I did it. After almost two years of writing my book about Hep C, and hell, 3.5 years of thinking about the story, I decided to google the competition out there and see who else had written stories involving Hep C, and of course, as the challenges are so parallel, sobriety. I don’t know why I was so reluctant to see what was out there, other than, I just didn’t want to be discouraged by seeing like Hemingway’s surprise Hep C autobiography I’d never known about or something, and I just wanted to knock it out before I looked. Anyway, I found some stuff out there, but nothing that blew my socks off.
First and foremost, you have Anthony Kiedis’ Scar Tissue, a great book I’ve heard, as he’s the front man for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and God knows we’ve all heard, Under the Bridge Downtown, and can hear the description of his pain as he shoots heroin for the first time. Surely we can expect him to have had his own Hep C struggles, and of course the sobriety struggles that go along with it. I love one of his quotes I just found because it is exactly what happened to me regarding drugs and alcohol:
“You know I love pot, and I love beer, but I am totally sober, just because it completely stopped working for me.
Anthony Kiedis”
Man, I remember hearing that in an AA meeting before it happened, and thinking, What Bullshit. But whoa, what fear descends upon the madman when it occurs. Of an addict for 15+ years, when that day comes that the drugs and alcohol quit working, you will feel fear, and loneliness that few others ever experience. Your best friend of years disappears instantly, and you can’t imagine life with or without drugs and alcohol. I say this is my book, but it remains one of my favorite quotes: “Most of God’s miracles, first felt like a punch in the gut.” Eventually I would be grateful for that day, but I digress. So Anthony Kiedis had Hep C, wrote an autobiography, and says some pretty good shit about sobriety and Hep C. However, a lot of it was rock star, elite, Pie in the Sky treatment that Joe America simply doesn’t have access too. He says he beat it with a controversial treatment called Ozone gas, which is presumably, painless, miracolous, and just as effective as 48 weeks of hellish painful Interferon Treatment. My only objection here, is that if you ask your Dr., any major Gastroentologist in the United States about Ozone, they will laugh it off, or claim the expense is too high, that it isn’t FDA Approved, or just say that the only thing that is medically recognized to cure Hep C is Interferon…which is by the way, expensive, painful, depressing, and maddening. It’s like saying well, the common man has to take Chemotherapy for Cancer, but I, being a pompous rock star, was able to take nitrus oxide, and laugh away my disease.
“And finally yes, it’s true that Anthony Kiedis has hepatitis C. He contracted it somewhere along in his escapades and it is believed that it was caused by the drugs. He is combating the infection with ozone administered by flea’s and his personal nurse Sat Hari. Ozone is a “wonderful-smelling” gas that has been used legally in Europe to treat everything from strokes to cancer. Most of this information can be found in his biography “Scar Tissue”.”
A wonderfully smelling gas. Interesting. I wonder how true any of this is? It’s all legal in Europe huh? If this is the case, why does the US not use it. Maybe I don’t know shit, and it’s a huge conspiracy against Americans, but as an American I was given one option, by my medical Dr., to defeat Hepatitis C, and that was Interferon, and though it was painful and hellish it did seem to work. After 6 months the disease was clear from my system, and after 2 years, I’m going in today to get it checked again, and hopefully will receive the same result. Hep C free and clear. I’ll ask my Dr. about Ozone today.
The other book I was able to find out there was written by “Johnny Delirious, Hepatitis C, Cured, who claims, from what I could tell briefly that he beat the disease, which he was diagnosed with in the late stages and given 8 months to live, with only homeopathic means. Ie… vitamins and sunshine, and positive thinking. Quite honestly his site links to so many sites charging for Homeopathic cures, you can’t help but think that this guy is just marketing to a demographic already susceptible to delusions and pie in the sky instant gratification solutions. I wonder how much money he’s made selling this book, and/or linking back to all the homeopathic solutions, that have absolutely no medical validity, and my MD claims are bullshit. Milk thistle? Gimme a break. This Virus will attack and kill your liver, and some dipshit is out there selling books about refusing a liver transplant and beating the disease on his good karma and GNC pills. Gimme a break. No I haven’t read the book, and no I don’t plan on it. I don’t know about Ozone treatments or homeopathic cures to Hep C, just as much as I don’t know how to moderate drinking or drugs. I got into this mess, taking short cuts, shooting for the angles, instant gratifications, and feel better cures, and the only way out of the hole I dug for myself, was the long ardous road of Interferon that an actual MD, speciliazing in the liver, suggested I take and whom laughed off, Ozone, and or Milk Thistle, and the other bullshit he offers on his website…
Also, never take medical advice from a guy whose last name is Delirious. Just saying. Maybe it worked for him, I haven’t , and won’t read the book, but for the average, Hep C infected addict, alcoholic, your options really don’t include Ozone, and or Vitamins and Milk Thistle. Follow your Gastroentologist’s advice and take Interferon. It’s tough, but it works, and these other cure alls are just that in my opinion.
