of herbal medicines.

Sustained by a diet of fresh fruits and various low spice curry dishes. I was prayed over and received two treatments a day in my 24 days at this health retreat. I received hot oil massages, hot herb packs massages, hot rice pack massages, hot milk massages and other treatments that involved oil and milk drip treatments to my forehead as well steam baths, mud packs.

They administered a blood test my first day and at the end of my stay. My AST ,ALT and b!ilirubin levels dropped in some cases back to normal ranges. I started breathing in new ways and learned new ways to start my day. I  immersed my self with positive thoughts and actions and found myself doing Yoga for the first time in my life.

I read an Ayurvedic Book named Sixteen Minutes To A Better 9-to-5 by Dr.Vinod Verma, which was a wonderful introduction to my new health system. I had planned to stay away longer when a family emergency needed me to return here to Long Island. With good fortune,  I found Swami Sadashira Tritha at the Ayurveda Holistic Center http://ayurvedahc.com. 

I have continued my herbal medicines that can best be matched locally here. I have had 3 consultations learned many things to enable myself  to  to achieve a better balance through diet, through aroma, through music, and by creating a positive space to heal here where I live my life. My latest news is that my Hepatitis C Viral (HCV) count has dropped in six months from 7million to 4.3 million. That my ALT or the way my liver breaks foods down has improved into the normal range as well.

My blood serum marker level which is a marker for the toxins floating in my system had risen sharply while in India due to my cleansing has dropped down as well just in the past  3 weeks. I wish all well in their health journeys and any one who wishes to contact me feel free at mdcops@hotmail.com

Thank you,
David D.