Ever since I could remember, I always been reminded by my mum that I have G6PD Deficiency. Didn't really knew what is was till she passed me an A4 sheet listing down the medicines I am allergic to. Oh my god, am I that sick? But it didn't bother me at any point in my life. Only irritates me each time I made a visit to the doctors, I have to remind them of my allergies. As I grew older, a doctor once told me the deficiency will actually go away once I outgrew my childhood. Then some said it wouldn't. Damnit, can these doctors make up their bloody mind?
Oh well, life went on as usual till I made my first blood donation back in 2003. Feeling proud and considering I have no fear of needles, "prick away", I said to the nurse. The feeling I had diminished the moment I received a letter from Pusat Darah Negara some 3 months later. Dropping on my knees and praying, I opened the letter in my room. What could it possibly be? The content said nothing more than just asking me to pay them a visit.
Geez, such suspense. So, off I went a couple of days later to the centre. Preparing myself, I sat on the chair and asked the reason I have been summoned. "Mr. Matthew, your blood test shows you are a possible Hepatitis B carrier. Please make arrangements with General Hospital to have another blood test done to confirm it". WTF!!!!!!!! How did this happen? How did I not know? What are the symptoms? In fact, what in the world is Hepatitis B all about, a sad acknowledgement of my lack of awareness.
Hepatitis B, as extracted from Wikipedia
Oh well, life went on as usual till I made my first blood donation back in 2003. Feeling proud and considering I have no fear of needles, "prick away", I said to the nurse. The feeling I had diminished the moment I received a letter from Pusat Darah Negara some 3 months later. Dropping on my knees and praying, I opened the letter in my room. What could it possibly be? The content said nothing more than just asking me to pay them a visit.
Geez, such suspense. So, off I went a couple of days later to the centre. Preparing myself, I sat on the chair and asked the reason I have been summoned. "Mr. Matthew, your blood test shows you are a possible Hepatitis B carrier. Please make arrangements with General Hospital to have another blood test done to confirm it". WTF!!!!!!!! How did this happen? How did I not know? What are the symptoms? In fact, what in the world is Hepatitis B all about, a sad acknowledgement of my lack of awareness.
Hepatitis B, as extracted from Wikipedia
Hepatitis B is an inflammation of the liver and is caused by the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a member of the Hepadnavirus family and one of hundreds of unrelated viral species which cause viral hepatitis. It was originally known as "serum hepatitis" and has caused current epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa. Hepatitis B is recognized as endemic in China and various other parts of Asia. The proportion of the world's population currently infected with the virus is 3 to 6%, but up to a third have been exposed. Symptoms of the acute illness caused by the virus include liver inflammation, vomiting, jaundice, and rarely, death. Chronic hepatitis B may cause liver cirrhosis which may then lead to liver cancer, a fatal disease with very poor response to current chemotherapy. Hepatitis B usually gets better on its own after a few months. It may, however, cause a more serious chronic infection.
a micrograph showing Hepatitis B virions
So many questions to ask. Where do I even begin? During the session, I was advised to avoid alcohol altogether. Which is fine and dandy, seeing I'm not a heavy drinker anyway. But heck, did I feel like drinking at that very moment. I was also told, 95% of carriers will lead a normal healthy life while 5% will turn chronic. Does the odds sound good?
September 2007, here I am leading a reasonably healthy life. Consumption of alcohol has been reduced further. I'm not doing anything different as compared to before the diagnose. Anyhow, a collegue recently enquired on the status of my health. Sadly, I have been procrastinating and putting off getting a blood test, which is suppose to be once every 6 months. It's been 2 years. This test is to get the enzyme count in my liver, which will show if it has turn chronic or not. It's high time for another blood test. After Japan that is ....
Acknowledgement : a special thanks to Paul for enquiring. if it wasn't for that, I might have ignored the fact that I am a carrier. a geisha for you when I return from Japan
a micrograph showing Hepatitis B virions
So many questions to ask. Where do I even begin? During the session, I was advised to avoid alcohol altogether. Which is fine and dandy, seeing I'm not a heavy drinker anyway. But heck, did I feel like drinking at that very moment. I was also told, 95% of carriers will lead a normal healthy life while 5% will turn chronic. Does the odds sound good?
September 2007, here I am leading a reasonably healthy life. Consumption of alcohol has been reduced further. I'm not doing anything different as compared to before the diagnose. Anyhow, a collegue recently enquired on the status of my health. Sadly, I have been procrastinating and putting off getting a blood test, which is suppose to be once every 6 months. It's been 2 years. This test is to get the enzyme count in my liver, which will show if it has turn chronic or not. It's high time for another blood test. After Japan that is ....
Acknowledgement : a special thanks to Paul for enquiring. if it wasn't for that, I might have ignored the fact that I am a carrier. a geisha for you when I return from Japan
1 comment:
GM said...(general messenger),
So... now you know what happened,
NO,no....more alkohol and seafood from now on. Haa... You must always think about the friends and family who love you.
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