On the other hand if Ozone does actually work, and the medical community has kept it out of the states, for profitability reasons or something that sinister, then Shame on them. Interferon changes you for life. If there were medical data, and access to Ozone, like rock stars apparently have, I would recommend it be the new treatment, but I have to assume, the United States, with the best, most educated Dr’s in the world, have a better reason than profits, to keep Ozone out of the US, and Interferon as the major treatment for this debilitating disease. I don’t know, but it just seems really strange, the only two other books out there, offer these fairy tale, delusional options, that weren’t available to me, or any of the other Hep C patients I’ve met here in the States. I guess, that makes my book original then. Unless of course, you are a rock star, then call Anthony Kiedis, he seems to have access to magical gas that smells great.
Please take a moment to read about my journey through insanity, addiction, Hep C, Interferon, and AA on http://www.books4free.com and check out the strong reviews on amazon at:
-JB Smith
JB Smiths Blog - Author @ books4free.com 
You are quite right about being wary of anyone claiming that herbs, ozone, colloidal silver, etc. cleared their Hep C because that has never happened. 30% will be lucky enough to clear it on their own and might *coincidentally* have started some herbs shortly after they acquired it and then wrote a book saying the herbs “did it” but nothing except interferon and usually an antiviral (usually Ribavirin) added (at this point) will clear the body of Hepatitis C. As you said …… being Delirious is an appropriate name. What is the title of YOUR book? Congrats on clearing the virus!!
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I have titled the book Hippopotamus Sea, as that’s what I heard in the meetings for so many weeks until I was able to discern, at least at a basic level of speech and hearing, the true from the false. Please feel free to read some of my other blogs as well. I did Interferon with Ribavirin, and there is a new combo that increases the odds even greater than the 50% (not 30%) that my Dr. told me were the odds, increasing it to now 70% or higher. My book covers a lot of those differences of opinion as well, as it does seem to fluctuate depending on what Dr you talk to. The new combo ingredient is called telaprevir and if you read the blog before last I go into more detail regarding it. One of the main people in my book was included in this experimental phase of the drug, and she only did 90 days and cured the virus, whereas I did the whole year of Interferon and Ribivirin for the same result. Telaprevir works by starving the virus of a particular protein it uses to not only replicate but survive, and though it will be another few years before it’s released mainstream, it can be found in certain Hep C studies, run out of Duke specifically, by Dr. Hutchinson. Anyway, I wish I’d known about it, 90 days would have been much more preferable to to 1 year, and they are saying it’s cured people who previously didn’t respond, or who responded and it came back. Worth looking into! Please take a second to read the rest of my blogs, as there is more info in there, and the book should be published in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading and keep coming back.
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My book is Hippopotamus Sea: My Viral Sobriety , and thanks for the comments and congrats, 3.5 years strong!!!
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so i read this and have to disagree…it’s not that homeopathic is pathetic, it’s that practitioners are pathetic and have no discipline or follow through. your body WANTS to heal itself and CAN. you don’t have to have tons of money to heal. there’s juicing, NAC, milk thistle, a vegan/organic lifestyle, no sugar, no caffeine, no dairy, no dope/alcohol, nothing processed, etc. i’m a recovering addict with hep c and i read johnny delerious’ book (and that’s just his pen name by the way) and i talk to him personally on a daily basis. i’m completely against interferon unless it’s the LAST resort. why not give your body a chance to heal??? we’ve been healing without interferon/ribavirin for millenia so why start screwing our bodies up in god knows how many ways with man made crap from big pharma??? it’s a BUSINESS. and INDUSTRY. they want us to stay sick so we can keep paying them. hair loss, suicidal tendencies, personality changes, increased susceptibility to infection, and generally feeling like ass….OR changing your lifestyle to a COMPLETELY healthy one and feeling BETTER during the process. ummmm, i’m gonna say i’ll take the latter. just because your doctor is an expert on DRUGS doesn’t make him/her an expert on you. i think before you bash someone based on ignorance or contempt prior to investigation, you’ve already closed your mind off to healing and the body will not respond. maybe if you read the book before completely ruling it out, or trying it for yourself by being hardcore disciplined? or is the easy way out the only way? as an addict, i used to think the easier softer way was the only way, but look where it got me–drunk and high on heroin. now that i’m sober, i have a new outlook on life and i’m willing to stop being slack and start taking positive steps toward health and wellness…without the meds. before you bash something you haven’t even tried, think about the people who this is working for. best wishes in your recovery.
