My brother has been diagnosed with HCV.

This is not one of those "a friend of mine" tales in which the teller masks his own identity. He was lost when he had to determine a course of treatment. A friend of his who is a doctor was also infected and gave him some advice.

The first thing he did was stop drinking alcohol completely. He got the opinion of an expert who suggested he try interferon. The doctor friend had told him that he had elected to wait and see. But my brother went ahead with the treatment. He injected himself several times a week for three months, after which a blood test determined that the treatment had had no effect.

It turns out that he had been misinformed as to the intervals recommended between injections. To allow himself the greatest freedom to travel and visit friends withouth the incumberance of a refrigerated medicine and hypodermic needle, he had been administering the shots on consecutive evenings. Only midway throught the regimen was he told the preferred routine was every other day. He feared that this had skewed the results, so he went ahead with another round of interferon, enhanced with some catalyst. The injections began weeks ago and it is to go on for one year.

He complains that he feels like he has a constant low-grade cold. Fatigue and just a little off physically. Interrupted sleep. And some of his own home-grown anxiety. Plus he recently learned that the first round of interferon had thrown off his thyroid levels. Reportedly this is a common side effect. Others in our family have had thyroid disorders, but he attributes his to the interferon. Thyroid imbalance can lead to depression, confusion, uncontrollable mood swings, and chronic fatigue -- symptoms that could compound the undesirable effects of the interferon treatment. The last thing he wants is to finish the interferon reginmen and have to commence a lifelong thyroid supplement.

And he has elected to keep the whole matter to himself, which has disrupted his social interactions with family and friends. He has confided only in me and another brother, but has kept it from our parents. And because he is unclear whether he might communicate the virus to others, he has had no sexual contact since he learned of his infection. He is in limbo. He has an extremely limited social life. And he remains fearful of the ultimate harm that may await him if this round of interferon doesn't kick it out of his system.

He does not use the WEB and has now idea where he can obtain reliable information. What lies ahead for him and sufferers from HCV? Should he be taking the interferon? How deadly is the virus? Can he pass it on to others? I will pass on to him whatever useful information I can glean.

Sebastian's brother