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Everyone is titled to their own opinion, however a noted Dr. at Duke told me the earlier you treat the more likely the chance of recovery. Therefore while you give your body time to “heal” itself, the virus replicates in your bloodstream on you hocus pocus theories of eating nonprocessed food and milk thistle which have ZERO scientific proof of having any effect. Should you cross the threshold of no return and not be able to treat your hepatitis C and die because, like Steve Jobs and so many others you believed in the power of your mind, and bought the book Johnny D was selling in the hopes of a softer easier way, you may come to your sense and realize that Western medicine, far from being flawless, is still fond of the scientific method, and not rumors and incense and good vibes. I wish a dream catcher and no caffeine were effective, there is simply no science that supports it, and in fact the only actual hard data on caffeine is that it is good for those suffering from Hep C. If you refuse to read scientific journals and die because you didn’t treat your disease when you could have, you, and those around you will regret it.
Big pharma saved my life, Roche paid for my entire interferon treatment when I wrote them a letter, told them I was sober and willing to do a years treatment. Did I lose hair or think about killing myself, yes, but am I virus free, A RESOUNDING YES. And Marissa, I’m not trying to be mean or cynical, I just know people on the milk thistle deal who wanted it to work, of course we would want an easier softer way, but it doesn’t, there is zero science behind it, and as the big book says, we are fans of science.
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Look Marissa, on the healthyhepper.com where Johnny’s book is listed with a few other actual MD’s the actual MD’s even cite, that while vitamins and nutrients may help, the only way to CURE hep c is through Inteferon and that it only works half the time, but that’s actually been improved to 80/20 with the new cocktails, and that is a reality. Johnny D or Michael whose cured himself of Hep A, B and C, is too good to be true, bottomline. His book is 14.95 and for JUST 147 dollars a month he’ll hold your hand and walk you through his vitamin regimen… I mean cmon, it’s snake oil, he’s selling a book, and he’s good at marketing it, but it’s bullshit… The longer you wait, the more steep your odds become. And Johnny is either delusional or malicious, and I don’t know which, but I am glad I didn’t gamble my life on the rantings of someone who has ZERO medical science behind him. Look on healthheppers.com and reach out to those Dr’s on there. They aren’t disputing that nutritional value can help, but they aren’t lying to themselves about the data either.
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As someone who’s currently on Interferon and Ribovirin, I can tell you it’s really not that bad. The thing I never understand though, is why some people believe that having the virus is somehow healthier than taking the medication. The fact of the matter is, if juicing and vitamins cured hep C, we would all have been cured long ago. It’s not rocket science, no secrets to unlock. I live in the UK, and get treated free, like all UK citizens, via the NHS. I’ve also worked as a bean-counter in the NHS specifically responsible for the money paid out for drugs, including those for Hep C. I can categorically tell you, if there was a free/cheaper way to treat Hep C, the NHS would be the first to grab a hold of it and start prescribing Juicing machines and a vegan diet etc. And yes, Homeopathy is also available free on the NHS, and would, if it worked, be the cheaper option, they have conducted clinical trials and yet, here we are with an 85% success rate for the drugs…..o% for the ‘beams from outta space’ therapy. There’s no conspiracy with the drug companies, in fact the NHS regularly goes into hand to hand combat with them to only get the stuff that actually works. People like Anthony Kaleideskope and his Ozone are doing a dis-service to the Hep C community. People actually believe that crap and delay treatment, endangering their health and lives…he should be ashamed. I think the clue’s in the fact his profession is promoting himself and his image. So in conclusion, just take the drugs, take a couple of paracetamol for the very minor side effects, and get on with getting healthy! Nobody cares about a 100% organic corpse.
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I couldn’t agree more Katie, but you’re right it’s really amazing how many people get downright militant with me defending strictly organic, when I know, firsthand so many people the method as failed on. Though half of my hate mail I’m pretty sure comes from one Happy Hepper whose book sales stay in top 100 hep c books and links to his site sell milk thistle and all the other bullshit. As they say follow the money. As for Anthony, he’s probably just delusional and doesn’t want to admit it. It’s really baffling how he could say all that shit, or maybe he just added it for the book and then later treated it but is too big of an ego to admit he was wrong. Who knows, but I agree, it’s a big dis service to us mere mortals who must use science and the medical community, and not shamans and milk thistle root. Haha, regardless, I’m very glad to be free and clear, and yes, many people I know went through Interferon with very few side effects. I however was not one of them, I got nailed, and suffered post interferon as well. No fun, but better than dead, and my last year before treatment i was pissing brown and my liver was failing at 28 years old.
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I am a RN who contracted hep c by accidental needle stick in the early 1980’s. I worked in a high-risk area and we weren’t careful about sharps in those days. It sat silent until I got sick in late 2005. I’d had 4 kids during that time. Everyone got tested and thank God, my whole family was clean. I have. Genotype 3a. So…..24 weeks of interferon & Ribavirin – had a lot of trouble with neutrophil count so I ended up on bone marrow stimulant (not fun & very painful). I worked full time the entire time but was exhausted and all my tests showed the virus was”undetectable.” Things were looking good. But about a month after I finished, I started feeling lousy again. The treatment didn’t work. So my doc recommended a higher dose and a 48-week course. I hadn’t recovered from my first round and eventually got too sick to work. The last 3 months were pure hell. I was so sick I don’t remember much and my family said I looked like a corpse. But I stick it out and finished. Within a month I felt great and was certain it worked. 12 weeks after end of treatment the hep c was back. Shit. So I south a homeopathic practitioner who specialized in hep c. My regular Dr. was supportive of giving it a chance and agreed to monitor me. So I tried it. Didn’t feel much different, but after a month my bloodwork was awful. Liver enzymes skyrocketed on natural treatment, so I quit. Now, my liver is fully cirrhosis and I feel like shit most of the time. I’m close to needing a transplant but have mixed feelings. I just don’t want to suffer anymore. Naomi Judd saying she is cured as well as Anthony Kiedis is just plain BS. They want to keep making money and when you read their stuff it is rather cryptic and does not say ” I AM TOTALLY FREE OF HEPATITIS C, THE VIRUS IS UNDETECTABLE IN MY BLOOD.” They do not really want their fans thinking they are sick.
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I’m sorry you feel I am contradictory and maybe I am at times, however in this case I don’t think so. I believe the treatments saved my life, and in fact I know they did, and I also believe and know for a fact they come with hellish side effects, which I documented. I think it took about 5-6 years to fully recuperate from them for me, and unfortunately there was just no way around that. As far as the zero science, homeopathic treatments, I still feel they are a scam, and Anthony Keidis should open up to his real situation and whether he every did take Interferon or not to finally clear his bloodstream. There are also several others out there profiting on the misery and naivety of others, selling milk thistle and other bullshit that have zero scientific value.
As for buying my book. Its free dude. Its on http://www.books4free.com I’m not trying to make a buck of it. If you buy it from Amazon, it’s like a dollar above cost for the trouble of putting it out there. I’m not “full of it”, I’m an observer of this world we live in where rational thought and the scientific method are used to defeat huge debilitating illnesses, but then a group of asshats stop getting immunizations because a few non scientific whack jobs spread some rumors and conspiracy theories about vaccinations, and the next thing you know, people are dying of the measles again. Same applies to Homeopathic treatments for Hep C, which kills more people than AIDS, if you fall for that horseshit in the face of science and die, its your own damn stupid ignorant fault, and I’m trying to warn you to get treated now, sooner than later. The young do better than the old, the fit better than the fat, the strong better than the weak, so stop delaying and take the treatment to live your life to the fullest. The reality is it’s not even a whole year anymore, they can do Ribavirin and Interferon treatments for certain cases in 9 weeks I believe it is now. And why did they shorten the time frame, because they knew damn well the harmful side effects of a full year of treatment. But you do what you can where you are with what you have, and at the time 1 year was the only option. I’d do it again. But if you fall for the homeopathic shtick and try to live it up on milk thistle, and 20 years later are dead from liver failure, you did it to yourself.
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